Rimuru looked at Clayman, his tense body turning calmer and calmer. It was a strange contrast to how he had expected him to react, but in the end, it didn't matter. It would all end the same way.
Clayman stood still and took a moment to look around the room. Although the mask he wore hid any of his thoughts, Raphael could see through every hidden action he tried to take.
[Notice. Subject: Clayman is attempting to connect his Spiritual Body to the Ley Lines to facilitate an escape. Recommend using Spatial Domination to seal the space. Proceed?]
'Yes.'
With that simple answer, he saw Clayman suddenly freeze, his eyes widening as realization caved in.
"You may begi—" Guy started, but Clayman interrupted with a desperate shout.
"Wait! It wouldn't be interesting if we settled this so quickly, would it? As a Demon Lord, the strength of your subordinates represents your own strength, does it not? Would it not be more interesting if our subordinates fought first?"
[Warning. There is a high likelihood Clayman intends to place either Shizue or Shion under his control to buy some more time to escape. Though it will be ineffective on Shizue due to her Skill: Perfect Memory, Shion remains vulnerable to the attack.]
[While using Asmodeus would break the control, using the skill in such a way would also reveal the skill itself to Guy Crimson.]
"How about we stop stalling?" Rimuru asked. "We both know you are trapped. Checkmate Clayman. It's been fun."
The room was silent as they all looked at the exchange. Clayman silently stared back at Rimuru, his mind racing for escape plans.
"I agree." Guy's voice cut through. "You may begin."
Without wasting a moment, Clayman jumped back and allowed his magicules to run wild to begin his transformation into his combat form.
Glancing over at Shion, Rimuru gave her his next piece of advice as he raised his hand.
"Rule #23, don't let your opponent power up."
With a single chopping motion, he used Spatial Domination to imitate the Unique Skill: Severer, sending an invisible blade that sliced Clayman horizontally in half, causing him to fall down just as two more pairs of arms sprouted from his back.
As Clayman crashed onto the ground with a thud, Rimuru tilted his head to dodge a blade that stabbed just where his head had been a moment ago. Viola, Clayman's masterpiece of a Golem, had attacked.
Before Shion and Shizue could react, Rimuru activated Beelzebuth without even turning around. Beelzebuth greedily devoured the Golem in an instant before quickly setting its 'eyes' on Clayman.
"No, wait— I can—"
Clayman didn't get a chance to fight back, scream for help, or even comprehend what was happening as Beelzebuth began to consume him. Maybe if he had time to prepare himself, things would have gone differently.
If he had known that everything was a trap.
If his mind had been clear.
If Kazalim had been with him.
If he had reached out to Laplace, Tear, or Footman.
If… if he hadn't been so outmatched.
The moment of clarity had only given him enough mind to realize all of his mistakes, yet even as he fought against the Ultimate Skill, Beelzebuth, he couldn't help but feel regret.
Just like that, in an instant, he was gone. It was disappointing.
The puppeteer did not even have a tenth of Rimuru's power, so even if Clayman had been allowed to use his full strength; it would have ended the same way—not with a bang but with a whimper.
[Report. The subject, Clayman, has successfully been placed in the stomach. Analysis of the Soul and Body showcases that he was created using what is approximated to be thousands of bodies.]
[Clayman's Soul has been fully analyzed.]
[The fragment of the Skill utilized on Clayman cannot be properly analyzed. Attempting to recover issued command… Error. Attempting to recover information about the Skill from which it originates… Err—]
[...]
[The fragment of the Skill has collapsed. However, a momentary reaction was detected and recorded. Momentary synchronization will be utilized to analyze the skill again…]
[Report. The knowledge of Ultimate Skills has been expanded. A new variation of Ultimate Skills, known as Ultimate Enchantments, has been discovered. They are Skills or abilities of the Ultimate level gifted to another user.]
[Starting research and experimentation…]
Rimuru chuckled slightly as he heard Raphael instantly dig her nonexistent teeth into the next new piece of interesting information. He couldn't help but be intrigued by the new discovery, but he wasn't going to let his mind wander as he turned to look at the Demon Lords.
Guy gave a couple of slow claps, smiling as he did before waving his hand and causing the barrier he had formed to disappear.
"Well, that was underwhelming." Guy remarked. "I hereby recognize your right, from this day forward, to call yourself a Demon Lord. Anyone disagree?"
There were a few moments of silence before Ramiris began flying around excitedly.
"Ho, did ya see that? He gave him the ol' one-two. Clayman was all like…" Ramiris began to ramble, going over the short and relatively unimpressive fight in excruciating detail.
She kept flying all over the Demon Lords until Dino eventually snatched her out of the air.
"Sheesh, Ramiris. Here, I thought that after you got some subordinates, you would become less annoying. Why don't you yap to them instead?" Dino asked, a slight smile on his face as he saw Ramiris helplessly try to escape his hand.
It was clear by the soft chuckle that he enjoyed messing with her. Even as Ramiris bit his fingers and pried, he didn't appear to be the slightest bit uncomfortable. Judging by the reactions of the other Demon Lords, or lack thereof, all of them were also starting to get tired of her.
As long as she wasn't being seriously hurt, no one would step in.
"Save me, Rimuru!" Ramiris cried out, finally giving up on escaping. "I'm your wife. You're supposed to fight for my honor or something! Smack him on the head like you smacked Milim!"
Rimuru was about to respond when he felt an overwhelming wave of danger from all around. Leon, Guy, Dino, and even Milim snapped their heads toward him, eyes sharp.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Dino asked, clearing his ears with his finger. "Wife?"
"Yeah! You heard me right!" Ramiris shouted before her face instantly dropped. "No, wait, it was supposed to be a surprise. Argh!" Ramiris complained as she began to struggle once again.
Dino opened his hand, and Ramiris darted around, agitated.
"You guys are so annoying! I kept trying to get you guys to ask so I could brag, but you all just ignored me! And here I thought we were friends." Ramiris shouted, flying over to land on Rimuru's head. "This is why I like him, cuz he treats me nicely, unlike all you mean brats."
Guy's eyes narrowed, but the wave of aggression he had released dissipated. Dino, meanwhile, looked away, feigning innocence.
Rimuru was slightly dumbfounded by how protective they were of the small Fairy Queen. Even Dino, who had been completely nonchalant the entire Walpurgis, snapped awake at the mention.
He had to admit that the undersized Fairy had her own type of charm. However, he hadn't expected it to win over three of the most uncaring and cold Demon Lords.
"Ramiris, you didn't get tricked or anything, did you?" Leon asked, his poker face unchanging.
Ramiris let out a few awkward coughs but instantly went on the defensive.
"Sheesh, Leon, as if. I swear, all of you must think I am so stupid."
There was a moment of silence before Guy spoke up.
"Alright, this is getting out of hand."
With a simple glance, Mizeri stepped forward, making the gigantic table reappear. She moved expertly, ensuring everyone could sit and resume the meeting. She placed perfectly brewed cups of tea in front of all of them before quickly vanishing behind Guy once again.
Ramiris reluctantly fluttered back to her seat as everyone sat back down again, sticking out her tongue to Dino as she sat down.
"The primary purpose for this meeting was to discuss the so-called 'conspiracy' of three Demon Lords and to discuss the addition of a new member. We have dealt with both those issues. Usually, I would call the Walpurgis off by now. But since we usually don't get all of us to come to these meetings, does anyone have anything else they want to discuss?" Guy asked, sitting back down in his chair as he did.
Rimuru slightly raised his hand, and after Guy nodded, he spoke.
"I have sent my army to take over Clayman's territory since he had been targeting me for some time. Does anyone have any complaints about whether I get to keep it or not?"
Guy chuckled slightly as he heard the question.
"Fulbrosia, the Forest of Jura, and now Jistav… are you trying to unite the world?" Guy asked, his smile growing as he did. Yet after a few moments of being stared at by the other Demon Lords, he shook his head. His smile vanished as he continued. "No complaints from me. Do whatever you want."
"Hell yeah!" Ramiris shouted with a thumbs up.
"Oh, yeah, fine with me." Milim mumbled, absentmindedly pushing her teacup around, still sulking from her scolding by Rimuru.
One by one, the Demon Lords voiced their agreement with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Leon and Valentine appeared less than pleased, but ultimately, they didn't object.
After a few moments, Leon spoke up.
"I have a concern. Only three Demon Lord votes are required to call a Walpurgis or bypass some of the restrictions we have placed on each other, such as not interfering with the forest. Now that Rimuru is a Demon Lord, if he is married to Frey and Ramiris, that means he always has the necessary votes. That is, without even considering his apparent friendship with Milim."
Rimuru couldn't help but curse internally as Leon spoke. He had hoped to keep his advantage hidden for as long as he could. But in the end, he would still have a lot of influence over the Demon Council, even without the votes.
As long as he didn't abuse his influence, he was sure he would be able to win Dino over to his side, at least judging by his uncaring attitude and friendship with Ramiris, who, along with Milim, would still give him the three required votes.
"Ah, that's a good point. There's never been a time when Demon Lords have been in a relationship like that before…" Guy muttered, leaning back on his chair as he began to think.
"No, there was that one Layla and Voldilock." Milim mumbled, causing Ramiris to suddenly perk up.
"Ah, that's right! The Aranea and the Naga dude, right? Didn't they piss off a Hero or something? They only lasted for like a week, right?" Ramiris asked, scratching her chin as she tried to remember.
"Wasn't it Chronoa? Man, I had completely forgotten about 'em. They kinda pissed me off." Dino complained as he rested his head on his arms.
"I think their names were Layrael and Valdarak." Dagruel corrected.
The table quickly devolved into a rambling session about past Demon Lords, with most having come and gone thousands of years ago. Leon cleared his throat, snapping everyone back to the present issue.
"Ah, that's right... how to fix the issue…. Make the married Demon Lord votes count as one?" Guy suggested.
Leon nodded in agreement.
"Yes, that would balance the voting power."
Frey and Rimuru exchanged a glance with each other, silently searching for any other ways to keep as much influence as possible.
[Warning. It is advised to support the proposal in order to gain support from Demon Lord Valentine, Dagruel, and Cromwell. Attempting to push back against it will lower your standing with them and cause all future negotiations to be more difficult.]
[Even with the expected loss of Carrion as a Demon Lord, all future proposals are likely to be passed without major issues.]
"I agree." Rimuru spoke out, causing Frey to widen her eyes before a soft smile appeared on her face. "This is supposed to be a council. The votes would lose all meaning if one person could do whatever they wanted."
"It's only fair." She played along, instantly understanding Rimuru's reasoning. She gave out a beautiful smile and a gentle laughter before she continued. "I feel as if we should see this new rule as something positive."
She looked around the table, smiling at all of them.
"I don't think there's ever been a time when most of us were so united. There's usually a lot of infighting among Demon Lords, but with Clayman gone, maybe we can move past that."
The eyes turned to Rimuru, who nodded in agreement.
"That's true. I'm meeting most of you for the first time, but I hope to build good relationships with all of you. Our territories have unique strengths and resources. I think we can help each other grow."
At this, Guy burst out in unbridled laughter, a sound both intimidating and strangely charming.
Everyone turned to look at Guy in shock. Even Mizeri, his maid, was left speechless. She took a few steps back, her mouth wide open, before quickly snapping back to her spot.
As Guy's laughter subsided, silence enveloped the room.
"What?" Guy asked in a mocking tone, the smile still lingering on his face.
Rimuru felt a chill up his spine as Guy's eyes locked onto his.
"I'm interested in your offer." Guy spoke before giving him a wink, causing Leon to sigh.
"Ah… so that's why." Leon muttered, turning to Rimuru with a faint trace of pity.
Dagruel, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke up.
"I am also interested in the offer. Your nation is set in the Forest of Jura, isn't it? That forest is rich with resources. You also mentioned Veldora earlier, didn't you?" Dagruel asked.
"Yes, I wasn't keeping it hidden, but I understand the news might not have spread widely yet. Veldora is back, and he is currently a member of Tempest." Rimuru replied.
Luminous and Leon's eyes narrowed, though they kept their composure, while Dagruel nodded thoughtfully.
"I see… I knew you gave me a familiar feeling. I just couldn't quite place it." Dagruel muttered. "What is your relationship with him?"
"It's a long story, but you could say we are practically brothers. One thing led to another, and now we share the name Tempest." Rimuru explained.
Dagruel nodded, a slight smile appearing on his face as he heard the answer.
"Hm… I see… I'll send some of my people to Tempest." He approved. "Tell Veldora to come and visit if he wants another rematch. My kingdom is always open to him."
"I will. I'm sure he would enjoy the chance to flex his muscles. I'd tell you what he has been up to, but I don't want to ruin the surprise."
Dagruel's smile widened as he nodded in approval.
Leon looked at the interaction before turning to look at Shizue.
"I will also send some of my own people."
It was direct and to the point, but even that small promise was significant from someone like Leon.
Rimuru felt a sense of accomplishment. With this, he had practically guaranteed alliances with all the Demon Lords present, save for Luminous. He planned to use Hinata as a bridge to connect with her.
The day had gone better than expected, and Rimuru was content to take his winnings while he was ahead.
Raising his hand, Carrion spoke up.
"I apologize, but there is something I would also like to do. I would like to resign from being a Demon Lord."
Rimuru couldn't help but sigh as he heard Carrion. If he was being honest, he had almost thought he wouldn't do it because of how long it had taken him.
"Eh? Sure." Guy answered, completely unbothered.
Carrion let out an awkward cough from the lack of reaction to his announcement, but he still puffed out his chest slightly.
"Recently, I was shown how weak I am as a King and Demon Lord. So I am taking a step back from the title of Demon Lord until I am strong enough to carry it with pride."
"Good for you, bud." Dino answered, giving him a thumbs up.
Carrion looked around for any more reactions, but noticing how most of the Demon Lords didn't appear to be that disturbed, he took his seat again, his face a pure deadpan.
Once again, the table turned into a random, rambling amalgamation of different stories.
"Ah, man, wait! Carrion, you can't leave!" Ramiris suddenly shouted, capturing everyone's attention. "If you leave, we're only going to have nine members, which means we can't be called the Ten Great Demon Lords."
"Oh god, not this again." Leon sighed as he held his head.
"No, she's right." Dagruel muttered with a frown. "The name doesn't fit anymore with only nine members."
"Should we just use 'The Nine Great Demon Lords'?" Dino asked.
"No… that's kinda lame. We are just reusing the last one." Milim complained, finally snapping out of her pouting session. "Last time, we had a cool one, didn't we?"
"No, we had a thing against having nine members for a while because the 'The Nine Harbingers of Doom' made things too messy with the humans. Remember we let Seiryo get killed just so we could drop back to eight?" Dino complained, drawing a collective round of sighs from the group.
Rimuru had to hold back the urge to slap his face as he saw the most dangerous people all of humanity feared look so defeated over a name.
"Why don't we just let the humans come up with a new name?" Valentine suggested. Though he had been mostly silent all of Walpurgis, the naming issue finally made him speak.
"We could, but that's leaving up to chance. We kinda lucked out with the Ten Great Demon Lords. But do you remember back when we had twelve? The freaking 'Dozen Demons,' only one of us is a Daemon. There is a difference." Milim complained, instantly refusing the offer.
The room was about to explode into an argument when Milim pointed to Rimuru.
"Yo Rimuru! Do you have any ideas?" Milim asked in a slightly awkward manner as she tried to gauge how angry he was with her.
As she asked, all eyes turned to him.
"He's very creative with names!" Milim reassured, giving him a thumbs up as she did, which only intensified the gazes on Rimuru.
"Well…"
'Raph… little help here.'
— — —
Special Thanks to my Beta Readers/Editors: The one, the only, the amazing @Basilisk, the Aussie @LuluViBritania (FF.N, SB, WN and QQ)/-LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor(Discord) and @Kiyan Tribe (FF.net/AO3/QQ/WN) | kiyan_tribe( Discord)
Go Check out Basilisk's great story "I'm a Daemon, so what?"
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https://discord.gg/WTgN9J3YgK
~A/N~
Hopefully, the Clayman fight didn't feel too underwhelming. I had a few versions in which he tossed Clayman around for a bit, but it didn't feel right since this Rimuru's whole thing since he began dealing with Clayman has been to be careful. Who knows what bullshit he might pull out if he lets him live longer. Plus the difference in strenght is crazy, Clayman has around 360K Ep while this version of Rimuru would have around like 8Mil Ep. Honestly kind of hard to estimate Ep, but either way it wasn't even a real fight.
Plus, after a couple of chaps of cool and relatively close battles, it was neat to write a fight that was just an absolute diff.