"…"
Demon Lord Clayman…was dead!
That shocking reality was not only heard by the Demon Lords present—it happened right in front of their eyes.
Clayman's presence had vanished entirely. Even though his blood and flesh were scattered all over the meeting room, not a trace of his aura could be sensed. It was as though his spirit, body, and soul had been completely severed from the world, leaving no chance for resurrection.
That was exactly what Rei Ao had done.
He had no qualms about erasing a clownish schemer like Clayman at will.
Aside from Milim—whose level was 70—most of these Demon Lords were generally between levels 55 and 60.
There was no need for Rei Ao to even exert the effort of swatting a fly. A single thought was enough to kill Clayman.
Of course, he wasn't someone who just killed indiscriminately.
Unless the other Demon Lords present provoked him, he wouldn't treat them as mere "experience bags."
For a moment, the other Demon Lords remained utterly silent, no one daring to speak first.
Then Milim, eyes shining, mustered her courage and approached Rei Ao, leaning in close, sniffing the air near him.
"Sniff, sniff!"
"So that other scent I noticed was you!"
Milim looked at Velzard with curiosity. "Great-Aunt, are you the ones who turned Guy into a pig-head?"
"Mm-hmm," Velzard said with a raised corner of her mouth. "It was thanks to your Uncle, here~"
"Uncle?"
Milim blinked her bright eyes. She turned to Rei Ao. "You're my uncle?"
"You don't have to call me that. My name is Rei Ao."
"Oh, oh, I'm Milim! But can you tell me how you beat up Guy?"
Milim was extremely curious. She knew better than anyone just how powerful Guy truly was.
"How did I beat him…well, basically like this."
Snap!
Rei Ao simply snapped his fingers.
"Wha—?!" "What's going on?!" "My power!!!"
All the Demon Lords' faces changed dramatically. They suddenly found they couldn't sense their own power, nor the magicules in the air. It was as if they had been turned into…utterly ordinary humans in an instant.
Snap!
Rei Ao snapped his fingers again.
"!!!"
Their power returned.
"Huh?"
Milim let out a small sound of surprise. She tested a few swings of her fist and asked, puzzled, "What did you just do?"
"Oh, I just temporarily stripped all of you of your power," Rei Ao said lightly.
That casual remark sent a tremor through every Demon Lord present. Now they understood how he had beaten Guy so badly. They were also filled with uncertainty—what kind of being was Rei Ao, to render them all powerless, unable to resist?
Could even the Star Dragon King do something like that?
"You're really strong."
For the first time, Milim looked serious.
"Thanks," Rei Ao said with a smile.
He then swept his gaze across the Demon Lords, all of whom wore grim expressions.
"Clayman tried to pull a few sneaky tricks in my territory, attempting to create a Demon Lord-type. I killed him. Any objections?"
They all shook their heads almost instantly. With Clayman's gruesome death before their eyes, who would dare protest? Anyone who spoke out might be the next Clayman.
"From this moment on, I don't want to see any trouble arising in the Great Forest of Jura. Understood?"
"Understood!"
Cold sweat ran down the Demon Lords' backs. More than anything, they wanted to get back to their lands and call off any plans involving contesting the Great Forest of Jura.
"Good."
Rei Ao was satisfied with their response. Still, there was one more thing to mention.
"I'm going to cleanse this world of some disaster-level monsters. You'd better keep your subordinates in check—don't blame me for 'accidental kills.'"
With that final reminder, Rei Ao and Velzard vanished from the meeting room.
"…"
Silence reigned for several seconds. Then all the Demon Lords looked at one another, silently deciding it would be best to leave at once. Each vanished, eager to return home and keep their people in line.
As for Clayman's death?
Ha. What did that have to do with them? Clayman didn't get along well with anyone anyway. Better that he died than they. No one wanted to provoke an even bigger disaster.
"…"
In the now-empty meeting room, only Milim remained. She stared at the chair where Rei Ao had been, lost in thought.
…
In the goblin settlement—
On a cliff overlooking the area, a red-haired "Kijin" stood with a furrowed brow, gazing into the distance.
"Benimaru, is something on your mind?"
A voice spoke from behind him. The Kijin—Benimaru—turned to see a horned wolf approaching. Riding on the wolf's back was a blue slime.
Benimaru bowed his head politely. "Lord Rimuru."
"Haha, no need to be so formal."
The blue slime wriggled—that was Rimuru. Benimaru was the prince of the Ogre tribe. During an attack by the Orc Tribe, he and a few others had been rescued by Rimuru. Rimuru even named him "Benimaru," enabling him to evolve from an Ogre to a Kijin. Hence, Benimaru and the other survivors pledged loyalty to Rimuru.
But he still had a heavy concern on his mind. Rimuru had noticed and came to talk with him.
"Benimaru, you're still troubled by the matter of the Orc Tribe, right?"
"I sent out scouts, and it seems that the Orc Tribe vanished overnight. The forest seems to have returned to peace."
"…"
Benimaru was silent for a while, looking bitter.
"My sister… I don't know if she's still alive."
"A family member?"
Rimuru could more or less guess what was going on. The blue slime's posture turned "serious."
"Alright, I'll help you look for your sister!"
"Thank you so much, Lord Rimuru."
Benimaru felt incredibly grateful, convinced he'd pledged his loyalty to the right person.
"Onii-chan."
Suddenly, he heard a voice that was both unfamiliar and strangely familiar at the same time. Looking up, he saw Shuna and Shion, both drastically changed in appearance, accompanied by a woman wearing a mask.
"Grr…"
The wolf beneath Rimuru bared its fangs, letting out a low growl at the three strangers.
Rimuru spoke up, "Ranga, don't show hostility."
"…"
The wolf, addressed as Ranga, obediently curbed its aggression.
"You three, I'm the leader here. Mind telling me what brings you here?"
Rimuru asked warily. He understood why Ranga had grown hostile—the trio's aura and magicules were nothing to scoff at, especially the masked woman, whose strength rivaled Rimuru's own.
"M-My sister?!"
Benimaru, still puzzled as to why these two looked so familiar, suddenly realized. It had to be…!
"Onii-chan, it's me."
Shuna stepped forward. Shizue quietly stayed back, letting the siblings reunite. After joining Rei Ao and helping defeat many powerful monsters, she had been sent by Rei Ao to protect Shuna on her journey to find her brother.
~~~
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