In the outer dimension or better known as the demon realm, it has been a significant amount of time of slumbering after such a chaotic and destructive clash
The raven black slime regained his consciousness and awakened
Kaijuno Pov
For who knows how long, I was in a state of magicule exhaustion. Only by now I was waking up from my recovery, although I still felt groggy like waking early in the morning for school
I almost fell back asleep only for Yagami to interrupt me from drifting back to my slumber
[Notice, Recovery completed, it's time to wake up]
In spite of Yagami's notification, I wished to sleep more
" One . . . More hour, I didn't even sleep that much"
[Negative, you were out cold for approximately 6 days]
Upon hearing the clarification, I finally recalled my situation
I was fighting against the combustion prone tomboy Jaune or more traditional known as the primordial yellow
To say it was more trouble than I thought was putting it lightly. I knew facing a primordial was already nothing to scoff at but Jaune really shown how horrific a primordial can be
Her capabilities were far more vast than simply making big explosions but to make the surrounding space vanish as well was something I was taken aback by
It didn't help that she also resorted to sword fighting, I was expecting her to keep firing nuclear magic at a distance. I was mildly caught off guard that I gotten up close with her
Admittedly, I say she actually kinda pretty. This on top of how I wasn't bored when I fought with her, made me develop some admiration of her
I myself even performed feats I didn't thought was possible to achieve for someone only as an awakened demon lord. To be frank I actually thought I was going to perish in that gravity collapse. The unexpected high intensity really made me fear it would be the end of me
Maybe it could've been the end of me too if I didn't devoured the exceeding energy released in order to recover
Initially a smart method would've been to use the magicule disruption skill sourced from Charybdis to prevent Jaune from performing Gravity Collapse
But it isn't like using Gravity Collapse worked completely against me. Afterall not only was I able to recover but I was able to throw a huge explosion of my own back at her
I even pulled off something super nerdy, a bonus in my book and another checkmark on my list of nerdy lines to say. Hopefully Jaune wasn't weirded out by it.
Like everyone else besides Yagami, she wouldn't get where I sourced that from but if she is going to be my subordinate, I don't want her to get a weird first impression of me
Well maybe it wasn't my geeky lines that I should be concerned for her impression of me. Probably more of what I did to her while I said it
In the moment it was act of desperation but I can't help but blush remembering how I embraced her. I was trying make sure she didn't escape my attack but after that we were locked against eachother. But well . . . It felt kinda intimate especially given how close our faces were in front of eachother
But what if she takes it the wrong way? Especially with how wild I was acting during all of that.
I wanna be a scary demon lord, NOT a creepy pervert
She's also gorgeous, if I have someone like her despise me, it'll dent my self esteem. It will also be awkward on top her being my subordinate
Well there's still the matter of whether I actually defeated her or not. I blacked out when my attack was unleashed so I didn't have a good idea of what was the outcome. Also I'm still in the demon realm, it's not exactly a place to get comfortable nor vulnerable in
Activating my magic sense, I was able to view my immediate surrounding in 360 degrees. What I can immediately tell my position which was acquired bit more different than I expected
I was on top of large pillar as high as big as a five story building. Ahead in the horizon is a cliffside with no visible opposing end. Below to ground level, there was a crowd consisting of mainly yellow lineage demons with a couple different color lineage demons scattered within the crowd, all of who were kneeling towards me
But despite my odd setting, what really caught my attention once I got a grip was that I was resting on Jaune's lap
I was already uneasy in regards to my status with her but this informality made me flustered
Jaune noticed I had woken up and greeted me as such
"Hey! You're finally awake"
"Y-yeah, sure am"
Jaune had this jolly expression on her face as she lifted me from her lap and over her head as she stood and loudly proclaimed
"Yall better listen up! Kaijuno-Sama won and made me his, so you better swore your loyalty and respect him as you have with me"
"Hai! we swear our undying loyalty to the Great Kaijuno Tempest!"
"You fools forgot he's atomic too!"
"Hai! We swear our undying loyalty to the Great Atomic Kaijuno Tempest!"
This gave me whiplash, I barely woke up on someone's lap and the next second I was placed on a pedestal
If I was less drowsy, I would've welcomed this scenerio smugly
Suddenly, Jaune locked me in a hug. Seems to be that Jaune recovered before I did and eventually found out how plush like a slime body is. This idea isn't surprising with how universally popular the slime plush is in tempest, I even use a body double as a bean bag chair
I was still felt a bit delirious so I asked just to be sure
"Huh? So wait, I actually won?"
Jaune answered as if it was super casual
"Yep! That last attack you performed really did a number on me. You really wanted to impress me didn't ya?"
"Whoa whoa! Hold on!"
As I was trying to clarify to the smirking Jaune, we were both interupted to by a loud throat clearing which was sourced by Diablo who was on the other side of the pillar
"So you're awake then"
"Yeah! And look! I got Jaune!"
"I seen all of it, especially with what happened over there"
As Diablo said this, he point forward ahead towards the cliff
I didn't really get what he meant until he verified it was where Jaune and I fought. I still didn't get it, I was quite sure Jaune and I fought above a surface
Jaune herself confirmed this to be the case
"He's right, it just that the terrain changed after our fight, or more like it was erased completely along with the gravity as well"
That last part especially still left me confused
"What the heck do you mean by that!?"
"You recalled how I used Gravity Collapse?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, if I purposely increased the intensity of Gravity Collapse, the gravity of the affected domain would be permanently distorted and would no longer follow the traditional laws of gravity, you couldn't even use gravity magic properly within the distorted domain either"
"So that's what happened?"
"Not entirely, as not only did I already release an already intense Gravity Collapse but it was followed up by your own as well.
It was practically torn and shredded to the point that gravity can no longer exist within that area
Along with the surface being already disintegrated, it's basically a void now"
"I know you're a primordial and all but is that seriously something so casual? Like doesn't this sound like something that could've destroyed the demon realm?"
Both Diablo and Jaune shifted to a deadpan expression, stared back at eachother and then look back at me. Keeping his neutral tone, Diablo asked if I really don't know much about the demon realm to which I gave an awkward nod in confirmation
Jaune gave me a rundown of what the demon realm was structured. The demon realm wasn't the size of a planet, not even a solar system, but is a vast multiverse infinitely larger than the lesser dimensions.
Even if the gravity collapse could've destroyed universes, it wouldn't destroy the entire demon realm
And like where we are in the demon realm, there a specific domains that are connected to different planets and worlds within other dimensions, she even listed off a few examples
"It's really dependent on the area, like currently we are within the domain that is connected to the Cardinal World. Demons in this domain start off as goat monsters until growing more humanoid through each evolution
There was this fun area where demons where born out of specific fears, like that one for the fear of the dark. You remember that one right Diablo? Ya know, primordial black and all"
"I truly couldn't care less"
"There was also one weird place, the demons there took a more monstrous appearance, I can't recall to much. Just at most there was one skeleton head demon who had their eyes stitched close and had a huge brain
Another one was this area that had demons battle through chess for some odd reason. I mainly recalled one faction that had loads of red hairs that reminded me of Guy while just about everyone there were highly lustful like Luminous
There's even some that aren't really that bad like the one that structured in 3 layers, one was a humid desert, another was an ocean with islands scattered throughout and the last mainly just had a big castle. They also had wish granting orbs created by slug people"
"So you're telling me demons can take up many different forms? That's possible?"
"Yeah? We're spiritual beings, we don't actually have a definitive form. Hell, there's even some that can incarnate and become residents of a physical worlds without a physical vessel depending on which one it is"
This made me raise a brow. Wouldn't obtaining a physical form be difficult to achieve for demons? If it's casual elsewhere why would the primordials of all people go through the hassle here. I had to bring up the question
"So you don't need to incarnate specifically in the Cardinal World? Can't you just take a physical form anywhere else?"
"Not exactly, the Cardinal World is the main place that naturally has magicules while have lesser sources of energy like magic or mana.
For magicules your physical incarnation is way more smoother but if you incarnate with lesser material, you're more likely to go through a mutation"
"Is a mutation a bad thing for demons?"
"How bad it could be varies. At most you could just get your skin to turn blue. But you could unlucky too. I recalled something about someone having their head stretch out which developed horns and had their hair turn into white fire. I forgot who that, some Demon Montana or something
Personally I'd rather incarnate into the Cardinal World just to avoid that risk"
As Jaune said this, Diablo made sure to point out something else
"You forgot about dealing with the underworld gods"
"Oh you're right! I try to forget about those guys"
That was a first for me to hear any mention of gods. Last I checked, Tensura didn't specifically have anyone labeled as a god. We had angels, titans, and dragons but no one was outright a god, I guess besides Luminous but it was more for publicity rather than factual
"So gods are actually a thing? Are they a threat to you guys?"
What happened after was a few seconds of silence until Jaune placed me down on the surface of the pillar to the fall backwards and burst into a fit of laughter, much to my confusion. It was Diablo who gave the context to the matter
"Not really, it's more like none of us really wish to go out of our way to interact with the gods. Plenty of them are easily the biggest fools that could be born into power who also think they're complete hotshots
Fortunately, it's only the primordial angels and phantoms who have to manage with the different pantheons and it's made clear amongst themselves to not mess with us primordial demons, let alone step into our domain"
All of this was said in a completely neutral and casual tone, all while I was uncertain about how to feel about this new discovery
In an attempt reset my fried head, I changed my attention to the horde of kneeling demons below the pillar
They have been patiently waiting for a response since I woken up, it's about time I say something
I wasn't sure what to say exactly, something theatrical or edgy? Subordinate demons are submissive by nature so I shouldn't have to worry about needing to make a long speech to look impressive, especially given I just defeated a primordial of all demons
I reverted to my demi human appearance, standing tall and puffing out my chest, with my volume enchanced with Unqiue Skill RadioShack, I shouted
"I'M THE TOP DOG! ALL OF YOU NOW WORK FOR ME!"
The crowd responded in repeating their confirmation of loyalty towards me
I proudly boasted with a shit eating grin under my mask as I felt superiority while the demons cheered
I defeated a primordial all by myself, I believed that earned some bragging rights
(Notice, don't forget that I assisted as well)
Yagami audibly reminded me of her part in the fight, especially by the end with resisting the force of the Gravity Collapse
(Oh! Yeah, yeah! Of course!)
(Mhmm)
In the middle of this whole fiasco, Diablo interupted
"Since things have been settled, I believe it's about time for you to leave"
"Yeah afterall we still have the other two primordials to meet"
"No, I mean leave the demon realm entirely"
I paused for a moment only to ask what he meant
" Rimuru-Sama has said you were needed back at the Cardinal World, so back to the Cardinal World you shall go"
"What about Violet and Blanc!?"
"We can regroup and continue when you're finished with your situation"
"Wait! Hold on-"
In an instant, Diablo opened a portal and just as swiftly threw me into the portal as if was I was some punk that invaded his lawn
In the next instance, the portal sealed shut
3rd Person Pov
With the portal closed, the primordial black let out a very audible sigh like tension with himself has finally been released
But just as Diablo felt he had a huge weight of his shoulders, another trouble maker would remind him that he isn't out of the woods yet
"What the hell did you do!
Jaune was visibly irritated at the treatment Diablo just gave her new master, although Diablo couldn't care less about the frustrations of another
"I simply escorted him back home, Rimuru-Sama will be needing him"
Diablo mentioning someone's name in honorifics shocked Jaune. For someone as selfish and odd as Diablo, the idea is laughable to consider
"Rimuru? Was that the person who gave you your name?"
The previously uncaring primordial black suddenly became ecstatic at the subject of Rimuru
"Kufufu! Indeed it was Rimuru-Sama who blessed me with the name Diablo and has graciously accepted me as their subordinate. The day we finally met was the best in my entire existence"
Diablo went off on a ramble but only for 30 seconds as the primordial yellow just about reached the pinnacle of her patience
"I only asked if they named you, I don't care about your life story!"
"But it's Rimuru-Sama I'm speaking about, I can't dare to leave out any details about my master"
"The fact that someone willingly accepted you of all demons as their subordinate either makes me pity them or questions their judgement of character. Besides the only master I care about is my own"
"Did he truly make an impact on you?"
"Hell yeah! I'm always the one having to wanting someone else to fight me. It's either they're strong but want nothing to do with me or they're bold enough to challenge me but they always end up being small fry.
To not only have someone desire me but really make me feel it hard as well. I'm not sure what exactly this feeling is. Obsession maybe?"
Diablo wasn't if he should pity Kaijuno for having the troubling Jaune of all people as his subordinate or pity himself that he let Kaijuno made Jaune his own subordinate although he was heavily leaning towards the latter
"Well I can't relate. Comparing the two, Rimuru-Sama is better by a large margin"
"As if! All I heard was you handing yourself on a silver platter while Kaijuno-Sama was the one to put me through hell and back"
"Hard disagree, Rimuru-Sama is the best"
"No! Kaijuno-Sama is the best!"
"Nope"
"Yep!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
This stubborn argument kept continuing for awhile til the both were repeatedly saying "Nuh uh" and "Yuh uh". Normally Diablo would be above something petty, but it's a different case when it comes to his Waifu Wars
And yes, all the other demons were still kneeling throughout all of this, albeit uncomfortably
Kaijuno Pov
Falling face first into the City Hall lobby, I groaned in irritation. Immediately, I recovered on my feet
I just woke up and I was already thrown around like a ragdoll
I'm still wondering what I would be need for, especially since I was already in the middle of demon capturing too
Hoping it would be something to make up what I was missing out on
I actually haven't figured out what name I'll give Jaune. I was thinking of a character that is explosion related like "Bakugo" or "Mitsuki". It felt fitting given they're both bombastic blondes but Bakugo doesn't really click for me and I'm still on the fence for Mitsuki. Maybe I could wait til I get the other two primordials and could figure it out by then
I also think Jaune was something like a sheriff in Tempest. I'll make sure to commission a cowboy hat and boots for when she arrives
As for my current situation, a couple of hobgoblins and goblinas rushed to greet me, these folks hired to assist the managerial higher ups of their respective departments
I recalled something about the establishment of different branches, guessing we're in the middle of that since everyone looks to be a bit winded
"Kaijuno-Sama! You returned!"
"Yeah, as you can see. You all look a bit gloomy, long day?"
"You could say it's been multiple long days"
"Yeesh! It's been that busy!? I guess the whole festival really do numbers in different ways. Hey is Rimuru their office? I was told they needed me for something"
"Ah yes! Right this way"
I was lead by one the hobgoblins to the office room where I was greeted with multiple piles of paper stacked on top of eachother. All while the end of the room was a stressful slime going through a small stack right in front of them
Awkwardly I knocked on the already open door to get Rimuru's attention
"Knock knock! I'm back"
"Welcome back, how was your trip?"
"Still not finished, I wasn't expecting a detour afterall, so why am I here for?"
"Well to cut things short, we were invited to the next western council meeting and we'll need you to represent Tempest in the meeting"
I remained silent for a few seconds before I could bring out a response
"Eh? Me? You're serious?"
"Yes I'm serious"
So not only was I pulled out from awesome demon bullying in the demon realm but to be pulled into politics. It's absolutely not something I care for and seriously want out
" You sure you can't do this instead?"
"Kaijuno, if I could've use this as an excuse to stop working on all this paperwork, I would've done so gladly"
" OK but why me specifically? I was in the middle of something and I'm sure we have more dependable people for this type of job"
" Well for starters, everyone is stretched thin with their workload so depending on another isn't optional this time. And for the main reason is that the council specifically requested you by name in the letter they sent in
I wasn't openly invited and as you can see, I'm not exactly in a flexible position"
To be frank, I wanted to audibly complain about being dragged into this. I was feeling my element when I was in an a environment where I could be beat up whoever I wanted but now I'll be put in a room who I'll want to but can't get aggressive with
But a good look at Rimuru's face and I could tell they didn't have the patience to tolerate my crap
Begrudgingly, I accepted the job
"Yeah I gues- sure, I . . . got this"
"Alright, You'll be scheduled to leave in a few days, also Cameilla, Leonardo, and Benjamin will be your assigned escorts. Also I asked Hinata to help out with your hotel since none of you are familiar with Ingraccia. Also on a side note, Kaijuno"
"Yeah?"
"Don't do anything stupid"
". . . Can you blame me for feeling tempted?"
"Kaijuno"
"Just messing with ya! I'll "try" to not do anything stupid"
"Not liking the way you said "try""
" I'm saying it in the sense that if anything goes wrong, it won't be my fault, the problem will be caused by someone else if there even is a problem, which hopefully won't be the case"
"So you caught on?"
"Huh?"
"About how shady it looked that they specifically requested you instead of being open for the both of us to attend?"
"Is it shady?"
"Yeah, this and the incident with the merchant payment leads me to believe there are strings being pulled behind the scenes, it's why I have Leonardo assigned to join in the first place"
"Alright, I'll make sure to stay on the look out for any of that"
By this point I was about the step out of the room but I because there was something I wanted ask Rimuru
"Also before I head out to Ingraccia, you wanna hangout and watch movies saved up in my memories? We can get Big Bro Veldora to join us and make it a movie night for us bros"
"No sorry, I'm gonna have to keep pulling all nighters to get through all these piles here"
"Oh . . . Alright, good luck with your work then"
"Thanks"
I exited the office in mild disappointment. The post harvest festival adjustment really seem to catch everyone in a bind
I guess it caught me as well, even crossing into another dimension didn't save me from getting roped into the main story line
And of all the things, I had to be a a pain in the ass meeting with a bunch of snobby old farts
It's like there's this outside force that is intentionally dragging me into this scenerio
When I thought of this, a light bulb lit up in my head in revaluation
There was an outside force, Rimuru even brought it up a moment ago
The Rosso's, they most definitely were the one who pulled the strings
(Confirmed, individual Mariabelle held an influence over a selective amount of the western council members during the events of the meeting)
Even Yagami confirmed this, specifying that it was the actions of Mariabelle
I wasn't very active with the political side of the harvest festival, it must've given her the impression that I wasn't equipped for this type of job, my attitude with the merchants didn't help my image either
Likely to recover with how much of failure their operation was during the festival, I was solely invited to diminish Tempest's growing hope to be an economic empire by having someone unreliable to destroy any bridges before they can be built
My brow began to twitch at the idea that not only was my time being wasted on tedious tasks but now someone is smug enough to try using me as their political pawn
A grudge began to form for Mariabelle the Greed.
I actually consider a change of my plans for what's ahead in the story. I was originally going to plan on skipping Mariabelle's confrontation like I was going to do for this meeting and continuing my journey in the demon realm
But now I think I want to join everyone in the expedition to get back at Mariabelle personally since she'll be dead in the end with no chance of returning later on
Putting that commitment in the back of my mind, I decided to stroll around the town as if it was the weekend
Eventually I dropped by the Labyrinth entrance while in a disguise to avoid causing a commotion with my appearance.
The entrance was set up like a lobby underneath the arena with a main room that resembles a layout of what you'd expect of an adventurers guild except it's solely for the labyrinth, it even has receptionist desks
There are a few connected rooms like the bathrooms and employee only areas but I decided to head into the viewing room
This one has the purpose for anyone wanting to see adventurer activities within the labyrinth through the projections that were revealed back at the harvest festival. It was made into its own separate room as to avoid clustering up the main room
It's essentially a lounge that anyone can hangout in, adventurer or not. It was basically the closest we finally have to broadcast entertainment, television was still a wishful dream away but this will do
Currently the main focus for the people in the lounge was the battle between the Gozu tribe leader Boingo and the adventurer team The Hood of Robins
As this was a boss fight, it grabbed the majority of mass attention
It was looking to be a flashy fight indeed.
The team had a 3 layer formation with the rear guard was covered by the archer Darvo, mid gaurd consisting of the young cleric Murt and Minyel the elf mage and the front having the warrior Gaiye, barbarian Astopho, and their thief leader, Daniel
It looked like a overwhelming party for one individual but Boingo wasn't one be to be looked down upon by your average adventurer
With his regenerate, he'll already be difficult to defeat its on top of his intrinsic physical strength along with being able to extend his sharp horns
As expected the Hood of Robins weren't having an easy time. Both Gaiye and Astopho kept slashing and cutting Boingo only for it to physical recover and erase his injuries, even Daniel's sneak attacks aren't making a lasting impact
Meanwhile, Murt and Minyel are trying to focus on long range attack and support but they have to repeatedly avoid getting stabbed and electrocuted by the horns
Darvo is the only one is a safe distance from getting stabbed by the horns by like with everyone in the front lines, the physical damage of his arrows aren't lasting
The fight was looking to be a stalemate with the adventurer party looking to be the first to fall. But then the leader of the party, Daniel shouted out
"Now! The Hydra tactic!
Responding to this shout, Minyel began chanting a spell
Then suddenly in one moment Daniel was right in front of the boss only to instantly appear behind and slashing deep into both of their legs, forcing Boingo to fall on his knees.
Then Darvo aimed and shot arrows at both of Boingo's eye
With this opening, Gaiye and Astopho went for a straight forward offensive assault, launching a flurry and barrage of slashes around Boingo, covering him head to toe in injuries
"Minyel! Do it!"
Everyone frantically rushed away from Boingo and behind Minyel
Just as Boingo ripped out the arrows and regenerated his eyes, Murt casted a blinding light spell to block his vision once again
"FIREBALL!!!"
With the chanting finished, a massive fireball was launched at the bleeding Mezu covering him and the surrounding area was engulfed in flames.
The area range was significantly large enough that it was clear if none of the front liners moved away, they would easily gotten caught in the attack and suffered damage too
With how intense all three ran back, they knew all too well how much of a pain it would be to get hit by it
When the smoke cleared, the Mezu was still on his knees only to then fade into particles, confirming the party's victory
Not only was the fireball quite big but it hit while his wounds were exposed as well, it most definitely increased the pain taken
With the boss defeated, a golden treasure chest appeared at the other end of the room
When it appeared, the entire party ran towards it, almost in a desperate pace. Only briefly seeing their actions previously I would've assumed Gaiye alone would ran towards it but now it looks like Mariabelle's influence has gotten a grip on all party members. At least now they had more unity amongst themselves
What was in the treasure chest was high quality bow, perfect for their archer
With the boss finished and the treasure claimed, Daniel brought out an item from his pocket, a whistle
Blowing the whistle, the entire party shined in a bright light and instantly disappeared from the room
For the reactions by now, it was a roar of cheers from the crowd. The excitement during the fight and the finishing victory of the party. Some amongst the crowd were curious on why they immediately blew the whistle soon after winning a boss
"Maybe they were just tired"
"I don't blame them for stopping there, down in the further floors I heard there's a boss that many don't wish to encounter"
"The chubby guy in spiked armor?"
"Yeah, I've been hearing he has these slimy tentacles that sprout out of his body"
"Not even the worst part, the chemicals from the tentacles apparently have a disintegrating effect that destroys armor and clothing. Easily the most controversial boss they have there"
As the one who named him and holding a similar skill, it made me drop a few sweats of discomfort, I pretended I didn't eavesdrop
Turning my sight, I noticed a hooded figure within the crowd. Seemed like he was trying to blend in but I recognize that blonde hair anywhere
I awkwardly shifted over towards the figure and whispered at them
"Dude is that you?"
The figure jolted for a moment before slightly turning towards my direction
"You knew it was me?"
"No I just noticed"
The hooded figure was none other than Masayuki who was also in disguise
"So you were here too?"
"Yeah, me and my party are taking a break from adventuring in the Labyrinth, I thought it would be nice to relax in this lounge while watching other parties go through it.
I figured I could get a few tips for the later floors"
"I guess you got your tips for this boss huh?
"Yeah, so what brought you here? I haven't seen you in a hot minute"
"Similar to your case, I was out of town for a bit and decided to R and R while having something to watch. This was basically the only place that has any sort of broadcast"
"I get what you mean, man it's been a few years since I was able to watch any anime"
"I guess even the "Light-Speed Hero" has his otaku side heh"
"What's wrong with that?"
"I'm not judging. Actually do you want to head out of here, we can go play pac man at my house"
What I said made Masayuki pause for a few seconds but responded as if he was trying to shout but kept to a volume of a whisper
"You have pac man!? Like, videogame pac man!?"
Oh yes I do, are ya interested or not?"
After a silent nod from Masayuki, the both of us left the Labyrinth entrance and went straight to my place
There I showed off the arcade machine which Masayuki was jaw dropped for
It was thanks to manipulating electrical currents from my wind magic along with Yagami's analysis of the arcade machine I got from Ramiris's junkyard which lead to getting it running without needing an outline
"HOW!?"
"I have my ways . . . and privileges, I am a demon lord afterall"
"Since does being a demon lord grant access to retro arcade machine?"
"Only from the best of course, so you wanna play against eachother?"
"I thought Pac Man was a single player game"
"Yeah, I just thought one us play first then when they lose their lives, the next person plays and try to go beyond the level of the previous player.
You in for that?"
"Absolutely"
So for a few hours both us tried to progress and pass as many levels as we could before switching to the other player
By the end, Masayuki was able to clear up to level 7
All while I ended getting to level 2 with no extra lives saved from level 1
"I take it that pac man is something with your expertise"
"Give me some slack, I swear these retro games were built to be unfair"
"I guess the "Demon Lord" has his own noob side"
"Oh HA HA, very freaking funny"
Finishing up game and banter, we chilled at the front lawn while enjoying some ice cream
"So how was your time in the labyrinth?"
"So far so good, I'm suprised me and my team have down a few bosses the first time around."
"See! I told you ya had it in you!"
"Yeah, and it ended up helping in the promotion for the Labyrinth, especially in the news"
"What news?"
"The Stellar Intelligence News, I think the main person behind the publication was a rabbitfolk too"
I was dumbfounded when he said this. "The Stellar Intelligence News"? I really don't remember something like that mentioned in the story
I feel like the pairing of Stellar Intelligence was at least familiar but not sure how exactly
. . .
Nope! Not a clue
(Notice, the individual proclaimed with Stellar Intelligence was individual Framea)
. . . Who?
(The rabbitfolk you hired)
. . . Um
(. . . The protagonist of the way of the monster nation manga)
OOOOOOOOOOH! Her!? So she has a news anchor now? Did she have one in the spin off? Well I figured she gotta have somewhere to publish her reviews, maybe all the hype I made around her boosted her influence
Good for her
"Seems having you as our showman was the right move afterall!"
"Yeah! I guess having a hero in the Labyrinth would be the talk of the town"
When he mentioned both "Hero" and "Labyrinth", it felt like my head buzzed for brief moment. Something was trying to click but wasn't hitting the mark yet
Then, a light bulb lit up above my head in realization
"Masayuki, you're proclaimed as a hero right?"
"By everyone and their grandma"
"So were you blessed by a spirit by any chance?"
"No? Am I supposed to be blessed?"
This confirmation mildly suprised me. Weren't thr other heroes in the story had spiritual blessings?
Hinata had her funky bunch of spirits, Kenya had a spirit of light, Chloe had Chronoa, and I'm sure Leon and Granbelle gotten a hold of a spirit during their hero days
But Masayuki was just suddenly dropped into this world and was immediately called a hero
Did he even evolved into a saint? He eventually gained an ultimate skill, maybe possessing Rudra's soul was the reason he was able to have one
Should he have a spirit? Technically its not a necessity
Rudra likely already obtained a spirit in the past so could Masayuki even obtain one as he is now?
Hmm, well I guess it wouldn't hurt to experiment
"Maybe we should try to get you one"
"You sure? Where could we even get one? It's not there's some sort of spirit shop here in tempest right?"
.
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And so we found ourselves in the dwelling of spirits
"Holy crap I was just joking"
"Like I said Masayuki, the best demon lords have the best privileges"
"Don't go off taking credit for my genius!"
Ramiris, the little freak of nature shouted this as she was looping around the both of us
"You couldn't at least build some hand rails?"
"There's plenty of walking space, it'll be on you if you fall into the abyss"
Upon reaching reaching the main platform
Ramiris gave vague instructions, technically we're supposed to call out to the spirits for them to show up. Nothing very specific to be confident in
Masayuki was also unsure on how he should gained their attention, but just at t like Luigi, he achieved it by doing nothing
Before he had the chance to call out, the entire room was brightened intensely in varying colors
What appeared was a concert hall worth of a spirit population. There were spirits of different elements like fire, earth, wind, and ice for example
Immediately all three of us put on a pair of sunglasses just as the surrounding spirits began eyeing up eachother
Then tension grew as all the spirits realized there was a line that no one knows who is in the front
"Beat it! I got to him first!"
"As if! I was here first!
"In your dreams! I called dibs on him!"
"Mine!"
"Mine!"
"Mine!"
"Mine!"
"Mine!"
"Mine!"
"Ramiris! What the heck am I supposed to do here!?"
"I dunno!? You're the first to summon this many spirits! Kaijuno! Do something!"
"Why me!? You're the queen of spirits here"
"Yeah but I'm not the queen of crowd control!"
Being forced to cut down the thick tension, I first applied a barrier on the two to protect them from what I'm about to do next
In the middle of the spirits equivalent to a bar fight, I realised a wave of my Monster King Haki to not only catch their attention but force them to shut their mouths
Once their attention was focused on me, I activated Humility King Mikael to ready myself for my showmanship
"Ahem! To make things clear, we're looking for a spirit that is appropriate for a hero. In other words, any spirit that doesn't have the light attribute will not be needed"
In response, the majority of the crowd made an expression of despair and disappointment.
Now with an atmosphere of sadness, the majority of the spirits reluctantly fled back to where they came from
What remains was a handful of light spirits who were still staring daggers at eachother
We gotta most of them out but we still have more than one spirit around, there was some further cutting to do
"Hey Masayuki, I'm gonna need your input on this. Any idea how we can trim it down to one?"
"Maybe we can have them compete against eachother"
"Like a fight to the death?"
"What!? No! I'm talking about something like Rock Paper Scissors"
"That could work"
What proceeded was a tensed tournament of Rock Paper Scissors
Rocks were smashed!
Scissors were slashed!
And Papers were wrapped!
In the end only one light spirits survived
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From losing in rock paper scissors
With the rest of the spirits fleeing in whimpers, the one that remains was accepted to inhabit Masayuki who is left confused about his current state
"So what happens now?"
In a cheery tone, Ramiris responded with
"Well now with a spirit blessing, you now have a chance to become a true hero instead of remaining to be a hero in name only"
I chimed in with
"Plus you can have a better chance at fighting monsters instead of whimpering"
"I can fight monsters to some degree!"
"Yeah but now you should have a better chance to grow"
"Like how far?"
"Something more akin to a superhuman"
Completing our objective, the pair of us strolled our way to exit the Labyrinth
I could've instantly teleported us out but I wanted to make a quick detour while we're here
3rd Person Pov
Hidden deep within the Labyrinth lies a single cold jail cell. Known to very few, not nonexistent to adventurers, not accessible to staff
Chains sturdy and hanging, walls smooth and lifeless, this lonely prison was uniquely built to hold one specific individual
The individual has been contained there for months most likely, both pairs of his hands and foots restricted by chains of abnormal properties, even able to contain a being in a near spiritual state existance
Even his own mouth was masked to block out any verbal aggravation and complaints
It was this state that he was contained in for months most likely
All he had was a wood board bolted into the wall, not a active light bulb, not even a a clock to tell the time
This isolation and discomfort drives the crazy pierrot mad on tip of his extreme boredom
Since his body was restructured similarly to a spiritual lifeform, he no longer needs to eat anything to survive so there has been any visitors
But a moment once in a blue moon, there was another in there with him
Clayman, the crazy pierrot was visited by his warden
Kaijuno stood in front of him, past the cell bars
While the expression on his mask was a plain smiley face, the tone of his face sneered in smugness
"So how has it been? Must've been a while since we last spoke"
Of course, Clayman couldn't verbally lash out, instead audibly grunt in response
"I'd just thought I'd drop by since I was around the neighborhood. I figured you could know a bit about what has happened since your Imprisonment.
About Jistav, it's now under Milim's rulership, they offically cut ties with you"
Upon hearing this, Clayman's pupils shrink as he tried to yell only at best be muffled
"We also had a festival not too long ago, it was quite a gold time. You should've joined it, well if you weren't such a massive bastard
Every other demon lord attended, even the former Curse Lord Kazalim"
What was aggression turned into instant silence from the clown
"Yeah, seems they finally obtained a body from Yuuki and are now working alongside eachother. They might look different from what you remembered but I won't say how your master looks like now
It's oddly comical that the both of them were basically right above you, but they were none the wiser"
The silence remains, it was hard to tell what emotion clayman was in whether it was confusion, caution, shock or all of the above
"If you're curious on how I know when it doesn't make sense for me to know so, I'll say this.
Assuming this isn't your first time getting bullied by a slime, it's really quite the advantage to always have a head start on the knowledge of events prior to when it happens, almost like future sight
But it's even more useful when you're aware of everyone's secrets
Like for your case, you were bound to realize you were in a limited number of time loops"
At the mention of this, Clayman frozen in disbelief
"You would've had a similar advantage to myself, but you decided to waste the first time
And it's such a shame too. Knowing what's to come can bring great fortune as long as you can play your cards right. While all these geniuses keep trying to understand what is available for Player 2, I already seen it all and do as I wish
Even to manipulate the fate of someone who was destined to die"
By the end of this, Kaijuno had morphed and expression of a perverted grin on top of his smug tone in satisfaction which then reverted to a more plainly gleeful expression
"Welp! That was enough for me. I have places to be so I can't stay for much longer. Maybe I should come over more for chit chats from time to time
see ya!"
Just as he appeared, Kaijuno vanished instantly, leaving Clayman alone once more.
Now his completely aggravated groans now have a small tone of defeat
As for the little bastard of a visitor, he regrouped with Masayuki who was patiently waiting
"So you finished on what you needed to check up on?"
" Yeah just some small stuff is all. I think I'm gonna call it for a day"
"Kick back and relax?"
"Yeah, especially for the next few days, after that I'm gonna BUSY!"
"You have some project on the side or something?"
"Not really a project, but I'm being dragged to Ingraccia for some political crap"
"Oh wait! You're going to Ingraccia too?
When he said this, Kaijuno jolted before stiffly turning towards Masayuki
"You're going to Ingraccia?"
"Yeah"
" . . . Why?"
"It's a request from the guild, something they need me to visit in person for"
Internally, Kaijuno was shaken
He was just boasting about predicting everything but now something unexpected popped up as if he jinxed himself
But to avoid drawing concern, he composed himself, fretting over it won't do him any favors
"Are you also gonna be there in a few days?"
"Yeah, I already have carriage transport booked and scheduled a couple days from now"
"I see . . . wanna make a bet?"
"Bet on what?"
"Whoever makes it to Ingraccia first will win and the loser will buy lunch for the winner, will you accept my offer?"
"Hm sure, just don't start crying when you're footing in the bill"
"I'll make you eat those words while I'm eating my free lunch!"
Bantering continued til the two parted ways, anticipating who will he the victor of their deal
Up north in the ice continent, Guy Crimson sat on an icy chair starring into the distance on balcony
Currently, the lord of darkness is emitting an aura of irritation. The discomfort of this aura was effective enough that only two of his strongest subordinates could endure being nearby him
Rain and Mizeri stood by, ready to serve their lord. While standing firm, the two whisper in confusion for their current situation
"Hey Rain, does Guy-sama seem . . . disgruntled as of recently?"
"Yeah, I see what you mean. He's been like that since thr festival. I can't recall what made him this way"
"Well it's not like you're one to have a sense of awareness to begin with"
As the two had their chat, another individual casually approached the moody primordial red, the white ice true dragon, Velzard
"You're still fuming?"
"How could I not be? After all this time, he had the audacity to pull this. Right in front of me too"
"Are you really sure it was him and not just a freaky look a like?"
"No that was definitely his soul, no doubt about it"
"After all this time, you still haven't gotten over Rudra?"
"Of course I can't! First he cheated on me with your sister, now he's mingling with the newbie. Did what we had never meant anything to him!"
"Let him go already! It's been who knows how long and you two were never a thing to begin with"
"It still hurts okay! I just can't get over him"
"I thought you finally did when you were repeatedly trying to make out with Leon"
"Even Leon can't fill in the hole that Rudra left in my heart"
As the demon and dragon continued to talk, the two primordial maids were still standing in the background of this, feeling uncomfortable and were wondering what the hell were they hearing
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Dawn was just rising, starting the day. The curtains covering the morning light but the crack of the covers was still enough to awaken the slumbering individual
Just as the individual was opening his eyes, he heard a voice call out to him
"Alex!"
Hearing his name, he brought himself out of his bed and began walking towards the voice that called out to him
Walking down the stairs, he arrived to the kitchen of this house where he encountered the voice he heard
There stood his mother, who was cooking up eggs while listening to the news
"Morning Alex, breakfast is almost ready, could prepare the table for me?"
Alex didn't respond for respond immediately, almost as if he was in a trancit state until shaking off the feeling and speaking up
" . . . Uh, sure. I'll get right on it"
Prepping the dishes and utensils, the two sat down and begun eating their breakfast meal. It was silent at first til his mother spoke up
"So are today's classes later in the day?"
" . . . Yeah, more closer to the afternoon"
" Have you made any new friends recently?"
"Nada, it's not like there's a point anyways"
"Don't be like that, I know what happened back then was harsh, but not everyone is out to get you"
"I simply see no point in risking anything if a person has any chance to deceive me. Honestly living my days a hermit just to get away from people is still something I'm not completely against"
His mother gave off an expression of somber as she know her son's troubles but is not confident in how to help him, especially given their current situation as a whole
She tried to change the subject, mentioning some upcoming plans
"Your brother will be coming over in a few days"
"I'm guessing it's for the funeral service?"
" . . . Yeah, he's coming over to help out with some aspects, plus it has been a hot minute since we last saw him"
"I think since the wedding, I guess the detective life in a far city must really be busy"
"Who knows, maybe they're trying to conceive for a while. It would be nice to finally be a grandma"
"Yeah, but it's doesn't feel joyous for the idea for a new life with the one we lost"
This left both of them silent, tensed and depressed on what to say next. The only voice still speaking was the voice of the news on the active television
" As of now, researchers are still unsure on what to make of the recent distortion sightings
It's still up in the air on what it could it be. Some are saying it a ploy from a foreign country while some are claiming theories that it is the warping of space and reality as we see it or even the work of the gods"
hearing this, Alex saw an opening to change the subject this time
"There they go off again about space distortion, as if we didn't already have something to be on edge already"
"It really seem like that's all they talk about in the news as of recently"
"Well yeah, cause it's either this or that god forsaken war that our country got caught up in
I'll take something fantastic over that any day of the week"
Finishing up his breakfast, Alex decided to head out of the house, until his mom chimed in with a question
"Are you heading out to the DMV?"
" u-uh no, just gonna walk around the neighborhood, getting somefresh air is all"
"You know, you can't keep dragging your feet around it, you'll pass it eventually"
"Maybe if I can even recall what documents I'll need to bring"
"What was that?"
"Nothing nothing! I'll be heading out now"
"Alright, have a good time now!"
" . . . Sure"
As Alex stepped foot outside of the house, a blinding light covered his vision, blinding him completely
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At the darkest of the night, Kaijuno suddenly woken up from o e his rare naps. While he doesn't need to sleep, he still instinctively gasped, he felt like he was intentionally a cold sweat as he was shivering in shock
It took a minute, but he finally shook off the initial shock he had in himself as he avoided waking up the fluffy fox laying beside him
Releasing a sigh in mix of relief and discomfort, he internally tried to resolve his unease
"Now I'm not sure which dream is worst, at least the monster roaring was just intimidating, but that one felt too personal"
Moments dragged on with his eyes beginning to frantically shake in anxiety from being reminded of his past
"NO! NO! Don't think like that. There's nothing personal about it . . . at least not anymore
It doesn't matter what happened back then anyways
That life has long since been gone, I'm different from who I was previously. Both physically and spiritually
What I am now, is all I am
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And that's all that matters now"