"Hah…"
Damien chuckled. He didn't find Luminas arrogant or disrespectful in the slightest.
He was a reasonable man.
As long as someone presented facts and evidence, he was happy to play by the rules. Of course, people like the former king of Falmuth were an entirely different story.
Damien had a serious aversion to stupidity. He couldn't stand idiots.
All in all, he accepted Luminas's reasoning.
After all, she and Hinata were in different positions. Luminas herself had never personally attacked the Monster Kingdom or led troops against it.
From her perspective, the whole situation must have unfolded like this:
One day, Hinata announced she was raising an army to exterminate monsters in the Great Jura Forest and reported it to her superior. Luminas knew the forest was neutral, unclaimed territory. She had no reason to stop Hinata from going monster-hunting there.
Then an unexpected complication arose.
Once the fog of war lifted, the Holy Empire of Lubelius discovered Damien's Monster Kingdom.
"I apologize for this incident and am willing to compensate the Monster Kingdom for its losses."
On the surface, Luminas refused to acknowledge any state of war between them—that was a matter of pride. In substance, however, she was conceding.
There would be reparations, of course. They simply couldn't be labeled "war reparations."
"What do you think of this arrangement?"
Luminas took a deep breath before bowing her head slightly toward Damien.
Truthfully, she couldn't read him at all.
Ever since stepping out of the portal, she had been quietly observing him. The man radiated no obvious aura or pressure, yet he gave her the distinct sense of being suppressed on a fundamental, biological level.
Yes—on the level of existence itself.
It felt like standing before a vastly superior life-form, instinctively knowing she ranked beneath him.
It left Luminas utterly astonished.
She couldn't imagine it. She had already awakened as a True Demon Lord. Was there truly a being in this world even more exalted than she?
"Acceptable."
Damien had already punished Hinata and the others, and Luminas, as their superior, had shown proper remorse.
"Whew…"
Seeing him relent, Luminas finally relaxed.
"In that case, I'll take Hinata and leave for now. The details of the compensation, I'll have—"
"Gahahaha~~"
Before she could finish, an invisible force suddenly enveloped the entire hall. Space itself cracked with translucent fissures.
Luminas's nerves snapped taut in an instant.
"You—!"
"What is the meaning of this?"
She braced herself, staring at Damien, certain he was about to attack.
"You're misunderstanding something," Damien said, shaking his head. "I only said I forgive your offense. I never agreed to let you leave just like that."
"Besides, Miss Luminas has come all this way. It would be terribly rude of the Monster Kingdom if we didn't give you a proper tour, wouldn't it?"
A trap.
There was never any intention of letting her leave easily.
"Is this… house arrest?"
"Not at all."
"I simply ask that you remain here as a guest for a while. Once the Monster Kingdom finishes handling its current affairs, you're free to stay or go as you please."
What current affairs?
The most pressing matter was, of course, the exploration of the new world—the Godslayer Ultimate Power Plunder Plan.
If Luminas returned now, the existence of the Monster Kingdom would inevitably be exposed to the world.
Damien didn't particularly care. With his current strength, no one on the Central Continent could make him take them seriously.
Still, he preferred to handle one thing at a time.
One enemy at a time. That had always been his style.
"Lord Damien, isn't this going a bit too far?"
Luminas clenched her fist. Faint crimson magicules began to surge around her.
Ultima instantly flashed in front of her. "Don't do anything stupid, Luminas!"
At the same time, Hinata—who had already been unsealed—stepped up beside her liege.
Even with her spirit broken earlier, Hinata was still the same awakened Saint who charged toward death without hesitation.
She truly feared Damien.
But no matter how afraid she was, she would never lack the resolve to fight to the death.
For Luminas's sake, she was still willing to lay down her life!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Sensing the magicule fluctuations inside the castle, multiple figures instantly appeared in the hall.
Damien's spatial lock naturally didn't restrict his own people.
So when Rimuru, Diablo, Testarossa, Artoria, Treyni, Ultima, Carrera, and Shion all appeared—eight fully awakened Demon Lords—the magicules inside the Demon King Castle boiled over to an unimaginable degree.
"This…"
Luminas's pupils shrank violently.
Every single person present was at least as strong as Ultima. From several of them, she felt a lethal threat.
True Demon Lords.
Eight of them. Counting Ultima, nine awakened Demon Lords in total.
In that moment, Luminas felt utter despair.
She had thought that with the Ten Great Demon Lords behind her, no matter how confident Damien was, he wouldn't dare openly declare war on Guy and the others.
But she had been wrong.
The Monster Kingdom's power surpassed even the Ten Great Demon Lords.
Among those Ten, only seven were True Demon Lords, and only four possessed Ultimate Skills.
They couldn't compare.
The gap was simply too vast…
Luminas knew she wasn't getting out of here.
"Oh my, what's all the commotion? It's unusually lively today."
Velzard appeared beside Damien, casually perching on the armrest of the throne and slinging an arm around her little brother's neck.
"!!!"
If Velzard's presence had merely shocked Luminas, the next figure completely shattered her composure. She abandoned all dignity and roared, "Storm Dragon! You bastard—you really did come back to life?!"
Yes.
The moment Veldora sensed the disturbance in the Demon King Castle, the comic-book-obsessed dragon had rushed over from home.
What he hadn't expected was to be cursed out the instant he showed up.
"What the—?"
Veldora blinked in utter confusion. Who had he offended now? Why was everyone suddenly targeting him?