The transfer array inside the royal estate of Coleus flared with a crimson hum as Loki, Testarossa, Veyron, and Shizue stepped back onto home soil.
The silence of the estate's private courtyard was a sharp contrast to the suffocating noise of the Western Nations Council. Hours of high-stakes political maneuvering, legal counter-claims, and the rigid formalities of human diplomacy had left an unexpected weight in Loki's shoulders. He unbuttoned the top clasp of his crimson-and-black coat, rolling his neck until a joint popped.
"Finally," Loki murmured, breathing in the dry, warm air of the Coleusian evening. "I'm going to sleep for a week. Let the accountants handle the audit paperwork."
"You earned some rest, Loki-san," Shizue said softly, offering a warm smile as she adjusted her cloak. "You kept your temper and got Coleus its seat. Rimuru-san would be proud."
"A ruler's work is never truly paused, Lord Loki," Testarossa noted coolly, though her expression was relaxed as she handed her leather portfolio to Veyron. "However, the immediate domestic transition is secure. The Council's auditors will find our customs records pristine."
During their brief return trip, Guy Crimson had reached out via Thought Communication, requesting Loki's formal assent to invoke an emergency session regarding the eastern developments. Loki had agreed, expecting the bureaucracy of the Demon Lords to take days to assemble and give him ample time to rest and plan.
They had barely taken three steps toward the main hall when the air in the courtyard froze.
It was not an atmospheric drop in temperature, but a sudden, heavy pressure in the ambient magicules. A localized distortion in space itself. A portal of translucent, blood-red mana tore open in the center of the garden, completely ignoring the estate's outer barrier wards.
Loki's eyes narrowed instantly, his hand dropping toward his waist out of instinct. Testarossa stepped sideways, her crimson eyes flaring with instant, lethal authority, while Veyron's silver-bound portfolio snapped shut with a sharp crack.
From the heart of the tear, a single parchment scroll drifted outward, hovering as though weightless before descending toward Loki. The spiritual energy emanating from its wax seals radiated with unmistakable, supreme authority.
Loki reached out and caught the scroll.
Three distinct seals of hardened, glowing mana were pressed into the wax along its seam.
The first was an ember of incandescent, deep crimson. The crest of Guy Crimson, Lord of Darkness.
The second was a jagged, electric pink crest radiating raw, chaotic physical force. The seal of Milim Nava, the Destroyer.
The third seal burned with a dark, vmaroon light, his own crest.
Shizue took a cautious step back, her hand lingering near her sword hilt. "Loki-san... what is that?"
Loki stared down at the three glowing emblems, a bitter, exhausted chuckle slipping past his lips. "It seems my political respite lasted roughly six minutes. I didn't think Guy would push the activation key the second I landed."
"A three-sealed summons," Testarossa whispered, her voice dropping into a tone of quiet, lethal gravity. "A Walpurgis."
In the long history of the Demon Lord council, any Demon Lord could propose a Walpurgis, but the call required the approval of at least three Demon Lords before it formally activated. Once the three approvals were secured, the summons carried obligations no recognized Demon Lord could casually ignore; mortal schedules and diplomatic inconveniences suddenly became secondary.
"Three seals..." Veyron observed, stepping closer to examine the mana signatures. "Lord Guy, Lady Milim, and yourself, Lord Loki. That means the gathering is already formally activated before the doors even open."
Loki broke the wax seals with a flick of his thumb, unrolling the thick parchment. The glowing script written within flared briefly before projecting its contents into his mind.
The agenda was staggering in scope.
First: the complete political collapse and vacant seat left by Clayman following his sudden defeat. Second: the changing balance of power among the Demon Lords following Clayman's vacancy. Third: the confirmed, awakening status of Rimuru Arashi, who had triggered a Harvest Festival after crushing the Falmuth invasion force. Fourth: the administrative and territorial future of Jistav. And fifth, the dark thread running beneath it all. Feldway's return and the threat of further heavenly intervention lurking in the dimensional shadows.
Loki closed the scroll, letting out a long, heavy sigh. "Guy isn't waiting around. He wants the entire board reset, and he's using Clayman's death as the catalyst."
"This changes our immediate posture," Testarossa said, her administrative demeanor snapping back into place instantly. "If Jistav is on the agenda before the Demon Lords, we must ensure our Council mandate regarding its stabilization is framed as an accomplished fact rather than a debate. We must present our administrative framework so thoroughly that none of the older lords can claim Coleus lacks the capacity to support Jistav's stabilization."
"Do that," Loki agreed. He turned to Shizue, noticing the shadow of anxiety crossing her face. "Shizue?"
Shizue looked at the glowing scroll in his hand, her fingers tightening slightly against her cloak. "It's Rimuru-san," she admitted softly. "He... he only just woke from the Harvest Festival. He hasn't even had time to understand what the evolution did to him, let alone the ancient, terrifying political hierarchy of the Demon Lords. To drag him straight from the aftermath of a national invasion into a room filled with ancient monsters like Guy Crimson and Dagruel..."
"He isn't a novice anymore, Shizue," Loki said gently. "He had a Demon Lord Seed, gathered the souls required for awakening, and triggered the Harvest Festival. He's stronger than he knows."
"Strength isn't what worries me," Shizue replied, her dark eyes filled with genuine concern. "It's the customs. The unwritten rules. Walpurgis isn't a mortal court where Veyron-san can cite clauses to block an insult. In that room, disrespect or ignorance can turn into a battle to the death before anyone can intervene. Rimuru- san doesn't know how those ancient beings think."
"Then we'd better make sure he gets a fair warning," Loki said, his thumb brushing over his own violet seal. "Veyron, draft an emergency spatial relay. We're sending a copy of this summons directly to Arashi."
Far to the east, deep within the Great Jura Forest, the capital of Arashi was still reeling from the chaotic aftermath of Rimuru's Harvest Festival.
Inside the central government building, the atmosphere was a mix of quiet relief and lingering exhaustion. The residual magicule pressure of the Harvest Festival still hung heavy in the corridors, keeping the guards on high alert.
In the center of his private reception room, Rimuru Arashi. Currently resting in his soft, blue slime form felt completely drained. He had barely stirred from the deep slumber of the evolution process, his mind still clouded as he slowly reoriented himself to the physical world.
Beside the couch stood Noir, the mysterious, primordial demon who had bound himself to Rimuru's service during the battle. His dark eyes flickered with intense, watchful devotion, though he remained silent, observing his master's recovery.
Before Rimuru could even ask what had transpired while he was unconscious, the spatial coordinates in the center of the room twisted violently.
"An anomaly in the spatial barrier," Noir noted calmly, stepping between the couch and the rift. "Allow me to inspect it first, Lord Rimuru. That distortion was not part of Arashi's normal defenses."
A silver-and-violet magic circle expanded on the floor, and a sealed parchment scroll dropped out of thin air, landing directly on the cushion beside Rimuru.
"What the heck?" Rimuru yelped, morphing into his human form and picking up the scroll. "A spatial delivery?"
Attached to the main scroll was a smaller, hand-written note written in familiar, modern Japanese script.
Rimuru read the note first:
Rimuru,
First off, congrats on surviving the Harvest Festival and crushing Falmuth's invasion. You actually awakened.Second: DO NOT PANIC.The scroll below is an official summons to Walpurgis. It has three seals. Guy Crimson's, Milim's, and mine. Clayman is dead, his seat is vacant, and Jistav's future is on the agenda. Your awakening is on the agenda, and the Demon Lords intend to decide what it means for the balance of power. Read the scroll, get your prep together, and don't pick a fight with Guy the second you walk into the room.
— Loki
Rimuru stared at the note.
Then he looked at the massive, ancient-looking scroll beneath it, bearing three glowing, terrifyingly dense mana seals that made his skin prickle just looking at them.
"Do... not... panic?" Rimuru read aloud, his voice squeaking sharply at the end.
He looked down at his own small, soft hands, then at the glowing crests of the world's most dangerous beings pulsing right in front of his face. The warning had precisely the opposite effect.
'DO NOT PANIC?!' Rimuru shrieked internally, clutching his head as full-blown panic seized him. 'WHAT IS A WALPURGIS?! WHY ARE THE STRONGEST BEINGS IN THE WORLD TALKING ABOUT ME?! I JUST WOKE UP!'
Back in Coleus, Loki remained completely unaware of the sheer existential dread he had just dumped onto his younger brother's lap. The ancient sovereigns were gathering, and ready or not, Rimuru Arashi was about to be pulled straight into their world.
---
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