The encounter with Blanc had left me unsettled.
I returned to a secluded area of Hell that I had found during my exploration—far enough from the territories of the other Primordials. The lesser demons who had guided me kept a respectful distance, waiting for orders that never came.
I sat on the edge of the canyon, staring into the dark abyss below, and finally allowed myself to think.
What the hell was I doing?
I had declared that I would serve no one. Fine. That was clear. But Blanc had exposed the fundamental problem: what would I do instead?
Wandering eternally through Hell was not a plan. Avoiding Rimuru when he eventually appeared solved nothing either. I had power, knowledge of the future, and a second chance that most people could only dream of.
I couldn't waste it.
I closed my eyes and began to organize my thoughts methodically.
Short-term objectives
Fully master my abilities as a Primordial.
I couldn't afford to be clumsy with my own power.
Establish a real base of operations, not just a place to rest.
Gather more precise information about the timeline.
I needed to know exactly when Rimuru would appear.
The truth was, I didn't know for sure. But I did know that I wanted something of my own. Something I built with my own hands, not by following someone else's script.
I opened my eyes, feeling determination solidify in my chest.
First things first: power.
I stood up and walked to the center of the canyon. The lesser demons watched me with nervous curiosity from a distance.
It was time to truly understand what I could do.
I extended my hand, feeling magical energy flow through me. But this time, I wouldn't settle for simple destructive spheres. This time, I would use one of the most feared abilities in Noir's arsenal.
Annihilation Magic.
The original Noir's memories showed me fragments of this skill. Magic that didn't just destroy, but annihilated. That erased existence itself. It was the kind of power that turned Primordials into absolute forces of destruction.
I focused my will, visualizing the concept. Not simple destruction. Annihilation. Absolute end.
The energy that formed in my palm was different from anything I had manifested before. It wasn't black like my usual magic, but a purple so dark it seemed to absorb the light around it. Small spatial distortions formed and vanished around it, as if reality itself rejected its existence.
Annihilation Magic: Void Sphere.
The sphere grew to the size of a basketball, pulsing with contained power. I released it toward the bottom of the canyon.
There was no explosion.
The sphere touched the ground and simply… devoured. Rock, earth, space itself—everything vanished within a fifty-meter radius. It didn't disintegrate. It didn't explode. It simply ceased to exist, leaving behind a perfectly smooth sphere of nothingness that took several seconds to collapse in on itself.
When the dust settled, there was a perfect hemispherical crater where the canyon floor had once been. The walls were so smooth they shone like glass.
"Shit," I whispered, genuinely impressed.
That was only a fraction of the power I could wield. What would happen if I amplified it? Refined it? Combined it with other abilities?
The possibilities were terrifyingly vast.
I spent the next hours—or maybe days, since time was still fluid here—experimenting. I tested different manifestations of Annihilation Magic.
But more importantly, I began to innovate.
If Annihilation Magic erased existence, could I use it in subtler ways? Erase specific concepts instead of matter? Annihilate enemy magic before it reached me?
I experimented. I failed. I tried again.
And slowly, it started to work.
But Annihilation Magic wasn't my only ability. Noir's memories revealed another power just as dangerous, though of a completely different nature.
Tempter.
The Tempter. A skill the original Noir had perfected over eons. It wasn't physical destruction like Annihilation Magic—it was something far more insidious.
I closed my eyes and focused on that ability, feeling how it resonated differently within my core. While Annihilation Magic was pure destructive force, Tempter was… subtle. Seductive. Manipulative.
I could feel how it worked.
The ability to influence the decisions and emotions of others. Not direct mind control—that was crude and easy for powerful beings to resist—but supernatural persuasion. Making your words sound more reasonable, your arguments more convincing, your offers more appealing.
The ability to enforce demonic contracts. Binding others with pacts they couldn't easily break, securing loyalty through magical means when necessary.
The power to weaken an enemy's mental resistance. Eroding their mental defenses, making their convictions falter, amplifying their fears.
And most interesting of all: increasing the effectiveness of all my demonic magic when used alongside Tempter. A natural synergy between seduction and destruction.
It was the kind of ability that made Noir more than just a destructive monster. It was what made him truly dangerous—the ability to corrupt, manipulate, and tempt others toward their downfall while smiling kindly.
I opened my eyes, feeling an unsettling smile form on my face.
In my previous life, I had been manipulated. Controlled by the expectations of others. Now I had the power to do exactly that to others if I wished.
But would I?
The answer was complicated. I didn't want to become the kind of monster who simply enslaved minds. That would be hypocritical after rejecting servitude. But Tempter didn't have to be used for absolute control—it could be persuasion, negotiation with supernatural advantage, securing genuine loyalty amplified by magic.
The difference lay in intent.
I decided I would use it, but carefully. As a tool, not a crutch. And definitely not in the way the original Noir had probably used it.
I was considering the ethical implications of possessing such an ability when I felt presences approaching. Many presences.
I turned to find not only my original group of lesser demons, but dozens more. Some were the twisted creatures I had seen before, but others were more… evolved. Greater demons. Stronger. Smarter.
They all knelt in unison.
"Great Primordial," one of the greater demons spoke—a humanoid creature clad in bone armor with four arms. "We have felt your power. We have seen what you can do." He bowed his head deeply. "We ask permission to serve you."
My first instinct was to reject them. I had just declared I wouldn't have servants, that I wouldn't be like the others who sought subordinates.
But then I stopped.
Wasn't that exactly what I was doing? Rejecting something on principle without considering the practical consequences?
Guy Crimson had subordinates. Rimuru would eventually have an entire nation. Every powerful being in this world had allies, resources, groups that supported them.
The difference was how they treated them.
I didn't have to be a tyrant. I didn't have to demand blind servitude. I could create something different.
"Stand," I ordered.
The demons obeyed, though they kept their heads respectfully lowered.
I walked in front of them, studying them. There were at least forty, maybe fifty. A respectable force, especially if I could train them, strengthen them.
"If you are going to follow me," I said slowly, "it will be under my terms. I do not seek slaves. I do not seek disposable pawns." I paused, making sure every word carried weight. "I seek vassals. Allies. Those who freely choose to follow me because they see value in what we will build together."
The silence that followed was absolute.
"I do not demand blind obedience," I continued. "I demand competence. Loyalty earned, not forced. Serve me well and you will be rewarded. Betray me…" I let a bit of my aura leak out, warping the air with power, "well. You've already seen what my magic can do."
The bone-armored demon was the first to speak, his voice filled with something that sounded like… hope.
"Will you… will you strengthen us? Will you allow us to evolve?"
"If you prove your worth," I replied. "The strongest, the most loyal, the most useful—will be rewarded with power. With names, eventually. With the chance to become something more than what you are now."
That got a reaction. Demons craved evolution, the chance to grow stronger. And names—names granted true power, allowing demons to evolve into higher forms.
Of course, giving names would drain my own magical energy, but it was an investment. A named demon was exponentially more valuable than a hundred nameless ones.
"What must we do?" asked another demon, a serpentine creature with multiple eyes.
Good question. What did I need them to do?
"For now," I said, thinking quickly, "you will establish a perimeter around this canyon. This will be our territory. No demon enters without my permission." I pointed to several of the stronger ones. "You will be my scouts. I want information on the movements of other Primordials, on changes in Hell, on anything unusual."
I turned to the bone-armored demon. "Your name?"
"I have no name, Great Primordial. But the lesser demons call me Krogar."
"Krogar, then. You will be my… interim commander. You will organize the others and report directly to me. Prove your competence, and you will be rewarded."
I saw something gleam in his eyes. Ambition. Hunger. But also something else—genuine gratitude for the opportunity.
"I will not disappoint you," he promised, striking his chest with all four fists in a martial salute.
I was about to give more orders when I felt it.
A pull. Gentle at first, but growing stronger. Like an invisible hook embedded in my very essence, dragging me toward…
A summoning ritual.
All the demons felt it too, their heads snapping toward me in surprise.
The pull grew stronger, more insistent. I could resist it—I was powerful enough to do so—but I could also… see. Through the ritual's connection, I could perceive the summoner.
A human mage. Young, desperate. He was in some kind of dungeon or cave, surrounded by corpses. A magic circle glowed before him, inscribed with runes I recognized from Noir's memories.
An emergency summoning ritual. The kind used when you were desperate, when you needed power immediately, no matter the cost.
"Great Primordial," Krogar spoke urgently, "will you respond?"
That was the question, wasn't it?
The original Noir would have ignored something like this. Such a crude summoning, from someone so weak—it wasn't worth his time. He would wait for someone truly worthy.
But I wasn't the original Noir.
And this could be my chance to see the material world. To gather information. To begin establishing my presence outside of Hell.
A smile spread across my face.
"Yes," I said, feeling anticipation surge through my veins. "But not in the way they expect."
I turned to Krogar and the others. "Maintain the territory. I will continue issuing orders when I return."
"Return?" Krogar looked confused. "You won't remain in the material world?"
"Not yet. This is just… reconnaissance." I let the ritual pull me, feeling my form begin to blur. "And an opportunity to establish new rules."
The last thing I saw before Hell disappeared was my new vassals kneeling, their voices echoing in unison:
"As you command, Lord Noir."
It was time to see just how different I could make things.