《Maou-sama no Machizukuri! ~Saikyou no Danjon wa Kindai Toshi~》
Volume 1 Prologue
Prologue : The 300th Demon King
I woke up.
A candle illuminates the dimly lit stone room.
When I look down, there is a magic formation shining with a bluish-white light.
Where am I? Where is this ce?
I straighten up, and look around and survey my surroundings restlessly.
I havent seen a room like this before.
For what reason am I in a ce like this......
No, in the first ce.
Who the heck am I?
I mutter to myself as I cant remember anything.
I dont even know my name.
Im at my wits end so I desperately try to dig up my memories. However, I cant remember anything at all.
Im uneasy. Im anxious; I cant stand it.
At such a time, I hear a high-pitched rhythmic sound far away.
When I focus my attention towards the sound, there was a woman there.
She was an exceptional beauty. Brown skin, white hair. And, wolfs ears and tail.
Theres not only beauty but also dreadfulness. I see a soul thats extremely frozen, an overwhelming presence.
Finally, you were born. I got tired of waiting.
They were short words. However, there was joy in those words. There was resignation. There was envy.
Every possible emotion was squeezed out in those words.
I open my mouth while being fascinated with her.
Tell me, who are you? Where is this ce? Who the hell am I?
Upon hearing my question, the beautiful wolf woman weakly smiles.
And then, she begins to talk.
I am theBeastDemon King, Marchosias. Because you are special, you may call me March.
March......March, do you know who I am?
Of course, I know. You are a newly born demon king. Youre a demon king just like me.
Marchs shadow expands and from there, a blue wolf appeared.
It jumps out from her shadow and leaps this way.
Rank D Demon, Garm. Its a cruel demon who kills ordinary humans in the blink of an eye with its bite. Now, what will you do?
I open my eyes wide.
The blue wolf opens its mouth widely. Naturally, I decided to run away.
I want to escape, however, my foot trembles and doesnt move.
The blue wolf is steadily shortening the distance.
HiiiC
I roll to avoid the charge of the blue wolf just about.
The body of the blue wolf passed before my eyes.
Just before it passed, I hear a shrill sound. Its the sound of teeth striking against teeth. If I didnt avoid it, those sharp teeth would pierce my flesh.
The blue wolf turns around, prepares, and leaps this way again.
I fall on my back and cant get up.
If this continues as is, Ill surely die.
The wolf rushed towards me while drooling.
Im going to die.
No, I dont want to die.
I cant die.
Isnt there something, anything I can do?
A wordes to mind. I cling to that word and shot it.
Creation
It was said nearly unconsciously.
I use my power.
Particles of light gathered in my hand, and the handgun Quartz 19 appeared......
The best-seller automatic pistol developed by Austrian arms manufacturer. It is highly reliable although it is small, and its ammunition capacity is also numerous.
The feeling of what Im holding in my hand. Although I cant remember anything, I feel nostalgic.
The moment when I held the gun, I calmed down. The world became slow.
My heart is fired up, but my mind is calm.
It is a usual thing. I only need to eliminate the threat in front of my eyes.
The blue wolf leaps at me, I stare at it and take aim.
And then, I rapid-fire three times. The bullet pierced in the middle of its forehead; the blue wolf flipped, dropped against the ground and shrieked.
Kiyaun, Kyan, Kyan
I was surprised. The blue wolf that received a bullet in the middle of its forehead is still alive. It scowls at me while it was bleeding.
I stand up and carefully approach it. I shoot continuously while looking down at the blue wolf. I shoot everything in the head.
Quartz 19 has a capacity of 15 rounds. When I finished shooting, the blue wolf doesnt move an inch, it turned into blue particles and disappeared.
HaaHaaHaa
When the threat before my eyes passed away, the fear returned suddenly.
My teeth tters.
What the heck am I? How can I do such things?
The answer crossed my mind.
Unique SkillCreationwas used. Able to materialise anything that exists in your memory. However, with your current magic power, summoning living beings is not possible. The MP consumption is equal to 1/10th of a gramme.
Unique skill, what the heck?
First of all, congrattions in passing. You were able to draw out your power. I wee the birth of the new demon king.
Demon King?
Thats right, Demon King. You will create new devils and demons and control them, one who will build and reign over a dungeon of malice, an existence that was chosen to have an overwhelming, unique skill, the 300th born into this world, the newest demon king.
Demon King, thats what I currently am.
It doesnt feel real at all.
You dont have to show an uneasy face. Until you be independent in one year, Ill be your parent. I will teach you what you need to know to be a demon king.
The woman in front of me smiles, the new life of me who has lost my memories has started.
Volume 1 1
Chapter 1 : Demon Kings Work
But, you still dont believe me, huh? Well, you wouldnt understand when I suddenly say youre a Demon King, right? It cant be helped, huh? Ill give you a demonstration. What kind of thing a Demon King is.
She smiled wryly and turned around,BeastDemon King Marchosias, also known as March, and I followed.
Even though her appearance is only a white-haired beauty(with wolf ears and tail), there was something that makes you believe that shes a Demon King.
She leads me to a narrow room.
When I look at the mirror leant against the wall, there was a boy with a well-featured face in the middle of his teens. No way, this is me?
Strangely, there is an ufortable feeling.
And, in the middle of the room, a round crystal was ced on a white pedestal.
When I quietly tried to reach out to the crystal, March grabbed my hand.
Please dont touch it. That crystal is my life itself. If its broken, I will lose all my power as a Demon King.
Youll die?
Well, although I say that, I dont mean it that way. I wont be able to create any more demons, the demons I created will all disappear, the dungeon vanishes and Ill lose my unique skill. Although there is life, as a Demon King, Im as good as dead.
I was a little relieved to hear that.
But, I also feel uneasy at the same time.
If, its as she says, then, since Im a Demon King, somewhere, my crystal exists.
Since I currently dont know the location of the crystal, and a Demon Kings power is lost if its broken, I cannot stay calm.
Hee, you felt a sense of danger from that briefment just now. Youre quite perceptive. But, you dont need to worry. The crystal will appear after you make the dungeon. Conversely speaking, to you who doesnt have a dungeon, that thing that doesnt exist......Write
A profound book made of parchment appears on her hands.
March slowly opened the book.
We are in the deepest part of my dungeon, although I nned for it to befortable, I wonder if the appearance gives that impression.
After saying so, a hologram appeared on the crystal.
It showed a splendid but eerie castle.
Even though I said dungeon, the appearance depends on the Demon King. There is the ordinary cave type, but something like my castle is also fine. You can choose a forest too. You should decide what kind of dungeon you want to make now to prepare for when you be independent.
I cant understand the things you said just now. What do you mean by bing independent?
Aah, I forgot to say. For newly born Demon Kings, they will study under a senior Demon King for one year, and they independently create their dungeon afterwards. In other words, I am your guardian for one year. Therefore, Ill kindly teach you like this.
Shamelessly saying that when you suddenly set a blue wolf.
Well then, lets prepare how to make the dungeon. Repeat after meWrite
Yes, lets see,Write
A book appears on my hand.
I naturally open it.
Then, there was a written page about dungeon making.
From the list there, choose what you like andbine them. First is the exterior. Its the scenery that one can see from the outside. Pick something that fits your preference. The interior has distorted space-time. My dungeon is much wider than what others see outside, filled with numerous levels.
I smoothly turn the page.
Its as she said, there are various appearances provided. There is DP written in all the pages.
What is this DP?
Dungeon Points. Its what we Demon Kings desperately collect. You can exchange DP for different things and obtain whats written. Forparison, the exterior that fits my taste are expensive. But, the performance doesnt change. However, for the interior, I wonder if the efficiency corresponds to its cost.
Interior?
As for that, isnt it faster if I show it to you?
Like that, the previous view from the hologram on the crystal changed.
My dungeon is a level-type dungeon, the type that goes higher and higher. One level splits up into three rooms, so I purchase three rooms. For the first floor of my dungeon, I buy an inexpensive stone corridor.
As she says, there is nothing but a winding path made of stone.
In the upper levels, I purchase rooms with expensive traps, but there is nothing like that on the first floor.
When I looked at the hologram, there was a human fighting against a kobold.
A kobold is a dog demon that can walk on two legs.
Compared to the blue wolf Garm I fought against, it looks like a puppy.
The man defeated the kobold, and did a guts pose.
The view changed again. The next view was of a man showing greed to pick up the treasure chest.
Why are you not using something like that blue wolf that I fought against a while ago? If it was to fight against someone like that man, who was having a close fight against a kobold a while ago, theres a high chance he would easily get killed.
I dont understand.
If you think about repelling intruders, you should ce the strong demons that you created on the first floor.
Its not possible. DP is a humans life force. Strong emotions such as fear, despair, and greed are particrly delicious. By gathering people in this dungeon, DP will flow into my hands. Although Ill receive a lot of DP if someones killed; When there are powerful demons at the start, not many humans wille. Thats why its best to ce demons that can moderately defeat them, isnt it?
Is the treasure chest a while ago also bait to make humans gather?
Thats right! Thats exactly it. By the way, peoplee here to be stronger. They be stronger through gaining levels by defeating demons. They obtain treasures, get stronger, then returnpletely satisfied. On the other hand, the Demon King gets DP; everyones happy. Incidentally, the powerful demons are ced in the upper levels since the XP gained from them is higher. I also benefit from the obtained DP from the strong humans. If you arrange the strength of the demons from the lower levels up to the upper levels, you can umte a lot of DP from both the weak and strong humans you gathered.
I see, so that was the n.
For a Demon King to obtain DP, they need to be weing.
If that is the case, the treasure is loudly set up, and the powerful demon is instructed to lose on purpose.
I dont do that, you know? After all, the treasure set up is something exchanged with DP, and the demon isnt free of charge either. While a lot of peoplee to take it, its the perfect time for a Demon King to turn ck-heartedC isnt it? If by any chance, someone reaches the innermost part, its the end if the crystal gets broken or hell get killed. It unexpectedly requires much effort. A Demon King usually buys rooms filled with expensive traps for thest level like I do; an advantageous field for myself is also prepared topensate.
I gulp my saliva.
I learned of both the difficulty and fun of a Demon Kings work.
However, I have one question.
We use humans emotion as nourishment, dont we? And although you said to use demons and treasures as bait to gather people, why must such an inefficient thing be done?
To my question, March tilts her head.
What do you mean?
Well, to gather people and simply let them live, I think. Rather, stopping the dungeon and making it into a town. Then, you should be able to earn DP for 24 hours.
When I said such words, Marchughed and raised her voice.
Its reasonable, but its difficult. The efficiency of obtaining DP goes up when strong emotionse out. A battle of life and death. The excitement of acquiring treasures. Battles are the most efficient way to obtain DP.
Really? That might be the case if you look one by one, however, if 100 times of people live for a long time, the efficiency might turn over, wouldnt it?
There was a desire in me that doesnt want to kill other people for some reason.
Is it rted to my lost memories?
Its contradictory that I am a man that can collect myself even though Im holding a handgun.
It might be so. If thats the case, it might be better if you aim to be a Demon King like that. Only the Demon Kings fate, thats the Demon King way. Youre ready to walk on your path.
Thats right, huh. Ill do that. However, I want to study properly before that. As of now, its only an empty dream.
Good mental attitude. Since I already showed you how to make a dungeon, next Ill show demon creation, in a sense, a Demon Kings real pleasure.
Demon creation.
How are demons created? My curiosity was piqued.
Volume 1 2
Chapter 2 : First Demon Creation
BeastDemon King Marchosias dered that she would show how to create demons.
Although its important to make a dungeon, creating demons is important too. Anyhow, demons protect us Demon Kings, they also act as bait to lure humans.
It seems that its like that. So basically, peoplee to raise their levels.
Its useless if there isnt any demon.
And, there are two very different ways to obtain demons, first, is to use DP. You can ascertain the strength of a demon through their rank. There are eight stages in total ranging from G rank to S rank. However, its only possible to buy Rank G and Rank F demons with DP.
Why can only weak demons be purchased?
There is an exception; when you have created a powerful demon aside from those exchange with DP, it bes possible to buy that demon and demons two ranks below in the same family. For example, because I have created Rank A Cerberus, I can buy Rank C Orthrus with DP.
I see. In other words, if I want to prepare powerful demons, I should create demons without using DP, huh.
Ill give a demonstration. How to create demons without using DP. Ill use a Demon Kings personal medal. Watch and learn.Discharge
Shortly saying so, a medal engraved with a golden wolf appeared.
It seems like it has an intense power hidden, I sense a strong magical power.
March threw it to me.
The moment I held it, information about the medal flowed into my head.
BeastMedal. Rank A. Gives beast attribute to the created demon. Large correction to physical ability and vitality.
Each Demon King can create a medal engraved with their personal symbol once a month. In my case, its theBeastMedal. When youbine two medals, a demon gets created. You should also try chantingDischarge
It seems interesting. Ill try it.Discharge
A medal appears on my hand.
A medal engraved with two intertwined spirals.
I identify it to get more information.
CreationMedal. Rank A. It can be used to synthesise with two medals other thanCreation(including the original) to create a demon. The manufacturer can change the attribute of the medal to what he desires and use it for synthesis. Also, from an innumerable possibility, there is the likelihood that what you desire will be picked.
You can change the attribute once and never again
What the heck is this?
Usually, two medals are used to create a demon, and yet, I cant create one if I dont have three medals, isnt this surprisingly inconvenient?
Now then, lets create a new demon with myBeastMedal and yours. A terribly powerful demon should be born from two original medals.
March stares at me with eyes full of expectation.
However, unfortunately, I cant create a demon with my medal.
Im sorry, but I cant make it. Here, look at my medal.
I throw the medal to her.
Since I was able to identify more information about herBeastMedal, perhaps she could do the same to myCreationMedal.
Marchsplexion changed.
Whats with this unreasonable medal...... No matter how you put it, is too strong.
With an expression dyed in astonishment, Impossible she mutters so.
Is that so?
Listen, a demons strength is proportional to the energy from the medal used to create it. When three medals are needed instead of two, its irregr but also a good thing. Besides,Creationis a Rank A Medal. That the energy from the Rank A Medal, which is a plus as it is, will still increase...... Although only that can already be said to be unfair, why is even the attribute you like also given? It even has the likelihood to be chosen from countless possibilities!?
March snorts rudely.
Thats amazing.
How can that not be anything but amazing? Demon Kings have a hard time collecting medals with symbols of other Demon Kings attributes needed to make different demons. However, what Im saying is, as long as you haveCreation, you can choose which attribute to get, and its possible to create any demon.
Now that she mentions it, thats true. In that case, I can be proud of its terrific versatility that I can get what attribute I want and take it at face value.
Besides, different demons sometimes appear even if the same Demon King creates a demon using the same medal. For example, even if I use myBeastMedal, Im not clear if a lion, a wolf or a hamster wille out. As long as its aBeast, then anything is possible. However, with thatCreation, you can choose among all the possibilities. There is no such unreasonableness, you know.
I gulp my saliva.
No matter how I hear it, this medal is so efficient that its broken.
You, You better not tell your medals efficiency to other Demon Kings.
Is telling it to March okay?
I am your guardian so isnt it fine? Besides, I already...... However, this is troublesome. A demon cant be created with only myBeastand yourCreation, huh? Well, theres nothing I can do about it. Consider this arge service. Ill also give this. Its a medal I obtained from another Demon King. Moreover, this is an original and not an imitate. There are three Rank A Medals. What kind of monster wille out? I cant stop shaking.
March puts theBeast,Creationand alsomemedals on my palms.
meMedal. Rank A. Gives me attribute to the created demon. Large correction to vitality, physical ability and magic attack power.
This medal is also A-ranked. It seems that a Rank A Medal is considerably rare judging from her tone.
Now then, hold the medals tightly, then chantSynthesis.
The feeling of expectation makes my heart beat quickly.
I bow, pray, then begin to talk.
Synthesis
Light peeks through my palms.
A dazzling light.
The heat rages.
I gently opened my hands, light began to leak. Shadows form in the air.
The scene whereBeastandmebe one floats in my mind.
Every possibility floats one after another. Among those, I instinctively grab one possibility.
Furthermore, with the ability ofCreation, I add onest piece to my demon that I couldnt find.
What do I want?
What I want for this new lifeC
I have decided on the answer.
For my first creation, a friend is good. We can spend time together for a long time, talk together, andugh together.
I changeCreationintoHuman.
I add theHumanattribute toBeastandme.
And now, a new life isplete.
The light stops.
She was there.
Golden hair simr to molten gold tied up with a golden pin, fox ears with ck tips.
And, fluffy and soft fox tail.
Above all, she was beautiful.
A girl in the first half of her teens. Her body is full of dangerous charm.
No way, Tenko. There is practically no such demon in the territory of a Demon KingC S rank, this is the first time I have seen one.
Marchs pupils are showing mixed fear and excitement.
I also cant stop shaking from the girls hidden power.
......
The girl opens her eyes, she has red pupils.
Her eyes looked at me straight. I lost my voice to her excessive beauty.
The girls lips which have a healthy colour open.
Otou-san!
And then, she jumped at me.
At that appearance, there is not a bit of that mysterious atmosphere just a little while ago.
Volume 1 3
Chapter 3 : Tenko!
Otou-san, Otou-san!
A beautiful fox-eared girl around 12 years old was calling me Otou-san while embracing and rubbing her cheeks on my chest.
Shes warm and soft, and adorable, it became like this somehow.
Umm..., Nice to meet you. Im the one who created you. My name isC
Lets see, what was it again?
Come to think of it..., I havent remembered my name yet.
I separate from the beautiful fox-eared girl; she looks at me with curiosity.
I forgot to tell you. Demon King of Creation Procell. That is your name.
March kindly tells that to me.
Procell. It feelsfortable when I mutter it.
Demon King of Creation ProcellC Thats my name.
Since March knows about my name that I dont even know, does that mean that you also know about my past?
No, I dont know anything about it. I only came here because I was requested to look after the newly born Demon King of Creation Procell. Other than that, I dont know anything about you.
I was born, I was born a little while ago. Doesnt that mean that I didnt exist in the past until I met March?
Judging from Marchs story, Im a baby thats less than one day old.
Thats right. You are a newborn baby. Well, for a Demon King who was born with some education and knowledge, its easy to misunderstand. However, you didnt exist in the past.
Thats a lie.
Even if I cant remember, Im sure of that.
Because, when I was fighting the blue wolf, I summoned the automatic pistol called Quartz 19 withCreation.
Still, myCreationisC.
Creation: Able to materialise anything that exists in your memory. However, with your current magic power, summoning living beings is not possible. MP consumption is equal to 1/10th of a gramme.
In other words, I have knowledge of Quartz 19.
It is impossible that my past doesnt exist.
However, even if I ask her, it might be pointless.
Muuu, Otou-san. Isnt it mean for you to talk to other people even though Im talking?
The beautiful fox-eared girl puffs her cheeks.
When I nearly unconsciously pat her head, she seemedfortable and closed her eyes.
What a cute creature.
Sorry, Ill introduce myself again. I am Demon King of Creation Procell. You can call me Procell.
I understand! Procell-sama! But......, Otou-san is okay too, right? Is calling you that no good?
The beautiful fox-eared girl looks at me with upturned eyes.
Otou-san; I repeat the sweet word in my mind many times.
Of course, its okay. Its because Im your otousan, right?
Yes~?
The girl clings around my neck, she clings with even more strength and wags her fluffy fox tail.
Otou-san, I like you very much. Umm, Ill introduce myself next. My race is Tenko! Im reeeaaally strong. My name isC As yet I have no name.
Are you Natsume Soseki!?
Such a tsukkomi came out. Huh? Who is Natsume Soseki?
Is it rted to my missing memories?
In the first ce, what the heck am I before I became a Demon King?
Otou-san, please give me a name. I want you to give me a name, Otou-san.
The beautiful fox-eared girl lets go of her embrace and looks at me with upturned eyes.
Of course, it must be good.
I must think of a cute name.
Alright, I thought of an excellent name. Your name isC
The moment I tried to tell the name, March closes my mouth.
Stop. A Demon King shouldnt bestow a name to his subordinates carelessly; especially for the first three. As expected of a Tenko. To think about that, how cunning.
March informs me since Im a little flustered.
The beautiful fox-eared girl separates from me a little and avoids my gaze.
Listen, when a demon acquires a name, its the only one in their entire race that bes a unique monster. In the case of the Demon King, their souls will be connected. Your power gets distributed, and conversely, the demons power is received. The strength of the connection referred to asDemons oathis remarkably different for the first three in particr. Its not possible to redo it. If there is no resolution to be together for their whole life, you must not do it.
My head that was blindly caught up due to the cuteness of the beautiful fox-eared girl suddenly calmed down.
Tenko, a high-ranked demon with me attribute and beast attribute. They have overwhelming strength, excellent unique ability, and are also intelligent. However, without closely looking at the personality and affinity but only at the ability, you should not bestow a name. You had lost your right to make aDemons Oath, which cannot be done easily except for the first three only.
March res at the beautiful fox-eared girl.
Then, the beautiful fox-eared girl averts her face. She awkwardly whistled.
To be honest, this child might be ck-hearted.
The demon created by the Demon King has absolute obedience, and cannot damage the Demon King. However, it does not mean that they dont have self-interest. Its necessary to be careful of a demon with intelligence. Isnt that right, Tenko?
The beautiful fox-eared girl cannot bear Marchs cross-examination anymore and for some reason, somersaults.
The girls appearance transformed into a lovely fox cub.
The cuteness and fluffiness are different from her previous appearance; her paws are pitch-ck.
I, am just a fox cub thats why I cant understand such difficult things!
She says in a cheerful tone.
Shes obviously dodging the question. But stillC shes too cute.
I couldnt endure and hugged the fox cub.
Its fluffy and silky, hugging it is the best feeling.
Its because youre just a fox cub, right? You only wanted a name, didnt you?
It is as Otou-san says, I only wanted to have a name.
My heart wavers.
However, it still cannot be done.
I gently lower the fox cub.
Although I want to give you a nameC Ill do it after I confirm your strength and personality. The moment when I believe that we can live together for a long time, Ill give you a name once again. Until then, Ill call you by your race, Tenko.
I understand! Ill appeal to the fullest extent to Otou-san to show how helpful I am. And then Ill get a name!
In an instant, Tenkos uninterested facial expression quickly seems to be floating. Her selfishness is very high.
However, that implike part of her is also cute.
Fuu, that was dangerous. Basically, as a Demon King, for your first demon to have a high intelligence and to be able to use anguage, although Id like to avoid it, there must be something about you.
I tilt my head.
Why? Isnt it easier to give instructions if it can speak and if the head is good?
March shakes her head to my words.
You can get deceived just like now, above all, they have emotions. The demons used against humans as shields for us, Demon Kings, are called expendable supplies. Speaking of, in the case of an emergency, they are unusable demons .
What, theres such a thing?
I dont have to worry.
Its alright. I wont kill using this child. This child is my first demon. I created this child wishing that we will be together for a long time. Fighting and surviving together. Thats why its alrightC And although its cold-hearted, Ill properly make demons used for killing and create them with corresponding ability.
......Im a little relieved. You sounded a little scary. In some way, you might be crueller than other Demon Kings.
March smiles wryly.
And, she ps her hands.
Ill teach you another thing. You can see the level of a creature of this world if you observe the other party. And, in the case of a Demon King, its possible to see the specific status of their created demons. ......Well, its even possible to peek into others demons if they have a skill like me. You should look at the status of the Tenko.
I understand. Tenko. Ill take a look.
Okay~?
Because the Tenko in the form of a fox cub raised her voice in agreement, I look at her status.
Race: Tenko S Rank
Name: Unnamed
Level: 1
Strength S Endurance B+ Agility S Magical Power S+ Luck A Uniqueness EX
Skills: Transformation Ruler of me Complete Magic Immunity Extreme Speed Enhanced Reflexes Future Sight
I see, so this is status, huh.
It shows the rank in the Status.
Thats right. The most important thing is the Races Rank. For example, the Status has a rtion to the Rank, so it means that there is a difference between an A Rank race and an S Rank race. An S Rank race with A Stats isparable to an A Rank with A+ Stats and a B Rank with S Stats. When you raise the level, the ability rises ording to the rank in Status.
A straightforward exnation.
I try to look at the Tenkos status based on it.
S Rank race and all stats are very high level.
Hey, no matter where you look at, Tenkos status is quite broken, isnt it?
It is extremely broken, right? Thats the power of yourCreationMedal. In the first ce, a Demon King cannot create an S Rank demon. I might get a reward from my superior.
Three medals are used instead of the usual two, and in addition to that A Rank Medals were used entirely, it might be the reason that a demon with unreasonable power was born.
Ahem, Tenko is strong, you know!
The lovely fox cub, whether or not shes aware of our feelings, proudly throws out her chest.
......Who will believe that such a cute fox cub has an overwhelming strength?
I understand how to create demons. On that note, lets steadily create more demons.
A battle needs numbers.
A strong demon, when surrounded by several times its number, wont be able to do anything.
Then, I suddenly remember.
A Demon King can only make a medal once a monthC Thats too long.
The remaining time span is too long.
Well, thats the case when using original medals, there is the limit of once a month. Its also a problem if a Demon King uses only their medals every time. Exchanging with other Demon Kings is an important strategy.
It certainly seems so.
Especially for me who needs two more medals besides my medal.
This time, I was able to receive the medals thanks to Marchs favour, but it wont be like that every time.
I need to get other Demon Kings medals by my power.
I understand. There are three ways to create demons, first, buying weak G Rank and F Rank demons with DP. Another is buying once created demons and two ranks below it in the same family with DP. Andst is through synthesis of your created medals with other Demon Kings medals obtained through negotiations.
These are the three key points.
I will probably focus on the second option. G and F are too weak and useless. And for the third method, there is a limit of once a month.
If thats the case, Ill focus on using the second method and create a lot of demons with moderate strength.
For instance, I have created an S Rank Tenko so its possible to buy her and B Rank demons in the same family; this is great.
However, I have to continue using the third method of synthesising medals to increase the variation of demons that I can buy with the second method.
Ill add another thing, to be honest, there is a loophole in medal synthesis. A while ago, I talked about original medals and imitation medals, right? Ill teach you about its meaning, effectiveness and practical use. We use them a lot.
And, March-senseis demon course continues.
Imitation the direct trantion is counterfeit or fake. Which reminds me, my Creation Medal cannot be used in synthesis if the other medals are not original.
What is an imitation medal?
Volume 1 4
Chapter 4 : Imitation Medal
I think that you also noticed it, but its immensely difficult to have several strong demons using the methods I taught thus far.
I nod.
After all, the fact that Demon King medals can be used only once a month is a bottleneck.
But, the method is sufficiently prepared. Now then, lets summon the Demon Kings book.
Spell
In response to my words, a thick book made of parchment appeared on top of my hands.
Turn the page while thinking about medals.
Upon doing what she says, a page about medals came in sight.
Surely, the three medals,Beast,me, andCreation, are written there.
I check the page.
But......
March, its different. Whats written on the page areBeast,meandHuman.
Eh? No way!
March looks at my page.
I see, so thats the reason. Originally, we Demon Kings can obtain only the medals we used for synthesis by exchanging them with DP.
Thats good, and it sounds simple. Its something like you can use the medal as much as you want, isnt it?
The removal of the once a month condition saves me a lot of trouble.
It states that the exchange rate with DP is 500pt.
If you take into consideration that you use at least two medals, you can create a demon with 1000pt.
Well, its impossible to be the same as the real thing. An original medal is a medal that a Demon King creates. An Imitation Medal is a medal exchanged with DP but, its rank drops by onepared to the original.
Is anything wrong if the Rank drops?
I think that its probably rted to the Rank of the demon that is born, but Ill confirm it just in case
I wonder why was the imitation ofHumanrecorded on it and notCreation, but lets talk about that first.
March coughed and started her exnation.
For instance, myBeastis A Rank, however, an imitation drops to B Rank. A demons Rank has a direct connection to the Medals Rank. For example: If both of the medals used are A Rank, then there is a 2/3 probability that the demon will be A Rank and a 1/3 probability that it will be B Rank. If one medal is A Rank and the other is B Rank, then there is a 2/3 probability that the demon will be B Rank and a 1/3 probability that it will be A Rank.
So its like that after all, huh?
There is a huge disadvantage.
The S Rank Tenko might not have been made using an imitation medal. At most, an A Rank Demon.
By the way, although you can repeatedly use an Imitation in Synthesis, the medal cannot be exchanged back to DP. For this reason, we Demon Kings desperately want other Demon Kings medal, conversely, why we dont want to give our Original Medals to another person. Anyhow, the Rank falls, but you can use the medal as much as you want. I dont exchange them; I dont make Original Medals used as materials unless in extreme circumstances either. I hand over imitations. Even though we get an imitation, we are still thankful. Because its possible to use those that arent in stock in synthesis.
Exactly.
It might be that the most used attribute in Synthesis of us Demon Kings are our own.
If you let the other party use it freely, the kinds of demons on your hand might get exposed.
I hope that you keep that in mind. A Demon King is always aiming at other Demon Kings medalsC Thus, I hope your understanding increased once again about your quite broken medal. Now then, I wonder why wasHumaninstead ofCreationadded to the imitations entry.
Aplete change from her previous tone with a feeling of tension, March mutters in an amazed tone.
When using yourCreationmedal, you can create an imitation of notCreationitself, but instead that of the result of what you desire to use during the synthesis process. Other Demon Kings have a hard time obtaining original medals through stealing or by making transactions, while they are honestly increasing their repertory, you can steadily increase your repertory on your own every time you synthesise.
By the way, I certainly changedCreationintoHumanwhen I made Tenko. I agree with you.Creationhas a limitation that its attribute can change only once and never again, it seems like it corresponds to that. Its troublesome that theHumanattribute I used, cannot be used anymore.
My creation medal is like so.
CreationMedal. Rank A. It can be used to synthesise with two medals other thanCreation(including the original) to create a demon. The manufacturer can change the attribute of the medal to what he desires and use it for synthesis. Also, from an innumerable possibility, there is the likelihood that what you desire will be picked.
You can change the attribute once and never again
Bear in mind that its very enviable and can urge others to kill. Have you thought about how much troubles we Demon Kings go through to obtain other Demon Kings medals?
Marchs eyes arentughing.
Fufufu, Tenkos Otou-san is amazing!
Tenko is proud for some reason.
But I noticed a w at the same time.
It isnt only a good thing. Other Demon Kings can make a strong demon bybining an imitation but, its not possible for me.
Well, thats certainly so. As for me, it only needs my originalBeastmedal and a B Rank imitation medal but, it usually results in B Rank. A Rank if Im lucky. But in your case, you cant make anything without other Demon Kings original medals.
Creations demerit. Its quiterge that its no good for at least one to not be an original medal.
A power that relies on other Demon Kings Original Medals.
For this reason, its efficiency might not be too broken.
I must think about various methods on how to obtain original medals. A stable joint ownership is required.
While other Demon Kings continue to increase the number of their A Rank demons, its too wasteful to not useCreationmedal and to let it decay.
ExchangingCreationis the easy way but, for the sake of concealing its secret, I cant do that.
March, thank you for teaching me. I can make use of imitation medals. Even ifCreationis not used, its possible to create a B Rank demon with two B Rank Imitation Medals. Understanding that is already an achievement.
I can make demons with moderate strength as long as I have DP.
Also, now that I look at the book; because I made Tenko, its possible to buy demons two ranks below its same family up to Youko. It should be reliable because it is B Rank.
The family of Tenko ranges from S Rank Tenko, A Rank Kyuubi to B Rank Youko.
I understand that Im able to create a demon with moderate strength if I put my mind into it, but it seems troublesome to raise the demons from level 1 every time.
Unnoticed, as she got tired of my conversation with March, Tenko in her fox cub form was curled up and sleeping.
She is level 1 so that means that all demons born from now on should also be level 1.
Even though its a high-rank demon, its useless if its level 1.
Huh? You said a strange thing. When synthesising a demon, you should be able to choose, you know? If you will create it with a level that corresponds to its race or if you will choose a fixed level. If you choose the former, level 1 is the maximum level but in exchange, the demons status is better. If there is no attachment, or if there is no intention to make them an executive candidate, you should choose a fixed level.
Seriously? I didnt notice. Ill try to be conscious of that from now on.
At the time I was creating Tenko, I wished for an existence that will be with me for a long time; Therefore, probably, I unconsciously chose a demon that can grow.
For the moment, I think Ill create demons with a fixed level. First of all, I want to prepare the three demons that will perform theDemons oath.
I n to make those three be the strongestpanions I can believe in until thest moment.
High-leveled, but it is impossible in synthesis to change the level and still have high ability.
Other than that, Im more interested in something.
I understand that I can do it with DP, but how do you obtain DP in the first ce?
Thats the biggest problem.
At any rate, I know that I own nothing but 50pt from the opened Demon Kings book.
An imitation medal costs 500pt. Its an insignificant amount when I think about it.
You automatically get it from people who enter your dungeon, but its impossible since you still dont have a dungeon. When a demon or human gets killed, another method you can earn DP is by directly eating their soul. A Demon King can do that, you know. In fact, you ate my Garm to obtain DP.
I see, because of that there is only 50DP, huh?
I didnt seriously consider thetter.
Although she said that she would teach me how to be a Demon King for one year, conversely speaking, its a preparatory phase to some extent, I must hasten my preparations to be independent.
The three demons that will be my bodyguards should at least take theDemons oathand I want them to have high levels.
And then, your allowance. The senior Demon King has an obligation to give an allowance to the junior Demon King. Three original medals and 2000DP. On the contrary, the rule states that I must not give more than this. I already gave youBeastandmethats why Ill give you one more medal,Earth. Next is DP...... Ei.
March touches my Demon Kings book.
Then, the bnce increased and became 2050DP.
Unless you kill a human being or a demon, you can only use 2050DP and also one medal for one year, so you should seriously think about how youre gonna use them, you know. For the time being, Ill prepare a hunting ground in this dungeon. When your level rises to some extent, the hunting ground outside of my dungeon is very efficient and also dangerous.
I nod.
And, while I was desperately nodding, I thought about how Ill use the 2000DP.
If I spend it only on imitation medals, Ill make four medals, and end up with two demons of B Rank or below.
My future will be decided by how I use this.
Volume 1 5
Chapter 5: The Power of [Creation]
After I made a monster, we parted ways.
I was taught by Marcho the ability Demon Lords possessed that lets their monsters reside in another dimension.
During their stay on the other dimension, time stops for them and their current condition dont change. I also heard that whenever I wanted to, they can always be summoned.
However, only ten monsters could reside in the other dimension. It seemed like the Demon Lord had to prepare a residence in his own Dungeon for every monster exceeding this limit.
But it seems like this storage, rather than to make the management of monsters easier to do, it was more for being able to summon, at any time, the monsters that the Demon Lord was keeping as his fighting force.
It certainly looked like it.
Its reassuring to know that you could summon your strongest trump card anytime.
Couple that with the chance for surprise attacks and its value will probably go higher.
For example, one could do something like march into the center of a town, then summon vile monsters and let them run loose.
So for those reason, Tenko, wont you go into my storage?
Uuuh, dont want to. I wanna be together with Oto-san!
She vigorously shook her head.
At the moment, she wasnt in her fox cub form but rather in her twelve year old, fox-eared girl form.
But we only have one bed.
Marcho brought us to a residential area in the 32nd floor of her Dungeon and introduced us to a subus, the boss of that level.
It looked like the monsters that popted this area were mostly humanoid monsters. They were all so busy.
This being the 32nd floor would mean that there were 31 other floors beside it and those floors should have monsters stationed in them. What the heck, could Marcho possibly be followed by hundreds of monsters?
And since the ce weve been brought to was a residential area, a great number of houses were lined up. We were given one of those houses to be used as we wished.
The house was filled with aplete set ofmon furniture and had everything one would need taken cared of. However, the house was probably built for someone living alone and thus only had one bed.
Then, Ill sleep together with Oto-san! Tenko wants to sleep with Oto-san!
Her eyes lit up as she said those words as if the n she thought of was a brilliant one.
Although we are a Demon Lord and his monster, were also a boy and a girl.
Even so, Oto-san is Oto-san. You wont do weird things to me, right?
She inclined her head and looked at my face.
To the question of this pure and innocent little girl, there was but one reply.
Of course I wont. Im your Oto-san so I wont ever do weird things to you.
Then, can we sleep together?
Of course.
Yay!?
Tenko smiled and embraced me.
There was one thing I noticed. This child, whenever shes happy, she says Yay. I found her peculiar intonation which rises at the end of it to be pleasant.
Shall we eat first before going to sleep?
Eat?
She tilted her head in bewilderment.
Well, I guess its because of one of themon general knowledge Demon Lords and monsters were born with that says we have no need of food.
We could eat but it would only be for the taste and nothing more.
Want to do an experiment?
I brought her to the dining room.
I set the table with dishes as well as forks and knives.
She was puzzled as she took a seat.
[Creation]
I used my own unique skill.
Unique Skill: [Creation] has been demonstrated. It materializes certain things from your memories. However, things having a trace of magical power as well as livings things cant be materialized. The consumption of MP is a tenth of the weight of the materialized object in grams.
I couldnt remember anything about myself but when I thought about food, numerous menu items came flowing into my mind.
First, I poured some corn soup to a dish followed by steaks into another. I also lined up some French bread on the dining table.
Woah, so amazing. Oto-san can also make something like this. Its delicious.
Her being a Fox monster, meat was her favorite kind of food so her eyes were glued on the steak.
Not to mention, this was a steak that had a pound (450g) of thick juices dripping from it. Shell probably be quite full with this.
Can I eat it?
Yes, you can but before that, join your hands together and say itadakimasu.
Oto-san, whats that? Its my first time to hear a ceremony like that.
Ceremony?
Thinking about, it looked like one.
There was no meaning behind it but I felt that it was only natural to do so.
I dont remember why but it feels weird if I dont do it. Will you not put your hands together for me?
I understand, Oto-san.
I first showed her how and when she learned it, she also joined her hands together.
ITADAKIMASU
And so, the two of us began our meal.
Tenko ate her meal by skillfully using her fork and knife.
Then again, shes a highly intelligent monster after all.
And then, in a blink of an eye, the steak was gone.
Tenko looked at her emptied te and a look of dissatisfaction was visible on her face so I used [Creation] to make her another serving.
When I did so, she shed a smile like a flower in bloom.
Oto-san, thank you!
She said so as she wagged her fox tail.
By the time I finished eating, she was also done with her seconds.
It was delicious. Oto-sans so amazing for making a feast like that with magic.
I didnt think that I can also make food with it so even I was surprised.
My unique skill was quite useful.
I remembered about my status and checked my MP.
MP: 1750/2000
My MP had decreased by about 250. One tenth of the weight in grams. The cuisine I had created then was exactly 2.5Kg.
If continued until Ive exhausted all of my MP, I can make anything I wished until it all weighed a total of 20Kg.
Oto-san, what will we do after this?
Im thinking on whether I should create some weapons.
MP will recover with the passage of time.
If my physical condition isnt good, the recovery will be less but under normal conditions, I would recover about 50MP in an hour.
But one cant recover more than what their maximum MP will allow.
So for me who can create useful tools with my MP, letting it stay at its maximum value and not do anything with it is an awful waste.
Are you gonna make weapons with the magic youve used to create the feast?
Yeah, I can make anything in my memory except for living things as well as the things that have magic power running inside of it.
If ever I could make things that contained magic power, I would have mass produced medals.
The fact that I couldnt was disappointing.
And then, I thought of something.
It was about F and G rank monsters. If I let those guys carry murderous weapons, wouldnt I then be able to create a powerful army at a low cost?
G ranks monsters were extremely cheap, with a Skeleton costing only 20 DP.
[Creation]
I activated the sorcery of [Creation].
What I was making was a weapon referred to as an assault rifle.
M&K MK416
Length: 560mm. Weight: 3.09Kg. Clip size: 30 rounds. Rate of fire 850 rounds per minute. Effective firing range: 400 meters.
The M&K MK416 is, even among a great many assault rifles, considered an excellent machine for its overwhelming durability and reliability. It can even be shot after it had been drenched in muddy water.
If the monsters, who were novices when it came to guns, were to use them within the Dungeon, it was better to put more importance on the guns durability and reliability rather than its performance.
My MP decreased.
MP: 1450/2000
Given the amount of MP I recover per hour, it was possible to make an M&K MK416 within six hours. And four of it in a day.
Furthermore, 120 in a month.
Having around a hundred skeletons that carried and mastered firing assault rifles would be interesting.
Ill diligently make that happen.
Oto-san, are those weird iron rods weapons? They dont look all that powerful to me.
Its an unbelievably strong weapon. It far surpasses anything like a great sword.
The 5.56mmx45 caliber may be small but that just means its easy to handle.
This thing that can fire 850 rounds per minute with each once having a speed of 890m/s was by no means weak.
However, Tenko was looking at me with eyes full of doubt.
I guess it cant be helped.
Then, Ill show you its power. Lets go to the Maelstrom that Marcho told us about.
From what Marcho had said, one would have to hunt monsters in order to gain some levels.
Marcho had given us permission to freely use Maelstroms; one from which C rank monsterses out and two of which that produces D rank monsters. She said that if the ones that I hunted were the monsters that regrlye out of the Maelstroms, then it wouldnt hurt her pockets since it looks like that by paying for a hundred times the amount of a monster when buying them with DP, its possible to purchase a Maelstrom which gushes out that kind of monster once a day.
Beyond that, she also said that she would tell me of better hunting grounds outside of her Dungeon after weve gained some levels.
Before all of that though, Ill go use these Maelstroms and show Tenko the power of an assault rifle.
Im looking forward to what kind of reaction shell have.
Volume 1 6
Chapter 6: Assault Rifle
We headed towards the house of the Subus living in this area.
This Subus was the one in charge of this residential area.
Furthermore, it seems like this residential area was the only safe one on this floor.
Each floor of the Dungeon is divided into three rooms and each of these rooms could be set up individually. I heard that if one were to take a single step outside of the residential area, theyd be attacked by the blood-thirsty monsters.
For us to reach our goal, the Maelstroms that gushes out monsters, we needed the guidance of the Subus.
We finally arrived at the Subus house and so we knocked.
Ara, ara. Maa, maa. Wee [Creation] Demon Lord Procell-sama. I didnt expect you to pay me a visit on the very first day.
A calmed toned woman appeared.
But of course, this was no ordinary woman.
She had pink hair, a voluptuous figure, and most noticeably, bat-like wings and a slick, hairless tail.
Such was the B rank monster Subus.
She had a special effect on her that anyone that looked at her would be attracted to her.
I then felt a pain in my hand. It was Tenko pinching me.
Muu, Oto-san, what a loose face.
I must have had a pretty dirty look on my face when I was looking at the Subus.
Tenko pouted.
It was horrible. With that, I wouldnt have had any dignity left as both a Demon Lord and as a father.
So I cleared my throat and calmed my mind.
Subus. We came here for a task. We want to raise our levels right away, you see, so we wish to use the D rank Maelstrom.
By the way, it seemed like the D rank monster thates out of the Maelstrom was the monster I fought when I had just woken up, the blue wolf Garm.
If I could defeat it with just an automatic handgun, I saw no reason to lose to it now that I carried the M&K MK416, an assault rifle.
Their capabilities were worlds apart.
Is that so? I understand. Ill guide you. Well then, I hope we can be friends.
Thanks, youre helping us out a lot.
The Subus beckoned.
When Tenko and I came close enough, the Subus closed her eyes and began concentrating.
A magic formation appeared under our feet.
She had the ability to transfer to any room or level she wished to within this Dungeon.
It seems it was for this reason that she was in charge of the residential area. As long as she had the strength, she could send the monsters living in the residential area to wherever they were needed. One doesnt need to think hard to know the advantages such an ability would create.
And then, light rose and the transfer magic was activated.
There were dead trees and huge tumbling rocks in the wastnd we were transferred to and not long after we walked, we caught sight of a swirl of ck and purple.
That swirl was the Maelstrom, the thing one could buy by paying for a hundred fold the price of a monster. Once each day, that monster would spring forth from the Maelstrom. And for this Maelstrom, the monstering out it was the D rank monster Garm.
Ara, how lucky. A monster wille out anytime now. Im d we didnt have to wait.
Somehow, I just knew.
Although I wasnt told of anything, I had sensed the power rising from the swirl.
When monsters of the D rank were created with fixed levels, it would typically be created at around level 30 to 40.
Generally, it looked like those monsters would be on par with Demon Lords and S rank monsters at level 1.
I had heard that under the assumption that my basic abilities were on par with a Garm, it was then expected that I would certainly win over it by having a unique skill under my belt. And so, the Garm was set on me in my first fight.
I distanced myself about 200 meters away from the swirl.
Ara, ara. Is it fine to be that far away? Werent you here to hunt the Garm and level up?
The Subus asked the question in her calm as ever voice.
Its alright. Ill reach it just fine.
The maximum effective range of the M&K MK416 was 400 meters.
Its easy to misunderstand but this assault rifle wasnt a gun for rapid-fire shooting. Surely, with a rate of fire of 800 rounds per minute, it was capable of it but this was a rifle that can aim and shoot steadily. It was very much capable of extremely urate long-range sniping.
Considering how automatic pistols have, at most, a 10 meter range, youll know full well just how much a powerful weapon this is.
Are you sure? At that range, even magic wont reach.
Just watch.
I couldnt remember anything but this worlds general knowledge has been firmly engraved into my mind. The maximum range of magic was a hundred meters and I was waiting somewhere twice of that distance so I understood her concerns.
When I looked at Tenkos direction, she looked at me with eyes that trembled, wondering whether or not something interesting would happen. It was probably because she had trust in me that she made that kind of expression. And I just refuse to betray her expectations.
Well then, its been a few minutes, hasnt it?
The swirl then began flowing faster. It was the sign that a monster was going to be created.
I readied the M&K MK416. My mind calmed down and my fear of confronting a monster had vanished. My hand was glued to the gun and I felt the sensation I had when I held the automatic pistol before. It was pleasant. I felt I could do anything within this moment.
Before I lost my memories, I probably liked using guns at the same time I got greatly familiar with it.
And then, the time finally came for the Garm to be created.
Blue particles rose and took the form of a wolf. It waspletely materialized.
I then pulled the trigger. At that moment, three dry sounds reverberated.
The bullets flew as I pictured it in my mind, a perfect headshot. The MK416 had excellent uracy so it was possible to urately shoot at this range.
*Yelp*!?
The Garm was blown away, knocked down and thenpletely ceased all movement, not even a twitch.
By almost the same time it raised a shriek from receiving the first bullet, I fired the third shot. Thest two shots imed its life.
The M&K MK416 boasted a rate of fire of 850 rounds per minute. Had I kept pulling the trigger, even more bullets would have been sprayed.
But I intentionally fired only three and stopped. This is whats called a three-round burst.
When full automatic firing is done, the gun would be harder to control, worsening the spreading of the bullets and increasing the number of wasted bullets. Moreover, overheating the guns barrel would cause it to bend.
On the other hand, single-shot guns couldnt be relied upon on securing the kill. And so, the three-round burst was developed.
Trials have revealed that the shots were urate up to the third shot. So by firing a set of three shots, the uracy would be improved and ammo, conserved. Furthermore, while letting the gun barrel rest, one could then take the time to adjust his aim.
However, if ever there was a need to keep on raining bullets, then the guns rapid-fire capabilities could be disyed as much as one wants by selecting the full-auto mode.
Amazing. As expected of [Creation] Demon Lord-sama, a one-sided battle from twice the maximum range of magic. Melee opponents wont be able to get near and not to mention the ability to snipe magic users from outside of their range. By just having this having this weapon, one will be able to keep a wide range strategic magic spells in check, wont they?
Yeah, it can, cant it? Keeping it in check within the reach of the enemys attacks sure is hard.
There exists strategic magic spells in this world that possess powerful effects in exchange for taking a very long time to chant.
One would generally use these magic spells from around a hundred meters away the enemy while being protected by their vanguards. However, for this assault rifle, a distance of a hundred meters is nothing. These strategic magic spells wont even get the chance to shoot.
But I was a little surprised by the Subuss words.
Her words held a great amount of strategy within them.
Thats Oto-san for you. Oto-san and his weapon are amazing!
In contrast, Tenkos words held pure innocence. She had ran up this way and looked at my assault rifle with great interest.
Do you want one?
I do! But, I dont want something that shoots from faraway. I want something that can shoot up close and with a BOOM!
Up close and with a boom.
Then I have just the thing.
Luckily, I still had some magic power left. Ill take out another weapon instead of an assault rifle for Tenko. Surely, shell be pleased with it.
Understood. Then, Ill prepare a gun for close-range and with great firepower. Just watch as I make it.
And so, I used [Creation] to summon a weapon that can shoot up close and with a big boom as Tenko wished for.
Volume 1 7
Chapter 7: Dungeons without a Demon Lord
I gave Tenko the gun she wished for and immediately taught her how to use it.
It seemed like she was very pleased with the gun when she tried to test fire it. She went on about how she wanted to use it in livebat right away.
So Subus transferred us once again. This time, to the 68th floor. The D rank monsters looked like they werent enough for us so we headed for the Maelstrom that produced C rank monsters.
What the heck, just how many floors are there?
All in all, a hundred and one.
Wha-!?
It was beyond what I imagined.
I didnt expect it to go over a hundred floors.
Thats because [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias is one of the great old Demon Lords and has reigned for nearly 300 years. Whats more, shes also a very hard-working person. She also has around 1500 monsters, by the way.
Thats way more than what I imagined. I shiver at the thought of us shing.
Its obvious but the forces Imand at the moment were nothingpared to hers.
Marcho would probably beat me senseless without even sweating.
Oto-san, dont worry! Im here after all. Ill protect you!
Tenko clung to my arms and raised an energetic voice.
She was saying so but 1500 was just too much even for her.
Fufufu, what a good energetic child. As expected of an S rank monster, even after being told of such things. But rest assured, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell-sama, she doesnt have any ill will towards you. Your training is, after all, her final main task.
Final?
I caught notice of those words.
Oh, you havent heard of it?
The Subus looked at me with shock all over her face.
Nope, I havent heard anything.
Is that so... then, I dont know if I should be the one to tell you. Apologies but its a secret.
The Subus quickly bowed her head.
I showed her that I understood but Tenko looked like she was unsatisfied with it.
Tell us, tell us, Tenko pestered.
The Subus was smiling bitterly but then, it looked like she finally gave in a little.
Just a little, okay?
When she said those words, the voice of a girl that shouldnt have been there was heard.
Theres no need for that.
The space in front of me distorted and then, Marcho was there.
Really now, it was a good thing I checked up on your group. Subus, I cant say I approve of talking as you wish about important and private matters.
I-I have no excuse, Marchosias-sama.
Well, its fine. Its not like I forbade you talk about it. Ill let it go in consideration of your general performance.
The Subus quietly lowered her head and Marcho smiled wryly.
Can you also use transfer magic?
No, I cant use high ranking magic like Subus. Im kind of a muscle-brained Demon Lord after all. Its more of like using my authority as a Demon Lord. I can jump to any ce I want as long as its within my Dungeon.
That was a convenient ability.
Ill take note of it for when I make my Dungeon in the future.
But peeping is a distasteful hobby, you know.
I was worried so I checked. It was through Subus, by the way. You better remember this but Demon Lords are able to share senses with up to a hundred monsters. I have done so with almost all the leaders of each floor.
Then, I have to be restrain myself from bad mouthing Marcho in front of Subus.
Not just in front of her. You can never be sure where my eyes and ears are so be careful. Being in a Dungeon is like being inside the Demon Lord himself.
Yeah, its most probably like that.
Sharing of senses...... It seemed like I better to try it out once with Tenko. Could we share all of our five senses? If we could, then......
Oto-san, are you thinking of something weird?
Nope, nothing of the sort.
Tenko was as sharp as ever but I somehow deceived her.
I then turned towards Marcho and she began talking to me.
Im telling you this since this is important information for you too. Subus has already started talking about it but, you see, we Demon Lords have a life span.
Life span?
Yeah, a life span. Three hundred years to be exact. If that much time has passed after one has be a Demon Lord, then that Demon Lord will cease to exist. By the way, I am 199 years old.
I was breathless.
She looked so healthy and yet she didnt even have a full year left.
Hey, dont make that face. Ive already done all the things I wanted to do; I have no regrets. And I have raising you as my final task. Training junior Demon Lords up is, you see, tasked requested to Demon Lords near the end of their life span. Once in ten years, all in the same day, ten Demon Lords are born which also means there are children other than you. Perhaps its kindness that this task is assigned to old Demon Lords because if a young one did it, then they will see the newly born Demon Lord as a rival and thus wont be able to honestly teach them things.
Her words about not regretting anything didnt seem to be a lie.
Marchos face was refreshing.
And then, if the thing about there being ten of us being born at the same time was true, then there were nine others in the same batch as I am in.
I understand the thing about our life span but if youre going to die, what will then happen to the monsters youve left behind?
I asked the question as I held Tenkos hand.
I had been taught in the beginning that if my crystal was destroyed, my monsters as well as the Dungeon would vanish. Then what about when the Demon Lord himself disappears?
Nothing will happen to them. The Demon Lord disappearing has no connection to the Dungeon and its monsters. They will continue to exist as long as the crystal does. Rather, the crystal will mimic the Demon Lords behavior when he was still alive and will haphazardly and unreservedly create monsters using DP. The crystal will continue to irresponsibly do so over and over again, so the new monsters would end up fighting with the monsters that were created before. Well, pre-existing monsters would also fight one another. No longer under anyonesmand, they will do whatever they wish. Its utter chaos.
Monsters being free ofmand is nothing but an ominous premonition.
The monsters that have no intelligence are especially bad. The monsters that has some will probably establish order with their fellow thinking monsters but should the monsters that cant think have the greater numbers, then its all for naught.
A Dungeon no longer having a Demon Lord is probably a very difficult ce to live in for all its monsters.
Well, after Im gone, my [Monsters of the Covenant] will be entrusted to someone else. The monsters are going to be free. They can establish a new order in the Dungeon, rage as much as they want, or even go outside. Until the crystal is broken, all they have to do is live to the fullest.
What happens to the monsters that went outside?
Many of those children are subdued by humans. And sometimes, that act is connected to the end of the Dungeon. The humans will turn serious and a full-blown Dungeon subjugation will begin. Humans have great numbers as well as beings called Heroes, beings on the same level as a Demon Lord. If the humans got serious, no one will be able to win against them, especially a Dungeon that doesnt have Demon Lord.
It was the natural conclusion.
The monsters that went outside and hurt the humans would incur their wrath. And then, the humans also probably knew the fact that those monsters would be wiped off as well if the crystal was broken. One should always try to cut evil at its roots.
In the absence of a Demon Lord, the Dungeons defenses would considerably go down, and in the end, the crystal would be broken and the Dungeon and its monsters would be no more.
By the way, do you remember that I told you about teaching you better hunting grounds than using the Maelstroms?
Of course.
In fact, I was quite looking forward to it.
Maelstrom would create monsters only once each day. On top of that, I was only permitted to hunt the monsters from two D rank Maelstroms and from one C rank Maelstroms.
It was for the sake of increasing our levels as well as the DP I possessed that I wished for a splendid hunting ground.
Its what I just taught you. A Dungeon that longer has a Demon Lord and has fallen to chaos. You can freely hunt the monsters there. After Im gone, you may do the same in this Dungeon.
I shook my head.
As expected, even when Im told that I could do anything I want with the monsters in here, I would hesitate.
I dont mind doing so with the monsters that dont have any intelligence like the Garm but for those that do, like the Subus, I cant say the same.
And then, the person in question opened her mouth.
Marchosias-sama, we wont allow that. Even after youre gone, we will still continue our primary purpose and isnt it the protection of this [Demonic Beast Castle]? We will continue doing protecting the Dungeon that the great Demon Lord Marchosias-sama has built while punishing any misbehaving children! We wont bring disgrace to you nor let anybody do so.
There was passion in her words.
I was a little envious and wished I had subordinates like her.
Is that so? Is that... Geez, you children are wasted on me.
Marcho disyed a smile.
Her poprity, which she had surely gained on her own, made the subus say such things.
Im blessed to have subordinates like them but not everyone is as fortunate. The [Crimson Cavern] Im nning to show you is a Dungeon where the all the monsters that possessed intelligence have either died or abandoned it. All thats left are the mindless monsters rampaging to their hearts content. The only reason it hasnt been destroyed yet is because its far enough away from the human settlements.
[Crimson Cavern].
Hearing that name reminded me of [me].
Could it perhaps be that the [me] medal I received was from the Demon Lord that used to rule in that Dungeon?
I certainly wont mind hunting those mindless monsters.
It would surely be tough if the enemy was a monster that possessed intelligence and reason like the Subus but when theyre mindless monsters like that, I wouldnt need to hesitate.
You better not go unprepared. There may not be any high ranking monsters that the Demon Lord himself has created anymore but still, among the monsters the crystal is continually creating, C rank monsters are all over the ce.
Then, it seems Ill somehow manage.
The monsters as high as two ranks lower of the ones that had been created in synthesis before could be bought using DP.
And unless one has the ability of the [Creation] medal, they could create only up to A rank monsters. So that means that the crystals could create monsters only up to the C rank.
However, Marcho groaned.
But Tenkos ipatible with that ce. Her specialtys using me attacks but the almost all the monsters over there have high me resistance and many are physically durable. If none of you can use water magic then you need to dish out an overwhelmingly powerful attack without any me attribute in it but at your levels, thats pretty difficult.
What, theres that kind of thing, huh? You dont have to worry though, we dont have any shortage on the attack department. Tenko, show Marcho the power of the weapon I made a while ago.
Yay! ?
Tenko readied the weapon.
It was the weapon I had just made a little while back using [Creation]. It was a weapon ording to my interpretation of Tenkos request that she wanted a close-range weapon with a big bang.
Its form was of a shotguns.
The Remilton M870p
Length: 1060mm
Weight: 3.6Kg
Caliber: 12 gauge
Magazine size: 5+1 rounds
The strongest gun for close-range battles.
Note: For the magazine size, the +1 means that the sixth one is in the guns barrel.
Volume 1 8
Chapter 8: Shotgun
What I made for Tenko was...
The Remilton M870p
Length: 1060mm
Weight: 3.6Kg
Caliber: 12 gauge
Magazine size: 6 rounds
A pump-action masterpiece.
The Remilton 870 was favored all over the world as the standard shotgun for its great durability and sturdiness. This model features a magazine capacity more than others.
In the meanwhile, Tenko ced her finger on the trigger guard and skillfully whirled the gun around.
What is that iron stick? By the looks of it, there doesnt seem to be any magic power running through it but that doesnt outright mean that its an ordinary weapon, now does it?
Look forward to seeing it in action.
A little while earlier, Tenko did some test firing and she ended uppletely pleased with the Remilton M870P.
Even the dangerous gun may be nothing but an amusing toy for her.
So, the four of us headed for where the Maelstrom was.
A monster was already created and it was sleeping somewhere near the swirl.
Its distance was around 50 meters away from us.
It was a demonic dog that had a red mane, the C rank Orthros.
If a C rank Orthros is going to be created in a level thats fixed, itll be at around level 40 to 50. Considering the difference of their rank and stats, Id say Tenko-chans at a considerable disadvantage. But I guess her special abilities would make it so that shes just at a slight disadvantage.
Conversely, for Tenko to have that much fighting power at level 1 was abnormal.
Such was a being called an S rank.
Had she been created to be at a fixed level, just how outside the norm could she had probably been?
If, by any chance, you can defeat the Orthros without any magic, then youll also be able to hunt at the [Crimson Cavern].
As Tenko heard those words, her eyes lit up and she made a clenched fist.
Yay ?! Ill level up quickly and be more useful to Oto-san!
She said such a wonderful thing to me.
Tenko then immediately took a deep breath.
Additionally, she loaded the gun by means of a pump-action. A stiff clink sound was heard.
And then, she gave her enemy a stern look and charged at it.
The red maned demonic dog, having the ability to perceive iing danger, was aware of Tenko.
Originally, a Celestial fox had me magic as its specialty. It was then able to do one-sided battles from afar. This time, however, under the assumption that the enemy possessed a high resistance to me, Tenko couldnt use any me magic.
The first to attack was the Orthros.
It opened its mouth wide but Tenko did a quick sidestep. The rock that had been behind her exploded and its pieces scattered.
It was the Orthros offensive magic, [Acoustic Destruction].
As its name suggests, a cluster of high frequency waves are directed towards the target. It travels at the speed of sound and its invisible so dodging it is awfully hard. But Tenko, she just did.
Tenko wont be hit. Five more steps.
Tenko easily avoided the [Acoustic Destruction] fired in quick session.
But then, the Orthros closed its mouth. Did it stop its magic attacks? The moment I thought so, Tenko did another step, and a [Acoustic Destruction] passed to the ce she had just been.
The act of the Orthros opening its mouth was probably nothing but a sham.
A viscous trap for ensuring the kill by making its target think that it has to open its mouth for an attack toe flying in that direction.
But then, Tenko reacted the first time it shot with its mouth closed.
The secret to that lied with her skills. With [Precognition], Tenko was able to sense the world one second ahead. And, with the use of another of her skills, [Ultra rapid reaction], she was able to respond to any threat a second before it could happen.
Harming Tenko who uses these two skills was an extremely difficult thing to aplish. To do so, one had no choice but to use attacks that she wouldnt be able to respond to even if she saw them beforehand.
It was, after all, but a second. However, if one had Tenkos absurd agility and [Ultra rapid reation], it was more than enough.
One more step!
It was when she was only 10 meters away from the Orthros that Tenko stopped her steps and prepared her Remilton M870P.
The guns long barrel looked unbnced for the small Tenko.
Oto-san, Im gonna use your weapon now.
And so, Tenko pulled the trigger.
The distance between them was around 10 meters but that much was well within the guns effective range. Shotguns had the image of being only usable at close range but 50 meters was more than enough for its bullets to reach and kill its targets.
In fact, it was unnecessary for Tenko to shorten their distance and could have instead attacked from her initial position. However, she had probably thought that by going closer, a fatal blow would be dealt.
Then, the shotgun shell exploded into many tiny pieces and these tiny pieces poured down as if it was rain.
By instinct alone, the Orthros leaped to the side but avoiding all of the shotguns shrapnel was impossible. The Orthros received many projectiles and became covered in blood. It then tumbled with a thud.
What the heck is that?
Wearing a surprised expression on her face, Marcho was staring at Tenko who fired the shotgun.
A weapon I made using my Unique Skill.
I cant sense any magic power at all from it but that power, its astounding.
Rather than magic power, its because of the power of science.
Tenko shortened her distance from the blown away Orthros.
And then, she moved the lower part of the guns barrel, it clicked and loaded the next bullet.
At almost a point nk range, she pulled the trigger once more.
This time however, the shell didnt explode. The shell flew straight into the head of the Orthros, blowing off everything from the neck up. The Orthros turned into blue particles and then vanished.
The round she used this time was a slug shell. In a nutshell, slugs wererge caliber, single projectile bullets. It was powerful beyond words. It even rivaled a blow from an anti-materiel rifle which were developed for use against armored vehicles. (Note: not a typo, its really anti-materiel rifle)
Tenkos shotgun had been loaded with alternating charges of shot and slug shells, employing a basic strategy of using shot shells to stop the enemys movements and the slug shell to finish it off.
Oto-san, I killed it!
Tenko proudly waved her hand.
When I looked at her status, I saw that her level went up to three. Considering that she just killed a level 50 Orthros, it was understandable that her level grew in a single leap.
Well done, Tenko. Come over here so that I can praise you.
Yay! ?
After she hanged the shotgun to her shoulder using the strap attached to it, she then embraced me. Her tail was swinging and as I stroked her head, her tails movement sped up.
Marcho had an amazed look on her face when she opened her mouth.
I see. Certainly, if you had this, such things as me resistance wouldnt matter. This weapons attack corrections quite impressive, isnt it?
In this world, there existed the concept of attack power. Its equal to the sum of ones own status and their weapons.
In other words, weapons, even guns, would not deliver the same effect no matter who uses it.
However, a guns attack power was very high so unless a monster with a very high status showed up, the equipment wearers stats would bepensated for.
For this reason, I would create a skeleton army. If they were to use a gun, then there would be no difference between fighting a C rank or G rank monster.
Youre blessed not only with your medal but in your Unique Skill too.
I honestly thought so too.
It was possible to put this skill in practical use.
With this, it seems youre capable of going to the [Crimson Cavern], even by tomorrow. Just to be safe though, go there after you and Tenko have be level 10. The way you guys are right now, youll surely win but against enemies stronger than C rank, if youre hit just once, its all over. Better give yourselves some leeway, especially if youre going with just the two of you.
As she said, it was scary to be ambushed. Although we might be able to defeat them, hunting wherein we could die from a single blow was nothing but suicidal.
Well do just that. Tenko, until weve hit level 10, were going to fight the monsters thate from the Maelstrom every day.
Boo. I wanna get stronger quickly.
She puffed her face as though she was dissatisfied.
Upon smiling wryly, I used [Creation] to produce a caramel, and threw it into her mouth.
For a moment, she was surprised but she immediately broke into a smile, held her cheeks, and chew on the caramel. She looked like she had already forgotten about her dissatisfaction earlier and instead, had be fully engrossed with the caramel.
Your [Creation] medal alone was astonishing but now, you can even make weapons. Its a useful ability to bolster not just your own fighting strength but also your monsters. You really are fit to be a Demon Lord.
I think so, too. By the way, how about you? Whats your ability? You know mine so is it alright if I knew yours?
Marcho heard my question and pondered for a while. And after that while passed, she spoke.
My ability is white wolf transformation. Its exceedingly simple; it raises my constitution as well as my recovery rate. Just that.
Its precisely because its simple that it is a good ability.
Well, yeah, I guess. Its thanks to this ability that I have never been defeated, neither against any human nor any Demon Lord.
I listened to her words about Demon Lords and I slightly readied myself. Although I had expected it, it looked like Demon Lords really did fight with their fellow Demon Lords sometimes.
The [Crimson Cavern] though, if you can muster up a sizeable fighting force, then it may be a good idea to conquer that dungeon and break the crystal.
Why would I want to do that? Its like ruining a convenient hunting ground.
After all, by defeating monsters, I could level up. And it could also be an indirect supply of DP.
It was better to have a Dungeon I could use at my will.
When one breaks a crystal, you see, it allows them to create the crystal owners medal. So with that as their objective, some Demons Lords would break anothers crystal.
...If what youre saying is true, then Im extremely at risk. It seems like Ill be targeted instantly.
Thats why you should keep your [Creation] a firm secret.
I nodded my head.
Although I would still live after my crystal was broken, my powers as a Demon Lord wouldnt be as fortunate.
Besides...
Oto-san, that was sweet and delicious! May I have another?
Yes, of course. Here.
Thanks! I love you, Oto-san!
When a crystal was broken, all the monsters it had created would vanish.
I didnt want to part ways with this girl.
I understand. For the moment, Ill try to sincerely think about conquering [Crimson Cavern]. But Ive been wondering: how has the [Crimson Cavern] remained intact until now? Isnt it strange that it hasnt been destroyed by humans and other Demon Lords?
Marcho smiled.
She looked towards the sky as if she was remembering something.
Once upon a time, monsters had guarded the Demon Lord-less [Crimson Cavern]. But at present, the aides of various Demon Lords guarding the ce have either abandoned, been killed or just simply died. And so, after they were gone, I was the one to guard it. In order to protect the crystal, Ive deployed some of my A rank monsters. To other Demon Lords, I use that ce to farm and increase my levels but if ever they make a move on it, I threaten them with war.
Having a hunting ground you can use at any time is important after all.
No one really likes the idea of letting their own monsters prey on one another.
Officially, sure, I protect it for a ce to let my darling monsters increase their levels. But thats only half of the reason why I do it. The other is because of sentiment. The Demon Lord of that ce and I were on good terms. I just couldnt let the proof that an important friend of mine lived vanish... Thats how things are supposed to be but for some reason, I dont seem mind if you were the one to break that crystal.
Youre a good person, arent you?
How so? Well, anyway, you should get some sleep. For some reason, only sleep is a must for Demon Lords and monsters. Together with Tenko, when you guys have be level 10, contact me via Subus, okay? Its so that I can bring you to the [Crimson Cavern].
Right after she said those words, Marcho was gone.
She probably returned to her own room by transferring.
This time was about the usefulness of shotguns and the circumstances of Demon Lords. I learned many kinds of things.
Volume 1 9
Chapter 9: Skeleton Squad
About a week passed since I heard the story about the [Crimson Cavern] from Marcho.
During the past week, I have made a stock of weapons using [Creation]. All while focusing on leveling up.
And so, even at this moment, Tenko was engaging in battle.
Free of any danger, Tenko dodged an attack from the C rank monster Orthros and proceeded to close in on it. She defeated it in a blow using her shotgun, the Remilton M870P.
The Orthros turned into blue particles and vanished. At the same time, Tenkos body shined palely.
Oto-san, Ive be level 10!
Great job.
With this, we can now go to the [Crimson Cavern]!
Atst, Tenko reached level 10. I guess its because of her great delight but her eyes were sparkling while her fluffy fox tail was swinging.
I had already reached level 10 ahead of her so that meant Tenko and I had then cleared the requirement given to us by Marcho in order for us to be taken to the [Crimson Cavern].
Oto-san, lets go right away. Hurry, lets go to where Marchosias-sama is!
Tenko lead me by the hand as if to say she couldnt wait anymore.
We were only able to fight three times a day so we had begun to umte a fair amount of stress.
No, not today. Lets go tomorrow.
Muuuu. Why?
I want to give the Skeletons onest tuning.
Each passing day, I diligently made M&K MK 416 assault rifles. In the same span of that time, I had also purchased nine skeletons.
I was able to afford the Skeletons due to the 660 DP I earned by doing the daily monster hunt.
The storing away of monsters, which was a Demon Lord skill, allowed one to bring up to 10 of their monsters. If that was the case, I thought it would be a waste for the number of my monsters to be far below the limit. And so, I bought the Skeletons.
Each one was a cheap monster that costed only 20 DP. When created to be at a fixed level, they would randomly be at level 1 to 10. Because of that, it didnt really matter if they were created to be at a fixed level or not and if so, somehow the better option was to let them be able to grow because, in their case, they were able to level up up to level 20.
By the way, in the case of a Celestial Fox, they would randomly be born at around level 70 to 80. If they could level up, they could go as high as level 90.
Skeletons are, like, weak monsters, arent they?
Tenko had a dislike towards Skeletons. Well, she is a girl so its understandable.
Well, yeah, they sure are weak. I wont deny that.
The Skeletons status was terrible.
Race: Skeleton G rank
Name: Unnamed
Level: 1
Physical Strength: E+
Endurance: E
Agility: F
Magic Power: F
Luck: G
Special: G
Skill: The Deceased
The act itself ofparing it with Tenko was presumptuous. From the start, the Skeleton had nothing of note except for its cost to performance efficiency.
I can fight all by myself.
Maybe but even if they were to only guard our backs, Ill appreciate it. Theyll also provide us additional firepower which we need. So, theyll be fighting alongside us. Let me show you that they arent just things to cast aside.
Total attack power in this world was calcted by means of an addition. Even if the attackers own offensive ability was low, the guns firepower wouldpensate for it. The attack power of Skeletons equipped with M&K MK416 assault rifles could bepared to B rank monsters.
Tenko had a dislike towards the Skeletons so she wasnt there to witness their training but this looked the right opportunity to show her their abilities.
[Release] Skeletons
I summoned the nine Skeletons I stored away in a different dimension.
Each of them carried an assault rifle in their hands.
Skeletons, you are now able to put up quite a fight due to my training. Today will be yourst day of training.
...
The Skeletons looked at me with eye sockets that didnt have any light.
They were but just bones so they didnt understand things like emotions. For the time being, they held only enough intelligence to hear my orders. Issuing a response was something they were not capable of.
Teaching monsters with low intelligence was a difficult task; I almost gave up half-way through.
Nheless, after all my hardship, I was able to teach them threemands.
All members, ready!
The Skeletons readied their guns to the target I pointed at.
Before they shoot, they must first aim at the target. For this instance, the target was a wooden pole dressed in armor.
All members, fire!
As I uttered those words, the Skeletons started firing.
The tatatatata sounds were like music to my ears.
The MK416 the Skeletons were holding were not on full-auto mode but was instead set to semi-automatic mode.
The full auto mode was a system wherein there was an automatic operation between the reloading and firing of the bullets. In other words, as long as the trigger was pulled, the gun would continue to fire in quick session.
In contrast, the semi-automatic mode was a system wherein only the reloading of the bullets was done automatically. The amount of bullets fired would be the same as the amount of times the trigger was pulled.
If the full auto mode was selected, the Skeletons would just exhaust through their ammunition without even giving a thought.
Ideally speaking, I wanted it to be set on full auto mode and just make them do burst fires by lifting their finger from the trigger. However, I was not able to make them remember such aplicated action and so I instead just gave up on it.
All member, stop.
The Skeletons released the trigger and stopped firing.
Themands I was able to make them remember was these three: ready, fire, and shoot.
I guess theyd be able to fight somehow.
It took a while for them to reach this point. In the beginning, they not only regarded the gun as a blunt weapon but they also had trouble pulling the trigger.
It took four days but they had finally learned it. Well, even to this point, they were still unable to change magazines so I have to be mindful of it in each battle.
But it was worth it. The sight of the nine Skeletons firing all at once was a magnificent. When I have my own Dungeon in the future, I will increase their number and also build an even more vicious unit.
How is it? Its amazing, isnt it?
But Oto-san, if youre going to have trouble teaching them such things, wouldnt it be much better to just make a smarter monster? The Mythological Fox, a monster in the same lineage as Tenko, is smart and strong, you know?
I know but theyre expensive.
The Mythological Fox was a B rank monster. Their basic abilities were high as well as their intelligence. Learning how to use a gun was probably an easy thing to do for them.
However, each one would cost 1200 pts. I would be able to buy 60 Skeletons with that amount.
I know... But the Skeletons seem quite inefficient to me. When they die, which they do in an instant, all the time it took to train them would then be a waste. In that case, right from the start, strong and hard-to-kill monsters should be bought, right?
I had thought about that.
The Skeletons were cheap and I would still have the weapons anyway. Unfortunately however, the time it took to train them could never be gotten back.
No, wait.
Wait. What if I made a monster that will train the Skeletons and then afterwards let that guy take care of the Skeletons?
Its simple if you think about it.
There were a lot of monsters like the Lich that made use of the undead. Those kind monsters were extremely intelligent as well as being capable of understanding speech. They might even be able to do a much better job than I did at training the Skeletons.
Ill think about making an undead the next time I obtained an original medal.
Thanks, Tenko. Ive decided. Ill think about making a ruler of the undead as soon as I obtain a medal rted to the undead.
Moreover, if Im not mistaken, there should be a fellow among the undead that does something like using corpses and making further undead. If it used the corpses of powerful humans and monsters, then it was able to create powerful monsters at no cost.
My dream just kept on getting bigger.
Uggggghhh. Tenko doesnt like the undead but for Oto-san, Tenko will endure!
Youre admirable, Tenko.
Yay! ?
And so, the training of the Skeletons ended.
Afterwards, we reported to Marcho that we have already reached level 10. It was decided that tomorrow, Tenko and the undead equipped with the guns will towards the [Crimson Cavern].
Volume 1 10
Chapter 10: [Crimson Cavern]
Are those your subordinate monsters?
Marcho, with a stiff smile on her face, said so to me.
Arent they precious?
Tenko and I had raised our levels until the rmended level of 10. Subus then transferred us and we met with Marcho.
Naturally, it was for the sake of being guided to the [Crimson Cavern].
The Skeleton squad would also be taken along. Each of them carried an M&K MK416 assault rifle and it was a spectacle.
Thebination of the emotionless Skeletons and their boorish guns gave quite the atmosphere.
This is the first time for me to see a Demon Lord really make use of something like a Skeleton.
If its me that uses them, even Skeletons would be a splendid force in battle.
Thats certainly true. It may not even matter who uses that weapon. Youve thought about it well.
In an instant, Marcho had seen through my ns. As expected of a skilled Demon Lord.
Procell, one Tenko, and nine Skeletons. Well, somehow youve managed to have ten monsters, a full party. For a newly born Demon Lord, thats a considerable battle potential. Like this, Ill have some peace of mind and be able to send you out. However, Ill say it again, do not get careless out there.
But of course.
I had no intention to venture deep this time. I did want to someday break the crystal and have the ability to create its owners original medal but as one would expect with my still iplete fighting force, I wasnt able to do so yet.
Only after I had three [Monsters of the Covenant] and get them to level 50 would I n to conduct a full-scale conquest of that ce. Until then, I shall focus on leveling up and earning DP on the early floors which I could always return to at any time.
Well, you are prudent and smart, so you probably wont do anything rash. Just to be safe though, Ill lend you Subus. Subus, I ask that you look after him.
Is that alright? If Im not around, the monsters from the residential area wont be able to transfer anywhere.
Its fine. Rama has to be put to work once in a while.
Ill be relieved if Rama-sama did work.
Its likely that Rama isnt a races name but rather a given name. If Marcho went so far as to name it, it was probably a very powerful monster.
Well then Subus, look after him. And although I asked you to help him out, if ever there came a situation that you are forced to choose between your life and his, choose to protect your own. To create a situation wherein hes driven to a corner like that, Procell has nothing else to me but his own foolishness. You need not hesitate about it.
She said some severe things but they were reasonable.
To start with, just lending Subus was very generous of her. A B rank monster was a valuable asset.
Certainly, Marchosias-sama! Well then, well be heading out.
Yeah, take care.
The conversation between the master and her follower concluded.
Subus then deployed a magic array.
Wait a moment. Subuss magic can be used to transfer us even outside the Dungeon?
Subus was concentrating on deploying the magic so instead of her, Marcho opened her mouth to answer my question.
If theres a magic array prepared beforehand, then yes. Transferring from one array to another is an application of the magic of a Subus, a monster that slips in into dreams. However, she can only bring along with her a maximum of two people.
What a convenient ability.
In the future, if ever I got ahold of a medal that can make a Subus, I would definitely want to make one.
The Lich that controls the undead and the Subus that could use transfer magic. The monsters that I wanted to make were rapidly increasing.
[Creation] Demon Lord Procell-sama, the preparations areplete. We may leave at any time.
Understood. Lets go immediately.
I stored away the Skeletons and the two of us, Tenko and I, moved close to Subus.
And then, blue light filled the magic array that Subus had called forth.
Ah! Procell, I forgot to tell you something important. Very soon, all the Demon Lords will assemble.........
Marcho spoke halfway through the transfer magic. While I worried about her news, my body was wrapped around in light. And so, for the first time since I was born, I went outside of Marchos Dungeon.
So hot.
Such were the first words I uttered upon arrival.
This ce was humid. As one would imagine from its name, the [Crimson Cavern] featured pretty high temperatures. Rather than being in a cave, one would have the impression as though they were inside a volcano. All around us was earth and stones, illuminated by the brightness of the mes. The path ahead was wide, probably more than three meters wide.
I immediately deployed the Skeletons. They made ttering sounds as they formed a line.
Oto-san, do you feel hot?
How about you? Do you feel alright?
Tenko feels fiiiinne.
For Tenko who ruled over fire, this much heat seemed like it was no trouble at all.
Its hot for me too so I dont really like going here.
The Subus simrly felt hot.
And although she was always lightly dressed even under normal circumstances, her eye catching way of pulling the hem of her clothes allowed me to see various things I shouldnt have.
Incidentally, the Skeleton squad did nothing but rattle their bones. I had no idea what exactly they were thinking about.
If you both feel hot, then Tenko will cool it down.
Just as she said, the temperature of our surrounding dropped.
Is this Tenkos magic?
It is! Does Oto-san feel better?
Yeah. Its cooler and feels much better now. It helps a lot.
Tenko had the skill called Ruler of the me.
Its effects were that it gave the me attributed magic spells maximum power ups while also decreasing its consumption of magic power. Not to mention that it also allowed its user to control all mes within their vicinity.
The true nature of me magic was that it manipted of the amount of heat of its target and thus it was also very much capable to lower the amount of heat it had.
If things went on to be this pleasant, we would then be able to hunt in good spirits.
This is to express my gratitude.
I used Creation to make a caramel.
Upon doing so, Tenko opened up her mouth wide so I threw it in there.
Yay! ?
Tenko who had been getting addicted to carameltely looked happy as she tasted it.
Theres one thing prior Id like to tell you.
Subus halted our departure. And then, she pointed under our feet.
My transfer magic, when used outside of Marchosias-samas Dungeon, only allows me to jump from one array to the next. In others words, if we wished to return to Marchosias-samas Dungeon right away, we have to go all the way back to the array which is engraved in this ce. So I hope you take note of our exact path.
I understand. Ill pay attention to it.
It probably was possible to exit the Dungeon normally but not using transfer and instead walking all the way back to Marchos Dungeon was a thought I didnt want to entertain.
So I used [Creation] and created a transmitter. Furthermore, I also used [Creation] to make a receiver and a smartphone. I then installed the receiver on the smartphone.
There wasnt any GPS so producing a map was impossible but if I were to use an app, I would at least know the directions.
For the moment, I tucked the smartphone in my breast pocket. The record function was turned on. It mighte in handy in the worst case scenario.
I remembered each and every kind of gun there was and was even able to prepare this kind of thing but just what the heck kind of person was I?
The mystery only deepened.
I probably wasnt a decent guy.
Subus, is there anything else?
Nothing more from me.
Well then, lets go.
Yay ?! Lets kill lots!
All our preparations wereplete. We headed out for real this time.
Volume 1 11
Chapter 11: The Skeletons weakpoints
Atst, my first Dungeon exploration.
Im here not only to hunt down monsters but also because I wanted to properly examine the construction of this Dungeon which was created by another Demon Lord. I will use this as reference for when I build my own Dungeon in the future.
My current thoughts were to ce the very first floor above ground and build a wealthy town on it. And then, the second floor onwards would spread below the ground, to which I would deploy a great number of monsters and traps so that my crystal would not be broken.
Since DP would be gained from the humans gathered on the town on the first floor, the underground floors wouldnt be built for attracting adventurers. It would instead be a ruthless ce whose only purpose was to kill any intruder.
As I thinking that this will be an exploration full of tension, Tenko yawned.
Oto-san. Theres nothing to do.
Yeah, youre right.
We were walking in the Dungeon which seemed like the inside of a volcano.
Dirt and rocks surrounded the cave and the red magma in the distance illuminated it.
I was tensed and anxious about what kind of exploration this would turn out to be but it seemed like it waspletely unnecessary. The reason for that was.........
GYAAAAAA!
The enormous smander that could and would swallow humans whole roared forward and the air burned. I knew of this from experience, it was the strength equal to a C rank.
However, tatatatata, like music to my ears.
The moment the enormous lizard with fire escaping from its mouth appeared, the Skeletons fired simultaneously, their bullets like a swarm of bees.
By no means were the enemy monster weak, the stats of a C rank monster was nothing to scoff at. However, the offensive capabilities of the Skeletons were just too high.
The Skeletons, of course, showed no reaction.
......
Devoid of any boasting, the Skeletons lowered their guns and began walking.
They were unfeeling precision machines thatpleted their task in fullposure. They were pure professionals.
I estimated the number of the bullets left based from the number they fired. I concluded that there was no need yet to reload. No matter how much training they did, the Skeletons couldnt be made to remember how to change magazines by themselves so the task of managing the amount of bullets was left to me.
Looking at those Skeletons, Tenko suddenly puffed her cheeks.
The Skeletons got to it first again!
Tenko stamped her foot in the ground in frustration.
Well, they cant help it. Their range is different than yours.
The Skeletons were under themand of both Ready and Fire so if they found something, theyll immediately fire at it.
Moreover, I divided them into two groups, the front and the back group, and had them keep watch on all directions.
The Skeletons performed better than expected, dealing instant death to any monster the moment they encountered it. The 400 meters effective range of the rifle wasnt just for show.
On the other hand, Tenkos shotgun only had 50 meters of effective range. Before Tenko had the chance to be near the monster, the Skeletons would have already shot it down.
Oto-san. Tenko wants to fight too!!
Im going to keep you on reserve for when a monster that the Skeletons cant handle appears.
The monsters that the Skeletons couldnt handle were the ones whose movements were too fast to which the Skeletons couldntnd any decent hit and the ones whose defenses were too tough that the 5.56mm bullet couldnt prate.
In such asions, it would be Tenkos turn to shine.
No matter how agile the opponent was, it would be easy for Tenko to catch up to them.
And she was equipped with a shotgun, a Remilton M870P which was equal to the power of arge caliber rifle. Almost all of our enemies would agree to its power.
Tenko didnt seem convinced but for the moment, she had calmed down.
But being in a party really helps out a lot.
It was thanks to Subus that I knew of the existence of parties. She taught me everything I knew regarding parties.
The maximum possible members of a party were ten and the experience obtained by them was distributed equally among the members. Additionally, all the DP went to the Demon Lord.
There was no reason not to make use it.
In fact, the Skeletons had already raised their levels earlier and as for Tenko, she had gained the proportional amount of experience.
Making the Skeletons able to grow in levels was the right decision. At this rate, it would seem that they would be over level 10 in an instant.
When I felt someones gaze on me and turned around in response, I saw that Subus was shifting her gaze between me and the Skeletons.
You truly are the [Creation] Demon Lord. I would have never imagined the Skeletons to be this strong.
The Skeletons who were normally easily defeated even by C ranks monsters were gazed upon by Subus in awe.
Only their attack power is on par to a B rank. Their defense, however, remains the same. Theyll still die from a single blow.
But if theyre attacking that far away, wouldnt receiving an attack themselves be something impossible?
We can never tell. A surprise attack may happen. Well, even if they were to die, its no big loss. Their cheapness was their selling point anyway.
Even if a Skeleton died, only 20 DP would be lost so it wont hurt my finances.
Such were the advantage offered by the Skeletons...... Just dont think about the time it takes to train them.
As I pondered that, the ground shook. It was quite near.
KyuWa!
A high pitched cry rose and then the enemy jumped out of the ground, right in the center of our formation. It was a fire snake. As I stared on it, its name and rank popped into my mind. It would seem my level ups had enhanced my Demon Lord abilities and now, I could see not only the enemys level but also its name, rank as well as its abilities. Unfortunately, at my current level, it was only applicable up to monsters of D rank and the details of their parameters werent visible.
Race: me Viper, D rank
Name: Unnamed
Level: 38
Skills:
Underground movement
ze
The Skeletons werepletely defenseless against the fire snake that appeared from the ground. The snake wrapped its torso around the Skeleton that was closest to the ce the snake popped up. The Skeleton had the paper-thin defense of a G rank monsters so of course it was crushed in an instant.
I clicked my tongue at what was transpiring. The enemy was right in the center of our formation thus ordering the Skeletons fire their guns was out of the question.
Skeletons, stop!
I issued an order to stop firing to the Skeletons who were told before to shoot any enemy as soon as they discovered it. Otherwise, they would have fallen due to friendly fire.
I grinded my teeth at the fact that aside from the Skeletonsck of defensive capabilities, situations like these were also their weakness.
However, if the Skeletons stopped shooting, it only meant that the snake was allowed to do whatever it pleased. And so, the fire snake sprang upon the next Skeleton.
Wont let you!
As Tenko said so, she sprinted forward. She couldnt use her shotgun while her allies were gathered together so she drew therge military grade knife hanging from her back.
Rather than a knife, it was more of a machete (B). It was a jet-ck heavy de with a length of 50 cm.
Tenko didnt hesitate to put a firm grip on the fire snakes head. She then raised therge military knife over her head and a momentter, lopped off the snakes head.
The snakes headless body twitched and shook. There was nothing else the snake, even with all its strong vitality, could do once it lost its head.
Oto-san, I did it!
Tenko turned towards me and while her hands held the lopped off head of the snake, her face held innocence.
Great job, Tenko.
It truly was. Had she not defeated the fire snake right away, two or maybe even three Skeletons may have suffered damage.
As usual, the snake turned into particles of light. The Skeleton which I went to the trouble of teaching it on how to use a gun also changed into particles of light.
Whats this?
The snakes corpse didntpletely vanish. In its ce was a hard fang.
When I picked it up and tapped on it, a sound like it was almost metal rung.
Ara, an item drop.
Subus told me so in a slightly cheerful tone.
An item drop?
Yes, if ones lucky, a part of the monster where magic power was concentrated will remain after the monsters death. Monsters that have already lived a long life are more likely to give an item drop. There are some among the humans that challenge Dungeons for these item drops.
I see. That must be why I almost wouldnt see an item drop in Marchos Dungeon. After all, I only fought the monstersing from the Maelstroms which were just newly born monsters.
Thanks for telling me. And then, I think Im going to hold off on using the Skeletons for a while.
While one-sidedly barraging our enemies far from their range was great, should an unforeseen situation like this one, wherein the enemy had managed to shorten the distance, once again ur, their fragility wont go unpunished.
As I thought before, I want amander. Amander that could move the Skeletons as though they were its own limbs.
Oto-san, I have a great idea! Stop using these Skeletons and make a Mythological Fox instead. Theyre strong, they can talk, theyre smart, and rather than having these bones, youll have lots of cute foxes!
......Well, maybe someday.
I wouldnt have enough DP. Besides, I want to create an army of not ten nor twenty but hundreds of monsters right away. The Mythological Fox was too pricy for that. However, Im not saying Im not interested in having a lot of foxes. Maybe someday when I have a bit of extra DP.
And so, while the Skeletons may have almost owned their enemies, this shall mark the end of their first level up session.
Losing one Skeleton which has finished its training was painful but it shall serve as a lesson and I had thought of how to make best use of this learned lesson.
The author, Tsukiyo Rui-sensei, wants to take this opportunity to promote the release of the first volume of her other work, ǑˤγɤϤꡫťѥƥIؽUӡ (Upstart Pastry Chef ~The territory management of a Genius Patissier). It willunch on the 30th of October (although futabasha states it will be avable on the 29th).
The synopsis say that its about a genius pastry chef reincarnated into a noble albeit of low nobility. And after some twists, bes the ruling lord of an area. And so, he want to build up his territory while also fulfilling his previous lifes dream of bing the best pastry chef.
Volume 1 12
Chapter 12: Tenkos little sister
We have been back and forth to the [Crimson Cavern] for about three weeks now ever since our first visit there.
Today was no exception.
Tenko was sprinting inside the cave. She found an enemy.
The target this time was a red falcon gliding in the sky.
Of course, it was no ordinary falcon. It was a C rank monster, the Fire-eater bird.
It was going to swoop in from high above, using its sharp beak and talons to attack.
Although its what one might call a narrow cave, the falcon flew while it skillfully maneuvered itself.
Catching the Fire-eater bird would have probably been a difficult task. But not for Tenko.
Give up!
She fired her shotgun, a Remilton M870P.
She was properly making use of the two kinds of bullets. The one she fired this time was a shotshell.
It was a kind of bullet that bursts out after it was fired from the boorish gun.
And so, the shotshell scattered in a wide arc and the red falcon flying at a high speed in the air was easily hit. The red falcon was hit in the wing and came crashing down.
Following it up, Tenko charged. She slid the pump along the guns barrel, agilely loading the next bullet. Her shotgun was loaded with alternating rounds of shotshells and slugs and the next to be fired was, of course, the ultra-high powered slug shell.
She hit the enemy in the torso and made the red falcons body scatter.
How was it, Oto-san? Did you see!?
She turned around in glee.
Yeah, I saw it clearly. You were amazing, Tenko.
Yay! ?
Her fox tail was swinging.
She liked hunting and goes into a good mood whenever she moved her body.
As ofte, I had deployed just a few Skeletons whose duty was only to guard our backs. I then left all the enemies ahead to Tenko. I have done so because it was a waste to share experience points to the Skeletons who have already reached their maximum level. Their maximum level if made to be able to grow, by the way, was 20.
Besides all that, I just wanted to let Tenko do whatever pleased her.
Lets head back little by little.
Alright, Oto-san.
Fatigue would hinder our judgment so it was better to not to exhaust ourselves and save some strength for the way back.
Hunting each day made Tenkos level rise to 30 while I was a bit behind at 29.
From around the time she reached level 30, her level up progression was almost unmoving. ording to Subus, high ranking monsters had a harder time to go up in levels. Our levels would probably not move much after this if we only fought C rank monsters as our enemies.
Oto-san, may we eat something delicious after we got back?
Leave it to me.
My level has increased and so did my MP. It rose to 3450 so I had some leeway on my MP usage. That leeway mostly consisted of fulfilling Tenkos wishes though.
Today, Ill fully restore her spirits.
Its finally tomorrow, huh.
What is it, Oto-san? Why are you grinning?
Tenko will soon have a little brother or sister.
Medals could only be made once a month and the privilege to make one would finally return to me tomorrow.
Tenkos... little brother or sister?
Yes. Ill create it using my [Creation] medal, the [Earth] medal I got from Marcho, and then an imitation medal. The new monster will be another S rank monster like Tenko.
......S rank.
I recalled what Marcho told me. If both the medals used were A rank medals, there was a 1/3 chance to have a B rank monster and a 2/3 chance to have an A rank monster.
And if A rank and B rank medals were used, there was a 2/3 chance to create a B rank monster and a 1/3 chance to have an A rank monster.
Now, if my A rank Creation medal was then added, its alright to think that the results would go up by an entire rank.
In other words, if I used my medal with the A rank [Earth] original medal and a B rank imitation of either [Beast], [Person], or [me], there was a possibility that an S rank monster would be born.
And a possibility was all I needed.
My [Creation] medal states that: It allows the maker to choose the desired oue out of the myriads of possible oues.
In short, an S rank was pretty much guaranteed.
Although, if the imitation medal wasnt an imitation of an A rank medal, the possibility of creating an S rank monster wouldnt exist in the first ce.
......But this was something I only knew by intuition.
S rank was the highest rank. All the monsters that can no longer be sorted as an A rank were all together at S rank. By that definition, each S rank monster would not be the same as the others in terms of their capabilities.
S rank monsters as high-end as Tenko probably couldnt be made if even a single imitation medal was mixed in during fusion.
Arent you happy about having a little brother or sister?
Tenko looked depressed.
Oto-san.
She tightly gripped my sleeve.
Whats wrong, Tenko?
If the new monster is stronger than Tenko, will Oto-san not need Tenko anymore?
Tenko had anxiety all over face and looked at my own with her upturned eyes.
Some tears were threatening to fall.
How silly, there was no need for such worries.
I promise. I absolutely wont do that. I love Tenko, after all. Even if the new monster is stronger than you, I will always need you.
I embraced her and patted her head. And as I did so, she leaned over me.
Tenko might be a cunning, clever, and calcting child but she was also a lonely one.
And an extraordinarily spoilt child too.
Yay ?! Its a promise, Oto-san!
She raised her head up and called for attention.
Yeah, I know, I promise.
Just like that, Tenko kissed my cheek.
Tenko!?
Its a promise kiss. Oto-san has to absolutely, definitely keep his promise.
Maybe its because she herself was embarrassed but her face reddened and separated away from me. She then trotted towards the transfer array that Subus was preparing.
After we returned to our house in Marchos Dungeon, the two of us, Tenko and I, had a meal.
The Skeletons were stored away. There wasnt enough space for them here.
It was a little bit awkward. She was still feeling shy about the kiss earlier.
I used [Creation] to make her favorite food, the steak, but she still ate her meal slowly.
While I thought that, she opened her mouth.
Oto-san, what kind of monster will you make this time?
Her voice trembled for a bit.
It was probably her desperate attempt to break the ice.
Oh, yeah. I initially thought of making a higher ranking undead type monster.
Training the Skeletons consumed a lot of effort.
If I was able to call forth a high-ranking monster with high intelligence and could alsomand the Skeletons at will, I would then be able to train the Skeletons in an easier and not to mention more efficient manner than what I was doing currently.
You talk like youre not going to anymore.
Yeah. After all, the [Earth] medal is the only original medal I have right now. I wont seem to have great options if we factor in the attributes that imitation medals and my [Creation] would add.
[Earth] and the undead didnt have a poorpatibility but that didnt mean they were perfectlypatible neither.
If that was the case, I thought it would then be better for me to wait for a morepatible medal.
I see but then, what will you make? Its going to be Tenkos little sister or brother so it should be cute.
Tenko chimed in.
Her awkwardness was gradually going away. It was great.
I think Ill make a dwarf that can do some smithing. [Earth] and dwarves have excellentpatibility. Also, Ill use an imitation of [Person]. Finally, Ill transform [Creation] to [Alchemy].
I had heard of the existence of [Alchemy] from Marcho. She was teaching me as much as she could about medals that seemed useful. Her lessons would certainly be used as guidelines on what kind of monster Ill make.
I intended to summon the highest-ranking dwarf using [Earth], [Person], and [Alchemy].
Why a dwarf? Theyre not that strong.
Well, theyre not really for battle. I n to use them for their smithing abilities.
But arent Oto-sans weapons strong enough?
Yeah, they are but dont you want to see them be even more powerful? Lets take your shotgun, the Remilton M870P, as an example. If we increase the amount of powder and also increase the size of the bullets, its attack power will jump up.
Woah, thats fantastic! Tenko wants that shotgun!
Tenkos eyes sparkled as she imagined it as a new toy to y with.
I smiled wryly at that.
For a shotgun like Tenkos, the size of the bullet is measured by gauge. The smaller the number of the gauge, therger the caliber bes. The power of the gun will increase too. The standard for the Remilton M870P is a 12 gauge shell. However, shells range from 4 gauge up to 24 gauge. The power of a 4 gauge and a 12 gauge differ by about three times. But, regrettably, the Remilton M870 only uses 12 gauge and there arent any shotguns in my memory that uses the 4 gauge shells.
4 gauge shells were considerably unique shells. A 12 gauge was 18.1mm in diameters but a 4 gauge shell measured 25.2mm, roughly 1.5 timesrger in size.
Even bears and sea lions were not a match for 10 gauge shells and 4 gauges were really only used when going against something like a tank.
Thats disappointing. I want to shoot the triple powered 4 gauge.
Tenko might be disappointed but its only natural for something like that to not exist in my memory. Their recoils were too strong that they were not practical. No person could use it.
Its no problem for Tenko. Tenkos strong!
What Tenko said was true.
The physical strength of monsters might just be able to handle a 4 gauge shotgun.
It might not be a problem for Tenko but the gun itself may not be able to bear it.
4 gauge shotguns were used in an era when ck powder was the mainponent whereas modern day shotguns employed smokeless powder.
Smokeless powder delivered more power than ck powder so a gun that could endure being used with 4 gauge shells made of smokeless powder probably didnt exist.
Guns have no guts at all. I wish theyd work harder.
She puffed her cheeks and uttered such absurd things.
I couldnt understand what shes feeling.
Another thing, there arent any 4 gauge shells in my memory to begin with so I cant make any with my [Creation].
I cant make any so of course there wasnt any of it.
Oto-sans mean. Now Im not excited anymore.
Dont give up so quickly... I only said that I cant make any using [Creation]. If by chance we have a remarkable cksmith, they will be able to disassemble the gun I made using [Creation], examine its construction, make a 4 gauge shell, and reconstruct a shotgun which can use the said 4 gauge shells. Furthermore, there are magic metals in this world. If a bullet was made using these magic metals, the bullet alone would increase the weapons power. And if we made the gun using magic metals, it just might be able to endure firing 4gauge shells.
That much was my goal; to improve our weapons.
Moreover, if I may be so greedy, I wished for a mass production of weapons that didnt rely on my [Creation].
I was aware of the performance of the Skeletons through our daily level up battles and I aim to push them beyond that.
I get it. A dwarf really was most suited! Theyll make Tenkos shotgun even more amazing!!
Tenko was hyped up, suddenly straightening her fluffy fox tail.
It looked like someone excited about her new favorite toy.
Well, I was the same.
My thoughts went from our newpanion, the dwarf, to the new weapons it would create.
The author, Tsukiyo Rui-sensei, wants to take this opportunity to promote the release of the first volume of her other work, ǑˤγɤϤꡫťѥƥIؽUӡ (Upstart Pastry Chef ~The territory management of a Genius Patissier). It willunch on the 30th of October (although futabasha states it will be avable on the 29th).
The synopsis say that its about a genius pastry chef reincarnated into a noble albeit of low nobility. And after some twists, bes the ruling lord of an area. And so, he want to build up his territory while also fulfilling his previous lifes dream of bing the best pastry chef.
Volume 1 13
Chapter 13: Elder Dwarf
The following morning.
Tenko clung to my arm as she slept. It seemed to me that ever since yesterdays promise, she was clinging to me even more.
She wore pajamas like those of a childs. The pajamas were something I made using [Creation]. It suited her well and made her look very cute.
Oto-san. I love you.
Tenko said such an adorable thing in her sleep.
I poke her cheek with my finger and it was squishy and springy. It also felt good. Next, I lightly pinched her fox ears. The sensation of her ears, both the inner part and the outer part with soft fur, was irresistible.
Such was my daily routine.
After Ive had enough Tenko, I got up. When I did, so did Tenko. Still half asleep, she rubbed her eyes and floated a smile on her face......
Good morning. Oto-san.
She said it in such a casual manner that it was so irresistibly cute.
I came closer to her and proceeded to rub her fluffy tail.
Good morning. Tenko.
As I replied, I secretly wished for the new monster to be as fantastic as Tenko.
So, what is Marcho doing here?
Whenever a new monster was going to be created, it was possible that some kind of blunder would ur. Such blunders included creating a gigantic a monster or one which was dangerous. And so, we went out to an open area to be ready for such blunders but Marcho and Subus were also there.
Additionally, an unusually splendid table along with some chairs was set up. They were fully enjoying an elegant tea time.
I heard you were about to make a new monster.
While what you heard may be true, surely, thats not all the reason youvee here.
But it is. Witnessing the birth of an S rank monster is one of the best form of entertainment there is. The great Demon Lord Marchosias-sama who is by now unimpressed with most things will surely not miss such an event.
That is called being an onlooker.
As a Demon Lord, the correct response would be to not show any information about ones own monsters in order to conceal ones true might.
However, I didnt mind showing this secret to Marcho who had given me assistance in the past.
Do as you like then.
Yeah, we will. In a month, the [Evening Party] will be held so I support your making of another executive.
I sensed my expression go stiff.
What evening party?
Now that I thought about it, I remembered that Marcho had something to say on the day we first went to the [Crimson Cavern].
Its the gathering of the Demon Lords. All the Demon Lords will assemble on that asion. The stars this time would be you, the ten new Demon Lords who will be making a debut.
It was as I thought.
A chance for all Demon Lords to gather under one roof. Such a delicious story. I absolutely cannot waste it. This was a great chance to obtain original medals. And the means of obtaining original medals were things that were always on my mind.
For example, wouldnt the other Demon Lords want something from the things I made using [Creation] in exchange for their original medal?
Also, I dont know about the Demon Lords whose medals were of A rank but for Demon Lords whose medals were just B rank, the strongest monster they could make were B rank monsters. So if it was those guys, wouldnt they be open to an exchange for my imitation medal at B rank?
I had many ideas like these.
After all, all my original medals were about to be used up now that Im nning to do a synthesis to get a dwarf. I want to get at least another original medal in order to have my three [Monsters of the Covenant].
I wish youd inform me of things like these a bit earlier.
Yeah, sorry, I forgot. Hey, I did once try to tell you though. It was when you first went to the [Crimson Cavern].
It was harsh of me to say that. I should also listen properly next time.
I got it. Lets move on.
You sure are understanding.
Its because youre my friend.
Macho listened to my words and then floated a smile on her face.
It was as though she has seen through my heart.
Lets end the chit chat. Ill start making the new monster now.
I strongly dered so and proceeded to focus.
Both Marcho and Tenko looked my way and while both were excited, Tenkos eyes showed a bit of worry. This worry of me being stolen away by the new monster probably wouldnt disappear any time soon.
As I smiled wryly at such, I began the process.
The first step in making a monster was:
[Discharge]
Upon uttering that incantation, the [Creation] medal was made and enclosed within my hand. It was the symbol of my power.
Next.
I got the [Person] imitation medal by using some of my DP. The rank of the original medal of [Person] was an A rank but upon being manifested as an imitation medal, it dropped down to B rank.
And then, I took out the [Earth] medal I received from Marcho.
All in all, the medals in my hand were [Person], [Earth], and [Creation].
I held on to them tightly.
And now, to begin.
[Synthesis]
Light rose up from my tightly clenched fist.
As I opened my hand, the light leaked out and within that light, a silhouette was formed.
The [Earth] original medal and the [Person] imitation medal merged and settled down.
And then, the power of [Creation] took effect and I chose [Alchemy].
To know the truth of this world and goes towards it.
To walk alongside with Earth and me. (Note:I personally think me should be Person instead)
To have profound knowledge and intelligence that [Earth] and [Person] alone couldnt give.
I guided it towards that path.
Unlike the time I made Tenko in which I only used A rank medals, it was possible for this child I was going to make to not only be an S rank monster but also an A rank monster.
But of course, I chose for it to be an S rank.
Furthermore, I chose it to not have a static level. Instead I willed it to have the ability to grow. Its maximum level would increase and, whenpared to the same monster on the same level which had a static level, the one that had the ability to grow would prove to be stronger.
Alright, itsplete.
All thats left was to wait for the monster to be born.
The silhouette within the light grew denser.
And then, the beating of the monsters heart could be heard.
Alright, its finished.
The light stopped shining and the new monster was then born.
Master. Nice to meet you.
The monster talked in a robotic voice.
Her appearance was that of a beautiful girls.
She had silver hair, a height that didnt even reach 140cm which suited her rather t figure. However, I sensed from her icy blue eyes unmistakable intelligence.
Nice to meet you. Im the Demon Lord that created you. I am the [Creation] Demon Lord Procell. Sorry but would you please immediately tell me your race.
Yes. Master. I am an Elder Dwarf. The pinnacle of the dwarves. One which possesses ster wisdom, has mastery over all things, and creator of supreme arms.
The Elder Dwarf indifferently connected her words together.
Her voice and way of talking didnt discourage her cool appearance.
I then looked at her status.
Race: Elder Dwarf
S rank
Name: Unnamed
Level: 1
Physical Strength: A+
Endurance: S
Agility: C
Magic power: A
Luck: B
Special: S
Skills:
Ster wisdom
Bearer of all things
Silver Alchemist
Unparalleled herculean strength
Eye of truth
Whenpared to Tenkos, her status were indeed inferior but they were still very much high-end.
Most especially were her skills.
She had all the necessary things to be a cksmith.
One might say her Ster Wisdom and Bearer of All Things were particrly outside of the norm. But above all, she had the highestpatibility to my [Creation].
It was exactly like the monster I wished for. No, she was better.
Ill be expecting much from you, Elder Dwarf.
Please do, Master. As long as master entrusts to me the materials, I will keep on producing arms of the highest quality.
We firmly shook hands.
From now on and as long as I have her, the weapons I had made using [Creation] would only get stronger at a rapid rate.
Another cute little girl. I guess, rather than being the [Creation] Demon Lord, Procells more of like the [Loli] Demon Lord, right?
I thought I heard some rather terribly rude wordsing from my back but that must have been just my imagination.
The author, Tsukiyo Rui-sensei, wants to take this opportunity to promote the release of the first volume of her other work, ǑˤγɤϤꡫťѥƥIؽUӡ (Upstart Pastry Chef ~The territory management of a Genius Patissier). It willunch on the 30th of October (although futabasha states it will be avable on the 29th).
The synopsis say that its about a genius pastry chef reincarnated into a noble albeit of low nobility. And after some twists, bes the ruling lord of an area. And so, he want to build up his territory while also fulfilling his previous lifes dream of bing the best pastry chef.
Also, while were at it, check out the other novels written by the author. Some are already in light novel format!
Volume 1 14
The new monster was born.
It was an Elder Dwarf, an S rank and the pinnacle of the dwarven race.
Of course she was a candidate to be one of my only three [Monsters of the Covenant].
As for her appearance, she was a short, a little bit t chested, silver haired beautiful girl.
Master, I am issuing a request for a workshop and some metals. I hope the workshop has a quiet environment for I wish to immerse myself in research.
She was just born and yet she was making some requests.
But rather than saying she had a forceful personality, it was more of like shes one of those types that were so engrossed on something, they couldnt pay any attention to their surroundings.
Lets talk for a moment. Why would you want a workshop?
To produce swords of the highest quality in ordance to my role as an expert cksmith.
Indifferently, Elder Dwarf informed me so.
Her clear icy blue eyes and silver hair only enforced her cold image.
Even though she was a dwarf, she was just short and her appearance almost didnt differ from that of a humans.
Put crudely, her almost pitiful t-chestedness was her distinctive feature.
Muu, stop. Forget about making swords, make Tenkos shotgun stronger!!
Tenko butted in.
In her hand was her Remilton M870P. She expected that her toy would be made even stronger.
I dont have the time to be concerned about that stick. ......No, wait. That. Interesting.
The color of Elder Dwarfs eye changed.
In the blink of an eye, she swiped off from Tenko the shotgun.
Elder Dwarf had the skill called [Eye of truth]. It was the eye of the divine that saw through every single things abilities and construction.
And thus, she had seen through the Remiltion M870Ps hidden power.
And even though Tenko was caught off-guard, she still managed to take the gun off of Tenkos hand. With a stunt like that, one could easily guess just how high her specs were.
Ah! Give back Tenkos shotgun!
Ignoring Tenko who had be teary eyed, Elder Dwarf moved the pump and loaded the gun.
She then pointed the shotgun towards the sky and afterwards fired it.
This weapon, its interesting. It will be worthwhile to research it.
And then, an exceedingly great smile floated on her face.
I was convinced, yes, this fellow was up to no good.
Hey, you, give it back! Dont do anything terrible to Tenkos shotgun!
Terrible? Youre the one doing something terrible to it. Your maintenance of it is sloppy and its damaging the weapon. Left as it is, it will be broken.
Ugh.
Tenko was at a loss for words.
I did teach Tenko at one point how to maintain the gun but it looked like it her maintenance was sloppy. From time to time, I took a look at it but recently, I had entrusted all of it onto Tenko.
I will heal this child. Just watch.
The Elder Dwarf somehow took the gun apart piece by piece with her bare hands.
Her dwarven skill [Silver Alchemist] allowed her to process and manipte every kind of metal.
She cleaned the parts one by one. And then, she thrusted her had hand into Tenkos pocket and procured maintenance oil. She then thoroughly applied the oil. Afterwards, she instantly reassembled all the parts back together.
She managed to do all those chain of events in about 10 seconds.
As expected of the highest in the lineage of dwarves.
Its all healed up now. Ive also understood its construction; I have no need of it now. Im giving it back.
The Elder Dwarf returned the shotgun to Tenko.
She wore her same as ever expressionless face but somehow she looked flushed and ecstatic.
Thanks.
Tenko, having received the cleaned shotgun, meekly expressed words of gratitude.
Your gratitude is not necessary. I merely did some maintenance while I studied its construction. By the way, who are you?
After all this time of interaction, Elder Dwarf asked Tenko the question.
Tenko, Im Tenko! Im Oto-sans daughter and Im the next greatest after Oto-san!
With an ahem, Tenko puffed out her chest.
Understood. I sense a dreadful power from you. I will ept that you are the head monster.
Tenko is Elder Dwarfs onee-chan. As the little sister, you have to listen to whatever your older sister tells you!
I understand. I will obey your, the head monsters, orders. However, if you ever get in the way of my research, I will eliminate you.
You have great resolve!
The carried away Tenko who assumed the role of onee-chan, and Elder Dwarf who although looked to be obedient, said such a frightening thing.
I got a bit of a headache.
Nee, Procell. Your monsters, theyre terrible, arent they?
Please dont say that.
Marchoughed as we talked.
Without knowing the feelings of us Demon Lords, my monsters got excited.
El-chan really shows some promise.
El-chan?
Elder Dwarfs too long! Until Oto-san decides to give you a name, Ill call you El-chan! I wont teach you but Ill let you watch me using the shotgun. Its amazing!
The ability of my skill, [Bearer of All things], gives me mastery of every single tool and weapon.
Quite a useful ability. Her ability to use all of the things I made using [Creation] makes it great.
She should be able to use bikes, cars, and many other things.
So, make a strong weapon for Tenko!
Your weapon is almost at its ideal form. To make it any stronger, I will need a powerful metal. Mithril, if possible.
She had dered that if she only had the materials, she would be able to immediately make the shotgun she just saw stronger.
Her personality aside, her abilities were first rate.
Oto-san, use your magic to make some mithril!
Tenko came over my way, her eyes sparkling.
However, I couldnt meet her expectations.
Sorry. I cant make things which has magic power flowing in it.
Mithril had magic power flowing in it.
And in the first ce, I had never seen one.
Thats too bad.
Ah! You can use my mining area then. The ores one may obtain from a mine inside a Dungeon is proportional to the power of the Dungeons Demon Lord. And my Dungeon has the strongest Demon Lord there is. Mithril, adamantite, and if youre lucky, orihalcum can be mined. Its supposed to attract adventurers but it proved to be unpopr so dont hold back on mining.
A helping hand was extended to me.
You even have a room like that in your Dungeon?
I have most things, you know? You too, now that you have a monster like the Elder Dwarf, should prepare a mine for when you build your own Dungeon.
I shall seriously consider it.
Elder Dwarfs weapon production was essential.
When I looked at the Demon Lord book to confirm it, I saw that it costs 5000 DP. Almost the price of five B rank monsters. (Note: More like four if each one costs 1200DP)
Although I guess it was worth the investment.
Well then, shall we go digging? I also want to see Elder Dwarfs abilities.
I turned around and uttered so.
Imand you. Respond, earth. [Humanoid vessel creation].
Fully motivated, the Elder Dwarf ce her hand on the ground and activated her magic.
The earth swelled up, and a figure of a man... No, what was created was a Golem which was about two meters high and had a tough build.
Furthermore, after she put together her hands, a red gemstone appeared on the palm of her hands.
The red gemstone was inserted within the Golem.
The Golems eyes shone and the Golem itself started to move.
The Golem carefully held a pickaxe made of stone. Was it saying it wanted to dig some ore?
Elder Dwarf. What is that?
My Magic. [Humanoid vessel creation] creates Golems. Depending on the material used, the Golem can be created with strength ranging from F rank to B rank. This child here is only made of stone so its strength is only around F rank.
I gulped down.
Can you make those as long as you have the magic power? For how long will it move?
Yes I can, but the magic stone at its core can only be made once a day. It draws mana from its surroundings so it can move indefinitely.
Listening to her words, I raised my assessment of Elder Dwarf by roughly two ranks.
It could possibly increase my military might more than the Skeletons.
How much intelligence can the Golems have?
As much as I give them. They move ording to my programming.
The weapon Tenko wields is called a gun. Can they use it?
The size will make it impossible.
Guns were originally made to be used by humans so, as expected, the Golemsrge finger wouldnt be able to pull the trigger.
I see. Too bad.
I said so... only Elder Dwarf wasnt finished speaking yet.
I justck the materials to be able to remodel the guns in ordance to the size of the Golems.
Its embarrassing but I trembled a little.
If the assault rifles were in such a size and werebined with the Golems power, it would be like heavy machine guns.
However, those would weigh close to 40 kilograms so I would need to first raise my level and MP to be able to create those guns. Just a little bit more, I guess.
Anyway, lets go to the mine first. We have to gather some materials. Elder Dwarf, sorry but I want to ask of you two things. First, I want to you give the highest priority regarding the gathered materials on strengthening Tenkos shotgun. Second, I want you to make a Golem each and every single day.
Understood, Master.
Elder Dwarf nodded.
She didnt disy any emotion but I knew that she was pleased. I guess weapon enhancements a hobby of hers.
Master, I will need some pen and paper for various calctions and for creating blueprints.
Making some pen and paper using [Creation] was easy but I had something in my memory which was a lot better.
You have [Bearer of All things] so you should be able to use this, right?
What I made using my [Creation] was a notebook PC.
Elder Dwarfs [Bearer of All things] was a skill that allowed her to use every single tool.
I expected that to remain true for electronics.
By the way, I also summoned a gasoline-based power generator.
With terrifying might, she leaped towards the notebook PC and started up a drawing software and a calction software. And so, she began designing for the improvements of the gun.
As I thought, she was able to use it perfectly.
This tool is great, immensely so. If I have this, the quality of my designs as well as its performance will jump up. Master, youre the best Master.
Elder Dwarf was already absorbed in the notebook PC.
The thought of going to the mine was wiped off from her mind.
Very well. Elder Dwarf, Ill be borrowing the Golems. Well go mining so you just focus on the designs.
Thank you, Master. I have so much work before me, theres no way I can leave any of it behind.
Thus, Elder Dwarf was left behind on our house. We mined day and night and thanks to the Skeletons and Golems which didnt know the concept of fatigue, we had gathered a substantial amount of mithril.
With this, Tenkos Remilton M870P would soon be reborn.
Volume 1 15
Finally, it was the day before the [Evening Party] wherein Demon Lords would gather.
Almost a month had passed since Elder Dwarf joined us. During that time we had managed to: mass produce Golems, develop weapons, build up a reserve of metals from the mine, and level up. We had been extremely busy.
Elder Dwarf, Tenko, and I all went into the [Crimson Cavern] while the Golems and Skeletons were assigned to do nothing but mine.
I had a new [Creation] medal in hand. A month had already passed since thest one so I was able to make another.
However, due to the restriction on [Creation], there was nothing I could do with it unless I had an original medal made by another Demon Lord.
What a sight.
As per Masters instruction, I made as much as I could every day.
Elder Dwarf, the silver-haired prepubescent beautiful girl, emotionlessly uttered so.
In the backside of the house reserved for us, the Golems were ced.
There were 30 of them.
Five F rank equivalent Stone Golems.
Ten E rank equivalent Iron Golems.
Ten D rank equivalent Silver Golems.
Five C rank equivalent Mithril Golems.
They were bnced like so. No matter how much Mithril we had to make powerful weapons, it wouldnt be enough for making all the Golems so most of the Golems were instead made of iron and silver. Thus, the Iron Golems and Silver Golems.
These will make things easier. Ill equip these guys with heavy weapons and then theyll be a great addition to my fighting force.
The Golems had arge build, towering at over 3 meters, and it had the power to match. So, I equipped them with heavy weapons remodeled ording to their specifications and done by the Elder Dwarf.
The Browling D2 .50 caliber (custom).
Over-all length: 1560 mm
Weight: 38.0 Kg.
Caliber: 12.7 mm x 99
Belt-fed system; 110 rounds each belt
Rate of fire: 650 rounds per minute
Effective range: 2,000 meters
A historical masterpiece of a machine gun. Eighty years had passed since it was designed and yet it still was one of the most excellent guns. It boasted overwhelming firepower and reliability.
It weighed close to 40 Kg. so I was only able to just barely make it after I had leveled up and increased my MP.
I was only able to do so recently so there was only five of the gun as of yet.
It used a caliber of 12.7 mm so that meant it used a caliber more than twice asrge as that of an assault rifle.
The power it possessed was beyond words. Not only would a bullet go right through and leave a hole to any human shot with it, it would turn them into minced meat.
Just imagine these bullets of such ludicrous power was incessantly raining down upon the battlefield.
Originally, the gun was meant to be installed on a vehicle and never was it meant to be carried by foot soldiers. However, the Golems were able to easily make use of such a beast.
Master. These Golems will be suited for a defensive battle but not an offensive one.
However, that didnt mean it didnt have any weaknesses.
The Golems werent monsters created by me so I couldnt store them away. In other words, the Golems would have to move until their destination point all by themselves. Their movement was by no means fast and that would therefore hinder their offensive. Their movement speed even loses to the Skeletons.
However, in asions where a location was to be defended, there was no monster more convenient than them.
I know. These guys will be our strongest line of defense.
I was thinking that basically, in my Dungeon, the ones in charge of attack would be the Undead corps while the Golem corps would be in charge of defense.
Leaving all that aside... Hows Tenkos weapon? Is itplete already?
Its perfect, the best one Ive made. Ive finished it using: my analysis on the construction of the shotgun, the information Master gave me regarding the M&K MK417, my intuition as a dwarf, and Tenkos demands. Its my most superb prized item.
The assault rifle I had prepared for Elder Dwarf was:
M&K MK417 MR762A1
Over-all length: 905 mm.
Weight: 4.25 Kg.
Magazine size: 20 rounds
Caliber: 7.62 mm x 51
Rate of fire: 600 rounds per minute
Effective range: 400 meters
Its a version of the Skeletons MK416 but instead uses 7.62 mm bullets.
The Skeletons would have had a hard time firing anything that used more than the 5.56 mm bullets which had little recoil. Not to mention the need to put importance on the magazine size when it came to the Skeletons; the 5.56 mm bullets were smaller and therefore would allow more bullets on the magazine.
However, the MK 417 and its 7.62 mm bullets would not be an issue for Elder Dwarf, all things considered.
I handed her the high-powered gun in hopes that she might acquire any engineering techniques from it and use it for enhancing Tenko shotgun.
Oto-san, my new shotguns really amazing! It so powerful, and it can even rapid-fire; its the best! El-chan, thank you!
Tenko who test fired the gun in a separate location had returned.
She was in a considerably good mood and hugged Elder Dwarf.
Her weapon underwent an extreme power up so of course she was delighted.
Elder Dwarf. May you please tell me what kinds of improvements you have made on the Remilton M870P?
Yes, Master. First, due to the properties of the Mithril alloy, the gun was made lightweight while also having an increase in its strength. The strength of the material aside, I have also fully applied dwarven enchantments on it.
It looked as though dwarves used some kind of magic to enhance materials.
The Mithril used was no ordinary Mithril neither. It was a Mithril alloy wherein the Mithril was mixed with various kinds of metal. It resulted in an increase of its strength and viscosity.
Next, I increased the firepower by changing the shell from a 12 gauge to 4 gauge one. I have also mixed in Mithril powder to the shells powder. Mithril powders have the property to store magic power so if Tenko put in some of her magic power, the weapons power will further increase. A 4 gauge Mithril shell is about 5 times more powerful than an ordinary 12 gauge shell...... Ive also added in a feature which will reduce the recoil but only so much that Tenko will be able to handle this beast.
I was delighted to know that the power of the shells had skyrocketed.
However, not all of it was good news. The shells now employed magic power and I was therefore no longer able to make them using my [Creation].
But Elder dwarf had also made 4 gauge shells which used ordinary powder. These didnt have any magic power flowing in them so I had them properly memorized so that I could make them using [Creation].
In addition, using the MK417 as reference, I have implemented a semi-auto mechanism. It makes use of the recoil and loads in the next bullet. Also, its now possible to change magazines.
The Remilton M870P was a pump-action shotgun. Each shell needed to be pumped-in but because of the semi-auto mechanism, the next bullet would now be reloaded into the chamber automatically.
In other words, rapid-fire was possible.
Furthermore, shells were loaded into a Remilton one at a time but thanks to the modifications done so that a magazine was detachable, the user was now able to replenish all the bullets in one go just by changing the magazine.
Its amazing. But, isnt this a size bigger than before?
That cant be helped. We increased the size of the bullet, made it use magazines, and added a semi-auto mechanism. All of which would lead to it getting bigger.
I guess. The handling of the gun suffers a tad but, all in all, great modding. You did great, Elder Dwarf.
I stroked her head.
She might have had an unconcerned face but the edge of her mouth had risen ever so little.
In fact, this child was just as spoiled as Tenko; pleased whenever her head was stroked.
I was the praising type of Demon Lord so whenever there was a chance, I will assert myself by stroking their heads.
Whats amusing about this child was, although she usually referred to me as Master, she would asionally call me father.Her face would then turn red and sometimes even lose her cool.
Some time ago, Marcho looked at the Demon Lord who was spoiling Tenko and Elder Dwarf, and uttered [Loli] Demon Lord but this was highly vexing. I just wanted nothing but to make the girls happy.
Tomorrow will atst be the [Evening Party] wherein all the Demon Lords will gather. Im d that Tenkos weapon is ready.
I whispered so.
Marcho had given me the advice that as much as possible and until the [Evening Party], I should prepare my fighting force.
Actually, I didnt know anything more than that because it looked like that telling me what would happen on that night was against the rules.
No matter what happens, Tenko will protect Oto-san!
I, too, shall protect Master. My research cant move forward if Master was gone, after all.
These two daughters of mine were really motivated.
Tenko was level 33 and Elder Dwarf was level 28.
Going by levels alone, they were in the range of a D rank monster but since they were S rank monsters to begin with, they had the power to rival a B rank monster.
If their weapons and superior special abilities were to be factored in, it could even be argued that they might be able to hold their own against an A rank monster.
Ill be relying on you. Also, we have to seriously think about our Dungeon soon. I n to take your requests into consideration so please think what kind of Dungeon you think is good.
Oto-san is going to make his Dungeon?
Not yet but soon enough.
Ill be looking forward to it!
Tenko didnt feel anxious, instead her eyes sparkled full of hope for the future.
Master, a mine is essential. You absolutely have to buy one right from the start.
A dwarf is a dwarf and so, she conveyed to me her foremost wish.
I looked at them and felt a little bit at ease.
I must have looked like a fool to be the only one feeling worried.
Tenko, Elder Dwarf, well show them our might tomorrow.
Yay! ?
Well make them realize the power of my weapons.
Today, we did maintenance on our weapons in preparation for tomorrow, and talked about the Dungeon I would eventually make. We were very excited.
The author, Tsukiyo Rui-sensei, wants to take this opportunity to promote the release of the first volume of her other work, ǑˤγɤϤꡫťѥƥIؽUӡ (Upstart Pastry Chef ~The territory management of a Genius Patissier). It willunch on the 30th of October (although futabasha states it will be avable on the 29th).
Volume 1 16
Chapter 16: [Monsters of the Covenant]
The next day, we went over to Marchos room in order to attend the [Evening Party] wherein the Demon Lords would gathered.
Marcho, what things should I do in the [Evening Party]?
I asked Marcho a question I had asked her several times before. She didnt give me any answer except her evasive reply that Ill know when the time came.
Nothing. You should just wait for it; itlle soon enough.
Marchoughed lightly.
By her side were three monsters standing guard.
Without even looking at their status, I knew they held tremendous powers deep within.
The fur on Tenkos fox tail stood on end. She was affected by their presence but still readied for battle.
Those three, are they your [Monsters of the Covenant]?
Yeah, precisely. These three are the top amongst the 1500 monsters following me.
Most likely, all of them were A rank monsters. In addition, they held outstanding power even among other A rank monsters.
Marcho, you often said something like monsters are generally created with a static level.
Youve realized? All of them are monsters who are A rank, have been created to be able to grow, and have also reached their maximum level. Theyreparable to even an S rank.
Monsters who were able to grow have their maximum level raised. They were also much more superior to a static level monster when both were on the same level. And when such monsters reach their maximum possible level, they wereparable to a monster one rank above them.
Tenko might be able to take them on in the future but right now, she wouldnt stand a chance even if she used the shotgun Elder Dwarf had made.
Modified shotgun: Remilton (custom) ED01S
Over-all length: 1160mm
Weight: 3.1 Kg.
Caliber: 4 gauge
Magazine size: 4 shells
Compared to the basic Remilton, it was slightly longer and bigger but due to the change of materials to Mithril, it had be lighter. In ordance to therger caliber, the number of bullets loaded into the gun had gone from six shells down to four but because changing the magazine was now possible, this version was technically better.
In passing, it looked like the naming convention used was that ED was for Elder Dwarf, 01 for being the first in a series, and S to mean shotgun.
By that token, an assault rifle made by Elder Dwarf would probably be called ED01A.
I guess I should say as to be expected of a Great Demon Lords aide-de-camps.
Now imagine my surprise when I saw your monsters; it was at least ten times yours right now. Well then, everyone, introduce yourselves...... As shy as possible.
One of the three monsters apanying Marcho was about to open its mouth.
It was a monster that had the head of a golden maned lion, the wings of a huge falcon, and the tail of a white serpent.
I am a Lion Gryphon. Bestowed upon me by the Great Demon Lord Marchosias-sama, I am Golguna. Celestial Fox, the power within you is considerable but you are still too green and unreliable.
Tenko was offended after she heard the other person talk. She took a step forward and readied her modified shotgun.
You wanna know how unreliable Tenko is?
Ka-ka-kah. You lost your temper as soon as I said you were green and unreliable... Come on, look closely.
When Tenko squinted her eyes, there were almost invisible fine threads on her neck.
Her head might have been lopped off had she rushed in.
She stiffened in surprise and in that moment, her whole body was bound by multiple spider threads. She was bound to the point that only her face from the nose up wasnt covered.
Nn, nn, nnUgh.
The female monster next to the Lion Gryphon looked at Tenko as she groaned and wriggled like a caterpir, unable to stand up. The female monster then giggled andughed.
Four spider legs broke through its clothes so inbination with its four humanoid limbs, it totaled to eight. It was most probably this spider monster that bound Tenko.
Tenkos magic power then swelled. She was trying to burn the threads that bound her using her specialty: fire magic. However, no matter how much time passed, her magic was never activated.
The spider-limbed woman then spoke to Tenko.
Its futile; my thread disperses magic power away. And so, [Creation] Demon Lord, Procell-sama, it is my pleasure to meet you. I am an Arachne. The name bestowed upon me by my lord is Ammolite.
The spider monster informed me of her name. But just then, a gunshot resounded. Elder Dwarf had fired her assault rifle.
However, the bullet was caught by threads.
Considering how much power the bullet exerted, could it really be stopped by just threads?
For the judgement to attack without any hesitation, not bad.
What are you acting like you have the upper hand for? My [Eye] have seen through the strength of your threads. It may be able to stop a single bullet but if I rapid-fired, it wont be able to endure. If you dont want to get hurt, release Tenko. If you do anything wrong, I will not hesitate to fire.
Elder Dwarf aligned the sights of her gun towards Ammolite as she vigntly stared at her enemy. She had the skill called [Eye of truth] which allowed her to analyze every single thing in this world.
Quite the serious blow. I agree my thread wouldnt be able to stand a rapid-fire attack from you but Dwarf-ojouchan, havent you forgotten something? ...There are three of us.
Before she even finished her sentence, I felt an intense bloodlusting from the back.
A monster was born from my shadow and a w was then pressed to my neck.
I didnt know when but the third monster had vanished from my sight and used that timing to creep in on my shadow.
I am a Tartaros. The name bestowed upon me by lord is Kurayami. And Dwarf, should you dare take even a single step, I will slit his throat. (Note: Kurayami means darkness.)
The third monster to appear was a ck werewolf. It wasnt reallyrge, standing at around under two meters, but its body suggested it was a seasoned warrior.
Instead of freeing Tenko, Elder Dwarf seemed vexed by the fact that I was taken hostage. She grinded her teeth and then spoke.
I understand. I will not resist. But remember this: once you no longer have a hostage, I will tear you apart limb from limb.
If Marcho was truly serious, we would have been utterly checkmated.
In meantime, the Lion Gryphon triumphantly talked to Tenko.
Celestial Fox, do you see now why I called you green and unreliable? Youre your Demon Lords closestpanions, his strongest hands? This is the result of losing your calm and giving in on your emotions; you easily fell into a trap and are powerless to do anything about it.
Tenko grinded her teeth and red at Marchos monsters.
Dwarf-jouchan, you have failed as well. If you were convinced your attack will go through my defenses by rapid-firing your weapon, you should have done so before you made any threats. Like that, you have given your enemies time, lost your attention from your most important Demon Lord, and then allowed him to receive a surprise attack...... There is no ce for such foolishness, right?
Elder Dwarf bowed her head and clenched her fists.
It was vexing but Marchos monsters were strong, on top of being sly.
However, it was already enough.
So, Marcho, for how long must we continue this farce? If in case you were serious about this, we would have no other option but to use our trump card, wouldnt you agree?
I smiled at Marcho while the w was still pressed against my neck.
I knew what her general intentions were.
Im surprised you could talk like that in such a situation. But its as Procell says, enough.
Marchos monsters returned to her side.
And the threads around Tenko was unfastened.
Oto-san!
Tenko came back to me. She then stood in front of me and vigntly red at Marcho.
Its alright, Tenko. Marcho was just...
Just as I began to talk, Marcho did too.
Ill speak for myself. The performance just now was to make you all aware of just how na?ve you guys were. If I truly wanted to, I could have all of you annihted. You were unprepared. Would you say something like that was cowardly? Other Demon Lords wouldnt think so. Procell, you say you had a trump card; but even if that was true, it probably wouldnt go as you nned.
Well, who knows?
I did have a trump card.
Its a secret I made with the help of Elder Dwarf. It was made in preparation for when Marcho would turn hostile against us.
It depended on the way it was used but it was certainly able to turn the tide.
I wanted you to know the dread of going against a Demon Lord before you met another. Particrly, old Demon Lords. And you managed to face off against me in a calm manner. You better remember that calmness because if you dont, they will swallow you whole.
Ill surely take it to heart. Its too painful to not remember, after all.
Without the necessary experience, Tenko and Elder Dwarf both couldnt make full use of their abilities.
And never mind a head-on battle; in a fight like this time, they would be toyed on.
I, as well, am ashamed at my inability to respond to the monster that attacked from my shadow. There were countless points on which we should reflect on.
Lessons over. Ah, just on time. Its gonnae soon. Alright, time for the [Evening Party].
At the same time as those words, a voice spoke in my mind.
Children of the stars. The time is now. Assemble, shine, and unt thy existence.
I think I knew that voice.
Children of the stars, the sound of it was oddly familiar.
My consciousness was drifting away.
Tenko tightly grabbed my hand and when I gripped back, she smiled.
And then, my consciousness was gone.
I woke up.
The sky was blue. But it was not the familiar blue of the sky, it was the deep blue of the sea.
The stars twinkled. But those stars were literally of varying colors.
When I looked at my surroundings, there was a garden but it somehow felt unnatural.
There was no way this ce was somewhere in the natural world. It was a world that somebody had created.
I looked ahead and was dumbfounded at the toorge, too impressive and too beautiful snow-white pce.
I didnt know when but Marcho was next to me and spoke.
Over there is the ce where the Creator, the one who created us Demon Lords, is. The Demon Lord Pce.
The [Evening Party] where all the Demon Lords gather now begins.
Volume 1 17
Chapter 17: [War]
The inside of the Demon Lord Pce was as splendid as one might judge by its exterior.
Its ceilings were high. It was alsoplete with all sorts of first-ss furnishings.
When we went inside, we were greeted by maids.
These girls werent human, they were Subi.
I wonder why there were Subi here.
Maybe they were being employed here to make use of their transfer magic.
Woah, Oto-san. That vases really awesome!
Im bored. Theres nothing here worth researching.
The fox-eared girl, Tenko, was excited to look at every single thing in here while the silver-haired prepubescent girl, Elder Dwarf, was suppressing a yawn.
They may act like so but they never, not for an instant, dropped down their guard nor have they forgotten to be wary of their surroundings.
Marchos scolding was effective.
After weve walked a while, a remarkably splendid and huge gate stood before us.
We went over to the reception desk in front of the gate and in there, we were given some exnation; I could only take along up to three of my monsters. And so, I summoned a Skeleton from my [Storage].
It was the smartest among the Skeletons; the top Skeleton Ive been secretly referring to as Ske-san.
The Subi were round-eyed.
Well, it was only natural. And so, with that in mind, I could predict the way things would develop after this.
We were allowed to bring in three monsters, and naturally, it was to be assumed that those three would be the Demon Lords [Monsters of the Covenant].
In other words, this was the chance to show off ones most trusted and most powerful allies.
So if one were to bring along in there a Skeleton which anybody could buy for a mere 20 DP, they would beughed at.
But that was fine to me.
Tenko, Elder Dwarf, I want everyone in there to drop their guard around us so please bear with being made fun of.
I requested such to the two.
Tenko gave me a yeah and then cheerfully nodded while Elder dwarf bobbed her head.
And so, we entered inside the room.
The room was filled by passionate and beautiful music yed by some humanoid monsters.
Food and drinks of the highest quality were served in abundance, each one to be relished.
The only ones in here were the Demon Lords and their subordinate monsters.
By the reactions of those around them, I generally knew whether they were a Demon Lord or a monster.
The Demon lords were very varied, ranging from those just like me to those who were beastmen and dragonewts.
However, what the Demon Lords all had inmon was that they were all able to walk on two legs and could also use their hands for precise movements. In short, they were all humanoids.
I wonder, was this intended?
As I was thinking about it, all the Demon Lords shifted their focus onto me as soon as I took a step in.
After all, they could guess at the attribute the neer might have by looking at the monsters the neer had brought along.
They had to think of the approach they would take in trading for the neers medal depending on his attribute.
Gyahahahahaha. That guy, he brought along something like a Skeleton.
His other monsters are around level 30 too; must be low rank monsters.
A Night fox and a Dwarf? Did he only owned B rank medals when he created them? And on top of that, he flopped.
Half of the Demon Lordsughed at me.
The Night Fox and the Dwarf were both C rank monsters. The Demon Lords probably assumed I used two B rank medals on my [Synthesis], and then failed and only got C rank monsters.
These fellows were the small fries.
Demon Lords had the ability to see through a monsters level. Rising in level would allow them to read an additional piece of information about the monster.
However, the higher the rank of the monster, the higher the level a Demon Lord had to be to be able to read any further information.
In other words, without being able to see through Tenko and Elder Dwarfs powers, they have fallen for my bait which was the Skeleton. And if they looked down on me, they proved they were third-rate Demon Lords.
What I was afraid of were...
Ohh, interesting.
What kind of trick could this be?
Things going to get amusing from now on.
...the Demon Lords who could properly appraise Tenko and Elder Dwarf but chose to be cautious.
If those guys wouldnt make contact with me, I would be outdone.
Casually, I looked around and saw that Marcho was deep in conversation with other Demon Lords.
She gave me a mean look and instantly returned to her conversation. I guess I wouldnt receive any help from her and must strive on my own.
I talked to various Demon Lords in the dance hall.
The small-fry Demon Lords who were looking down on me proposed deals between their imitation medals and my original medals.
They seemed to have decided that my medals were of lower value.
Although they took me lightly, I had also obtained some information.
On the other hand, while all the Demon Lords who were able to see through Tenko and Elder Dwarfs powers were interested in me, they kept each other in check and wouldnt readilye talk with me.
Just as when I thought it was getting irritating, an extraordinary kind of fool came.
You, are you the one who brought along weak monsters? I pity you so this future great Demon Lord, Sts-sama of the [Wind], shall give you some charity.
She was a green haired youngdy.
The moment she said [Wind], our surroundings riled up.
I recalled Marchos story about it. Among the four great elements, [Earth], [Fire], [Wind], and [Water]; only a Demon Lord having the [Wind] medal hasnt appeared all this time.
On top of being powerful, the versatility of the four great elements were extremely high. And without any exception, they were all medals of A rank, making the owners of these medals the target of envy by many others.
Thats why it wasnt amusing if even the girl born with the [Wind] attribute herself thought she was some kind of chosen individual.
Charity?
Yes. Ill give you my [Wind]. Its only an imitation but its a B rank. So, make a slightly better monster.
The girl threw her [Wind] imitation medal in the air and I caught it.
I was thankful for the imitation, no, the [Wind] medal I now held but my pride wouldnt allow me to simply take it.
I was fine with strategically making them let their guard down but receiving charity was another issue.
Thank you. Then, Ill give you this.
I threw to her the [me] imitation medal I had prepared for trading.
Considering [me], [Person], [Earth], and [Creation], all of which were A rank, would certainly be in demand, I had prepared imitations of them beforehand.
Whats this?
An exchange. Im also a Demon Lord born just this year so were rivals. Just me receiving things doesnt sit well to me. These medals are of the same rank, right?
Something I said got on the green-haired Demon Lords nerves and she went mad.
Rivals? Someone like you who can make nothing but monsters of that quality dares to consider me, a Demon Lord having an A rank medal, to be his rival? Dont make meugh.
That quality? I should be asking you that instead. How could someone who brought along monsters of that quality make fun of mine? If they fought, yours wouldntst a minute.
Sts brought along three monsters.
A wind weasel, a winged horse, and an angel-like monster.
I could only see detailed information of D rank monsters and below so for these three, their levels were all I could determine.
However, one of them was just level 69. The others were around the 60s. It was impossible for a monster that could grow to level up this much in this short of a timespan. Then, supposing that was the case, one of them would be an A rank monster and the other two would be B ranks. (Note: Procell here made a little jump in his exnation but remember that static level monsters are born with a level ording to their rank.)
I-I wont allow anyone to make fun of my [Monsters of the Covernant]! You, whats your name?
I am the [Creation] Demon Lord Procell.
As for me, I am the [Wind] Demon Lord Sts. Ill soon make you regret picking a fight with me.
Our surroundings were noisy.
The small-fry Demon Lords looked at me and began spouting things like go die or youll regret this.
On the other hand, the powerful Demon Lords looked at us with great interest.
Well, I guess our fighting force were equal to each other.
Tenko and Elder Dwarf were S rank monsters but they were still at a low level. We were at a disadvantage to the A rank monster born with a static level on the other party when judged solely by their status. But due to our sides superior special abilities and overwhelming weapons, both sides were almost equal to each other.
However, after 10 or so more levels, our side would most likely overtake them and further down the line, just simply overpower them.
Some time had passed.
During that interval, I had exchanged a few of my imitation medals for the other partys but was still yet to obtain an original medal.
I have to obtain some with the time left.
If I exchanged [Creation] to the powerful Demon Lords, perhaps then I could obtain some but unless it was a Demon Lordd that could keep a secret and not have any ill intentions towards me, it would only do me more harm than good.
As I was thinking so, my consciousness suddenly drifted away.
When I came to, I was on a stage.
There were nine others with me. And one of them was Sts whom I got into a quarrel earlier.
All the other Demon Lords gaze were focused on the ten of us.
Children of the stars. These are newly born children to join the ranks.
A voice was heard when we were brought here.
Now then, let us celebrate our new found radiance.
The Demon Lords raised their cups.
And before I realized it, there was also a cup in my hands.
Kampai!
I, almost unconsciously, drank from the cup in my hand.
It was delicious, so very delicious. What was this alcohol and the strange heat it boils up within me? I felt as though a new power had sprouted.
And now, I shall convey to everyone what I have decided upon. Normally, new Demon Lords are prohibited to construct their own Dungeon until they can stand on their own.
I had heard something simr.
After a year of studying, I heard we were to move out and make our own Dungeon.
However, I have decided that that is such a long time spent idling. Therefore, on this asion, I am giving them the privilege to build their own Dungeon.
All of the Demon Lords erupted with chatter.
And from among them, Marcho raised her hand.
[Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias? I permit you to speak.
Yes, Creator. I am against this. They are still much too young and dont yet fullyprehend the world. Their crystals will be broken in the blink of an eye, losing their powers in the process.
That would definitely happen.
After all, our military might were still far from being satisfactory. Our DP was the same.
The one year time period we were given was supposedly for gaining knowledge, earning DP, and building up our military might.
As were right now, the Dungeon we would build would do nothing but entice humans and the other Demon Lords to attack us.
You are a kind child, Marchosias. But your worry is a needless one. Up until a year after their independence, I am prohibiting the other Demon Lords in attacking the new Demon Lords Dungeons.
That was a great help.
I might be able to defend myself but that was only against a fellow new Demon Lord.
The problem now, however, were the beings called Heroes but it seemed like unless there was a threat against mankind, they would not bare their fangs against me.
In addition, should they lose their Dungeon before gaining their independence, I shall give them a new crystal a year after theyve stood on their own.
The new Demon Lords became excited.
That was a wonderful fallback.
However, it by no means meant that losing ones crystal was alright.
After all, the DP one could earn would decrease during the time the Dungeon was down.
And, a gap with the other Demon Lords would be made.
Whats more was what Marcho had said; if the crystal was broken, the Demon Lord would lose all of his powers.
Medal [Discharge], monster creation, and exchanging things for DP, all of these couldnt be done until a new crystal was given.
Also...... there was a chance wherein all the monsters the Demon Lord had created thus far would all be gone, never to return even after getting hold of a new crystal.
However, giving you too much and not having any tension left is also troubling. New Demon Lords, fight with each other and obtain the others power. Conquer anothers Dungeon and snatch away their powers. In fact, I am requiring you to fight one war before being independent.
So thats how things were.
This god seemed like he really wanted us to fight each other.
Either way, since we were going to get a new crystal by the time we were independent, I should not hesitate at breaking another Demon Lords crystal and gaining their power.
The others were thinking the same. This had be a gruesome meeting, hadnt it?
New Demon Lords, I hope youll borrow from the older Demon Lords their knowledge and make abyrinth of your own. That is all... no, actually, lets do a show.
The new Demon Lords let out a voice of surprise.
Something hot was in our hands. In mine was a [Creation] medal. Ignoring the once a month limit, there it was.
This medal is my gift to you, free of charge. And only to the first ones to volunteer, I offer them the chance to take part in a simplified [War] right here, right now. They will be tasked to build an instant Dungeon and shatter the others [Pseudo-crystal]! Win and get the others medal; or lose and have your own medal be taken away!
The new Demon Lords were confused.
If one won, they would be able to get the other Demon Lords medal which was huge.
However, this being a show and all, the scope of their own power would be exposed to everybody in this ce. And on top of that, they had to hand over their original medal should they lose.
But on the other hand, not participating would allow them to bring home a free medal.
So, was it necessary to take the risk?
I understood these but I would not waver. I had no choice but to fight here.
The question now was whom do I fight? At a certain point in the party, I had collected information regarding what kind of medal the new Demon Lords possessed.
But I didnt have much time to dwell on it; the chance was only offered to the first ones to volunteer.
From the group, there was someone to make the first move.
It was the [Wind] Demon Lord Sts.
She was definitely ring my way, trying to open her mouth.
I see, was this revenge for the embarrassment I did to her?
My little mischievious heart was excited.
[Creation]
[Wind] Demon Lord Sts, I challenge you to a war!
And so, this is our show. [Creation] Demon Lord Procell and [Wind] Demon Lord Sts, these two shall go to war!
I interrupted her and dered war myself.
She nned to look cool but having her honor suddenly crushed, Sts shook and trembled.
I shed a grin, adding more fuel to the fire.
She red up right away. It looked like she was an enemy who was easy to deal with.
If I won against her, I would be able to obtain an A rank original medal and I would then be able make another [Monster of the Covenant] candidate.
Now then, time for my first confrontation against a fellow Demon Lord. What kind of battle would unfold, I wonder?
Volume 1 18
Chapter 18: Building a Dungeon for the first time
It was decided that I would participate in a simplified war against [Wind] Demon Lord Sts as part of a show.
We were given a private room right now so that we could prepare.
Although it was called a private room, it was ridiculously vast to the point that it ranged in the thousands of meters, without any sky or walls. We were in a white dimension separated from the world.
In here were myself; the subordinates I rely upon, Tenko, Elder Dwarf, and Ske-san; and as my parent, one of the strongest Demon Lords, [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias.
Ok, lets build a Dungeon, shall we? Being able to build one for free isnt so bad, is it?
I thought youd be tensed, Procell, but it seems like thats not the case; Im relieved. You should just try out all sorts of things and see what they do.
Since this was but a show, both of us had little to lose.
The rules were simple.
Within an hour, we were to construct our Dungeon and deploy our monsters.
And after both of us were transferred to the entrance of the others Dungeon, the fighting willmence.
One side would be dered the winner if they were the first to destroy the enemys crystal found in the innermost part of the Dungeon.
However, we were limited to the provided 10,000 DP. Ones own DP pool was not essible for the moment.
But the rules also said that it was possible to bring in other properties of ours other than DP. These meant we could bring our monsters.
We were allowed to spend the DP supplied to us as we saw fit but any excess DP as well as the Dungeon we had made would be returned after the [War].
Furthermore, it seemed like any monsters to fall in this fight would be revived afterwards.
The [Time] Demon Lord, Dantallian, huh.
By the Creatorsmand, the Demon Lord called Dantalian took part in this [War].
He had the ability to make time rewind up to three hours ago for everything within his barrier.
And so, the battle phases time limit was two hours.
In short, time was rewound by the end so any monster death shall be reversed.
Moreover, things like our memory of the battle, and the DP and experience obtained by killing monsters would be left intact.
I had no doubt that [Time], in terms of both the abilities it gave to its Demon Lord as well as the abilities of its medals, was of the strongest ss.
I wanted to somehow get ahold of one.
Alright, what kind of Dungeon do you n on making?
Marcho was here to support me whom had no experience in making a Dungeon.
I already have an idea. [I shallpose]
I recited the words of power and the Demon Lord book appeared.
I then opened it and looked at the page containing entries about Dungeon making.
First of all, the Dungeon will be of the cave-type.
For the exterior, I chose it to be some kind of mundane cave.
I selected so for one reason only; it was cheap.
I filled the white room with a mountains worth of soil and thuspleted the cave.
The hole of the cave was dark, as if it was saying it went on forever.
A Demon Lords Dungeon was on another dimension so how it appeared outside had nothing to do with how vast it was inside.
Yeah, you gotta save up wherever you can. You can pay attention to a Dungeons exterior once youve saved up some DP.
I wonder about that. What about for attracting adventurers?
...Are you really a beginner?
What I was talking about was the part where the Dungeon attracts in some humans.
Like, for example, a certain castle-type Dungeon where humans believe they could get things like treasures while also being able defeat some monsters.
So one had to also pay attention to the Dungeons exterior especially for a new and unknown Dungeon.
Well, this Dungeon will only be used for this [War] so I guess it doesnt really matter. Now, lets make a vicious Dungeon!
It was a disposable Dungeon so its only purpose was to murder the enemy.
Originally, my n was to make a Dungeon where humans would have a fair amount of happiness and ie but I didnt have to worry about such things right now.
I only had to worry about annihting my enemies. That and only that.
Fufu. Thats the right attitude. All the Demon Lords are watching this show, you know. Take this opportunity to show them your might, [Creation] Demon Lord Lolicell!
Marcho grinned and giggled.
.........Marcho, what the heck did you just call me?
Yeah, huh, whats the matter Procell? Hey, theres not much time left. Next on the list is the interior. Youre limited to only a floor for this [War]. Its going to be a simple Dungeon but that just makes it all the more difficult to build. So, use your head!
This girl... she definitely said that on purpose.
Later on, Ill make a monster that wasnt a loli and make her realize how wrong she is.
But when I turned my head, casually, at my cute monsters, I looked at their eyes full of expectation on whether the Dungeon would be fun.
They were so cute. I wanted to hug them. Fine, I guess dont mind being Lolicell.
Ahem, lets build the Dungeon, shall we?
A Demon Lords Dungeon wasposed of three rooms per level.
Each time 10,000 DP was paid, the number of levels the Dungeon had increases but the crystal room would always be in thest room of deepest level.
Considering an imitation medal was 500 DP, this was rtively much more expensive.
Procell, when buying rooms found in your book, remember that the moreplex the terrain and the more traps it has, the more expensive it bes. Adding in magicalponents will have the tendency of making it even more expensive.
I flipped the pages as I listened on Marchos tips.
It was exactly as she said.
The cheapest was an empty field. It was exactly as it sounded, a terrain with nothing on it. It could be bought for 500 DP.
The next cheapest was a stone room. A room whose floor, walls, and ceiling was made with nothing but stone. For 1000 DP.
Next, stone corridors. It was like the one above but this one was aplexbyrinth which looked like it would be suitable for buying time. For 2000 DP.
The novelty, Lava room, for 3000 DP. An enchanted room was for 6000 DP. And many more but the more borate it got, the higher the price.
Now, Procell, with your limited budget in mind, you better make the best choices.
Well, I had nothing to worry about. Ive made up my mind.
I bought three stone rooms.
Upon buying a room, one was able to choose what its general shape and size would be.
In the case of the stone room, one couldnt build walls within it but they would be able to choose the shape of the stone room itself, whether it be rectangr, triangr or any sort of shape.
Furthermore, one could freely change the size of its dimensions. Its length and width ranged from 3m to 10Km while its height ranged from 3m to 20m.
The greater the size of the room, the more time it would stall the enemies but then that also meant the wider the area ones monsters had to guard and the easier it was for the enemy to pass through.
Well, there was no other choice for me.
The rooms width was 4m; its length was 2Km; and its height was 3m. I had built three extremely oblong rooms.
Alright, itsplete!
I did a good job.
It was a rather good Dungeon.
Wai-wait a minute. Why is it a pointlessly long straight-forward path!? The enemies wont be lost at all. It doesnt have any traps neither. If the enemies just march forward, theyll get to the deepest part of your Dungeon really quickly, you know!? I mean, what did you save the 7000 DP for!?
Without understanding what I was nning for, Marcho panicked.
Its going to be fine. The rooms height is low, its apletely straight path with nothing as cover, and the ground cant be dug. And, it has exactly two kilometers end to end...... theres no more ideal field than this.
These were the three rooms. inly speaking, losing hadnt crossed my mind.
That confidence... do you have something nned?
Yes, rest assured, I have absolute confidence in my defense.
At that timing, the space warped.
[Creation] Demon Lord Procell-sama. We have the things you had requested for.
Thanks. You may ce them there.
The Subi working at the Demon Lord Pce came using their transfer magic. They transported therge quantities of weapons as well as the Golems made by Elder Dwarf, both of which were left behind at Marchos Dungeon.
The Elder-Dwarf-made Golems werent mine so I was unable to put them into my storage and bring them along.
If I didnt have the Golems with me on this fight, it would then most likely turn into a fierce battle.
The weapons were assault rifles; five Golem-specific more-than-forty-kilograms heavy machineguns, the Browling D2 .50 caliber guns; and arge supply of ammunitions.
And the sleeping soldiers because of mustard.
Each room in the Dungeon was perfectly sealed so the mustard would be really effective.
(Note: these two lines dont make much sense to me neither; my best guess is it refers to mustard gas and the sleeping soldier might actually be dying soldier because you wont just be sleeping when hit with a mustard gas, right? Im not really sure about it all but I will update once I am.)
Oto-san, what should Tenko do in this fight?
Master, my instructions as well
Tenko and Elder Dwarf voiced out so.
They held no doubt, not even a fragment of it, about my Dungeon.
They trusted me and perhaps also understood why I made this kind of Dungeon.
The defense shall all be entrusted to the Golems. And Tenko, Elder Dwarf and the Skeleton squad will focus on the offense! At the start of the [War], we will go deep into the enemys Dungeon.
Basically, it was the stupidest of the stupidest ideas to leave the defense to only the Golems which werent even monsters.
After all, the enemy had hosts of A and B rank monsters at hermand.
However, within my Dungeon and with their equipment, they were impregnable walls.
Yay, okay! We definitely wont forgive those guys that looked down on Oto-san!
I concur with Tenko. We will make them regret their slight against Master.
Im relying on the both of you.
I stroked the heads of my reliable daughters.
Tenko smiled,ughed and said Yay! ? . As for Elder Dwarf, she was silent but the area near her mouth rxed.
Marcho looked at me with lukewarm eyes.
My chances of ridding myself of my notoriety as Lolicell got further away.
Well then, Procell, what will you do with your remaining DP?
Use it, of course.
I had obtained 10,000 precious DP so I had to make effective use of it.
Although the Creator had said that any excess points as well as the Dungeon made for this fight would be retrieved from us.
Put differently, it was fine not to return things other than those.
And so I began makingrge amounts of imitation medals.
Youre surprisingly stingy.
I prefer being called strategic. Making monsters is a fair strategy in making the Dungeon stronger, right?
I had received several imitation medals at tonights [Evening Party] but was still yet to receive an original one.
I will use these medals and make some monsters. My expectations were particrly high for [Wind] and [Death] due to them being imitations of originally A rank medals. If I fused together the B rank medals I had in possession, it would most probably result in the creation of B rank monsters.
I wasnt nning on making any of them members of my [Monsters of the Covenant] so theyll be born with static levels.
Now then, which monsters shall I make? For now, Ill trybining [Wind] with [Beast] and [Death] with [Person].
I hope [Death] would help give birth to a smart B rank monster.
As I hoped for such, I began the [Synthesis].
There was still plenty of time left. Ill increase my chances of winning a little bit more.
Volume 1 19
Around forty minutes left to prepare.
First off, I had asked Elder Dwarf to optimize the Golems programming for this [War].
Golems were only able to do the things they were programmed to do, so it was necessary to configure their behavior and routines beforehand.
Their orders this time was exceedingly simple so it didnt take too much time.
Master, Im off.
Im relying on you, Elder Dwarf.
Just like that, Elder Dwarf who had already finished the program vanished into the Dungeon together with the Golems.
She was going to deploy the Golems, install the guns and the traps, and many other tasks but with her at themand, there was no doubt she would handle it easily.
Is it alright for Tenko to not help?
Yeah, it is. This is Elder Dwarfs forte, anyway.
Elder Dwarf was, in a sense, much more proficient than I was in regards to modern day weaponry while the Golems were much better at manualbor so there was little help we could really offer.
Id rather use that time at focusing on my own tasks.
I bought a [Person] imitation medal and ced it together with [Death] on my hand.
About [Death], I only just got it at the [Evening Party]. There was a Demon Lord who wanted a [me] imitation so we agreed to exchange imitation medals.
The [me] imitation was in high demand, and it was only natural considering it was originally an A rank medal. Also, its owner was a perished Demon Lord so it was on even higher demand.
Tenko, Ill now make a monster with [Death] and [Person].
Tenkos friends will grow again!
You say that but this monster will be much weaker than Tenko and Elder Dwarf.
[Death] was the undead monsters attribute, and [Person] was so that the monster would be humanoid as well as giving some intelligence to the monster.
If I were able to make a high-ranking undead right now, I would then have an easier time at making use of the Skeleton squad than before.
As I prayed for such, I gripped the medals tightly.
[Synthesis]
Furious light stemmed from within my hand.
[Death] and [Person] wasbining.
If it was as always, this was the part where I would select the things I wanted from the myriad of possibilities using the power of [Creation]. But I couldnt do so this time since this was just a normal [Synthesis].
I was awfully anxious; I didnt know what monster would be created.
I was now realizing how truly a blessing [Creation] was.
The light ceased and a humanoid monster was born. Its size was close to a humans at more than half a meter tall.
It was a skeletal monster but it couldnt bepared with a regr Skeleton for it was d in deep darkness as it wore a high quality robe over its body.
I am the [Creation] Demon Lord Procell. Tell me of your race.
Expecting it could understand my words, I asked the skeletal monster so.
It didnt answer.
Was it as I feared? Was even this not a highly intelligent monster?
As I was thinking so, the skeletal monster spoke.
My lord, I am a Wight. I am also a marquis in thend of the dead. Im pleased to make your acquaintance.
The skeletal monster gave an elegant bow like those of a noble.
I was now convinced I hit the jackpot.
Ill be counting on you, Wight. I see you could speak with me but can you do the same with them?
It wasnt only Ske-san that was out right now, I had summoned all of the Skeletons from my storage.
Each of them had received training and thus were able to use guns. They were my prized Skeleton squad.
Its bones ttering, Ske-san approached Wight.
But of course, my lord. Ooh, how pretty and beautiful you are.
Wight knelt before Ske-san and kissed the back of its hand.
Two skeletons kissing was widely surreal.
That Ske-san was a girl......?
I was in a great shock.
My lord, no matter how you look at her, she cant be anything but a fair maiden.
Wight and Ske-san made ttering noises together.
And then, Wight acted as though he was thinking of something.
Wight was all bones so there was no way to see any expression on his face but each of his actions were so exaggerated, it was actually easy to tell what he was thinking about.
When Ske-san was no longer making any ttering noises, Wight turned my way.
My lord, I have something I want to show you by all means.
Show it.
Yes.
As I looked at Wight, using the magazine that was in her pouch, Ske-san changed the one on the assault rifle which hanged from her shoulder.
The Skeletons had never learned to do that no matter how much I taught them but here it was, put into practice. I was deeply moved.
Wight, did you teach her that?
Yes, in a way. I have the ability to read the memories of the lower ranking undead as well as the ability to control them. So, I read their memories and made them perform the action which frustrated them because they were unable to live up to your expectations.
Wight received an assault rifle from a Skeleton. He then smoothly loaded a bullet in it and shot it towards the sky.
In addition, by reading their memories, Im able to do the things they could as though I was the one to have experienced it.
Those words wereforting.
After all, I didnt have the time to teach him how to use a gun.
He respectfully received the spare assault rifle as well as the pouch containing magazines and ammunitions that I handed over to him.
...Thus, my lord, let me once more swear my fealty to you not because youre my creator but because my own little heart has acknowledge you as my one and true lord.
Wight knelt down.
In that form, he exuded his elegance and resolve.
I am certain of this because of the Skeletons. Youve cherished them despite being the weakest of monsters; youve made them feel important. And, if permitted, all they desire is for them to serve you further and be your strength. You are deeply loved, my lord. I thank god for being born under the rule of someone like you.
Raise your head, Wight. I will be relying on you from now on.
I shall be by your side until I can no longer move.
Thus, the exchanging of oaths between master and servant concluded.
Wight immediately taught all the Skeletons how to change their magazines.
When I looked closely, the squads movement had gotten smoother in this short passage of time.
Just what one should expect of a marquis of hell, they excel at leading people.
I confirmed Wights status.
Race: Wight
B rank
Name: Unnamed
Level: 56
Physical Strength: D
Endurance: D
Agility: C
Magic Power: B
Luck: E
Special B+
Skills:
Leader of the dead
Average Undead creation
Invigorate the dead
Undead
His stats were quite low but his special abilities were top-notched.
Leader of the dead was a skill that allowed him to read the memories of the undead. It also allowed him control them. Thus, he had the ability to lead the Skeletons well.
Average Undead creation, meanwhile, would use corpses as its materials to make Undead up to C rank thus allowing me to save up on some DP.
Worthy of special mention was Invigorate the Dead. It would strengthen any C rank and below Undead under ones control.
I would have him takemand of the Skeleton squad. I hope he would make them more clever and stronger.
He had every ability that I wished him to have.
If I could have, I would have wanted to make him an S rank using [Creation]. If that was only so, he would even have had the ability to create high ranking Undead.
Afterwards, I fused [Wind] and [Beast] together and got a B rank Gryphon. Its head was of an eagles while its body was that of a horses.
Its intelligence was just average but being able to ride on itsrge body was great.
Perhaps, such may evene in handy for this fight.
Right after I made the Gryphon, Elder Dwarf returned havingpleted all of her tasks.
Master, I have returned.
There was just five minutes left.
It would be rather boring to spend all of the remaining DP only for imitation medals.
On that note, I remembered that Elder Dwarf was saying she wanted to have an assistant.
Thanks, Elder Dwarf.
I have deployed the Golems as master has instructed. Their programming, too, isplete.
Excellent. Ill give you a reward. You said you wanted an assistant so Ill buy you B rank Dwarf Smiths.
Thanks, Master! With them, my research will progress further! I can leave a fair amount of work to them as I concentrate on the thinking aspects of it.
I bought two Dwarf Smiths which was the monster two ranks below Elder Dwarf in their lineage. Each of them was worth 1200 DP so if it was not a situation such as this, I wouldnt have been able to afford them.
The Dwarf Smiths were tanned, ck-haired, short, mid-teens girls.
They werent like Tenko and Elder Dwarf who were transcendentally beautiful girls but they were cute nheless.
Elder Dwarf immediately taught them all sorts of things.
The gathering of cute girls was simply eye-catching.
The Dwarf Smiths looked at Elder Dwarf who was the much higher-ranking species with eyes of admiration. This would make them listen properly to what Elder Dwarf says and help her on what she really needs.
In the back, Marcho nodded in approval and spoke.
When you created the Wight and the Gryphon, I was like that Procell, making a monsters that wasnt a loli!? but I see that youre still who you are. Im relieved.
She gave a pose where her thumbs were pushed out.
I reckoned no matter what I said wouldnt matter so I decided to just concentrate on the battle.
It was a bit rushed but somehow we had properly done all our preparations within the time limit.
~From the perspective of [Wind] Demon Lord Sts~
So how is it? What do you think of my Dungeon, [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth-sama!?
I confidently showed my prized Dungeon to my parent, Astaroth-sama.
The Dungeon I thought of over and over again.
Many of my monsters had the ability to fly.
So, a valley where footing was unstable and where my flying monsters had an overwhelming advantage.
Abyrinth where countless traps were prepared.
And, ava zone where footing was difficult.
Such were the three rooms I had prepared.
Considering my monsters had excellent mobility, each room was as wide as possible.
I was sure, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell wouldnt even be able to break through a single room.
I only had a few points remaining so Ive decided to reserve them until thest moment.
Fumu. Your Dungeons quite good. You did a good job, Sts.
Astaroth-sama appeared like a kind old man but, as befitting of my parent, he was one of the strongest Demon Lords.
[Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias, [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth, and [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian were said to be the current strongest Demon Lords.
Naturally.
Sts, you are excellent. You have a blessed attribute, an A rank and highly versatile medal, and the strongest Unique Skill. Youre also smart, and highly proficient inbat. There is no mistake, you will be one of the most talented Demon Lords even amongst further generations.
Somehow, Astartoth-sama looked at me as though he was pitying me.
Why are you saying that now? I already know Im a genius. But that fellow that challenged me, not knowing his own ce, Ill crush him in the blink of an eye!
The ipent guy that could make nothing but C rank monsters.
That shameless guy that was apanied by something like a Skeleton.
But despite all that, that guy was arrogant and intolerable.
In front of the other Demon Lords watching, I shall thoroughly make aughing stock out of him.
You are still young. Defeat shall be a good lesson for you. Its better to taste it as early as possible in a battlefield as small as possible. This [War] is a rare opportunity to experience some amount of pain. Its not very often you get the convenient chance to recover from a setback. I hope you learn a lot from this.
Astaroth-samas words sounded as though he was convinced I was going to lose.
I violently red up and turned my back on him.
Ill make you see!
And so, I activated my Unique Skill.
The Unique Skill of [Wind] was a collection of various derived magic.
The strongest ability from among them was [Uneven Distribution]. That power applies to all of my monsters at the same time.
Such would effectively double my fighting force. The strongest power as befits myself.
Everyone had this all wrong; this wasnt a battle but a one-sided onught.
I let out augh for I, the future great Demon Lord, [Wind] Sts, shall show all the Demon Lord my might!
Volume 1 20
Chapter 20: Mithril Golems
The time limit for building a Dungeon has ended.
Right at that moment, my consciousness drifted away.
I was summoned by the Creator.
For a time now, I was on a separate white space, the cave dungeon I had just created at my back.
And at the front was the green-haired conceited girl, [Wind] Demon Lord Sts. By her back were a lot of monsters. The defending monsters were deployed in the Dungeon so these must be the monsters she would bring to attack my Dungeon.
I was the same. I had Tenko, Elder Dwarf, Wight, and the Skeleton squad by my back. The Gryphon, too. All of my monsters aside from the Golems were here.
However, by no means were Stss monsters, numbering close to a hundred, too many. Given that she was born around the same time as I was, she should have around the same amount of monsters that I could create. Was she bringing all of her monsters to attack? No, thats not it. Could there be a trick at y here?
At Stss back was also a cave-type Dungeon.
However,pared to my shabby-looking cave, hers was as splendid as her budget allowed. Her vainness was showing through.
Good, you didnt run away. Ill praise you that much.
Theres no way Ill let the chance to get your hard-to-get medal slip away.
Following my cheap shot, Sts popped a vein.
I wanted to get her as angry as possible to increase my chances of winning.
A gigantic screen was suspended in the sky of the white space.
Projected on the screen were the figures of the exhrated Demon Lords. Our own figures were probably being projected on their side as well.
Sts was visibly anxious. And why wouldnt she be? For her, winning against a run of the mill Demon Lord like me was all but certain. Trampling over me was even a given.
...I wont even need the full two hours to crush you; Ill end you right away!
You wish. But I doubt youd even be able to conquer my Dungeon at all so, I, on the other hand, will be taking it nice and slow.
Being told this much, she would have little choice but to go at it with full force right from the start.
She would have to hurry thus her options at how she should tackle things would severely dwindle.
Now then, let us move on to the main event of tonights [Evening Party]. Taking part and putting their medals and pride on the line are [Creation] Demon Lord Procell and [Wind] Demon Lord Sts. Dont take your eyes off from their fight.
The Creators voice was heard.
Finally.
Before the match, Ill show you something interesting. As usual, we shall bet on our participants. These are the current rates. For [Cretion], 1.3 times. For [Wind], the rate is 3 times. Rumor has it that [Creation] holds an overwhelming advantage but will [Wind] be able to overturn this rumor, I wonder?
The amount of DP the viewing Demon Lords had wagered were being disyed on the monitor along with the going rate.
It was heavily on my favor.
I guess it was logical. The Demon Lords who saw through my true capabilities, who knew I was being followed by S rank monsters, and who held influence over others, all had vast amounts of DP to wager.
Although our fighting force appeared to be equal, they probably saw something about me who could make S rank monsters.
If that was so, it was understandable they would pool their wagers on me.
But Sts who couldntprehend any of it was in great shock.
Bah, dont make meugh! You see me as someone inferior to this man!? Ill show you all my powers, the powers of a future Great Demon Lord!
Sts waspletely beside herself.
Well then, time to start the [War]. The rules are simple. Both of you are given two hours. Achieve victory by either breaking the enemy crystal or killing the enemy Demon Lord itself before the time limit expires. Use this white space to invade the enemys Dungeon but any disturbance on this white space itself is forbidden. Now, are your preparationsplete?
Sts and I both nodded.
These rules were reasonable. After all, if one were allowed to make any disturbance at this ce, they would be employing an extremely effective tactic of not letting the enemy force enter your Dungeon.
Now, let the [War] begin!
~From the perspective of [Wind] Demon Lord Sts~
I grinded my teeth and endured my vexations.
The betting rates shocked me.
Theyve ced my value less than that man? The chosen me who had one of the four great elements? Impossible. Impossible. Impossible.
As I entered my Dungeon, I flew to the innermost room where the crystal was via [Transfer].
It was a privilege a Demon Lord has; to be able to jump to any room they wanted to as long as it was within their own Dungeon. And being where it was safest was a normal y considering everything would be lost should the Demon Lord fall.
There was no need for me to unreasonably go out to the frontlines neither.
It was all because my Unique Skill was the strongest.
[Wind] Unique Skill was as follows: first, of course, was the ability to blow wind; the ability to generate wind des; the highly versatile ability to fly; and most of all, the ability to use [Omnipresence].
Note: [Uneven Distribution] to [Omnipresence]
Put inly, its a skill that would make temporary copies of my monsters.
Each instance of use would produce up to a hundred monsters at a rank lower than they were originally before. However, it could only be used once a day and the copies would onlyst an hour before they vanish.
Its effects had already been activated all this time. All of the copies would be deployed outside to conquer the enemys Dungeon.
Theres no way Id lose.
Yeah, no way.
Ever since I was born, I had been desperately earning DP and making monsters. My forces numbered 98. Not to mention, even the weakest among them were still D rank monsters.
So I, obviously, was far different from that man who only had troops so weak, he had to walk alongside a Skeleton.
Even normally, I already overwhelm him in terms of both the quality and quantity of our fighting forces but what more if I doubled it via [Omnipresence]?
All my monsters would be put on the defense as the monsters created by [Omnipresence] shall be focused on attacking.
No, rather, Ill send half of my original monsters to go attack. That way, Ill be able to overwhelm him much sooner than initially nned.
And thus, I issued out an order to sortie to the half of the monsters that were initially supposed to remain.
Now, let the trampling begin.
I, using my [Wind] skill, will leave behind my real body here as I go to the frontlines in a spiritual body as my avatar.
On the white space that adjoined the two Dungeon.
That man was just standing there with his subordinates, neither defending his Dungeon nor attacking mine.
How deplorable. Well, its fine too if he stood there for the rest of his life.
My avatar could only be seen by monsters that could see spirits.
In fact, that man didnt notice a thing.
The fox girl, however, had her ears twitching but maybe I was just imagining things.
Still, for them to not move at all, what could they be nning? Were they waiting to see what our y would be?
Rozelitte, lets get started.
I ordered so to one of my [Monsters of the Covenant].
It was an angelic kind of monster; the strongestbination born from thebination of my [Wind] medal and the [Holy] medal given by Astaroth-sama. A Rathgrith.
(Note: `. Phically Razegurifu. I have no idea what kind of monster it really is. Pleasement any alternatives)
The A rank monsters had a lot of powerful special abilities but this one had a particrly excellent ability which made her an outstanding monster not just in terms of stats.
Although the copies made by [Omnipresence] were of a lower rank than the original, [Crusaders], Rozelittes skill, wouldpensate for it by strengthening everyone under hermand.
That mans monsters would be beaten senseless in an instant.
The angelic monster, Rozelitte, issued out amand to attack to the monsters in the white space.
The monsters in the white space numbered 98, with 50 monsters as reinforcements on standby. Most of them were C and D rank monsters with some B rank monsters mixed in.
The entrance to that mans Dungeon was narrow.
The most amount of monsters that could enter all at once were around ten.
Some monsters made a formation and entered the Dungeon.
The inside of the Dungeon itself was located in another dimension so someone on this side wouldnt be able to see nor hear what was happening within. That didnt apply to Rozelitte, however, as she couldmunicate with all the monsters hermand via telepathy. She really was a monster that specialized inmanding an army.
It sure is weird, right?
Yes, they should have contacted us by now...
I was as puzzled as her. There hadnt been any message from the ones that went within.
If it was safe, they would have instructed us to follow; and if there was some sort of danger, they would have asked for reinforcements. No matter what, they should have contacted us by now.
That should have been the case but there was no contact from them at all.
Rozalitte?
Ive called out to them but, still, no response.
No, it cant be... were they killed?
Impossible. The first squad was mostly C ranks.
Although they were weakened by [Omnipresence], the adjustments done by [Crusaders] made them more powerful than D ranks.
It was then, therefore, impossible for them to vanish within a few seconds.
Just to be sure, lets send in a second group.
I assented to her proposal.
And so, a second group went in.
Several secondster, and as what was expected, no message came from them neither even after Rozelitte contacted them through telepathy.
Now that it has be like this, Ill go in myself.
Are you sure, Sts-sama?
Most definitely.
This was a spiritual body made by [Wind] so it was impossible to be destroyed and should it be destroyed, it wont be a problem at all.
This option was the most definite way to investigate the inside of this Dungeon.
The inside of the Dungeon.
Huh, what is this? Is he an idiot?
The interior was a stone room.
It had a width of just 4 meters and a length of 2 kilometers. However, there was nothing else but the long road ahead.
Anyone would be able to conquer this room by just running through it.
I cant understand the reason behind this skimping to the extreme.
But it was troubling that the ceiling was just 3 meters from the floor; a height wherein flying monsters wouldnt be able to disy their full potential.
I then looked around.
Hii!?
What was there were the corpses of my own monsters.
And they werent simple corpses neither; they werepletely torn to bits.
Just what the hell could have happened here to make them like this?
After a short while, they turned into blue particles and then vanished.
After seeing such, I was convinced that somehow, the monsters that went in here were killed instantly.
But then, just how, exactly?
When I strained my eyes, I saw two Mithril Golems standing in the far end of the room. And for some reason, there were these huge iron pipes installed.
Mithril Golems, when tranted into monster terms, were of B rank.
But they were dimwitted and slow to react, and their great physical strength and stamina were their only redeeming features. A so-called good-for-nothing. They were no threat at all.
But then, what the hell happened to my monsters?
Rozelitte, send in another group.
I wouldnt know if I just stood here like this.
I had no choice but to experiment.
The Golems couldnt see spirits so they couldnt see me but, perhaps, if an enemy were toe into their view, they were going to do some kind of action.
Rozelitte dispatched the monsters I asked for.
The ten monsters that came in were a mix of Pseudo-elves and Lesser Gryphons.
And then...
A storm blew.
Something terribly quick passed through the side of my face.
And then, an explosion happened in the back. The Pseudo-elves, the Lesser Gryphons, all of them, were just blown away and turned into minced meat.
Afterwards, many sounds of explosions were heard.
What, what was that?
What the hellllllllllllllll!? Whats thaaaaaat!?
Not understanding anything, I screamed.
When I turned to face the front, there were smokeing out of the metal pipes installed besides the Golem on the far end of the room.
It was that that attacked.
An attack so nightmarish, the soundgged behind.
Furthermore, it was dealt from two kilometers away.
In other words, its range was this whole room. There was nowhere to escape to.
I wanted to call bullshit for the furthest an attack from any of my monsters went was only about two hundred meters and yet, this one flew a full two kilometers? On top of that, it had an absurd amount of power to turn my monsters into minced meat in an instant to the point that its sound was left far behind?
This, this was impossible.
No, I have to calm down. Im a future Great Demon Lord.
It was possible. It was possible since it had already happened.
I will approve of his Dungeon. And upon approving, I will conquer it.
This was probably due to that mans Unique Skill. It perhaps granted overwhelming range and attack power to even Golems.
Then, my next y was simple.
There was no way such an ultra-high-ranged and ultra-high-powered magic could be used without limits.
Even a Demon Lords Unique Skill had limits.
A magic of this magnitude probably couldnt be used in session and should have a usage limit overall. Its magic consumption should also be great.
But exactly how much? Thinking pessimistically, the most it could be used should be two more times. I could breakthrough through sheer numbers.
Now, it had put a little wrinkle in my ns but I shall now conquer this Dungeon immediately.
Thus, I had ryed my new n to Rozelitte.
Volume 1 21
Chapter 21: What lies beyond despair...
Rozelitte, assemble them into squads and send them in one after the other!
I issued instructions via telepathy to my most trusted monster, the angelic monster, Rozelitte.
Everything was for the conquest of this Dungeon.
At once, Sts-sama.
The attack that instantly killed its foe the moment the foe entered the Dungeon was certainly astonishing.
But I was also certain that such an ultra-high powered and ultra-high-ranged magic couldnt be used often.
Even the Unique Skills of us Demon Lords had limitations, after all.
A magic of this magnitude probably couldnt be used continuously and should have a usage limit overall. Its magic consumption should also be great.
Pessimistically speaking, the most it could be used again should only be two more times.
If that was really so, then my n would be to make my monsters rush the enemy one after another and in the instant that the attack stopped, they would shorten the distance and kill!
The only enemy monsters here were just two Mithril Golems after all.
Sts-sama, were ready. At yourmand.
Rozelitte, give them defensive enhancements as much as possible. The monsters that have defensive skills, use them all without reserve! All troops, charge!
Certainly, Sts-sama.
With this n, we should be able to break through this nightmare!
I was sure of it.
Twenty minutester, Iughed a dryugh.
Due to my foolish assumptions, I lost nearly a hundred important monsters.
I thought of stopping halfway through but the thought of letting everyone die in vain made it impossible to do so. Soon, the attacks will soon reach its limits. The more the casualties there were, the harder it got to pull back, and thus this mess.
There was one child that managed to push through the halfway mark, using the corpses of its fallen allies as its shield but the moment that that one stepped on something in the ground, it exploded and lost its life. Instantly.
I suspected there would be more of those things as we approach the Golems.
Weve sacrificed 80 monsters and yet weve only made it halfway.
The 2Km distance of the Golems seemed endless.
AHA, AHAhaHAhaHA
The enemy never stopped its attacks.
No, not really. It did pause but several secondster, it resumed.
Whenever a strange belt was attached to the iron pipes, it was then able to attack again.
Sending in more monsters to assault would only increase the casualties.
When I calmly examined it, I realized that the attack didnt have any magic power in it. It wasnt a magic attack. But then, what the hell was it?
It was baffling.
But there were some things I did get after seeing my monsters die one after the other.
Such were that it was an attack that had the same destructive power as a full-power attack from someone higher than A rank; that it traveled at three times the speed of sound; and that it fired 10 times in a second.
It could continue such an onught for a straight ten or so seconds... after which it takes a 20-second rest, only to resume the onught all over again.
Breaking through was impossible. The Golems were just too far. The whole room was within its range. There was nothing inside to neither hide in nor use as cover. Just what the heck should we do?
No, actually, there was one thing we could do.
But that was...
As I thought of such, voices spoke in my mind.
They were my [Monsters of the Covenant] whom I have a deep connection with. My thoughts must have flowed into them because of that connection.
Stop. I just thought that the copies from [Omnipresence] alone wouldnt be able to do it but that n will put your real selves at risk. No, death wont even be just a probability, it will be a certainty.
And so, two of my original [Monsters of the Covenant] left my Dungeon and headed here.
My children knew their chances were awfully slim but for the sake of my honor, they were willing to challenge this impregnable Dungeon.
Such children were really to be loved.
This was the first of his three rooms.
But theres no mistaking it, this is that mans trump card.
He must have had used up all his resources to be able to make something this.
If we managed to break through here, victory would be certain.
Then, wouldnt it be worth it to bet it all on my beloved [Monsters of the Covenant]?
Well risk it all to clear this room, and then, achieve absolute victory!
I went outside for a moment to meet my prized [Monsters of the Covenant].
A Rathgrith which was an A rank Angel-type monster... Rozelitte.
A Scissor Wind which was a B rank Kamaitachi-type monster... Masamune.
A Pegasus which was a B rank Flying Horse-type monster... Phobos
Each one of them were strong, reliable, and kind children that I could be proud of.
In terms of just purebat performance, there was one other child that was better but in terms of overall abilities, these children were the best.
Sts-sama, all of your [Monsters of the Covenant] are here. Only I am a copy.
The angel-type monster Rozelitte smiled lightly.
Lets tear the ce down quickly.
Yeah, so much of their fighting force are concentrated on that first room, well be able to do take it easy after weve cleared it.
Masamune the Kamaitachi expressed such confidently while Phobos the Pegasus was calm.
Until a while ago, I had even considered giving up but now, I felt lighter.
I was truly d I made them.
These children were so positive. Just how could I face them with such a gloomy face?!
My [Monsters of the Covenant]! From here on, we will be breaking through the foul traps that lies ahead! I believe you can do this! I believe in you!
Yes, Sts-sama!
There was no way they couldnt do it.
And thus, the monsters I believed in dove into the Dungeon.
The deaths of the several monsters thus far werent in vain.
Thanks to them, we were able to notice some of the enemies weak points.
That Golems attacks, once it veered upwards, its uracy would drop considerably.
In other words, if we flew close to the ceiling and at a really high speed, the danger we faced would drop quickly.
We would be safer but by no means were we truly safe.
Therefore, we formed rows.
[Omnipresence] Kamaitachi, Kamaitachi, [Omnipresence] Pegasus, Pegasus, and Rathgrith formed a line.
Rathgrith raised everyones overall capabilities and Kamaitachi, excelling at wind defensive barriers, deployed a protective wall. We should be able to endure any enemy attacks until the end.
And then, after we were through with all the enemys defenses, Pegasus, the fastest, would dash forward.
Such was our n. We could only try this once.
I, still in a spiritual body, clung onto the original Pegasus.
The time of reckoning was drawing near. Our first andst suicide mission have now begun.
We were flying in the air at a high speed.
We were making monsters from outside rush at the enemy to serve as decoys to buy us some time.
The monsters made by [Omnipresence] were already almost annihted so we were now also deploying the monsters that were originally supposed to be on defense in my Dungeon.
Several secondster, the monsters were turned into bs of meat but we had progressed only a quarter of the way.
The Golems, finished with the monsters on the ground, aimed their iron pipes upwards.
To the best of his abilities, Kamaitachi erected a wall of wind.
The iron projectiles rapidly drew closer and closer.
And then, finally, it hit.
With only one of those iron projectiles, the wall of wind was prated.
However, precisely because of that wall, the impact was dampened and thanks to Rathgriths enhancements as well, it didnt deal any fatal wound.
The Kamaitachi copy withstood two projectiles but by the third one, it turned into blue particles and then vanished.
There was still half of the distance left.
The closer we got, the more urate the attacks became. The real Kamaitachi, stronger than its copy, held on and endured.
But, he soon reached his limits.
Without anyone to maintain a protective wall, the other monsters took on direct hits and died instantly.
But, there was just a third of the distance left now!
Dash!
I regained some hope.
The [Omnipresence] Pegasus, in the lead after Kamaitachis demise, was suddenly and violently in pain.
No! Was it poison!?
The air near the Golems was engulfed in poison. How underhanded.
However, the Pegasus born from [Omnipresence], even as he was suffering from the poison, smiled and, using thest of his energy, blew a gust of wind that dispersed the poison.
Only the original Pegasus and the [Omnipresence] Rathgrith remained.
The Mithril Golems then aimed at the Pegasus. My experience thus far told me so. We wouldnt be able to avoid it. To havee this far...
As I was losing all hope, Rathgrith smiled.
She overtook Pegasus and stood in front of him. She then opened her arms wide open and took several iron projectiles.
Blue particles were rising up; the sign of death.
Rozelitte!
Im leaving it all up to you now. May the fortunes of war be upon you, Sts-sama.
She had decided her role in this conquest and thus used herself as a shield in herst moments.
In fear she might disappear at any time now, she pushed Pegasuss back, *pon*, and used herst remaining strength to blow a gust of wind.
Pegasus rode the wind and elerated further. He was now over the heads of the Mithril Golems.
I looked back and saw Rathgrith smiling in one moment and gone in the next.
I held back my tears.
I hade this far thanks to the sacrifice everyone had made. I wont let it go to waste, no matter what.
Pegasus felt the same but still pped his wings.
And then, atst....
We got out!
We got out of that nightmarish room!
After so much, weve reached the second room. Those Golems attacks wont reach us anymore.
We did it! We did it, Phobos!
I spoke the Pegasuss name and then hugged his head.
Pegasus proudly neighed.
The price we paid for was a lot but, atst, we had cleared that foul trap.
The courage of my [Monsters of the Covenant] had surpassed that mans wickedness! My monsters were the best!
Now, onward!
Although we had cleared the hardest part, we still couldnt afford to let our guards down.
He might had concentrated his fighting force here but the fact that there were still two rooms left remained.
Pegasus was a monster I was proud of he was but one. Getting to thest room would probably be hard but I was sure we could do it.
Pegasus and I looked on ahead.
What lied there was...
...This... this... this cannot be. This is absolutely outrageous!
...only despair.
It was almost two kilometers long; a straight path.
In the far end was a Mithril Golem. And before it was the iron pipe of nightmares.
It was set up exactly the same as the one we just cleared.
We had only made here by stepping on the corpses of our fallen allies.
I thought that what lied ahead of despair was hope but, in truth, what lied beyond it was only more despair.
Tears fell on my face and a dryugh was swelling up from within.
I had no allies left. For what happened before to also happen here...
Just what the hell. Just for what was everyones sacrifice for!?
My shout was heard by no one.
The iron pipe installed in front of the Golem fired and in the next moment, Pegasus was turned into minced meat.
As my tears fell, I listened to the sound of my heart breaking apart.
Note: In case you havent realized yet, Kamaitachi is the wind weasel Procell mentioned before. Kamaitachi (`) uses the characters for sickle (`) and weasel (). Heres a wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamaitachi link for the creature in japanese folklore.
Volume 1 22
~Back to Procells point of view~
Lets get started soon.
I stretched and then decided to begin our conquest of [Wind] Demon Lord Stss Dungeon in earnest.
Until now, I was just watching the situation in the white room that adjoined the both of our Dungeons.
Oto-san, it was boring
Tenko puffed her cheeks.
Yeah, sorry. I just thought it was better to attack after their numbers have been reduced. Plus, if there was someone the Golems couldnt handle, we would be able to provide backup sooner if we were here.
[Wind] Demon Lord Sts was angry. Furthermore, she had the kind of personality that didnt want to lose. If things were left as they were, she would charge her army one after the other... piling up sacrifices in the process.
I wasnt really keen on attacking her Dungeon while providing support on my own so it was better to invade after she had used up some of her fighting force.
I didnt have to worry much about her conquering my Dungeon either since I had seen her army as I stood in this white room and she didnt have any monsters that were resistant to physical attacks like the slimes and ghost-type monsters that I worried about. She also didnt have any monsters that could be used as shields.
In the first ce, [Wind] was an attribute geared towards stealth and mobility.
[Wind] monsters would tend to be highly mobile yet have low stamina. To be frank, they who couldnt make full use of their speed in my dungeon were easy pickings.
The Browling D2 .50 caliber.
Overall length: 1560mm
Weight: 38.0 Kg.
Caliber: 12.7mm x 99
Rate of fire: 650 rounds per minute
Effective range: 2,000 meters
Armed with the heavy machine guns, the Mithril Golems were capable of doing a barrage of 12.7mm bullets all from two kilometers away.
In other words, the 2-kilometer straightforward rooms in the dungeon I made meant that the moment the enemy stepped foot on the room, it had also entered the range of the heavy machine guns. Furthermore, theck of cover and hiding spots have made my dungeon a nightmarish one.
The Mithril Golems possessed stamina and physical strength higher than a regr A rank monster but they were slow and their overall fighting capabilities were low.
However, if they were to wield heavy machine guns, none of those weak points would matter and they could, instead, make full use of their high offensive capabilities.
The normal firepower of an aircraft armament .50 caliber, the great physical strength of the Golems, and enchantments of the Dwarf Smiths, all of itbined would result in a firepower would exceed even that of a superior A ranks.
The enemy would have to be an S rank monster to be able to withstand that kind of firepower fired ten times in a second.
Oto-sans dungeon is really simple but its so strong. Its amazing!
Its actually moreplicated than it looks.
It might have looked like a straightforward cave but there were nuances to it, even if only a little.
The floor was subtly inclined with the slope getting steeper the closer it was to the entrance. It looked leveled but an inclination of even 1 would produce a height difference of 3m between the entrance and exit.
Even if a rifles bullet could travel at three times the speed of sound and at a mostly straight trajectory, it would still be pulled down by gravity and therefore fall 20-30m lower before it could reach two kilometers. The inclination of but a few degrees would provide that height.
The Golems would be shooting downhill so it would be easier for them but for any attacking from the entrance, that elevation would work against it. And even if trajectory was to be employed by aiming upwards, the ceiling with a height of only 3m would hinder such ns.
Any attacks bound by thews of nature and gravity could never reach the Mithril Golems.
Thats even if the heavy machine guns the Golems were using were stolen and then used against them.
And by deploying two Golems, any downtime would be eliminated and thus giving the guns ample time to cool down.
Furthermore, a huge amount ofnd mines were nted some distance away from the Golems and near them were full of neurotoxic gas traps.
Master, the first room has been cleared.
Elder Dwarf who could share senses with the Golems whispered so.
I was a little bit surprised, I never expected them to reach the second room.
Hee. And afterwards?
They died immediately on the next room. Clearing a room and then letting their guards down, how foolish.
Great.
Even if they were able to clear the first room, the second room was set up exactly the same.
The third room as well although it was the most difficult one. It was thest room so all the Golems, armed with special weapons unique to them, were deployed.
ording to Elder Dwarfs story, Sts used her considerably powerful monsters as shields and then forcibly cleared the first room but it would seem the same move couldnt be yed again. If so, then, clearing the rest of the dungeon would be impossible.
But Master, the [Dragon] monster weve been worrying about still hasnt made its appearance. Maybe its been tasked to be on the defense.
Marcho taught such to us.
Stss parent was the [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth, arguably the strongest Demon Lord.
She had also taught me that like my [Creation] medal, his [Dragon] was a special medal able to do special [Synthesis].
Marcho then said Its really hard to handle but in terms of just its fighting capabilities, it was the strongest. Saying anything more than that would be cheating so Im gonna stop now.
It was hard to imagine that that medal wasnt given to Sts.
Was she conserving her strength? Or was there a reason she couldnt use it? Was it too big and couldnt fit into my narrow dungeon?
Any which way, I had to remain vignt.
Then, lets go!
Yay! ?
Understood, Master.
My lord, let us show them the might of your Undead legion!
And so, atst, we began our conquest of the [Wind] Demon Lords castle.
The [Wind] Demon Lord had tasked a considerable amount of her fighting force to attack my dungeon.
Her defense was now sparse.
There was an hour and a half left. That much should be enough toplete this conquest.
Fuhahaha, how is it, my lord? The power of the undead legion!
The skeletal monster that wore an elegant robe like those of a nobles, Wight,ughed out loudly.
Hemanded the twenty Undead monsters and exterminated the enemies.
I heard that his skill allowed him to instantly train the Undead so I bought a Skeleton for each spare assault rifle I had.
The first room was a valley.
One wrong step and wed fall down to the bottom.
Within the valley, Stss winged monsters circled in the skies.
Theck of footing was not an issue for them.
The problem for us was that they were diving in from our blind spots. Furthermore, they refused toe anywhere near us aside from when they attacked. An ordinary monster would probably be at its wits end figuring out how it could beat them.
My lord, there are no blind spots for the Undead legion. Let me show you that our 42 eyes sees all.
That was if their enemy was ordinary.
Wight was connected to all the twenty Skeletons and saw what they saw.
He had instructed the Skeletons to look at all directions and thus, eliminated the blind spots.
And then, by Wightsmand, the Skeletons disyed their terrific coordination.
On his signal, the Skeletons immediately opened fire and gunned the bird monsters down.
Youre doing great, Wight.
Im honored to have received your praise, my lord.
He, in his elegant as ever movements, thanked me.
Though his stats were low, his performance was excellent.
Even as he thanked me, he remained wary of the surroundings.
Tenko-sama, may we borrow your strength?
Wight suddenly raised his head and then faced Tenko.
Yeah!
Tenko nodded her head in assent.
Tenko-sama, in 60 south of east, in 3... 2... 1... now!
Here I go.
In time with Wights signal, Tenko drew the trigger of her gun.
Tenkos remodeledrge caliber shotgun was fired. The shell split into countless pieces and hit the fast-flying enormous green eagle-type monster.
The formidable enemy was a B rank. It had endured the 5.56mm bullets of the Skeletons. Additionally, it was able to avoid the bullets after seeing them.
Wight splendidly assessed the situation: he had determined the Skeletons wouldnt able to hit the quick enemy nor would they be able to take it down with their firepower, and thus asked Tenko who wielded a high caliber shotgun to lend them a hand.
This showed that I could rely on him.
As expected of Tenko-sama, to fell that formidable foe in one blow!
Just leave it to Tenko!
She took it down without any problems whatsoever. She was in a good mood.
The truly excellent one though was Wight. How I wished he was born an S rank.
Did she want to be praised? She, in a very obvious manner, went near my right arm so of course I stroked her head.
Her soft and smooth hair and fox ears felt pleasant.
Yay ?! Oto-sans hands so big!
Elder dwarf looked envious as she restlessly looked around. I guess she wanted to perform a feat and be praised as well. But it also seemed that she couldnt make herself to just ask for it.
Well now, we should go push on as we were doing thus far.
We could see the exit for the first room.
It might not go as smoothly as before, we must brace ourselves.
In case you havent seen my post or the picture itself, here are the illustrations for Marcho, Tenko, and Elder Dwarf.
Volume 1 23
After the valley was the maze area.
Of course it wasnt just a simple maze but one teeming with pitfalls.
Moreover, its ceiling was awfully high.
Looking at it more carefully, the walls didnt even touch the ceiling but that was most probably deliberate. The flying monsters would be able to move unobstructed by the walls while we, the ones who could only move bynd, had to worry not only about the maze made by the walls but the pitfalls as well.
Master, a pitfall three steps ahead. Also, an enemy is waiting in ambush in the corner ahead. It looks like its nning a pincer attack together with the enemy flying in the sky.
However, as far as Elder Dwarf was concerned, such a maze was nothing but a boring distraction.
For the blessed-by-the-earth Elder Dwarf, finding the pitfalls was simple.
On the other hand, even if the ground was stepped on, she would just immediately reinforce it enough for it to be safe.
Even making a map was possible for her by sending out waves to the ground, a few kilometers in diameter, and receiving their echoes. Every maze would be rendered useless before her.
(TL note: Im just guessing here but I guess Elder Dwarf can do all this because of her skill Silver Alchemist which hasnt been exined even now.)
Actually, even the monsters in the sky were also easy to deal with.
After all, by swooping down our way, they were confining themselves to the walls of thebyrinth.
So in truth, the previous floor offered us a greater challenge.
Thanks to Elder Dwarfs information, we were able to ambush the enemy that tried to ensnare us. We then exited the maze without incident.
Thanks, Elder Dwarf. We were able to take it easy thanks to you.
Nn.
She nodded and leaned on my left arm.
She was kind of fidgeting.
Such actions suited the silver-haired beautiful prepubescent girl.
Whats the matter, Elder Dwarf?
...nothing.
Despite saying so, her upturned eyes suggested she wanted something but when our eyes met, she just looked away, only to nce back and forth at me immediately afterwards.
Until finally, she tugged on my sleeves.
Ahh, she really did want her head to be stroked.
As amusing as it was to see her like this, I should stop teasing her soon.
You did a great job, Elder Dwarf!
I said so as I stroked her head.
Albeit for a different reasonpared to Tenkos, the sensation of her silky silver hair was enjoyable.
.........no, stop it, Father. Youre embarrassing me.
She said so as her face turned red.
I stroked her head plenty. If she found this to be pleasant, so did I.
With a grin on her face, Tenko approached us.
Ah, El-chan! Youve only been calling Oto-san as Master but just now, you called him Father!
Tenko giggled.
I dont know what youre talking about.
Elder dwarf hid her face and quietly murmured so.
Her ears turned bright red.
What are you embarrassed of? If El-chan wants to call Oto-san Father instead of Master, she should just do so.
I didnt say anything.
But you did! You absolutely called Oto-san Father!
No, I didnt!
The red-faced Elder dwarf insisted on Tenko.
Perhaps it was because she was about to explode, the tone of her voice became strange.
Kya?
Tenko, on the other, squealed in what seemed like joy as she ran away.
Tenko was then caught. It was perhaps on purpose since if Tenko really wanted to escape, with the difference of their agility in mind, Elder Dwarf wouldnt ever be able to catch her.
My face loosened as I saw my two daughters joyfully ying around.
They were so cute.
Hey, hold it, you two. Stop fighting. Come here.
Tenko and Elder Dwarf came, their heads down.
Sorry, Oto-san.
We were distracted, Master...... we have no excuse.
Yeah, as long as you understand. Here.
I hugged the both of them.
They smelled nice. They were soft and just felt nice to hug. Just the right warmth too.
Yay! ?
Nn.
The both of them hugged me back.
How I wanted to stay like this forever.
All this while, the excellent Wight made his Skeleton legion keep watch, shooting down the asional enemy. That guy was exceedingly skilled at reading the mood.
We were able to do such a thing in enemy territory only because Wight was there.
From then on, we cleared the second floor in no time.
However, I wasnt aware of it at that time, that this scene was being viewed by all the Demon Lords in real time...
~Demon Lord Pce dance hall~
Its quite interesting, that dungeon that the [Creation] Demon Lord built.
A snake humanoid aristocrat, with a wine ss in one hand, murmured so.
It looks like its going to be quite hard to conquer it. Those iron pipes are concerning. What kind of magic trick is it... the most noteworthy thing though is that that thing can be prepared inrge numbers. The dungeons iron pipes and the things his monsters are essentially the same, right? Oh my, how ominous.
The one that spoke this time was a tiger beastman gentleman that smiled as he bit into a piece of meat.
Whats concerning for me is the [Wind] skill. Its more than what I expected. It hasnt been in usetely but its almost like breaking the rules. To top it all off, shes loved by her subordinates, isnt she? I could see her bing a good Demon Lord.
Yeah, right? I mean, I still cant tell wholl win. [Wind] is the child of [Dragon] so shell definitely have that.
The conversation of the Demon Lords at the Demon Lord Pce during the [Evening Party] were getting more and more excited. They held a ss of fine wine on one hand as they enjoyed the [War].
Suspended on the sky was two holograms. One was disying Procells dungeon while the other was showing Stss.
Just until a while ago, the Demon Lords were intently watching Procells dungeon but due to the fact that Sts had given up on her conquest and had subsequently pulled out all of her surviving monsters, the Demon Lords were now focused on Procells own assault on his enemys dungeon.
His dungeon conquest is quite impressive. [Creation]s monsters are low leveled but theyre awfully strong. That equipments quite good too. I wonder if I could somehow trade for it.
Seeing as thats the foundation of [Creation]s strategy, I dont think itll be easy to make him hand it over.
At the same time as they were assessing their new found rival, they thought of ways on how they could interest him in a fair trade.
Even so, his monsters are amazing. Theyre strong for their levels. Theyre probably born with the ability to grow. They should at least be A ranks so we havent seen their full potential yet.......... Plus, theyre cute.
They sure are cute. I wonder if hell at least share with us thebination of medals to make them... that, I meant that in the way that I want it to be part of my fighting force and not just to be my lovely granddaughter.
The Demon Lords were getting noisier about how cute Tenko and Elder Dwarf were.
Surely, even Demon Lords would recognize beautiful girls when they saw one. Not to mention their spoiled behavior around Procell was awfully cute.
And then, it happened. Being disyed on the hologram was the image of Procell hugging both Tenko and Elder Dwarf.
Normally, that kind of behavior on the battlefield would only be thought of as insane. Even the Demon Lords werent able to hide their surprise.
Just who exactly is that guy?
Now that you mention it, those girls have been calling him Oto-san and Father since a while ago. Hes also been stroking their heads now and then. Is he making them call him those things?
What a dangerous Demon Lord. I have never seen such a dangerous fellow. On that subject, if I remember correctly, the [Creation] Demon Lords name was Pro-something.
Unexpectedly, the Demon Lords gathered at that ce had forgotten Procells name.
In such a time, a brown skinned, white-haired beautiful woman with wolf ears and tail emerged.
Ahh, that mans name is Lolicell. [Creation] Demon Lord Lolicell.
That woman who had a great deal of influence over the surrounding Demon Lords was looked on by eyes full of both fear and respect.
Every Demon Lord bowed their heads to her.
Ah, Nee-san. Its been a while. Yeah, yeah, thats right, its Lolicell! Thats definitely his name. They say a persons name and nature often match but thats...
Well, its easy to remember isnt it? [Creation] Demon Lord Lolicell. Watch out for him, in more ways than one.
A person just like his name suggests, huh. Ive already memorized his name. Lolicell....... I have to make sure he wonty a hand on my children.
Just like that, with frightening vigor, the Demon Lords spread among themselves the name of [Creation] Demon Lord Lolicell.
As they did so, the screen disyed [Creation] Demon Lord Procells group as they entered the third andst room.
This [War] was about to enter its climax soon.
Procell might had overwhelmingly dominated thepetition but the conclusion to the [War] was still yet to be determined.
If Procell could beat thest floor, it would instantly mean his victory... but in there was [Wind]s trump card. The [Dragon] that hasnt yet appeared........
Volume 1 24
Due to the efforts done by Tenko, Elder Dwarf, and the Skeletons led by Wight, we have finally reached thest room.
Griffon was helpful as well. Particrly on a cliff we otherwise wouldnt be able to jump over. After I temporarily stored my monster and rode on its back, we leapt over. I then took my monsters out and proceeded on our way.
Tenko and Elder Dwarf disliked being put in the [Storage] but thankfully, Gryphon was easily able to carry me and at least two young girls.
In a sense, by giving me an imitation of her [Wind] medal, Sts had dug her own grave.
Nevertheless, theyre quite impressive now.
My lord, this is my ability to create undead.
Wight used the corpses of the fallen as materials to make undead monsters.
Such monsters could only be born at a static level and at a rank lower than when they were still living but, in exchange, our troops had increased further at no cost. What a highly efficient skill.
The gigantic bird monster that turned all bones, the decaying Griffon and many others trailed behind us. ording to what Wight had said, it would seem he could only use this ability ten times in a day.
Good, theyll be our shield.
As expected, they werent able to use firearms but C and D rank monsters were considerable by themselves.
Oto-san, Ive leveled up a lot!
I as well, Master.
Tenko and Elder Dwarf, who until now has defeated a number of monsters, leveled up.
Tenko was now level 43 while Elder Dwarf was level 40.
They were already S rank monsters to begin with but upon reaching this level, they should be able to go toe to toe with ordinary A rank monsters born with a static level.
And outright win considering their weapons and special abilities.
Weve overhunted the monsters at the [Crimson Cavern] causing our hunting efficiency to drop so this was helpful.
By the way, the Dwarf Smiths who had the skill to strengthen the Golems were left behind on my dungeon. Since they could level up and Elder Dwarf had transferred the control of the Golems over to them, any experience from the monsters defeated by the Golems would all be shared with them. Upon our reunion, their levels might have already risen to frightening heights.
Thest room was ava area.
Monsters that wereing our way were mainly the same C and D rank ones.
However, there were also many B rank monsters mixed in.
Maybe it was precisely because it was thest floor that that the defenses have been hardened further.
However......
Too slow!
By jumping upwards, Tenko avoided the gigantic falcon monster that dove from the sky. She then somersaulted in the air andnded on the enemy. And just like that, she pointed her shotgun downwards and fired.
The falcon monster died instantly.
Right at the moment she set foot on the ground, another monster jumped at her from her blind spot. It was an ape that had green fur. It was extremely fast.
Tenko couldnt move just yet and an attack unleashed from that gigantic arm wasnt something to sneeze at...
However!
Three gunshots were heard.
It was from an M&K MK417 in burst mode which would only fire three bullets at a time. It was a weapon of arger caliber than the Skeletons guns. All three shots hit the side of the head of the ape.
Tenko, dont let your guard down.
Im not. I was perfectly aware of it but I trusted El-chan to take care of it so I focused on killing the other enemy instead.
Alright, I understand.
Tenko and Elder Dwarf high fived.
She wasnt in any danger at all.
Not only was this war their chance to raise their levels, this was also the chance for them to obtain their much needed battle experience. Both of which would help make them grow stronger.
Halfway through, Wight was able to read my intentions and tried to not interfere with their battle so that they could stockpile on as much experience of fighting together as was possible. I was really thankful to him.
Elder Dwarf, is this the way?
Certainly.
The earth attribute expert Elder Dwarf was able to send out waves to the ground and receive the waves reflected back, all in order to instantly create a map.
Such was the reason why we were able traversing through this dungeon using the shortest path. We also generally knew where the enemies were likely to hide in.
However, in the end, the only things she knew about were those that were connected to the ground so we were unprepared for any enemy up in the air.
Tenko, do you have enough bullets?
I dooo! I still have three magazines left!
The bullets Tenko was using were 4 gauge bullets. Those bullets also used specially made Mithril powder.
I couldnt risk to produce any additional bullets via [Creation] while we were in battle so I was mindful of their remaining stocks.
Of course, it was also hard for Elder Dwarf to hastily make them mid-battle so our ammunitions really were limited.
Master, I have plenty of bullets left as well.
Okay. Then, lets go!
I was of the thought thatpleting this dungeon couldnt be as easy as the way it had been so far.
Theres definitely something.
Much like I had [Creation], the enemy Demon Lord should definitely have her own special ability.
We were nearing the end of the third room.
We have arrived at an open space. Just a little bit more and we would have then reached the crystals room.
In the open space, however, was a determined green-haired girl. By her side was an angel-type monster.
It was the [Wind] Demon Lords closest aide. An A rank monster. Her trump card.
Good. Youve made it this far.
Of course, my monsters are strong after all.
Sts gave a bitter smile as I replied such.
Yeah. Your monsters are outrageously excellent. And you as well for controlling them.
I was a little surprised. I didnt expect this fellow to say such things.
Upon looking at her closely, her facial expression was stiff and her legs shivered a few times. It was as if she was afraid.
Youve gotten surprisingly docile, havent you?
Isnt it to be expected? I had just very barely been able to break through the first room of your dungeon but you, on the other hand, just casually strolled into mine. Ive got no choice but to ept it. ept that you are strong. Stronger than me.
Sts showed a somewhat tired smile.
Then, does that mean youre giving up? Upon closer inspection, I see that theres only one [Monster of the Covenant] at your side, did the others perhaps challenged my dungeon but fell to it instead? You cant stop my monsters with ordinary monsters.
Sts should have understood that by now.
Yeah, I know, Ive watched your battles thus far. Ordinary monsters wont even stand a chance.
Stsughed lightly.
The light in her eyes havent died yet. She wasnt just trying to act brave neither, she had something under her sleeves.
To express my respect to you, I will even use my [Trump Card]... No, let me put it in another way. I have already stepped down from my high horse and acknowledged that I couldnt defeat you in a direct confrontation so I will instead use your arrogance and naivety in marching into enemy territory, and turn it against you to snatch away victory!
My skin tingled.
Something appeared from a different dimension.
What she used was the Demon Lords ability [Storage] which would house ones monsters in a different dimension.
Say, did you know? Some medals exhibit special abilities upon [Synthesis].
Of course.
My [Creation] was the most apt example.
As my parent, the strongest Demon Lord, [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth-sama gave me a [Dragon] medal. It allows the creation of monsters that go [Berserk]. The monsters intelligence and reasoning is lost and will hardly be able to hear its Demon Lordsmands...... but in exchange, all of its capabilities undergo an explosive rank up. For example, if a first-rate A rank monster went [Berserk], just how much strength do you think itll have?
And then, it appeared.
The gigantic dragon covered in tightly packed jade green scales. Its length was nearly ten meters long.
It was a western dragon that stood on two legs and had gigantic wings at its back.
Sharp ws and fangs, and a body d in storm.
It was devoid of reason as shown by its bloodshot murderous eyes.
And then, it roared.
The fur on Tenkos tail stood on end while Elder Dwarfs entire body stiffened.
It was a monster that these two instinctively feared. Without a doubt, it was a dreadfully formidable enemy.
The [Wind] Tyrant, Emerald Dragon. A monstrosity beyond A rank. This child here is my ultimate trump card. Nowe, lets have a match, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell!
And so, the biggest battle began at the end of this [War].
Note: As always, be mindful that the names of the guns are altered. Also its the MK416 for the Skeletons and MK417 for Elder Dwarf.
Volume 1 25
CHAPTER 25: THE GREATEST FIREPOWER AN INFANTRY CAN HAVE
The final battle broke out.
The angel monster by Stss side began chanting. She was probably trying to strengthen her side via support magic.
Should her spell seed, the already troublesome Emerald Dragon would be strengthened further and there probably wont be anything we could do against it.
However...
Nn. I wont let you.
Elder Dwarf opened fire with her M&K MK417 assault rifle on full auto. Her magazine contained 20 bullets but it didnt even take a second to empty it, with each one of them flying at twice the speed of sound.
(Note: its rate of fire is 600rounds per minute so it should take more than a second to empty it all out. Its fast, but not that fast.)
The MK417 used therger 7.62mm caliber bullet.
Even at the best of times, firing at full auto would cause the gun to shake further off the mark the longer it was fired. Normally, emptying the magazine at full auto would just be a in waste of bullets.
However, the same couldnt be said for Elder Dwarf. She forcibly stabilized the shaking gun barrel with her mineral magic, thus raising the guns bullet efficiency.
The enemy received all the bullets in the magazine while it was defenseless as it chanted its spell. No matter how much of an A rank monster it was, if it was to receive an attack while it was defenseless, it would be like butter under a hot knife.
Im... sorry... Sts... sama...
The angel monster was by no means weak.
It was just that it was ipatible with our attack. For those that focused on magic as their main arsenal, the gun was their natural predator.
After leaving those words behind, the angel turned into particles of light and vanished.
Sts then grinded her teeth.
But she didnt have any time for such grief. My ace was upon her.
By ace, I meant Tenko. Right at the start of the fight, Tenko, much like a fox, moved swiftly and stealthily.
She moved to attack Sts from her back all while avoiding the Emerald Dragon. Sts hasnt noticed Tenko yet.
Oh yeah, I issued out threemands.
Elder Dwarf was to hinder the angel monster on its casting of support magic.
Tenko was tounch a surprise attack on Sts.
While Wight was to draw the attention of the Emerald Dragon.
There was no way they could directly confront a monstrosity like the Emerald Dragon. Elder Dwarf wasnt ordered to prioritize it since I was convinced she couldnt bring it down in one fell swoop due to ack of firepower. Neither could we afford to do a half-hearted hit and run.
Everyone, its time to fight!
Ill back you up.
The Skeleton legion led by Wight, and Elder Dwarf who just finished changing her magazine, focused fire on the dragon.
I then let out a voice of surprise.
The dragons scales repelled not only the Skeletons 5.56mm bullets but even Elder Dwarfs 7.62mm bullets.
But even though it didnt receive any damage, it looked irritated. It closed in on the Skeletons and then turned around.
It probably intended to mow down its surrounding using its tail full of centrifugal force.
Wight and Elder Dwarf quickly jumped back but the Skeletons were slow and thus half of them didnt make it in time. Their bodies broke and smashed apart.
Wight looked sad and mourned for their deaths.
Their deaths were not meaningless though.
Wights group had obtained the Emerald Dragons undivided attention. Meanwhile, Tenko got close enough to strike Sts from her blind spot.
It ends now!
Tenko held her silver shotgun... the Remilton (Custom) ED-01S.
It was equipped with a semi-automatic mechanism. Its shells was changed from 12 gauge to therger caliber 4 gauge. Magic Power also added further to the shells explosiveness via the Mithril Powder it used.
The four times more powerful demonic gun was then fired.
Sts was caughtpletely unaware and received a direct hit from the fired slug shell. Even a Demon Lord shouldnt be able to endure that.
And so, her body was torn apart.
With this, this [War] was over.
Or so it should have.
Sorry to disappoint you but that one there was just an imitation of myself that I made using [Wind].
A voice resounded somewhere and I grinded my teeth.
Calmly thinking about it, wasnt it only natural? For her to summon such a monstrosity at close range, she got to have had some form of insurance.
Most probably, at the same time as she had summoned the Emerald Dragon from her [Storage], she created that copy and used [Transfer] to relocate her real body.
My lord, we cant hold it any longer.
Wight whose group drew the attention of the dragon raised his voice, almost like a scream.
Ever since a while ago, the Skeletons have been continuously firing but it really had no effect on the Emerald Dragon.
The dragon then roared and plunged head first.
A Skeleton came in contact with the dragons head and was smashed to pieces the moment after. The dragon then twisted its head, felling another Skeleton.
Another two Skeletons have fallen.
Tenko, Im counting on you.
Understood, Oto-san.
Due to the dragon plunging in head first, it stopped moving for a few moments.
And in those moments, Tenko dashed forward with all her might.
The Emerald Dragon then turned towards Tenko.
It must have instinctively realized that Tenko was going to be a threat so it made wind twirl and coil around it, forming an armor of wind.
Tenko got close enough to shoot at point nk range in order to prate the dragons wind armor and tough scales.
Eat this!
She said so and fired.
The silver shotgun let loose a thunderous roar and spitted out sparks.
Of course, what came out was a power-focused slug shell.
Infused with her own offensive abilities, her shotgun had more firepower than the heavy machine guns fired by the Mithril Golems.
However...
Wha!? No way!
...the slugs firepower was greatly diminished by the wind. The slug was then deflected by the dragons tough scales.
Aside from the few scales that repelled the slug, the Emerald Dragon was mostly unhurt.
Tenko crossed both of her arms in disbelief. But then, the dragon threw its ws at her.
Kyaa!
Blood gushed from both of her arms. Unfortunately, that wasnt all. She was then thrown to ground and bounced over and over, much like a temari ball.
Tenko!
I called out to her.
She rolled and tumbled for about twenty meters.
I messed up a bit.
She said so as blood flowed from both her arms and mouth. She then tried to stand up but only failed.
The Emerald Dragon red at the injured Tenko.
It then extended its neck forward and opened its mouth.
Wind magic power gathered within its mouth frighteningly fast.
Without a doubt, that was a wind breath.
Crap. Tenko has taken too much damage and wont be able to move.
Tenko-sama wont make it. Go, my minions!
The bird monsters that turned to all bones and were under Wightsmand jumped into the Emerald Dragons mouth all at once. The wind magic power within rose to critical levels and then exploded.
The Emerald Dragon was greatly surprised.
Good job, Wight.
Its a one-time-only surprise attack. The real fight starts now.
The Emerald Dragon turned our way.
It was must have been pretty pissed off for the attack just then.
Elder Dwarf readied her gun.
Looking closely, her gun wasnt on full auto anymore but rather on single fire mode.
Now that its wind protections gone... Ill snipe it.
After shortly saying so, she carefully shot at the enemy.
Due to the use of the high-powered breath attack, the armor of wind was no more.
Aside from those covered in scales, its vital spots could be pierced.
And so, that bullet directly hit the Emerald Dragons right eye.
Despite bleeding from its right eye, however, it didnt stop moving.
The bullet only gave it a shallow wound!? What a monster.
GYUAAAAAAAAAAA!
Elder Dwarf then ced her hands on the ground. And when she did so, a wall made of stone was built.
Not giving a care about it, the dragon pped the wall with its right hand. As though it was made of paper, the stone wall crumbled.
And then, something under my feet rose.
Master, that was dangerous.
Youve saved me, Elder Dwarf-sama.
Yes, Elder Dwarf built the stone wall as a distraction, carried Wight, and then went under the ground.
Master, we wont be able to damage it with our current equipment. I ask for more firepower.
Understood.
I activated my [Creation].
Ive given this to you before for your research so you should know how to use it.
I do. Leave it up to me.
I had given this weapon to Elder Dwarf back when she was just born.
The weapon I made was the most in-demand anti-tank rocket.
USSL RRG-7
Overall length: 950mm
Weight: 6.3Kg
Caliber: 85mm
Magazine size: 1
Muzzle velocity: 115m/s
It was a weapon that arguably gave the highest firepower a foot soldier could have.
Its appearance was that of a simple iron rod and only bes aerodynamic in shape at the tip.
The mechanism called rocket booster thatunches the Highly Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) rounds was, at the time, ground-breaking.
The HEAT rounds could prate even armored vehicles.
It was disposable so I made three of it via [Creation].
The Emerald Dragon looked our way.
It had already put on its armor of wind again.
Elder Dwarf ced the USSL RRG-7 on her shoulder and fired it.
I dont know if it was carelessness but the Emerald Dragon didnt even try to avoid it.
The HEAT warhead elerated by its rocket motor continued to fly in the air.
And flew it did on a perfectly direct course as if it was sucked into the center of the dragons belly.
But I grinded my teeth instead.
The HEAT warhead then hit the dragon. The fuze activated and a directional explosion happened.
The overwhelming energy that could pierce even through tanks assaulted the dragon.
Such was the Munroe/Neumann effect. A HEAT warhead would converge the st energy into a single point and then punch a deep hole into that point by means of the ultra-hot and ultra-fast jet of metal particles.
GYUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
The Emerald Dragon screamed.
Around a third of its right arm was ripped off.
However, conversely, it could be said that the damage it received was only that much.
How!? That power should have pierced right through it!
Elder Dwarf raised a voice of surprise.
Two reasons. First, the warhead deviated from the target because of the wind. So instead of the center of its body which we aimed at, it hit its right arm. Second, that guys wind armor is just too thick. The fuze activated way before it hit the body and caused the st energy to dissipate.
Yes, those were why I grinded my teeth.
With those reasons, no matter how much we fired at it, we wouldnt be able to inflict any fatal wounds.
Elder Dwarf quickly shot another warhead.
However, this time, it didnt even hit the dragon. Despite itsrge build, the dragon managed to avoid the warhead.
Such was the second weakness of the rocket: the slowness of its projectile due to its construction.
Its muzzle or initial velocity was roughly just a third of the speed of sound and less than a sixth of an assault rifles bullets.
As long as there was that much of a difference in their performance, the warhead could be avoided by the dragon.
That guy has known the power of our rockets, we wouldnt ever be ablend one on him again.
GYUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
The Emerald Dragon roared.
The already strong winds blew harder and its thickness grew.
Now, we really wont be able to hit it.
The wind around the Emerald Dragon grew stronger and stronger, its area of effect expanding further.
Perhaps the dragon was nning to stay in there as the winds grew even stronger and take us all out with it.
In truth, those winds were now like des, easily cutting the surrounding rocks as though those were butter.
What should we do, Master?
Use our trump card, I guess.
I didnt have any other choice anymore.
I had determined beforehand how much of my fighting force I was willing to reveal in this [War].
The Mithril Golems and the heavy machineguns.
Tenkos shotgun and Elder Dwarfs assault rifle. The RRG7 too.
I was willing to show this much.
Showing more beyond this, however, was troubling.
We seem to no longer have the time to hesitate.
Our chance of escaping the whirlwind of des was more and more slipping away.
Upon thinking so, Tenko approached.
Her wounds havent recovered yet. Her steps were heavy.
Leave it to Tenko. It might ruin the gun El-chan made but Ill do it.
Tenko, youll really use that?
Yeah, I can pierce through the dragon as long as I use the true power of the shotgun, El-chans ED-01S.
Tenko smiled.
But her smile was stiff andsted for only a little while.
...this might just turn out to be a pretty bad gamble.
Tenko, are you sure you can do it?
Leave it to Tenko, Oto-sans number one monster. I also have sweet El-chans weapon so, theres no way Tenkos gonna lose.
Tenkos words were unwavering.
I then took a deep breath.
And then, I decided.
Alright, were counting on you, Tenko.
Okay, Oto-san. Im off.
Tenko took out a different kind of magazine from her pouch and loaded it in her shotgun. It was a sizerger than usual. She then switched the lever on her shotgun from S to F. (Semi-auto to Full auto)
And so, the assault full of resolve began.
Volume 1 26
CHAPTER 26: YOUR NAME IS...
Tenko who interrupted my usage of my trump card smiled and then spoke.
Then, Im off. El-chan, please do some repairs for me afterwards. And Oto-san, praise me lotster, okay?
Tenko assumed a hip firing stance with her shotgun. She then set aze her surroundings.
It was a barrier made of mes. It was most probably deployed to counter the des of wind.
She then ran with all her might towards the Emerald dragon within the tornado, her fox tail trailing after her.
And when she passed us, I saw there were traces of blood on her. Her bleeding still hasnt stopped.
Ill back you up, no matter how little.
Elder Dwarf ced her hands on the ground.
Upon doing so, thick walls that ran along with Tenko on both of her sides appeared.
A protection against the wind.
However, the walls were being scraped off as each second passed. The scraped off pieces of the wall were sucked into the tornado and assaulted Tenko.
Despite that though, the moment those pieces of the wall touched her barrier, they immediately burned.
I guess by some kind of trick, the walls were made to be mmable.
Elder Dwarf was quite a considerate fellow.
Elder Dwarf, whats Tenko nning to do?
My modified shotgun, the ED-01S, is also capable of firing fully automatically. She intends to make use of that. She has switched the lever from S to F so there is no doubt in my mind about that.
Its built with a full-automatic feature? First time Ive heard of it.
Its still on the experimental stage so I havent said anything to Master yet. All it can do at the moment is break when fired like that. Im embarrassed of such an iplete creation.
If that much firepower was fired in quick session, it might just be able to prate through that dragons tough defenses.
Will it be safe? Will there be no idental discharge?
If its just going to be on fully automatic mode once, for just one magazine, itll be able withstand it to the end. The magazine that Tenko has attached, its been reverse engineered with ED-01Ss power in mind. If it was going to break anyway, I have modified the shells to have the maximum amount of powder a magazine could have and still be able to endure one round of fully automatic firing.
Thanks for telling me. But still, pushing through that wind and then firing fully automatically at point-nk range is no ordinary feat.
What was troublesome about the Emerald Dragon was that the power of the bullets were being reduced by the tornado around its body. In addition, its scales would then deflect and change the direction the bullets were on.
But a shotgun with that much firepower and firing fully automatically should be able to rectify that.
The first shell would clear away the wind and then the path made by it would be followed right away by the second and third shells.
If it was a normal rapid-fire, the path made by the first shell would already be blocked before the second shell was even fired.
A fully automatic rapid-fire would not have that problem though getting as close as point-nk range was necessary.
Its something I cant do. But if anyone can do it, its gotta be Tenko.
It certainly seems so.
Im vexed by my inability to do anything.
Elder Dwarf tightened her fists.
Tenko advanced straight ahead, keeping her body close to the ground.
Her small body that looked like itll be blown away at any moment desperately endured as the des of wind, unaffected by her me barrier, cut her body little by little. Ever onward.
Hang in there, I cheered within my mind.
Just a little more, just a little bit more and youre there.
And then, the Emerald Dragon mmed its tail to the ground.
From its jade green tail, countless sharp scales scattered.
Those scales then flew and swirled around with the tornado.
Kyaaaaaaa!
Tenko screamed.
The wind des looked like nothingpared to the scales that turned into superfast sharp knives that flew within the tornado.
Tenkos barrier made of mes was easily prated.
Unable to hold on anymore, Tenko was blown away. The distance she had shortened until her body was cut all over had once again widened.
Tenko!
I shouted so and saw Tenko bloodied all over as she tried to stand.
Its alright, I can still, I can still go on. Ill win. Im Oto-sans number one monster so I wont ever lose to another Demon Lords monster.
No matter how I looked at it, she was battered.
And yet, Tenko still thought of diving in.
Stop it, Tenko. Its enough already.
No! Tenko wont betray Oto-sans trust on her.
Tenko, injured and all, once again plunged in.
If I used my Demon Lords [Command], then maybe I would be able to stop her but that would only trample her resolve.
As I hesitated, Elder Dwarf shouted something.
Master. Please give a name to Tenko. We grow stronger by just having a name. As she is right now, Tenko will die.
El-chan, stop it!
Why!?
Its alright, a name is, still...
Tenko, as she was ring at the Emerald Dragon in front of her, spoke without turning her head away.
But Tenko, I thought youve always wanted a name.
I do, just not like this. I want to get it properly. I want Oto-son to love Tenko from the bottom of his heart. Tenko wants a name full of that love.... So a name just because of necessity, I dont want it.
That must have been Tenkos true hearts desire being voiced out.
I remembered the first day I met her. Back then, she tried to trick me to give her a name just so she could get stronger.
But now, that same girl was saying such things.
She must have grown up during our time together.
And for that, I was eternally happy.
I loved Tenko even under normal circumstances but this made me love her even more.
My overflowing emotions could no longer be suppressed.
Tenko was facing a dilemma so I...
Dont lose, Quina!
I called out her name and yelled.
The moment I said her name, some thumping sound echoed in my head and we were connected.
Tenkos, no, Quinas power flowed into me and my power flowed into her.
It felt good. And warm.
Oto-san
Tenko turned around, surprise in her face.
Quina. That is your name. Youre my first [Monster of the Covenant].
But a name, I didnt want it like this.
But Tenko swelled her face and pouted instead.
Thats not how you should feel. The name that I have given you was something I had thought of ever since we met. A name Ive thought and thought about. A name Ive decided to pour my heart and soul in just to make my most beloved daughter happy.
...thats not true.
It is. I know of your strengths, of your kindness, and of how much you love me. Therefore, Ive decided that we should be together for the rest of our lives. Its not because we are being driven into a corner but simply its because its Quina. I love you, Quina! I am giving you this name, Quina. So, let us prove to them that my [Monsters of the Covenant] are the strongest in the whole world.
Tenko... no, Quina cried. As she did, she smiled and nodded her head.
Okay, Oto-san. Quina is going. Oto-san has given me strength. This feeling, its warm, no, its burning me up. I feel like I can do anything!
The second wave.
However, this time, it wasnt just about enduring, this was now a heroic march full of hope.
[Monsters of the Covenant].
A Demon Lords greatest assets.
By giving a monster a name, the Demon Lord was also giving power to the monster.
Especially so to the first three, the ones called the [Monsters of the Covenant]. They shared a much deeper connection with the Demon Lord.
Information about Quina flowed into me. I wasnt aware of it before, due to her overwhelmingly high status, but originally, the Celestial Fox was ate blooming monster. We were seeing but a small portion of her true stats and special abilities.
If I had made her to be on a static level, I might not have gone through this much trouble.
But at the same time, it became fun to see how strong she would be by the time Ive raised her to her maximum level.
It wasnt just information that flowed into me, her thoughts as well.
I knew the things Quina was thinking about.
And my thoughts flowed into her too.
A newly born power. We decided on the form it would take.
[Transform]!!
Quina shouted so.
Originally, it was a power that only changed ones appearance.
No more than a mere deception.
However, itbined with my [Creation] to reach a greater height.
Oto-san, a young Quina wont be able to beat that storm so, Ill be a stronger Quina to do so.
Her body was then enveloped in light.
All her injuries vanished. Not just that either. She grew up.
From a young girl of about twelve years of age to girl on thetter half of her teens.
Her height increased and her figure grew more feminine. Her face was prettier while her tail was fluffier.
This, if Im like this, I can do it.
It wasnt just her appearance that changed.
Her steps were heavy enough to shake the ground each time she took a step forward.
She moved at a speed that left everything following after her.
Her me barrier even burned any and all scales that came into contact with it to ashes.
GYUAAAAAAAAAA!
The Emerald Dragon held fear to the suddenly stronger Quina.
It increased the thickness of the wind surrounding him.
But she just brushed away that storm.
mes of gold and red then red up. It was so beautiful, I was captivated.
And then, she was finally in range.
El-chan, thanks and sorry for this.
She then readied her shotgun.
Eat this!
It was fired. With her finger still on the trigger, therge caliber shotgun fired fully automatically.
The four 4-gauge shells in the magazine she switched into were instantly spewed out.
Even after Quina had her stats increased, she was still pressed back due to the excessive recoil.
The four gunshots were so fast, their sounds ovepped each other.
The first shot pushed aside the wind, the second then destroyed the scales as the third gouged the dragons flesh. Finally, the fourth pierced through.
The ED-01S shotgun which has already done its job could no longer endure and thus broke down.
GUGYAAAA. GAAA
The Emerald Dragon suffered a fatal wound. The wind surrounding it dispersed.
No, thats not it. The dragon gathered all its remaining strength into one point and readied to fire a resuscitating breath.
Quina red and dashed toward it.
She then thrusted her arm towards the spot the shotgun shell had prated, and, with all her might, poured mes into it.
It all ends with this!! [Golden Crimson Wild Dance]!
GA, GA, GA
(Note: 衿)
I guess even an Emerald dragon would be powerless when burned from the inside out.
The dragon issued out its death throes and fell down. It then turned into blue particles and shortly thereafter, vanished.
Quina returned to her twelve-year-old form and hobbled towards us, only to fall forward.
I hurriedly supported her.
Are you alright, Quina?
Im al~right. Im just incredibly tired. That [Transform] is so tiring. I cant keep my eyes open anymore.
You did well, Quina. Well handle things from now on so just rest.
Yeah, okay. But hey, Oto-san, I have request: stroke my head please.
But of course.
And thus I gently stroked her head.
She looked happy as she smiled.
Tenko, no, Quina loves Oto-san.
When I wrapped my arm around the back of her head, just like that, she fell asleep.
Quina has done more than what was expected of her. The rest was up to us now.
This was the third and final room.
All that was left was to break the crystal.
But when I was thinking so...
A screen in the sky was being disyed.
pping sounds echoed from the screen.
The other Demon Lords were celebrating my victory.
I then waved my hand to them.
Blue particles began to rise around us. The fallen monsters were being resurrected by the [Time] Demon Lords ability.
The smashed Skeletons wereing back. How great.
While being delighted at the return of my fallenrades, I thought up of ways to express my thanks to everyone that did their best.
Quinas transformed form:
LOL
Volume 1 Epilogue
EPILOGUE: THE DEMON LORDS URBAN DEVELOPMENT!
Duergely to the efforts done by Tenko, now named as Kuina, we somehow were able to defeat the Emerald Dragon and achieve victory.
The Emerald Dragons strength waspletely out of our expectations.
An A rank monster under the influence of [Berserk] rivaled even an S rank so I was proud of mypanions that defeated it.
Together with the end of the [War], we were transferred to the white room wherein our dungeons, mine and Stss, once faced each another.
I then requested to the Subi to transfer all my monsters aside from Kuina, Elder Dwarf and Wight back to Marchosiass dungeon along with the Golems and guns.
After the clean-up was over with, we were transferred to the room adjacent of the dancing hall.
Sts and her [Monsters of the Covenant] who had finished their clean-up ahead of us were already in the room.
Conversing with her were two other Demon Lords.
One was an old man past his prime. The other was a brown skinned beauty with a wolfs tail and ears... or in other words, Marcho.
I dont know if their talk has finished but the old man and Marcho started to leave.
Both of them waved their hand at me and said their congrattions.
I looked at the girls and I felt warm again.
For some time now, Tenko who hadpletely recovered from her wounds thanks to the powers of the Demon Lord of [Time] was sticking close to my left hand.
Ehehe, Oto-san! Kuina is Kuina!
Yeah, thats right. Youre Kuina.
I was finally able to give her a name.
Had I known she would be this happy, I would had given her a name much sooner.
Kuina...... what a lovely name. How envious.
Elder Dwarf gazed at Kuina with eyes full of envy.
Kuina, meanwhile, was shaking her fluffy fox tail.
Elder Dwarf too will have one sooner orter.
Ill do my best and be recognized by Master. I wont lose to Kuina!
Elder Dwarfs eyes were now full of motivation.
I havent given her a name not because I havent approved of her, but only because I havent thought up of good name for her. Though I probably shouldnt say such right now.
Wight watched us, seemingly pleased.
This guy was an adult. His mental age might just be more than mine.
Ill be sure to assign him to more important tasks from now on.
With us behaving so, Sts approached and suddenly lowered her head.
Im sorry. I would like to apologize from the bottom of my heart for looking down on you.
I was taken aback. I honestly never expected her to meekly apologize to me like this.
No, dont worry about it. I mean, in the first ce, I purposefully brought along the Skeleton to make you put your guard down.
Even so, Im sorry. Also, this is my medal. Please treat it with care.
After she once more lowered her head, Sts handed over a medal.
<<[Wind] medal. A rank. Bestows the ability to manipte the wind to the created monster. Greatly enhances Agility. Grants minor enhancements to all other stats besides Endurance.>>
It was a pretty good medal. It was strong even if it only gave the ability manipte the wind but then on top that, it further gave not only a major boost to Agility but also enhancements to all stats other than Endurance.
I gratefully ept. With this, my [Monsters of the Covenant] will beplete.
As a matter of fact, I had already determined what monster Ill make with [Wind].
......if its at all possible, can we be friends? Youre the only one from our generation that I can approve of so Id like us to cooperate with each another from here on.
Sts said such a little awkwardly while her face reddened.
Friends, huh.
Sts would surely be an influential Demon Lord someday. Moreover, although she had too much confidence on herself, the fact that she could honestly apologize like that meant her personality wasnt all that bad.
Id also like to ask you of the same. Let us persist so that we can both be good Demon Lords.
Yes. Please take care of me.
I shook hands with Sts.
I was d I was able to make my first Demon Lord friend.
And then, this is from [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth-sama.
She said so and slipped something into my hand.
It was.......
A [Dragon] medal?
<<[Dragon] medal. A rank. Grants the ability to create dragons. Greatly enhances Physical Strength, Endurance, and Magic Power. It can grant the characteristics of a Dragon to the monster about to be created. It is possible to create a monster with the [Berserk] status if and only if an original Dragon medal is used during synthesis. Monsters born with the [Berserk] status are robbed of their intelligence and reason but in exchange, all of their stats except for their luck are given the maximum enhancements.>>
[Dragon], huh. The one that had driven us into a corner back then.
I understood now that [Berserk] was optional.
Even if [Dragon] was used normally to create a monster, it was still easy for the medal to produce a strong monster.
But then, a small temptation was born within me.
If, for example, a monster born from [Creation] and two other A rank medals had the [Berserk] status, just how strong would it be...?
Sts coughed and I calmed back down.
Thank you but is it really alright for me to receive such a strong medal?
Yeah. Astaroth-sama himself told me to do so. Besides, I have also received a [Beast] medal myself. [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth-sama and [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias-sama are close ever since, you know, and it seems they want their children to be the same. Also, a message from Astaroth-sama: Thank you for teaching my daughter defeat. My child could now grow even stronger thanks to you. Please take this medal as a token of my gratitude.
The [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth, huh? His appearance suggested he was a kind old man but he was in truth, purely a gentleman.
Ill ask Sts to let us meet next time.
Also, take this child.
Child?
It was a small blue bird that looked like a dove. It was a D rank monster.
This child can deliver letters for us. It has already memorized my magic power so just attach your message to its foot and then send it off. I will do the same.
She took out another dove monster.
That one perched on my shoulder.
And then, after jerking its head once or twice, it returned to Sts.
This child has memorized your magic power so I can now also send you letters. Lets write to each other lots, okay?
Sts said so somewhat happily.
To which, I smiled back in return.
But then, both my arm felt heavy.
Uuuu
Nn
Kuina held my left arm as Elder Dwarf held my right.
I guess they were afraid of their father being taken away.
But such fears were groundless. Really, how adorable these children were.
Ahh, one other thing. There was also a message from Marchosias-sama.
From Marcho?
Yes. Yeah, no, you see, you were attracting too much attention to yourself and talks of analyzing your abilities, counter-measures against them, and many other things like that were all over the ce so you can see, right, why I tried to divert their attention. Just that, they got more fired up than what I expected, so yeah, I didnt mean ill by it. Thats all I have to say, okay. Also, congrattions!
I didnt fully understand her message but, for the meantime, I took it as her congratting me.
Sts and I talked with each other for a little more and then parted.
A Subus working for the estate then came and instructed us on what to do.
Several minutester, we would bemended on the dance hall, and it would seem that due to the fact that the war this time was a step more impressive, Sts and myself were to receive an additional reward from the Creator himself.
Kuina then opened her mouth.
Oto-san, now that you have the [Wind] and [Dragon] medals, youll be making a little brother or sister for us, right?
Yeah, I will. But Ill only be using [Wind], though. Id like to think some more on the [Dragon] medal.
The [Dragon] medal was a double-edged sword. Ill have to think carefully before I use it.
Is that so? What kind of child will you make with [Wind], then?
I was thinking something that wasnt only strong but will also be able to help me aplish my dream.
Dream?
Yeah. It may not sound convincing but I, you see, dont really like fighting all that much.
It was undoubtedly my true objective.
But if I wasnt strong then, the Heroes and all the other Demon Lords would prey on me.
And thus, I strived to be strong but in all honesty, I wanted to avoid any fight if it could be avoided.
But if thats so, then you wont have any food to eat and you wont survive.
The food she was referring to were the emotions of the human beings.
A Demon Lord lives on by dining on a persons emotions. So other than to obtain DP, a Demon Lord attracts people into his dungeon in order to live.
I understand that and thats why Im gonna build a town. A town wherein each of its citizens were fully happy. Of course, in order for the crystal to not be broken, Ill also build a highly difficult dungeon but on top of that dungeon, I want to build a big happy town.
I had been continuously thinking up of ways to aplish such.
And the first thing I should do was to create an environment that the humans could live in.
A fertilend, a reliable water source, an easy ess to other towns, and many other issues.
And in order to resolve those issues, I made monsters.
That sounds fun.
Yeah, it sure is. By the way, for the new monster Im gonna create, Im gonna use [Wind], [Person], and... [Star].
Im looking forward to what our little sister will be.
I still dont know if its going to be a girl.
Well, if its truly a monster created by Oto-san, it gotta be, without fail, a little girl.
What an awful and damagingment.
Though I couldnt answer back due to results thus far.
While we were doing so, we were called into the celebration party.
We entered the dance hall and thunderous apuse greeted us.
Words of admiration for us echoed.
Among those, however, I heard the word Lolicell.
...No doubt the culprit was Marcho. So that was what those words meant.
Ill be sure to question herter.
And then, the stage rose, and the rewards were given. We feasted so much we might just die.
My first [Evening Party] thus concluded.
From tomorrow onwards I would be: building my dungeon and town, use [Synthesis] to create a new candidate to be my [Monster of the Covenant], think up of ways to make full use of the reward Ive gotten from the Creator.
There were countless things I had to do.
But even so...
Oto-san
Master
My lord
With great followers by my side, my Demon Lord life was the happiest.
As you might have guessed, Ive changed Quina into Kuina. Until we hear anything official that says otherwise, Im gonna keep using Kuina.
Phew, a volume done!
Volume 2 Prologue
PROLOGUE: THE THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED
A day has passed since the end of the [Evening Party] and our return to Marchos dungeon.
I had intruded upon Marchos room to question her.
Well then, Marcho, mind exining yourself? Just who the heck is this [Creation] Demon Lord Lolicell?
Marcho was a brown-skinned beauty with white hair as well as a wolfs ears and tail.
Such was Marcho or rather the [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias.
Of all the things, she had spread that preposterous name at the [Evening Party] where all the Demon Lords assembled.
She was slightly flustered upon hearing me.
I had no other choice.
Marcho told me so, albeit slightly awkwardly.
[Wind] Demon Lord Sts and I had participated in a simplified [War] during the party. I emerged the victor and a celebration was held shortly afterwards.
The other Demon Lords congratted and praised me.
It was all good until then but for some reason, the Demon Lords kept calling me by a rather rude name: Lolicell.
I am the [Creation] Demon Lord Procell. Never had my name been that vulgar name.
Did she had any idea how much trouble I went through to correct them?
Mind telling me how you had no other choice?
No, well you see, you were revealing a lot of your cards, right? So naturally, the Demon Lords began analyzing them. It would have been fine if each of them just did so separately but then, they looked like they were gonna discuss it with each other. If they did that, your weak points would have been exposed to every Demon Lord in there. The new Demon Lords might have even formed an alliance to oppose you.
Well, that might have been so.
Such were the disadvantages of being watched.
That was why I had decided beforehand the extent of what I was willing to reveal.
I was about to use the trump card I wasnt supposed to reveal in order to defeat the Emerald Dragon that Sts took out by the end of the war but thanks to the efforts done by a fox-eared-and-tailed beautiful girl, a Celestial Fox named Kuina, I was able to avoid such.
Nevertheless, it couldnt have been anything good if a great number of Demon Lords shared their analysis of the things I deemed alright to show amongst themselves.
Okay, but what does any of that have to do with the name Lolicell?
I should change the topic even if by only a little, I thought. The scene where you were hugging Tenko and Elder Dwarf was being yed so I thought Ill turn their attention to this scene.... Maybe it was because the two of them were so cute but they fell for it more than I expected. And then they got so into Lolicell. It was awful. Im reflecting on it.
With a look of difort on her face, she slightly bowed.
It didnt seem to be an act.
The fact that she didnt mean ill by it made it difficult to reprimand her.
Alright, I see there really was no other choice.
Besides, being referred to as Lolicell was provoked by some of my own actions.
For some reason, majority of the monsters I had created were adorable little girls.
By no means was I aiming for such, it just naturally became like that.
But I am hoping to clear these misgivings with the monster Im going to make next.
So, youre forgiving me? Thanks. As expected of the child Im proud of.
Its for the best. Ill soon make my own dungeon so Id rather not be at odds with you while were apart.
Marcho had taken good care of me all this while. I owed her for a great deal of things, both tangible and not.
The other part of my statement concerned the crystal in my possession which was given to me during the [Evening Party]. Just by grasping it tightly and uttering a few words of power, my dungeon would be built.
Before long, I would be leaving Marchos dungeon and build my own.
My heart skipped a beat. You have already be a man without my knowledge, Procell.
Yeah, yeah. Ill be leaving now.
Ah, thats right. Shall I make it up to you right now?
Make it up to me?
Dont you want to embrace me? Here, let me show you the charms of an adult womans body.
Marcho pushed her breasts in closer together and a bountiful valley was revealed.
Marcho was an extraordinarily beautiful woman. Her style was outstanding as well. Along with some hints of seductiveness.
I gulped down my own saliva.
I wondered how good it might feel if I embrace her.
I must refuse. I dont want to be in that sort of rtionship with you.
But I reluctantly turned down her offer.
Is that so? What a shame. I wanted your very essence to be etched into my body and, before I disappear, I wanted mine to be etched into your memories. Not much time is left on me, you know.
Marcho made a sad face as she floated a smile.
Demon Lords cease to exist 300 years after their birth and based on the story I heard from her, she had about 9 months left before her demise.
.........do you do that kind of thing with anyone?
I wanted to hear her answer so badly.
It wasnt for any simple curiosity either; a pain in my chest demanded I ask her so.
Not at all. Ill only offer myself to a man I have approved of. Well, just tell me if you ever change your mind, okay? Onee-chan has a lot she can teach you.
Yeah, if.
Ill be waiting with no expectations, then. Anyway, about that additional reward you got from the Creator, you better think carefully on how you use it. If you use it willy-nilly, it will be your downfall. That things surely fascinating but its far more dangerous than you might think. That person is awful; toying with Demon Lords as he wishes.
Thanks for the advice. Also, your other offer aside, Ill always be happy to spend time with you for tea.
The thing Marcho was talking about was the additional reward given to me and [Wind] Demon Lord Sts by the Creator for entertaining them more than expected in the held [War]. As far as I saw it, I felt it gave nothing but advantages but if she went so far to say something like that, then there must really be something about it. I must use it with care.
And thus, our conversation concluded.
I was transferred back by the Subus to the neighborhood Marcho lent me.
It has gotten very cramped in here, hasnt it?
I muttered so when I returned to the space that was lent to us.
As per Masters instructions, I have continued to increase the amount of Golems each day.
My lord, its because I had considerably increased my subordinates during the previous war.
Such were the replies given to me by the beautiful silver-haired pre-pubescent girl, Elder Dwarf, and Wight, the Skeleton dressed in a robe that looked like it belong to a noble.
In the space lent to us were countless Golems and Undead monsters.
The Golems varied by the materials they were made of: Mithril, Silver, Iron and many others.
As for the Undead monsters, 20 were the humanoid Skeletons. In addition to them were the 10 flying-type monsters acquired during the previous [War].
The new dungeon Im going to build now needed to be spacious enough to house all of them.
Ah! Oto-san, wee back!
Yeah, nice to be back, Kuina.
One other fellow resided here. The fox-eared girl Kuina.
After she appeared, she went to hug my right arm as she normally does.
Hows your new gun?
Its great. As expected of El-chan.
Kuinas gun got broken during the previous battle. It had been repaired thanks to the powers of the [Time] Demon Lord but Elder Dwarf, unable to bear the fact that the gun she developed was broken, hurriedly made improvements on it.
And in that regard, a new name was given to the gun.
Now far different from its base design, the Remilton M870P, it no longer seemed appropriate to call it a Remilton (Custom).
The Curtana EDS-02
Total length: 1040 mm
Weight: 3.3 Kg
Caliber: 4 gauge
Magazine capacity: 4 rounds
Such was the shotguns new name.
The S which stood for Shotgun now came after ED. It was easier to understand and thus Elder Dwarf adopted it.
By the way, an assault rifle would be named EDAR-0X.
El-chan, can I fire this one fully automatically all I want?
Its still not possible. In order for it to do so, a technological innovation of some kind or an enhancement of my own support magic is needed. Im working hard on both areas.
Elder dwarf ground her teeth in vexation.
She might be able to do it if I promoted her to be one of my [Monsters of the Covenant].
But Elder Dwarf was looking for a moment like when Tenko became Kuina, under the impression I wanted to name her during such an eventful scenario.
Well, just a little bit more and itlle.
Then, Kuina, Elder Dwarf, lets go make the new monster.
Yay ?! Thisll be fun!
I also want it to be a girl, a little sister. A cute one too.
The both of them said so, pleased.
And now, Ill begin.
The [Synthesis] of the third candidate to be my [Monster of the Covenant], that is.
Someone that walks alongside the wind, rules over nature, and is the personification of a star.
Note:
The has been released!!! Yay!! Go and support Tsukiyo Rui-sensei, the author we revere.
Ive revised the wording on the Creation medal. It still means the same, just, hopefully, clearer. Also, I think it will be better if you skim through my trantions of first 5 or so chapters.
[Creation] medal. A rank. Enables the synthesis of monsters using the [Creation] medal and two other medals (an original medal is required). Its possible to transform the attribute of this medal to one that the maker desires and to then synthesize it. Additionally, the oue is chosen from the all the possible oues. An attribute that has once been transformed into can never again be selected.
And regarding the page with the character illustrations, it has a lot more spoilers than I initially thought so Im only gonna trante that by the end of the third volume.
Lastly, do you guys want Kuina to stop saying Oto-san? Like maybe go for Dad instead? Before anyone proposes it, Im gonna reject Daddy right here and now. Sorry for the long note.
Volume 2 1
We went outside to do a [Synthesis].
And as though it was perfectly natural, Marcho was also there. The same elegant table set from before was set up and she was enjoying the tea served by the Subus.
Heya, Procell. Nice to see you.
Marcho said so in a subtly cute intonation.
She was behaving as though nothing had happened earlier.
Whatever. Do what you want.
After Iughed weakly, I began consolidating my thoughts.
My monsters were also with me. Kuina and Elder Dwarf in particr had a look on their faces that seemed to say they wanted to be a part in the birth of their newpanion.
In my hand was the medal I received from [Wind] Demon Lord Sts, the [Wind] original medal.
<<[Wind] medal. A rank. Bestows the ability to manipte the wind to the created monster. Greatly enhances Agility. Grants minor enhancements to all other stats.>>[1]
It was a strong medal.
The [Person] imitation medal and my very own [Creation] medal were also in my hand.
<<[Creation] medal. A rank. Enables the synthesis of monsters using the [Creation] medal and two other medals (an original medal is required). Its possible to transform the attribute of this medal to one that the maker desires and to then synthesize it. Additionally, the oue is chosen from all the possible oues. An attribute that has once been transformed into can never again be selected.>>
I chose [Person] because what I sought most from my [Monsters of the Covenant] was a bond. I wanted a being close to my own. I wanted someone to talk andugh with. And for those reasons, all of the monsters I had created were highly intelligent and able tomunicate. This was made possible thanks to the [Person] attribute I used in their Synthesis.
However, those wishes were only a priority for the candidates to be my [Monsters of the Covenant].
I intended to make [Creation] transform into [Star] this time.
[Star] gave the ability to rule over nature. This ability was strong all by itself.
As far as the story I heard from Marcho went, I would be able to make the exact monster I was wishing for if I used this attribute.
And so, the three medals, [Wind], [Person] and Creation, were in my hand.
I grasped them firmly and began.
[Synthesis]
Light rose from my clenched fist.
When I opened it, the light leaked out. From within the light, a silhouette was formed.
The [Wind] original medal and the [Person] imitation medal fused and became one, setting the direction the Synthesis would take.
From then on, [Creation]s abilities came to y.
I wished for [Star], the power to rule over nature.
I wished for someone ancient. For someone that walked alongside the wind.
For someone that conversed with everything: the earth and each tree, with the seas and oceans, and with the great sky above.
For the monster I was wishing for, the powers of [Wind] and [Person] alone werent enough so I added in the powers of [Star] and gave the monster more power and wisdom.
Led astray by its own overwhelming power, I guided it back to the direction I wished for it take.
I then chose possibility for it to be an S rank.
Afterwards, I chose it to be able to grow instead of having a static level. By doing so, the monsters maximum level was increased and thus made the monster stronger upon reaching that level.[3]
And so, it was all ready.
All that was needed was to wait for it to be born.
The silhouette within the light became darker.
I then heard the beating of its heart.
The light ceased and the new monster was born.
Nice to meet you, my master.[3]
The newly born monster was a young woman slightly older than Tenko. I estimated her to be at around 14 years of age.
She had soft blonde hair and a gentle smile. A feature unique to her though was her out of this world [Jade Eyes].
She also had a fiendish thing none of my previous monsters had.
Yes, she was a so-called busty loli.
The white dress she wore emphasized its existence further.
By the way, her ears were long.
Nice to meet you too. I am [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, the Demon Lord that created you. Sorry for asking this right away but will you please tell me of your race.
I asked her the usual question and she responded.
I am a person of the olden days. The personification of the stars that walk alongside the wind...... I am an elf of the highest order; I am an Ancient Elf. Ill be in your care.
The Ancient Elf bowed gracefully.
She was exactly the monster I wished for: someone who specialized in controlling nature.
Such a monster was necessary in building my new town. Like for when the citizens would be moving in, theyd need fertilends and be provided with some immediate food supply. With her help, such tasks would be easy.
I am as well. Ill be counting on you.
Please do, my master. I hope I can live up to your expectations.
We firmly shook hands.
She was a frank and good mannered child.
Kuina then trotted near us, her fox tail swinging. She must have been pleased with the birth of her new little sister.
Ancient Elfs too long so Ill be calling you Elf-chan. Nice to meet you! Im Kuina, Oto-sans [Monster of the Covenant]. Im in charge next to Oto-san. Im the older sister so the little sister Elf-chan better listen whatever Kuina says.
Kuina, with a satisfied look on her face, uttered things simr to what she said to Elder Dwarf back when they first met.
She had unexpectedly taken good care of Elder Dwarf and she would probably do the same to Ancient Elf.
However, Ancient Elf only stared nkly at her.
Wha-whats wrong?
Kuina looked in wonder at Ancient Elf.
KA!
Ancient Elf looked back at Kuina with eyes like that of a dreaming young woman.
So cute! What is this child? So small but calls herself the older sister. Kya Kya KYA
Sto-stop it! It hurts!
Ancient Elf hugged Tenko tightly.
Her ample breasts buried Kuinas face deep within them.
Gasping for breath, Kuina struggled to break free.
Ahh, so tiny, so warm, and smells so good. Plus, this fluffy tail, I cant stand it anymore, Ill hug it tightly. Oh my, did you just twitch? Did it feel good here? Ah, thats a cute reaction. It feels good here, doesnt it, Kuina-chan?
Stop it, my tails sensitive. If you touch it like that, stop, stop it. Nn, youre making me feel weird.
Then, how about here? Your cute fox ears too, rubbing its the best too.
Sto, sto, Im weak behind the ears!
Kuina waspletely yed around with.
A few minutester, by the time she was finally released, Kuina fell down, her eyes vacant. On the other hand, Ancient Elfs skin glowed.
Kuina-chan, lets y againter.
No! I forbid Elf-chan to evere near Kuina again!
I then felt a presence behind me and when I looked, Elder Dwarf was there. She watched Kuinas suffering and became frightened of Ancient Elf.
Well, I understood how she felt.
That silver child over theres cute too. Come here, Ill make you feel good too.
Master, help. This ones scary.
It seemed like Elder Dwarf seriously disliked the offer given to her.
And before I was aware of it, the presence behind me had increased to two. It would seem Kuina was going to hide there until she had recovered.
I couldnt help but smile wryly.
Ancient Elf, I understand your desire to express your fondness to these children but you better do so moderately. Otherwise, you will be disliked.
Certainly, master. I apologize.
Ancient Elf replied so and then beckoned to Kuina and Elder Dwarf, all while saying dont be afraid, dont be afraid.
She had a rather good personality.
As expected of you, Procell. Ive already thought youre doing it on purpose but youve made another... outrageous monster once again.
As she elegantly sipped her ck tea, Marcho expressed her astonishment with words that hid other meanings beneath them.
I was unable to talk back though and that frustrated me further. But I will still maintain my stance until the very end that all of it was by chance and never had I ever aimed to make a young girl.
The girl, although problematic in various ways, had abilities that pleased me.
Race: Ancient Elf
S Rank
Name: Unnamed
Level: 1
Physical Strength: B
Endurance: C+
Agility: A+
Magic Power: S
Luck: A+
Special: S++
Skills:
Jade Eyes
Ruler of the Wind
Personification of the Stars
Divine Protection
Shooter of Magical Bullets
Her stats fell behind Elder Dwarfs, nevermind Tenkos. Each skill of hers, however, was wonderful.
Jade Eyes: Sees through all the secrets of magic. Its lower ranked skills, irvoyance, spirit vision, and X-ray vision are incorporated into this skill.
Personification of the Stars: Enables the use of all magic attributes except for fire. If the corresponding attribute is within the surrounding, receive an enhancement (Large). Allows the user to be synchronized with the spirits of the dead.
Divine Protection: Enhances all stats (Medium). Revives the user upon death but the skill is consequently lost.
Ruler of the Wind: Highest Order Wind-type Skill. Gives the maximum enhancement to Wind attribute magics.
Shooter of Magical Bullets: Enhances the power and the uracy of all offensive projectiles (Large)
It indeed thoroughly pleased me.
I couldnt believe such power lied underneath this busty young woman.
One thing troubled me though: she had so much powerful skills but her Special stat stopped only at S++ whereas Kuinas, a Celestial Fox, went as far EX.
Even as Kuina was currently, I still couldnt believe Ancient Elf was inferior to her in that regard. There was probably something hidden that even I or the person herself couldnt see.
My master, what should I do for the moment?
Oh yeah, I do want to see Ancient Elfs abilities in action but first, lets start at which weapon suits you the best. Kuina, Elder Dwarf, would you go as well?
Certainly, my master.
...understood.
Roger, master.
And so, we headed towards the shooting range recently provided to us by Marcho.
I wonder which kind of rifle would better suit her skills.
I also thought I had to do something about the two hiding behind me in their fear of Ancient Elf.
Volume 2 2
The Ancient Elf was just born.
Weprised of Kuina the Celestial Fox, Elder Dwarf, Ancient Elf, and myselfwere currently conducting an experiment at an open grass-covered field somewhere in Marchos dungeon.
The objective of which was to find a suitable weapon for Ancient Elf.
Tenko preferred close rangebat so she chose the shotgun while Elder Dwarf chose the assault rifle, prioritizing providing support fire from any distance.
Elder Dwarf still hasnt settled on any particr fighting style yet so she has to try out different kinds of weapons.
Although slightly wary of their new little sister, Kuina and Elder Dwarf managed, for the moment, to properly to talk to her.
Kuinas rmendation is, of course, the shotgun. The feeling of diving in range of your enemy and one-shot killing them with a boom really is something.
Despite being slightly scared, Kuina was still able to properly y her part as the elder sister.
As expected of my [Monster of the Covenant].
Thanks Kuina-chan but I feel like it wont suit me. Firstly since my defense worries me. Additionally, my attacks wont miss my targets even from far away anyway.
It was exactly as she said. She had the strongest eye skill, the Jade Eyes, coupled with another skill, the Shooter of Magical Projectiles.
She didnt need to deliberately put herself in danger.
Then, Ill rmend the assault rifle. Its clip size is great, its highly urate even from far away, and its easy to use. It has enough firepower too, if using the 7.62mm bullets. Above all else, the feeling of stability it gives is outstanding.
Next was Elder Dwarfs rmendation of the assault rifle.
Just like she said, its sense of stability was outstanding. When going for safety, it was the way to go.
I agree that it certainly is a great weapon but its still a littlecking. Id like something like this but with a bit more punch. Isnt there a weapon that you can use from far away but still as powerful as the shotgun?
A weapon that had shotgun-ss firepower even from far away... there was only thing that came to mind.
But it wasnt like that was something one usually carried around.
Oh well, it was a good opportunity to try it out.
Ancient Elf, Ill be taking out a new weapon out now. Try it out. [Creation].
I created the weapon using my own ability.
Each Demon Lord had their own Unique Skill and mine was [Creation] which was:
<>
Thanks to it, I was able to materialize all sorts of things.
I might have lost my memory but the ones about weapons remained.
As you can see, its a fairly big weapon but, well, just try it out for the meantime.
The weapon I created was an anti-materiel rifle.
It was a reallyrge rifle intended for super-long-distanced shooting as well as for prating deeply into ones target.
It was longer, bigger, and heavier than ordinary rifles. Its recoil was more intense too.
And distinguishing itself even from among those of its kind was the Pallet ML82A1.
Pallet ML82A1
Overall length: 1450 mm
Weight: 14.0 Kg
Magazine capacity: 11 rounds
Caliber: 12.7 mm x 99
Muzzle velocity: 853 m/s
Effective range: 2,000 meters
The caliber it used was the same as the ones used for the Mithril Golems heavy machine guns: the .50 caliber.
It weighed, however, at one third the weight of those heavy machine guns; just barely light enough to be carried. It was a beast with nearly twice as much weight and length as that of Elder Dwarfs favorite MK417.
It was unable to shoot fully automatically but due to its semi-automatic feature, it could still somehow do a rapid-fire shooting.
Its fantastic! So sturdy and impressive. May I use it?
Do you know how to?
I more or less know how to use weapons that attack from range.
It was most probably an effect of her Shooter of Magical Projectiles skill.
There was none more capable to her when it came to long-ranged weapons.
This feels nice. I might be able to do it with this.
She said so as she licked her lower lip, her tongue still stuck out.
Theres some nice pebble three kilometers away so Ill try firing at them.
Will you use the guns legs or will you shoot standing up?
Ill manage by myself.
The anti-materiel rifle which had a length of 1450 mm originally used two legs so that it may be easily fired as oneid on the ground.
Without them, one would be hard pressed to aim due to the guns excessive length and weight.
Ancient Elf chose not to use the guns legs and instead was aiming as she stood. Despite that, however, her gun was steady.
Such wasnt due to her physical strength alone; she was also using the wind to support herself. What a convenient ability that was.
I produced a pair of binocrs using my [Creation] and checked the target she was aiming at.
Here I go!
She pulled the trigger and an explosive sound was heard.
The intensity of the 12.77 mm bullet was indeed different.
The bullet then easily smashed the target 3 kilometers ahead.
At the same time the bullet was released though, I sensed wind magic power.
Indeed, the shooter of magical projectiles.
Ancient Elf, that bullet was kinda weird, wasnt it? It was more like it elerated further than be impeded by the air resistance.
Ah, I get what you mean. I borrowed the winds powers. I asked it not to get in the way of that little one and instead help it a little.
What an unfair ability.
Normally, the faster an object went, the more wind resistance it met. Furthermore, the greater the distance was, the greater the winds effects were.
And yet, Ancient Elf nullified those and even turned it into an advantage.
There probably wasnt any monster more suited to long-distance shooting than she was.
It was also likely that she used the wind to help cushion the recoil. Otherwise, she would have felt pain from the intense recoil.
You did better than expected. Youll be using that weapon from now on, Ancient Elf.
If she could use the difficult-to-handle Pallet ML82A1 that easily, there wouldnt be any problems rising up any time soon, hopefully.
I needed to prepare a secondary weapon for her though, in the event that her enemy had managed to shorten the distance between.
As I was thinking of such, Elder Dwarf approached.
She spoke in a rather timid manner.
Elf, if it would please you, I can increase that guns firepower for you. I can also give you bullets like the ones the Mithril Golems use for their heavy machineguns. Just by recing its materials alone, its strength will increase. It wont take much time either.
El-chan, thats amazing! Youre so cute but youre also so smart. For sure, please do so! If you could do that, the bullets will follow a smoother trajectory and then fly far far away.
Was this one a certain kind of long-range shooting enthusiast?
Well no matter, Ancient Elfs weapon had now been decided.
Which reminds me, have you remodeled your own weapon, Elder Dwarf?
I had been slightly wondering about it. I knew that, until recently, remodeling Kuinas shotgun had taken up most of her time but at the moment, she should have had enough to improve her own weapon.
Its still on the nning stage. Im aiming for it to have both uracy and firepower without sacrificing its ease of use. For now though, theres no way to make sure it wont break after raising its power to be like their weapons.
I see, do your best then, I thought, Im looking forward to it.
Perhaps the results of her work would bring about a technological breakthrough.
Afterwards, we spent a bit more time target shooting.
I was especially surprised by the mid-air shooting Ancient Elf did. She precisely shot her targets as she swiftly flew using wind magic. No doubt that would be a considerable tactical advantage.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it but we will be going to a human town tomorrow.
I informed them so as we were on our way back. And the moment I did so, each of them was surprised in their own unique way.
Actually, I had already decided on doing so for some time ago.
In order to attract humans into my town, I first had to know one.
And so, Ill go to a human town and see lots of things.
Volume 2 3
We left the dungeon after talking with Marcho.
Apanying me was Kuina, my [Monster of the Covenant], along with the other two candidates, Elder Dwarf and Ancient Elf. Gryphon was with us, too.
Wight was left behind to attend to some important tasks I had assigned to him together with the Dwarf Smiths, and the Skeletons.
Marcho had taught us about a ce that satisfied the condition of being near both arge town and a popr dungeon.
The four of us wore human clothes Marcho bought from a human town. I didnt know much about this worlds clothing but the ones we wore felt like clothes of considerable quality.
It would seem Demon Lords with too much free time would sometimes go visit human towns and thus had human clothes prepared.
The clothes we wore were just at right size too. I and Ancient Elf wore clothes for people on the middle of their teens while the other two wore clothes for people on the first half of their teens.
The clothes sizes definitely werent for Marcho though. My clothes werent even for a girl and that bothered me a little.
Oto-san, the wind feels nice!
Masters back, so big. Soforting.
Yeah, it does feel so nice.
At the moment, I was riding on the Gryphon as it flew.
There was still some distance away from our destination.
I was gripping on the Gryphons bridle while Kuina was sitting in-between me and the Gryphon. Meanwhile, Elder Dwarf was clinging to me from behind.
It smelled nice and felt soft and warm.
Being sandwiched by my beloved girls definitely was wonderful. It was the best.
Yeah, I bet it feels good there.
Come on now, you know I also want you to be here with us but Gryphon could only carry a maximum of three people.
Flying next to us was Ancient Elf.
She was able to control the wind and thus make herself fly. Her speed was nothing to write-off either; she could overtake the Gryphon as it flew at its top speed, all while humming a tune.
Shewhen performing some long distance sniping with her anti-materiel rifle while flying in the sky at full speedarguably boasted the highestbat prowess among my monsters.
I know but... Ei! ?
Just when I thought she flew higher, I felt something against the back of both my head and body. Yes, it was her ample bosoms that pressed against me.
There should be no problem if were like this. Kuina-chan has taken the front while El-chan has taken the back so thisll be my ce. Fufufu, a privilege only for me whos flying.
Careful not to burden the Griffon, she flew as she pressed her body on mine.
It was dangerous so I wanted to scold her, I really did, but I also wanted to enjoy that soft and warm feeling.
Oto-san, youre making a weird face.
Masters so dirty.
The coldness in their voices somehow snapped me back.
That was dangerous. A little bit more and I might not have been able to snap out of it.
Ancient Elf, this is dangerous so let go. If you want to cling on to me like this, you may do so as much as you want once were on the ground.
Im sorry, my master. Ill have my funter, then.
Uhh, foolish Oto-san.
Kuina red at me with scornful eyes. Maybe she thought Ill be taken away from her.
Ancient Elf then spoke as she giggled andughed at Kuina.
If you let me hug you, Ill stop being so near master. What do you say?
Ugggghhhh, uggghhhhh. Do what you want with me, Elf-chan, just get away from Oto-san.
It would seem her desire to monopolize me won over her wariness of Ancient Elf.
Ancient Elfughed, thoroughly enjoying Kuinas response. I guess she really liked Kuina a lot.
Being like this, we covered a great deal of distance.
Were gonna arrive soon.
Oto-san, why are we purposefully visiting a human town?
Because its important for us to know how we can lure the humans into a Demon Lords dungeon. In order to do so, we have to know in much detail what kind of creatures humans are. It wont be easy and the first steps are always the hardest. Not to mention, Im trying to build a town with lots humans living in it so its that much harder.
That sounds so exciting, Oto-san!
Kuina looked at me with sparkling eyes as her fox ears twitched.
She seemed more than interested so I decided to continue talking about it some more.
Do you know what this is?
I took out a transparent and round object.
Hmm, no, I dont but maybe El-chan does.
Is that perhaps the heart of a dungeon? The thing a dungeon is built around?
Thats right.
I smiled at the answer. What I held was the one given to me on the [Evening Party]: a crystal.
If I hold it tightly and then utter some words of power, a dungeon can be built.
As I said so, the eyes of both Elder Dwarf and Ancient Elf sparkled as well.
We can have a new home!
Master, I want the dungeon to have a mine please.
A fertile field for me too.
My monsters conveyed each of their requests.
So far, their requests seemed achievable.
Deciding the kind of dungeon ours is going to be might be important but since we cant move it once its built, I wanted us to first have a look at the ce then decide. So well be doing some reconnaissance. If it looks like I can proceed with my ns, Ill build it there.
The outside appearance of a dungeon could be anything that the Demon Lord fancied and the rooms and floors inside were connected via different dimensions so the terrain, the vastness and such of the dungeon didnt matter; the only thing that really mattered was where the dungeon would be located.
To be near a lot of humans was indispensable to my dungeon and so I decided on making use of an already popr dungeon. Popr dungeons were essential resources for humans; many of them would even go back and forth between such a dungeon and arge town. I thought that if I perhaps built my town in-between them, there would then be a demand for food and lodgings.
All the parts that could be essed on the first floor of my dungeon shall be the town Ill build.
I then talked to my monsters as I gathered my thoughts.
In order for the dungeon to have farnds, we first need to prepare fertilends. With the help of Ancient Elfs abilities, doing so will be easy and something like an abundant harvest could even be promised every year.
That makes me happy, master. We elves are creatures who are mostfortable when surrounded by trees and grass.
My intention was to rent out the plots ofnd made fertile by Ancient Elfs abilities to farmers who didnt own their ownnd for almost no price at all.
If I did that, they would stay in my town for a long while and thus be my reliable source of DP.
Should that not entice them enough, building my town within reasonable distance of the first town probably would.
Besides them, I also nned to entice merchants aiming for the customers heading to the popr dungeon and, of course, inn managers.
And then, Elder Dwarf, dont worry, Ill surely make a mine. Its needed not only to attract more humans but also for the advancement of your research and the improvement of our forces.
That makes me happy as well, master. Ill make a lot of strong and amazing weapons. Please look forward to it.
Strong weapons are great and all but please also consider making some weapons we can sell to the humans.
Ill leave that task to the Dwarf Smiths. Those two are more than capable to handle that.
The mines would attract a fair number of humans. And so too would the selling of the high-quality dwarven-made arms that no human could replicate. It would certainly be popr, especially so when sold near a popr dungeon.
Between the abilities of the two racesof the elves presiding over nature and of the dwarves ruling over smithingthe sess of my new town was all but certain.
And those were just some examples; there were still many more methods I could employ in order to gather the humans.
A dungeon built by a novice Demon Lord with little DP would be unable to gather enough people and thus not earn much. And when looking from the humans side of things, changing their hunting grounds from an already popr dungeon made no sense.
The methods I had thought of were probably the most efficient way I could gather a good amount of DP.
Uuhh, El-chan and Elf-chan are too sly. Kuina also wants to have a job.
Dont worry Kuina, for you will be the key to our defense. No matter how much of an amazing city we build or how much humans we can gather, it would all mean nothing if the crystal is broken so I will be relying on your abilities, Kuina.
Understood, Oto-san! Kuina will protect not just Oto-san but the town and everyone in it as well!
The lower floors where the crystal would be enshrined would be a hellish dungeon with nothing but defense in mind. Just taking a single step in it would result in ones immediate death.
Moreover, I intended to hide all the routes leading to the lowest floor as much as I could.
In the first ce, the structure of the dungeon wouldpletely change depending upon whether it was open for the public or at a state of war with another Demon Lord.
I couldnt do apromise between the two so I decided to abandon the thought of opening the dungeon to the public at the start.
That being said though, eventually, after we earned some DP and increased our fighting strength, the news of a dungeon found underneath the town shall be spread. And from being a mere stop-over, it would probably be a full-blown dungeon town and snatch away all of the popr dungeons visitors in the end.
Oto-sans thinking of a lot of difficult stuff.
Its cause I cant let anything bad happen to you girls. This crystal, you see, if ever it breaks, everyone will be gone. In order to prevent that, I have to think up of various measures.
The Creator reminded me of that when he gave me the crystal.
Even though another crystal would be resupplied to us upon our independence, all the monsters that had vanished would remain gone, never to return again.
It was then my duty to protect all the monsters I had created.
Whether they be Demon Lords waging a [War] against me or the humans, I wont let anyone take my children away. To that end, I was willing to do anything.
We believe in you, Oto-san. Ah! I could see it! Its such a big town!
Im surprised they made such a big town.
Kuina and Elder Dwarf were surprised.
Their surprise was justified though.
The ce we were going to, the town of Eba, was a wealthy town with over a hundred thousand citizens.
As I observed their surprise, I guided the Gryphon to a descent.
We finally reached the town. Although this will also be a reconnaissance mission, we will be enjoying ourselves to the fullest.
Volume 2 4
We had finally reached the city.
Wended somewhere a little bit away and proceeded to walk from then on.
ording to Marcho, the city of Eba was arge metropolis surrounded by gigantic walls and popted by more than a hundred thousand citizens. It was divided into three sections: themercial area, the residential area, and the agricultural area.
Kuina hid her fox ears and tail using her Transform skill while Ancient Elf wore a hood.
To begin with, my and Elder Dwarfs appearance did not differ much from a humans so a disguise was unnecessary.
Like so, we wouldnt attract too much attention to ourselves.
Even though they were rare, elves and dwarves had established themselves as one of the races in this world, distinguishing themselves from being monsters.
When a crystal is broken, the monsters created directly by the Demon Lord would vanish but that wasnt so for their descendants. It would seem the monsters created by the other Demon Lords had conceived children and lived in prosperity and thus produced their own environment.
The Golems made by the dwarves were the same, by the way.
Oto-san, look, what an impressive line.
Thats, theyre collecting tariffs as well as barring entry to dangerous people.
What a troublesome line.
It was certainly a troublesome thing; one that would waste our time.
I decided to do it the easy way and borrow Kuina and Ancient Elfs abilities.
Ancient Elf, could you carry all of us?
Ill manage. I can also check if there are any people nearby.
Okay. Next, Kuina. Can you hide with some magic?
Yup, I can but itll only be limited to our appearance. Our smell and the noises we make wont be hidden.
Itll be fine as long as the other partys an ordinary human so please, do it.
Okay!
And so, we became invisible through Kuinas illusion magic and entered the city by riding the wind Ancient Elf blew.
Woah, theres a lot of people here.
Master, theyre a little too many and its making me feel sick.
We undid our invisibility at a ce with no one around and then proceeded to themercial area of the town.
I was with three beautiful girls so the gazes of the surrounding people gathered on us. But since they were still just little girls and since I was unambiguously sticking close to them, none of them dared to call out.
Nevertheless, there truly was so much people gathered in this city, both inside and out.
People looking for treasures and magic stones excavated from the great dungeon gathered here and those people brought their own goods to trade. Then, there came people looking for the goods that those people brought. There would then be people looking for those goods and so on and so forth, repeating the process over and over again, with each cycle increasing the scale of trading further.
Towns like this often formed near first-ss dungeon, or so it would seem.
By the way, the dungeon about 80 kilometers away from this city belonged to the [Time] Demon Lord.
If I had the abilities of [Time], making a dungeon prosper would be a simple job. Although the person himself had said that thergescale time rewind he did during the [War] was done with the Creators support.
Master, if we go all out and massacre all the humans here, wed get tons of DP. Its going to be safe for us too since even if we rampage here, we can just put all the me to the [Time] Demon Lord.
With a smile on her face, Ancient Elf said such terrifying things.
That might be correct when considering only the efficiency of things but...
Lets refrain from doing that. Its against my principles and when the [Time] Demon Lord gets wind of it, hell surely kill us. And most of all, the people here might someday be my towns citizens.
Sorry.
First of all, what do you all think of humans?
The humans? Theyre cattle for us, right?
Ancient Elf tilted her head in confusion.
I looked at the other two but they didnt think Ancient Elfs reply was strange.
There probably was nothing wrong with it from the point of view of a monster who had immense power.
In fact, I who held special emotions toward humans might be the weird one to them.
If they are indeed cattle, then they should have other uses than to be killed and be eaten, right?
As expected of my master, you intend to use them to thest bit.
There was no need to forcefully change their perspective toward humans for it might change voluntarily as they interact with them.
Even though Im the only one that wont do it, there certainly are Demon Lords that, based on the circumstances of things, will strategically assault a human city.
The one to respond to my words this time was Elder Dwarf.
I wonder, why do that kind of thing?
Its one way to attract humans. If they attack a city, you see, humans inrge numbers wille to them and seek for revenge. Therell be lots of strong humans too. If the Demon Lords manage to kill their would-be killers within the dungeon, theyd receive a ton of DP.
It was a story I heard from Marcho.
If a Demon Lord did argescale assault on a town, the human army would mobilize.
And the stronger a human was, the more DP the Demon Lord would get. Furthermore, it would seem that the strong emotions of the humans filled with the thoughts of justice and revenge were extremely delicious.
Poking the hos nest as they say was an old trick done by the Demon Lords.
However, such a method would cause the humans to eventually distance themselves from the dungeon and thus, whenpared to the method of seeking some form of coexistence with the humans, it will lose out in the long run. Moreover, there would always be that chance wherein the Demon Lord would be killed by the many hero ss humans he had provoked.
Simply put, it was a short-termst-ditch effort for when one needed a lot of DP.
That sounds interesting, Oto-san. Lets try it!
No, lets not.
Kuina could be kind of capricious sometimes so I decided I should be careful.
We walked as we checked the prices of the different goods sold at themercial area of Eba. The goods and their prices would serve as various reference materials someday.
But then, a group of three boorish men appeared and looked like they intended to stand in our way.
They were garbed in light armor with worn-out one-handed swords hanging from their sides.
You little misses look cute. Wanna go eat some tasty food with us? We just scored some good stuff from the dungeon so we can treat you to some expensive food. Whaddaya say?
Oi, oi. All of thems a brat cept for one. Ones even a man!
They cant be brats if theyre this fine. Lets just leave the guy here.
They talked as they showed such sleazy smiles.
I was surprised in a way; I didnt expect to find such stereotypical men here.
Could you please not bother mypanions?
Hey you look like a girl. Anyway, what, you their friend or something? You trying to show-off? Well, were just kind misters who are going to show them something more fun than ying games so dont get in the way, okay?
I looked like a girl?
It bothered me, to be honest.
I then felt Kuina repeatedly poking my back.
May I burn these scum who dared talk like that to Oto-san?
Im forbidding any killing today. Moreover, dont get involved, okay?
Okay.
She looked disappointed as she looked down.
I understood what she felt since I too wanted to kill them.
Im not their friend; Im their guardian. I have a duty to protect these girls so I will get in the way.
I see... go to sleep then!
One of the men swung his fist.
Even though I could have easily avoided it, I didnt even try.
And then, his fist hit my cheek but didnt separate from it.
It hurts! What the, hitting this guys like hitting iron!
The man held his hand and crouched down. Well, hitting me would do that to someone like him.
The man then raised his face and upon doing so, he began to tremble. The other two men also trembled soon after.
AH! AH! AHHH!
Hii!
W-waaaaahhhhh!
The three screamed as they began their escape.
I did not cause their panic, however.
You guys have endured well.
It was caused by my monsters.
They saw that the men actually dared to hurt me but since I had forbidden them to kill, the release of their urge to kill was all they did. It was, however, enough to make the men face their doom.
In the aftermath of things, the surrounding humans also lost their marbles.
They truly were S rank monsters.
Oto-san, please take back your order of not getting involved. Even though I knew it wont hurt you at all, I still didnt like it. I could have kill him a dozen times even before his slow fist hit.
Me too, master.
Yeah, I agree. I wont let anyone bring harm to my master.
Being loved by my girls really made me happy.
With no other way, I decided to stop getting myself be purposely hit next time.
Im sorry, I didnt mean to make you guys worry. Ill properly make it up to all of you.
I had decided that after our tasks for the day were finished, I would let everyone enjoy themselves to the fullest.
We had finished the viewing of the market price of the goods so next was, in a way, the days main event.
From here on, were gonna be looking around mainly for weapons. Be especially mindful, Elder Dwarf. We can sell any weapons we have that are better than the ones here. Use it as reference.
Understood but I think its unnecessary; its unlikely humans could make something great.
Thats certainly true, yeah. I also share your sentiments but well still use it as reference. After all, it wont do us any good if we offer the humans weapons that are too powerful. So, its important to sell them only slightly better weapons than the ones sold here.
For arguments sake, let us assume we mass produced and sold assault rifles in my town.
It would be really popr and make the humans mor over it. But this would invite the ire of the other Demon Lords and thus be like digging my own grave.
On the other hand, the far-too-advanced technology would stimte the humans greed and, in order to have a monopoly over it, they would wage war on me in the true sense of the word.
No matter what, doing things in moderation was the key.
I understand. Ill closely examine the things here and make some drafts. Afterwards though, Ill leave the manufacturing to those two. Mundane tasks are so boring after all.
Such a task was probably unamusing for Elder Dwarf the researcher.
Nheless, I felt she would still do the task superbly.
Sorry for making you do such a boring job but in exchange, Ill use [Creation] to make an interesting weapon for you to study. Ill also prepare an environment wherein you could focus on nothing but your research.
I smiled a little when I stroked her cheerless head.
She then smiled with supreme happiness in return.
I love you, master.
Even such short words made her face redden and talk in whispers.
Volume 2 5
CHAPTER 5: WEAPONS AND FARMLANDS
On our way to a store that handled weapons, we stopped by a pawnshop and turned the gems I made using [Creation] into money.
The gold coins were heavy and therefore consume an intense amount of magic power. In that regard, creating the jewels was the better choice.
I was making gunpowder and various rare metals which couldnt be easily procured without [Creation] daily so I wanted to conserve as much MP as I could.
After I got the gold coins, I listened in on the conversations between the nearby people of this town but I then found a popr equipment shop.
As a testament to its poprity, the shop was pretty big.
Inside, around fifty humans known as adventurers were intently looking for equipment.
From swords to spears to bows. From clothes to armor to footwear. Those seemed to roughly be the stores main products. The mass-produced cheap products and the high-quality ones made by craftsmen were each lined up in their own corners.
Oto-san, Oto-san, theres a huge amount of weapons here.
Quality is more important than quantity, master. Im a little bit disappointed.
I dont really know these weapons well. I mean, I like the bow and all but... ever since I met that little one, a bow just cant satisfy me anymore.
Each of my girls expressed their own reactions.
Elder Dwarf and I then went to the corner where the finest items were lined up while Kuina and Ancient Elf visited the corner where the shoes were.
Elder Dwarf picked up the most expensive sword. The material used on it was an alloy made of iron and a little bit of mithril. This was a scheme done so that the cost of production would be reduced.
Pitiful.
Her face became grim as she murmured so.
I pity the materials that were used like this as I pity the person that will wield this weapon. This is isnt a sword; its just a scrap of iron.
She looked at it with terrifyingly cold eyes.
Meanwhile, the surrounding people were astir; Elder Dwarf, the silver-haired prepubescent beauty that didnt belong in this ce, gathered their attention. With a remark like that though, it was unavoidable.
And a few momentster, a giant of a man came from the inside of the store.
He had skin as dark as the night and a body trained through and through.
You! You the one that dared to suggest my swords rubbish!?
His footsteps were loud and heavy as he trotted towards us.
Just when I thought it was a first-ss adventurer dissing my sword, here I see no one but a little girl! But I wont let anyone take a piss at any of my work, not even a brat like you!
The man bellowed a nerve-wracking speech.
It was so loud the men that tried to pick up the girls earlier would hesitate.
However, Elder Dwarf didnt move an inch.
Even though she looked like a silver-haired beauty in the first half of her teens, she was, in fact, a powerful S rank monster. An ordinary human wouldnt make her feel threatened, not even one tiny bit.
Take a piss? Im merely stating the facts. The fire in the furnace wasnt hot enough; the materials arent distributed properly; the alloy has been struck far too heavily making the sword brittle; the weights uneven; and then theres its shape which is suited neither for shing nor bashing. Now, selling this sword, that would be taking a major piss at anyone.
Instead of backing down, she rained in criticism after criticism on him and he winced.
Like you know how to forge one. Cut it ouC
This is how a real sword should be.
She threw the slender de that hung from her back to therge man.
The sword was her insurance in case she ever ran out of bullets.
What the, this sword... what the, this is made of mithril. Theres other metals mixed in in the alloy but its not for bringing down the cost of production but rather to strengthen the alloy. Furthermore, the skill it takes to make the grip firm and the de smooth... such a sword, it has to be made by Yappaluna, the legendary cksmith of the royal capital.
Im the one that made that sword.
Theres no way a brat couldC
I made it.
Those short words had so much intensity in them, it allowed the man no rebuttal and brought him into silence.
She then retrieved her sword, put it back into its sheath, and turned around to face me.
Master, lets go. Ive seen all there is to see.
She said so as she pulled my hand.
Therge man didnt say anything further. Did he feel some sort of reverence towards someone of exceptional skillparable to a master cksmith?
The surrounding people were still observing us as we left. I then thought of something good: with this many people giving us attention, it was a great opportunity to advertise.
Everyone, a week from now, we will be building a city to be located between this one and the dungeon in the east. There will of course be a shop selling the weapons made by this girl so please doe.
The noise the surrounding humans made grew louder.
Adventurers, in order to survive, were always starving to have powerful weapons after all.
Our advertisement here did enough impact and the news of our town would probably be spread by word of mouth.
...although, of course, it would depend on the events to follow whether or not my dungeon would actually be built there.
With our task done, we left soon after.
By the way, we wereter scolded by Kuina and Ancient Elf for leaving the both of them behind.
After we exited themercial area, we then paid the agricultural area a visit and it was tremendously vast. Despite that, however, the poverty of the farmers could be immediately perceived.
With dreams within their hearts, an awful lot of humans had dared their fortunes and came to grand cities like this one, only to find that there wasnt any plot ofnd left to farm. And so, they scrambled for jobs in the city. The humans that knew no other skill but farm work needed to have either luck, connections, or outstanding talent in order to secure employment. The ones unlucky enough to have none of those rentednd from some greatndlord and cultivated some crops.
Indeed, life was harsh. Even so, they were no longer able to leave this city and return to their home viges for they had already tasted the city life and no other ce could satisfy them now.
Ancient Elf was observing the field that spread all around us. She was examining the condition of thend using her abilities.
How is it? Hows thend? I would be rather troubled if thends still in a somewhat good condition.
Thends location and geology are just fine but its so exhausted, I just want to go and heal it.
Based on Ancient Elfs analysis, thend itself was good but it seemed like the overuse of thend in order to raise the amount of crops harvested to impossible heights, the nting of the same nt over and over again, all the flooding, and various other problems had urred.
What would happen if crops are nted on thisnd again?
If a lot of fertilizers are used, I think that maybe it just might yield some harvest but yeah, itll be hard. If the farmers continue to push thend, its condition will be much harsher. If possible, I would like thend be left unused for next two years or so.
Is it possible for you to grow the same crops nted here in the dungeon were gonna build?
Of course, with an abundant harvest to boot.
The crops were just about ready to be harvested so I could have taken a few of them with me to my new town but I preferred to be safe than sorry. And so, I bought some seeds from a farmer that worked on the field at a rather high price.
After youve prepared the farnds, I want you to elerate the growth of these seeds until just before its ready to be harvested.
Alright but what for?
Rather than promoting the immigration to a so-called fertilend, wouldnt it be better if we just showed them?
Humans believed most what they could see.
By the way, I intended to collect 10% of the farmers harvest aspensation for the house and lot I was going to offer them. The house and lot would be free of charge until they could make a harvest and in case of a crop failure, the fee would be lowered.
These rates were already exceptional. I could also offer it for free but then that would be too suspicious.
The farmers would live out their life as usual but for those that were too attached to the city life, I would exin to them that it was alright to asionally go back and forth between my city and this one. If I did that, their decision to move would be an easier one. The ability to travel between cities within a day was monumental.
After touring the city briefly, the four of us went to a y, ate at various restaurants, and simply just enjoyed ourselves.
It was quite fun. The girls also found it fun and insisted oning back. I then therefore decided that I should create opportunities to have fun like this on a regr basis.
But there were still work left for us to do today so I thought that we should head out of the city soon.
Oto-san, that bird...
Its Stss monster, isnt it?
The blue bird flew to us and then perched itself on my shoulder.
It was the monster [Wind] Demon Lord Sts used to send me letters. This little one had memorized the magic power flowing within me so it could deliver the letters to me even when I was outside.
I then opened the letter tied to its leg.
...Interesting, I thought, they were finally able to show themselves.
Oto-san, whats up?
Well,
ording to the letter I got from Sts, one of the new Demon lords had approached her and suggested an alliance. The purpose of the said alliance was to suppress the [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, or in other words, me.
They thought that no Demon Lord by themselves could defeat me. They were also afraid that I would dere [War] on one of them so they allied with each other to crush me before I even could. It was a sound train of thought.
It seemed like Sts had rejected their offer but she had also written that I should be careful.
By the end of the letter though, I wasnt able to help myself from letting out augh.
<>
I was thankful of her news about the other Demon Lords coalition and their intention to attack me. I thought that I must properly thank her the next time we meet.
We have to hurry on building our city.
There wasnt much time left; I needed to quickly advance my preparations.
I had gathered from our inspection of this town that it would be exceedingly desirable to build a dungeon nearby. Should the [Time] Demon lord ept my proposal, I would then be able to start building my dungeon.
And so, we were off to pay him a visit. I was both afraid and excited on meeting with him.
Volume 2 6
CHAPTER 6: [TIME] DEMON LORD DANTALIAN
We left the city and headed toward the dungeon of the [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian.
Since I was going to build a dungeon somewhere between his dungeon and the city of Eba, going through the proper procedures was a must or else it would seem like an act of aggression.
Truth be told though, Marcho had already contacted him beforehand. She had thoroughly conveyed to him my purpose on building my city and that it wasnt my intention to snatch away any of the visitors from his dungeon. I really owed Marcho so much, I couldnt even look her in the eye.
We finally arrived at our destination after a long journey. The walk by itself took a while but we also encountered some monsters on our way. I experienced the walk myself and I realized that it was truly better to have a city halfway.
The [Time] Demon Lords dungeon was of the high tower type. It was a dungeon that felt somewhat sinister and intimidating.
It really is a popr dungeon with all the peopleing and going.
Dumbfounded, I murmured so. A lot of humans were entering and exiting the tower. Stalls, although small in scale, were open for business. The shops that sold food and medicine as well as the shops that did simple repairs on the adventurers equipment were numerous.
Kuina was surprised but theres really an awful lot of injured people here.
Just as Kuina said, there really were a lot of injured people here. Since they fought monsters as a profession, being injured was unavoidable. It was unavoidable and yet humans still continued to challenge the dungeon for its rewards were far more alluring than the risks.
Master, I understand that were here to visit the [Time] Demon Lord but how shall we do it? Do we have to fight all the way to the top floor of the dungeon?
Elder dwarf raised a legitimate question. It was, after all, normal for Demon Lords to stay hidden within the innermost space of their dungeon where their crystal was held.
I dont think that will be necessary. He has been informed beforehand that we will being this evening and hes one of the most powerful Demon Lords so Im quite sure hes got something nned.
It would be just like going to hell itself if we ever did have to fight all the way to the top since dungeons of old Demon Lords were easilyprised of more than a hundred levels.
You all got your weapons?
Each one nodded in response to my question.
We then pumped ourselves up and advanced into the dungeon.
I was shocked by the fervor that greeted us as we entered the dungeon.
Countless humans and monsters were fighting with one another.
I wondered how the [Time] Demon Lord was able to acquire such a number of monsters and then thought there might have been some kind of method to increase the number of ones monsters that I didnt knew about.
We slipped our way through the fights and advanced ahead, avoiding fights with the monsters as much as possible. The sole purpose, after all, of us being here was to meet with the [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian and thus, I wanted to avoid killing his monsters and getting on his bad side pointlessly.
At the exact moment we exited the first floor, I felt some kind of mysterious energy.
I then looked at Kuinas direction and noticed she was moving strangely slow. But it wasnt Kuina that was slow, it was the world itself.
What could this be, I wondered as my consciousness faded out.
A mild headache assaulted me as my consciousness returned. I then heard a voice talking to me.
I believe this is our second time to meet each other. I am the [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian. In the name of fairness, I would like to say beforehand that Marcho has already informed me all about you.
The suit-d, big-monocle-wearing, winess-in-hand handsome young man sat on a throne with his legs crossed as he spoke.
I took a moment to look around and noticed I was in a western-style room filled with the finest furnishings. Beside Dantalian was a crystal. I guessed that this was most probably the innermost part of his dungeon.
Fortunately, my monsters were with me.
Thanks for having us. Earlier, my body suddenly stopped moving. Was that perhaps Dantalian-samas power?
Exactly. I didnt want too many humans seeing your transfer so I froze the flow of time for everyone in there. Afterwards, a monster of mine used [Transfer] and transported you here.
I shivered at his words.
He was able to, at the very least, stop the flow of time in all of the rooms in his dungeon. On top of that, he was also able to choose which targets he wanted transport.
If this war a [War], our side would have already lost, and my monsters and I dead, then and there.
But I shouldnt just jump to conclusions. He only did those things right after we exited the first floor so perhaps there was some kind of restriction behind it. Also, by everyone there, he might have meant everyone in the room he chose rather than everyone in the three-roomed floor.
I see. Just as Marcho said, youre quick-witted and very cautious.
Is that apliment?
Of course. Because if you were otherwise, you wont be able to survive for long. I expect much from you.
He was terribly looking down on me and he had every right to for at the present, he was vastly superiorpared to me.
Well then, shall we tackle my main topic at hand?
Hmm, before that, I would like to ask you something... have you already slept with Marcho?
I was dumbfounded for an instant. What on earth is this guy talking about?
No, I have not. Our rtionship is that of a parent and her child. If were anything more, its that we are friends.
I see. Im relieved by that.
Relieved?
I have been courting her all this time, you see, but have only been rejected so far. She wont even let me hold her hand.
Dantalian then let out a dryugh.
After I heard his story about Marcho, I was both somewhat shaken and relieved.
Im a little bit surprised.
Hmm, that much of a response, huh? Oh well. So, you intend to build a dungeon between Eba and my dungeon, correct? But it wont be a typical dungeon where you use monsters and treasures to lure in humans. Instead, you want to build a city and gather them with trade and agriculture.
Yes, I do. And to do just that, I hade here to meet with you.
Very well, I approve.
Youre going to just like that?
Well, my dungeon wont just crumble because of a dungeon of a young Demon Lord. Moreover, youre Marchos kid. All that said though, I expect to bepensated......... The monsters behind you, each ones an S rank and I find that interesting. You see, a century ago, I was awarded by the Creator an S rank medal. With it, I made one S rank monster. But you, so young yet you already have three. Indeed, very interesting.
Dantalian then evaluated Kuina, Elder Dwarf, and Ancient Elf in that order.
Seeing as it was him, I was sure he was able to see the girls abilities.
That cant be your price...
Yes, I am to receive of your monsters. You may choose which one it is that youre going to give me. Dont be worried, for that price, Im also willing to give you a [Time] medal, and [Time] is one of the most powerful medals.
The girls anxiously looked at me.
Give him one of the girls I love? Something like that...
Thats out of the question. If that is to be your condition, then I shall have to abandon my ns of building a dungeon here.
Without doubt, this was the best location for my dungeon. If I built it here, I was sure that it would be a guaranteed sess.
Furthermore, the fact that [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian was born in the same year as Marcho and would therefore vanish before long also appealed to me. When hes gone, I would then be able to begin the operation my dungeon as a real one brazenly and at no risk.
I had no knowledge so far of a ce more ideal than this.
If I had a [Time] medal, I just might be able to make monsters more powerful than them but that wasnt a reasonpelling enough for me to give up one of my beloved girls; I didnt love them just for their abilities.
What an immediate reply. And you didnt waver for even a moment. Your love towards your monsters, that too is an important quality of a Demon Lord. Do your best to cherish them.
He drank from his winess as though he was in a good mood.
You were testing me?
More or less. But I still expect to bepensated. You are asking me for a favor and so you shouldnt expect me to support you without getting anything out of the deal when you arent even my child. So, instead of your monsters, I will ask for your [Creation] medal. Of course, my own [Time] medal is also in the deal.
Only one [Creation] medal remained in my possession.
I could trade it but not under these conditions.
Those are fair terms but let me correct some things. You are mistaken to think that its only me who will profit from this venture. What I would build is more of a city than a dungeon. If you had a convenient city near your dungeon, there should be an increase in the number of human visitors you have ever had. Eba is just too inconveniently distant from here and my town will help solve that problem.
Although I hid my intentions of, in the end, taking all of his visitors away, I didnt utter a single lie. His dungeon would be more popr than ever.
Maybe but I have no intention to rescind my terms. We are being prohibited to attack you new Demon Lords but that is under the assumption that theres no real harm being done to us. Your ns may be interpreted as you wanting to pick a fight with me and fighting back under such circumstances can never be wrong.
The real meaning behind his words was that if I chose to disregard his terms and go build my dungeon anyways, he would destroy it. I had no doubt he could and would do so.
I understand. Then, let me add other conditions instead. My [Creation] is a very unique and powerful medal. Even your [Time] medal cant bepared to it. Therefore, I will ask for an additional original medal in return for it. Also, I will forbid you from disclosing any information about my [Creation] medal to anyone. I will ept your terms if you also ept mine.
You talk big, dont you? This is the first time someones said my medal isnt good enough. How daring of you to brag to me of all people!
My medal is a medal that will give you an S rank monster which so far youve only had one of. Im of the thought that one of those will be more than enough for your approval on building my dungeon, your [Time], and one other original medal.
Such was my objective evaluation. [Creation] was worth that much.
Hmm, you do have a point. My curiosity got the better of me this time. Regarding the need for secrecy, Im fine with it but will you trust me to honor my word?
Yes. I dont think you will do anything that Marcho will despise. If ever, I will mercilessly tattle about it.
Hahaha. Ahahahaha. Thats certainly true. Im pleased and I understand why Marchos pleased with you as well. Very well then, I approve of your n to build a dungeon... And, heres the [Time] and [Water] medal. With this, you have obtained all of the four great elements.
He spoke and then threw two medals.
In return, I tossed him [Creation].
As one might expect from [Time], the medal that belonged to one of the most powerful Demon Lords, and [Water], one of the four great elements, both of them were exceptionally strong.
I lost the one [Creation] medal I had and the synthesis would have to take ce a month from now but it seemed likely that the monsters going to be strong.
With this, our contract is sealed. Dantalian-sama, please do visit my city once its finished.
Alright. I look forward to it. Ill try asking Marcho on a date just in case... not once has she epted my offer though. Anyway, doe again. Im quite pleased with you. Ill prepare a game with prizes.
The two of us then smiled.
I thought about inviting Marcho and Dantalian toe over at the same time wherein they will then identally run into each other but I decided to drop the thought. My chest throbbed and I didnt know why.
Anyway, now that it has been decided, lets go open my dungeon!
TL note: The four great elements are Fire, Earth, Wind, and Water. The medals Procell has obtained are me, Soil, Wind, and Water. I dont know the differences if ever there is any.
Volume 2 7
CHAPTER 7: BUILDING A CITY
The negotiations with [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian had safely concluded.
I was now allowed to build my dungeon, or rather, my city between Eba and his dungeon.
There were two reasons why I easily gave up my [Creation] medal during the negotiations: I expected that his high pride and his rtionship with Marcho would prevent him from ever disclosing the medals secrets to anyone.
Another reason was that he was a Demon Lord that, just like Marcho, would soon be gone and thus, the likelihood of him being my enemy was exceedingly low. The old Demon Lords were forbidden to attack us new Demon Lords for a year and within that year, the [Time] Demon Lord would perish.
Taking those into consideration, it was then better for me to get a powerful medal as I tried to make him feel like he owed me a favor.
We flew on the back of the Griffon and finally arrived at the ce where my city was going to be built. It was a nice and open space.
I went to the trouble of getting the [Time] Demon Lords consent but such a thing wasnt necessary to obtain from the humans since the site had no ruler aside from the myriad of monsters. However, that was bound to change as my town gained fame and profits.
And if, in exchange of their consent, they demanded a tax in the form of gold and the harvested crops, and the said tax wasnt too outrageously high, I was prepared to pay them. If they go over the line, however, then I was also prepared to take the appropriate measures.
Oto-san, were looking forward to the dungeon!
Yes, we are, master. We can finally have our own home and do whatever we wish.
Yeah, Im thrilled!
Each of the girls expressed their excitement.
Well, we cant forever be freeloaders at Marchos, now can we?
I held the crystal that will be my dungeons core tightly. It was slightly covered with the sweat in my hand. Once I had established my dungeon, I would forever be unable to move it somewhere else. And for that, I was nervous.
As I was like that, a crow, the size of arge dog, watched me. Officially, it was a monster I received as a gift from the [Time] Demon Lord.
After we exchanged medals, he verified the [Creation] medals abilities and said thus:
Its certainly just as you bragged about. No, its more than that. Hmm, at this rate, I would be gaining too much from our deal. And one-sidedly benefitting from a negotiation is something my honor would not allow. So, take this convenient monster as my gift. Its B rank and can use transfer magic. Having transfer is, after all, necessary to dungeon management. I think that its exactly what a neer such as yourself would need.
There was no denying that it was indeed a convenient monster. Demon Lords possessed a privilege that allowed them to move anywhere they wanted to as long as it was within their own dungeon and they did so alone, without any of their subordinates. Should they want to bring with them their subordinates, it was then necessary for those followers to temporarily enter the Demon Lords [Storage].
The method mentioned above couldnt be applied to monsters like the Golems that Elder Dwarf made or to the undead monsters that Wight reanimated. And those monsters usefulness was truly different depending on whether or not I had a monster that could use transfer magic.
The crow was especially helpful given my present circumstance in which I had to move the Golems from Marchos dungeon. All of this on top of the fact that, at the moment, I couldnt make a monster that could use transfer magic with the medals I had at hand made it great if not for the jet-ck crow constantly watching me.
No doubt about it, its observing me.
I whispered so to myself.
Although it was a monster made by the [Time] Demon Lord, it was now under my control. It would follow my everymand with absolute obedience and would be unable to intentionally hurt me.
Conversely though, that was all it was going to do for me. There was a dozen loopholes to the statement above. One such case was that it would leak out information about me to Dantalian and that was something I had to be prepared for.
Really, just what youd expect from an old Demon Lord, they were too wary. I decided to let him watch rather than conceal my activities so that I might convince him that I meant him no harm. On the other hand, not doing so carried great risks. Of course, I intended to hide the things he didnt have to see.
Now then, shall we begin?
I ended my contemtion and began the building of my city.
I currently had 30,000 DP and unless I used it wisely, all of it would vanish right away.
As an absolute necessity, I needed to use 10,000DP for [Add Floor]. A floor could only have three rooms and when trying to have more than three, an additional floor needed to be added first. And, since the city would be ced above ground and the dungeon would be built below it, an additional floor could not be forgone.
Furthermore, I also needed to reserve 1,000 DP for [Floor Swap] which was to be used at the start of a [War].
Let me first state rules that were given to us new Demon Lords by the Creator:
In the event one is willing to start a [War], the Creator as well as the enemy Demon Lord must first be notified. No new Demon Lord may refuse to participate.The [War] will begin, at the shortest, 48 hours from the deration of [War].Until the start of the [War], new Demon Lords are forbidden to engage in military conflicts against their fellow Demon Lords. This rule doesnt apply when the other party is within ones own dungeon.At the start of the [War], the entrances of the participating dungeons will be linked by a white space and until the conclusion of the [War], all creatures except for humans and monsters will be moved to a room where time is stopped.The conditions for victory are: the enemy Demon Lords surrender, their crystals destruction, or their subjugation. Until any of those conditions are satisfied, the [War] will continue. At the time of ones surrender, their crystal shall be destroyed.
Those were the rules given to us. It was mostly the same as the demonstration I participated in.
At first nce, the rules would seem coherent but they lent themselves to various loopholes.
First off, nowhere was it stated that one may not participate in simultaneous [Wars]. In other words, several Demon Lords may dere war against a single Demon Lord at exactly the same time.
Furthermore, although one might be lead to believe that all military actions are forbidden until the start of the [War], the rule was only limited to those that might bring harm to the enemy. It was then not against the rules to have arge host of monsters stay hidden within the enemys dungeon until the start of the [War].
Moreover, the rules did not put any limitations on fights urring on within ones own dungeon. Even when not at [War], if one managed to coerce another Demon Lord into their own dungeon, one was then allowed to fight the said Demon Lord.
I digressed but the reason I stated all this was because my tactics involved the use [Floor Swap] to move my city underground at the start of the fighting. Although I could just simply relocate the humans to a safer location, after all the hardships I went through to establish my city, I just couldnt let ruin befall it. And so, I concluded that I needed to preserve 1000DP at all times in order to use [Floor Swap].
[Build]
I uttered the word of power and the crystal shone.
A pedestal that could support the crystal manifested and the crystal then enshrined itself on the pedestal. Stone walls then surrounded us. This was now the innermost part of my dungeon.
Upon being connected to crystal, the surrounding rooms would be projected.
First of all, Ill choose the entrance to be [Transparent] and the first room to be a in. Elder Dwarf, Ancient Elf, Ill leave the specific configurations to you. You can configure anything as you see fit except for the rooms size which shall be set to the maximum.
The entrance which shall represent the dungeons appearance on the outside was set to be [Transparent] for 100DP. That meant that it would project the first rooms appearance just as it was to the outside. The vital first room was then set to be a in covered with nts and densely popted by trees. It would also be a suitable living environment for humans with water flowing beneath it. As to be expected though, such a in was more expensive than a stone corridor. I needed to spend 3000DP on one.
Leave it to us, master. Well definitely make and thatsfortable to live in.
Look forward to it master, ok? From the geology and the water flowing in thend to the feng-shui and magical energies that flowed in it too, itll be perfect. And as supreme as my masters town!
The engineering specialist and the nature specialist then stood before the crystal and tweaked every configuration with frightening vigor.
Anything that came to mind at the time of construction of a Demon Lords dungeon could be thoroughly and finely configured. And thend made with every ounce of the wisdom of the best of the dwarves and the best of the elves could be nothing but the best.
At around the 30 minute mark, the setup wasplete and I proceeded with the purchase.
The scenery that could be seen from the crystal room was the very definition of nature itself.
The second room onward waspletely located at a different dimension and could only be essed through the first room but since my dungeons entrance was set to be [Transparent], it then made the first room essible from any point of contact it had with the world. Any and all inconsistencies the first room might cause by its presence in the world would be fixed by the world itself so that none might notice.
An ordinary Demon Lord would never choose something like [Transparent] to be their dungeons entrance since they wouldnt be able topletely limit the means others might trespass on their territory and thus making the dungeon hard to defend. However, my dungeon was a city and this was the best option for it.
The two of you did your best. With this, well be able to invite the humans.
The two were able to aplish their task without incident. I then decided to pat their heads.
They narrowed their eyes as though they were pleased.
Master, weve only prepared thend. When the Golems and the Dwarf Smiths get here, I would like to ready the farnds and build the houses. We also have to build walls to cover the city. And then, well tackle the waterworks. If I could borrow Ancient Elfs abilities, we should be able to finish all these tasks in about a week.
Elder Dwarf and the Dwarf Smiths possessed earth magic and knowledge about public works while the dozens of Golems could function as the heavy equipment. And if they had the nature-magic-expert Ancient Elfs assistance, it was more than possible for them to form my city in a weeks time.
They had configured thend under the assumption that they would aplish those things.
Just when I thought Ancient Elf was making a troubled face, she hesitantly spoke.
Master, I would like to ask you for a favor. You made the size of thend be set to the maximum which is 10 Km by 10 Km. To continually give an elfs blessing to the whole of the city and to also control the weather is a little too much for one person.
Would having an assistant help?
Yes. If we had the High Elves which are two ranks below me, nature would always be on our side.
I considered it for a moment.
High Elves were B rank monsters and were also quite the nature magic user.
I saw no harm in employing them especially if it helped the citys domestic affairs.
Alright. Ill make themter. Can I leave their training to you, Ancient Elf?
Yes, of course! Ill instruct them well! Ill make sure they wont just be friends of friends of nature but also fantastic snipers.
That sounds promising.
Ancient Elf looked proud and delighted as she nodded her head.
But then, Kuina had a jealous look on her face.
El-chan and now Elf-chan too, youre both so sneaky! Kuina has always wanted to have a follower and yet...
I smiled wryly at her. I got where she wasing from.
Elder Dwarf had the Dwarf Smiths.
And now, Ancient Elf would have the High Elves under hermand.
I thought it was reasonable for her to want a follower of her own.
Ill think about it. After all, Mythological Foxes that could use [Transform] would be convenient to have in negotiating with the humans.
Although this was a world where demi-humans were epted, there were still many humans that would discriminate. I had, right from the beginning, already thought of creating Mythological Foxes who were intelligent and could lookpletely like humans.
Yay ?! Kuina will also now have followers! Oto-san, thank you! I love you!
Kuina ran and hugged me tight so I hugged her back.
She swung her fox tail, happy from the bottom of her heart.
Next, should I buy a [Mine]?
Elder Dwarf furiously and repeatedly nodded her head.
As far as she was concerned, the mine was the most important aspect of my dungeon.
And so, I added a [Mine] area to the first floor. I only needed to set its size so it was quickly added to the dungeon.
The ores that could be mined from it was rted to the Demon Lords level. The quality of the ores than could be mined here was significantly lower than the ones that could be gotten from Marchos dungeon but the fact those ores were important resources didnt change. I guessed that at my current level, mithril would show up once in a while.
Afterwards, I used [Add Floor] and built a room on the new floor. It was the same straightforward stone room I used on my fight against [Wind] Demon Lord Sts. For the moment, I only built one room.
By building this one room, the crystal room would automatically be relocated next to the straightforward stone room where it would be the innermost room of the dungeon.
I expected that after taking some kind of counter-measure against my heavy machine guns, hostile Demon Lords were bound to dere [War] on me.
I had no intention to make all three rooms on the floor be like the straightforward stone room guarded by the Mithril Golems.
That was probably enough for today.
The 30,000 DP I had quickly diminished.
100 DP for the [Transparent] entrance;
3,000 DP for the [in] in the first room;
2,400 DP for two High Elves;
Another 2,400 DP for two Mythological Foxes;
10,000 DP for [Add Floor];
1,000 DP for the stone room guarded by the Mithril Golems;
5,000 DP for the [Mine];
All in all, I used up a total of 23,900 DP.
If I factored in the 1,000 DP I would use for [Floor Swap], that left me with only 5,100 DP. Considering that I still had to build 2 rooms on the second floor to guard the crystal and one more room on the first floor to help my city, the 5,100 DP left was certainly not enough. I had to quickly earn some DP.
Well then, everyone. This will be all for today. For the moment, lets go back to Marchos Dungeon and bring along Wight and the others.
Alright, Oto-san! Lets go pack and move here!
There was still a lot of work to be done but atst, my city was built.
From tomorrow onwards, I shall devote myself on developing my city. And then, well finally invite some humans.
Volume 2 8
CHAPTER 8: THE PACT OF THE FIRST APPLE
After we had fulfilled the bare minimum requirements for my dungeon to be ssified as one, we decided to end our work.
The first room of the floor underneath my city was set to be guarded by Mithril Golems but those said Golems were still within Marchos dungeon.
In the off chance that humans came to invade my dungeon, we decided to spend the night in the crystal room and set out in the following morning to pick up ourpanions who were still in Marchos dungeon.
Oto-san, for todays meal, I want some of those red fruits! The crunchy and delicious ones!
Master, I like those ky light brown ones.
Oh then, I want to eat the yellow soup.
The only food I had at the moment were hardtack biscuits and some dried meat so when I said I was going to make some food using [Creation], the girls told me each of their requests.
It seemed like Kuina wanted some apples; Elder Dwarf some potatoes; and Ancient Elf some corn soup.
Demon Lords and monsters didnt really need to eat meals but they would do so daily for the taste. It was kind of a waste and I rarely did so but using [Creation] for our meal today should be alright.
Okay. Kuina and Elder Dwarf, your requests can be eaten as they are but would it be better if I took out an already cooked one for you, Ancient Elf?
Yup, eating it freshly boiled and with salt gives it the best taste.
She was quite the connoisseur. It seemed like this girl had her own preferences about things.
As was ryed to me, I took out each of their requests.
Wah, thank you, Oto-san!
Kuina immediately sunk her teeth in the delicious-looking apple and then spitted out the seeds afterwards. As I watched her, an idea came to me.
We didnt see any apples at the city earlier, did we?
No, we couldnt have. As the [Personification of the], I know everything there is to know about nature but I have no knowledge of that fruit. So, its either it doesnt exist in this world or it existed once before but not anymore.
Ancient Elf dered so.
There was no about it after she put it like that. For some reason though, the part where she said the apples existed once before but not anymore strangely bothered me. Like the phrase was the linchpin to something.
I decided to not mind the thought for the moment.
I then focused back on the seeds which shall be a nice asset for me and picked up the ones Kuina spat out.
Ah!
Kuina was surprised and her face her reddened.
Can you grow these seeds at the farnds youve prepared today?
The apple was a fruit that was said nutritious enough to keep the doctor away.
It was the perfect fruit for exploring the dungeon where it was likely for an adventurer tock right amount of vitamins. The apples were juicy too and would help quench their thirst during their exploration.
Its shelf life was quite long too. It could still be eaten a month after it was plucked from its tree.
It was one of the best food for adventurers heading toward the [Time] Demon Lords dungeon.
Lets see...... I see no problems with itspatibility with thend. And if I elerate its growth and control the weather, after modifying it with my magic, of course, we should be able to grow it all year round.
Such a reliable reply.
I was worried about how my city would attract its very first visitors but this had dispelled those fears away.
This shall be how I would encourage immigrants into my city:
Sell food, water, and weapons to the adventurers headed toward the dungeon.Make the adventurers spread via word of mouth about the existence of my city as well as about the fact that the city was recruiting immigrants in exchange for exceptional terms.
Should it go as nned, the immigrants and the profit-minded merchants woulde.
The things that I could do would increase as more peoplee to the city.
To aplish the first step above though, I needed a specialty product that had a lot of appeal. And that was the role to be carried out by the apples.
It would all be thanks to Kuina for requesting the apples. Thank you, Kuina.
I said so and then stroked her head.
Her fluffy hair and her soft fox-ears felt good.
Yay ?! Im happy to have helped Oto-san!
Ah, thats just sneaky Kuina-chan. Im the one that can grow the apples and yet...
Yes, thats right. Great job too, Ancient Elf.
Ancient Elf unambiguously came near so I also brushed her head. Unlike with Kuinas hair, hers felt smooth. It still felt great nheless.
The lonely-looking Elder Dwarf watched us as we were like that.
And then, as though she just thought up of something, her eyes sparkled and proceeded to pick up a yet-to-be-boiled potato.
Master, the potato is also very tasty. Plus, there also wasnt any of it in the city of Eba. It will certainly be useful.
As I heard her talk, I realized that we didnt see any potato in the city either.
I then turned my gaze toward Ancient Elf.
Yeah, its also something that either never existed at all or it might have in the past but not anymore.
Hmm, well, potatoes could be harvested quickly and atrge amounts too so it might be a good idea to make the humans who are going to move here grow these.
The amount of potatoes that could be harvested were at least three times that of wheat.
It was a crop that often lead to continuous cropping [1] hazards but with Ancient Elf here, those shouldnt be a concern.
Also, potatoes were used in a lot of cuisines. It could be eaten boiled, in a soup, as a bread or even as noodles. It was a food that could more than likely revolutionize this worlds eating habits.
Building and running an inn in my city had always been a part of my ns but what if I served some potatoes there and made the immigrants realize how delicious it was? And what if I then told them of how easy it was to grow the crop and of how many could be harvested in a short period of time? Surely theyd fight among themselves on who could grow it first, wouldnt they?
Master
Elder Dwarf, with a sad look on her eyes, called for me as she casted her eyes downward.
Unlike Kuina and Ancient Elf, she was too shy to be able to straightforwardly tell me her requests so I decided to stroke her head without her asking me. Her face ckened as a result.
Elder Dwarf did great too. Alright, well put the apples and potatoes on sale and make them our specialty products.
The three girls nodded their heads in assent.
And so, we had now decided what our first actions shall be.
The following morning, we readied ourselves to leave our dungeon.
To that end, we came to the farnds which was a portion of the first room we modified.
Although I said farnds, it was still as of yet nothing but emptyalbeit fertileplots ofnd. To make it into fully-pledged farnds, plowing it, removing stones and other unnecessary things, installing canals and wells, and many other things still needed to be done. Unfortunately, those things had to wait until our return.
At the moment we were at a slightly elevated hill. I wanted to first make the apple trees grow before we left.
Elder Dwarf and Ancient Elf put their hands on the ground and checked thends status while also doing some repairs to thend.
They did so in order to make the apples grow healthy.
Ancient Elf then dug a shallow hole, put in the apple seed, and covered back the hole.
And when she sped her hands together, rainbow-colored water sprung out and was sprinkled into the covered hole little by little.
Youre a good kid, right? So youll show us your vigorous form, right?
The moment she said that, the nt vigorously sprouted from the ground and stretched to reach the sky.
It grew thick and entangled. And before long, it was an actual tree and grew branches and leaves.
The unripe fruits attached to the tree then turned red.
I knew she was capable of doing such things but I was still amazed by her abilities.
You did it. Youve be the first tree to fully grow in this city!
Ancient Elf, proud, then turned around and shed a smile.
I looked at the apple tree and noted that it was a splendid tree teeming with vitality. It would surely be the symbol of this city.
I then gently ced my hand on the tree and felt a beat from it. At that exact moment, a red apple fell and caught me by surprise.
Was that just a coincidence? No, it couldnt have.
I picked up the fallen apple and bit on it.
It didnt just tasted deliciously bittersweet, it felt as though it energized me up.
I handed the apple I took a bite from to Kuina.
I looked at her and then to the other two.
It looked like what I wanted to say was properly transmitted to them.
Kuina took a bite from the fruit and passed it to Elder Dwarf. Elder Dwarf also took a bite and passed it to Ancient Elf who also took a bite.
The first tree to grow on this city; the first harvest; the special apple we all ate... Some mysterious and strong emotions welled up in my chest. I then realized that it was because I finally built my city.
Oto-san, I wont ever forget the taste of that apple.
Me too, Kuina. Me too.
Elder Dwarf and Ancient Elf both nodded. It seemed like everyone felt it too.
Now that that was done, we were ready leave.
I made the crow monster make a magical array so that it may be used for [Transfer].
I had heard that [Transfer] could only be used from array to array when outside of ones own dungeon.
So if weid down an array here, our journey back would be much easier.
Im sorry but Kuina, can I ask you to guard the dungeon until we return?
Of course! El-chan and Elf-chan already did their best for the city so its now Kuinas turn to do her best and protect the dungeon!
I needed someone to remain and guard the crystal. And Kuina had volunteered herself for this task.
Maybe it was because she wanted to be of help to me and that it was her duty as the head monster.
And so, I decided to return as soon as possible and mounted the Griffon as we left toward Marchos dungeon.
[1] Continuous cropping: The growing of a single crop species on a field year after year. Apparently, this leads to multiple problems.
Volume 2 9
After flying on top of the Griffon, we finally arrived at Marchos dungeon.
I managed to stop myself from immediatelyying down a [Transfer] magical array. Doing so at anothers dungeon was like looking for a backdoor one could enter anytime and thus, it was considered impolite to do so, to say the least, without first obtaining the other Demon Lords permission.
As soon as we entered the dungeon, the Subus we were familiar with greeted us and used her own [Transfer] to transport us to where Marcho was.
And the ce we were transported to was Marchos crystal room. Sitting in a throne in that room was the brown-skinned bewitching beauty with a wolfs ears and tail.
She was dressed riskier than usual but it didnt feel strange or indecent to me due to the grace she held.
Wee back, Procell. From the look on your face, I take it your inspection went well.
Marcho looked a little bit lonely as she spoke. Was she perhaps reluctant to see me go?
Yes, it did. That ce has satisfied all the necessary conditions to build the city.
Marcho smiled and giggled at that.
The first time I heard your dream...... I will build not a dungeon that will prey on the humans desire and despair but a city that will house many of them and then provide me their happiness as my meal, the first time I heard it, I thought you were kidding or something but I didnt think you were really going through with it. You never do fail to amaze me.
It wasnt a joke. Ill make it into the best city, no matter what.
I have no doubt you will. You are, after all, the kind of man that does what he says hell do. And now, Ive seen you do so. Youve be a really fine man.
The mood then turned gloomy and such a mood wasnt for us. As I thought that, Marcho then cleared her throat, probably an effort to change the flow of the conversation.
That one behind you, Ive seen that one if Im not mistaken. Is it Dantalians?
He gave it to me. A monster that could use Transfer is helpful so I epted.
Im sure youre already aware but that ones watching you. Im surprised hed go this far against a newly born Demon Lord. You should be proud.
She didnt say that just out of ttery. The [Time] Demon Lord was such a powerful Demon Lord, merely catching his attention in itself was an achievement.
Yes, I aware that this monsters keeping tabs on me but I have no problems with being watched so why not make use of it in the meanwhile?
Yes, what a good determination you have. Well then, if you are indeed going to make use of that monster, you may as well go and ce a Transfer magical array within my dungeon. That way, itll be a little bit easier for you toe and visit me, right? Are you going to move out today?
Thats the n. Ive already built my city and I cant be away from it for too long.
To be away from ones own dungeon was generally not a good idea.
Also, Kuina was eagerly waiting for our return.
Is that so? Ill miss you, you know...... Id like to give you a gift but unfortunately, we, the parents, are forbidden to give you new Demon Lords anything aside from your starting DP and 3 original medals. I hope you can forgive me for that.
There is nothing to forgive. You have already given me a lot; Im truly thankful. In fact, I should be the one to give you a gift.
I used [Creation] and produced a diamond ne. Without it being overge, it was an elegant and finely decorated ne.
The shaping of the diamonds themselves into these faceted gemsotherwise known as diamond cutting which was done in order to bring out the diamonds true appealcould not be replicated by anyone else using this worlds technology. It was a present that only one person in the world could give: me.
I approached Marcho and put the diamond ne on her neck.
These gems will continue to emit their radiance without any change even when a hundred or a thousand years has passed. Just like how our friendship will not change even when I move out and be independent. I will never forget the favors and kindness youve given me. Let this present be a testament to all that.
Who I was at the moment was all thanks to her. She went above and beyond than what was expected of her as my parent.
...Oh, Procell. How can I not cry after telling me such pleasant things? And I havent cried in the past century, you know.
She smiled as tears flowed down her face.
I might be forbidden to give you anything tangible but Ill still give you a little something.
Marcho stood, approached me, and then leaned on the left side of my body. Her voluminous breasts changed their shapes as she did so. Her fragrant scent was the kind that would drive men into madness.
And then, I felt her soft lips on my cheek.
How is it, Procell? Did you like my gift?
I was stupefied for a moment. My head felt so hot, I thought it was going to melt.
Thanks, Marcho. Its the best.
Im d you liked it. Do you now regret not epting my invitation the other day?
Truth be told, I had always wanted to say yes to her and this time wasnt an exception. In the end though, I chose not to.
A little but I have to go soon. Thanks for everything.
I should be the one saying that. Its been fun. Ive forgotten about my loneliness while you were here. Come visit me anytime, Procell.
Yes, I intend to do so. Ill invite you as soon as Ive grown my city enough to receive you. Im going to give you the grandest wee that I can give.
Ill be looking forward to it, then. Im sure you can make me happy to the utmost.
I then turned around and felt her gaze on me.
But in the end, I wanted to say one littlein. Giving me who will soon vanish something that will forever remain radiant, isnt that a little cruel?
I didnt turned around and Marcho didnt expect me to either. They were those kind of words.
I looked at my palm as I walked.
I thought about the bonus I received during the side show I participated in together with Sts.
Originally, it was a power that could only be used twice for saving my monsters or for strengthening them. However, it might also be possible to use it to extend Marchos life.
...but that would contradict logic. That might be why Marcho had warned me that it was dangerous ability.
After my conversation with Marcho, I went to the residential area we were using.
In there, Wight and the Dwarf Smiths were busy working.
My lord, youve returned.
Yes, I came to get you guys. I have, without incident, built my dungeon... rather, my city.
Thats splendid. I will do by best for the new city.
Wight dered so with a motivated voice as he did his usual elegant bow.
Has the work I asked you to do advanced smoothly?
It has. While my lord has been away, the Dwarf Smiths and the Golems have carried out the mining with all their might.
The reason why I didnt bring Wight along was because I had entrusted him to supervise all the work that involved the monsters that remained.
The minerals that could be gotten from a [Mine] was rtive to Demon Lords level and Marcho was a first-ss Demon Lord so the minerals from her [Mine] were first-ss too. These minerals included Mithril, Orihalcum, and Adamantium.
I wanted to get the best possible materials as much as possible since the best ones that could be gotten from my [Mine] at my current level was mithril.
On top of being able to continue mining without sleeping, the Golems were strong. Meanwhile, the Dwarf Smiths were able to pinpoint the best mining spots. For these reasons, they were able to mine with great efficiency.
How about the other one?
It too went well. If youll follow me this way.
I did as he said and followed him.
The ce he guided me to was a building that we were using as a storehouse.
In there, the Skeletons silently worked. Since they were able to do detailed work because of Wight, I tasked them to build explosives. They mixed some chemicals I made using [Creation] with the minerals processed by the Dwarf Smiths.
The recipe itself was made by Elder Dwarf and was simplified as much as it could be so that even the Skeletons could make them. That way, the bombs would be lighter and in greater numbers than if made via [Creation]. Arger number of bombs meant it could be used not only for defense but also for offense.
I built my city in order to make use of the humans happiness but the ones that would live in my city wouldnt be able to fight so I understood that a great deal of money, power, and blood were needed in order to achieve peace.
You did well, Wight. I can do my best thanks to your efforts.
He didnt stand out but he was helpful in a lot of ces.
He was the leader of the bottom half of my monsters. They, not just the Undead monsters, looked up to him. He effortlessly managed to coordinate them while I was away.
I am undeserving of such praise. I simply obey yourmands, no matter what it might be.
Are you sure you should be saying that? I might order you to do something absurd, you know.
Thats not possible. If its my wise lords order, it surely could be done. Should I fail at carrying it out, I have nothing to me but my own ipetence. And so, I hope to live up to your expectations.
Really now, after saying such things like that, he put a lot of pressure on me, didnt he? That pressure though, was something I didnt mind having.
After the crow monster finished drawing the Transfer magical array, the array glowed which meant that we could now use it to instantly transfer to the array back at my city.
Wight, that crow monster is my new... ally, in a certain meaning.
Yes, I get what youre trying to say. We shouldnt let our guards down around that one.
You understood what I meant?
Yes, I have spent time with a lot of Undead monsters so reading the subtleties of anyones emotions is a specialty of mine.
I see. Its certainly true we shouldnt let our guards down around the crow monster but it has a convenient ability so lets make use of it.
Wight was truly excellent. So excellent in fact, that I sometimes have feelings of regret. He was amander of my forces but his own fighting capabilities werent so great: he was a static-leveled B rank monster and could therefore not grow any further than that. I had thought more than once on whether I should have made like Kuina and the others.
...And now, I had the power to do just that within my hands.
My lord, forgive me but I theres something I wish to say to you. I like the way I currently am. It might be conceited of me but I trust that I could live up to your expectations. And, besides, there are things I could do that your girls couldnt so even if this body is weak, I shall notment over it.
......You can read not just the monsters minds but mine as well?
Its because I am trying really hard to understand my lord whom I adore and respect.
My heart grew a little lighter and I wanted to ask him all the more.
But what if it could all be redone? I can only do it twice but I can re-do a monsters [Synthesis] with their memories intact. Its a power I got from the Creator. If you want, I can remake you into a strong monster just like Kuina and the others.
It was the power I got from the Creator as a special bonus.
It allowed me to transform a target, after gaining their consent, into a medal. Furthermore, if this medal was used in Synthesis, the targets memories prior to turning into a medal could be passed on.
Should a monster suffer a fatal wound, I could revive it by temporarily turning it into a medal.
Of course, it was possible to not only to save the one that suffered a fatal wound but to also remake and strengthen them.
However, I could only do so twice.
I thought that it was alright to use one of those two times on Wight.
That will be unnecessary. Im repeating myself but I like the way I currently am. And thats why, my lord, please do not use that power for me.
But...
Its alright. However, if in case you were put in harms way and pass away due to my inability to protect you, please do use that power. I would not be able to go on living knowing that Ive failed you, my lord.
They were such powerful words conveying his loyalty to me.
Fuu. Sometimes Im not really sure which of us is the Demon Lord. Ill be relying on you, Staff officer.
I stated his exact role rather than referring to him as the leader of the bottom half of my forces.
Even though he wouldnt be one of my [Monsters of the Covenant], I wanted to show him that I regarded him highly.
I didnt know whether my sentiments got across to him but his eyes that should have been devoid of anything, especially of emotions, had a fire burning within them.
I am honored to be assigned such an important role.
Im expecting a lot from you, Wight. And as such, I am issuing you an order right away. Lets start moving out. Assemble everyone.
Yes, my lord!
And just like that, we transferred as much monsters as the magic array allowed. Those that couldnt make it waited in a queue. The crow monster was only able to travel back and forth arrays for a total of four times a day. Additionally, a total of only five Golems could be transferred all at once so it was impossible for us to finish our move in a single day but slow and steady was the way.
And so, we had begun to earnestly move out of Marchos dungeon.
Volume 2 10
Chapter 10: The Nearly-Completed City
After my audience with Marcho, we began our move out of her dungeon and into my city. All in all, it took us four days to transport all the Golems, weapons, and explosives.
Halfway through our move, Subus informed us that Marcho had given us permission to make a Transfer array in the [Crimson Cavern] so that we might use it to level up. At the same time, she had also permitted us to break the crystal being guarded there.
That dungeon was currently known to make nearly 40 new monsters each day. My main monsters were able to level upas opposed to static levelsso for us, it was the ideal hunting ground. It was, at the moment, far more beneficial for us to use it keep it as a steady hunting ground than to break its crystal.
Additionally, I had a surplus of unused original medals because I didnt have a single [Creation] medal to synthesize them with. These were the [Dragon], [Time], and [Water] medals. After I had used these up, I intended to seriously conquer that dungeon. I believed we could do it so by then.
Anyway, at the moment, we were diligently building the many infrastructures in my city.
For thest four days, Elder Dwarf had built about 20 houses for the humans to live in.
That was astonishing but there were still the wells, the outer walls, the farnds, the waterways, and many more that needed to be developed.
Master, the construction of the waterways is going fine. It can bepleted by the end of the day.
As I was thinking about those things, Elder Dwarf spoke to me.
She held a notebook PC on her hands, disying some ns and their progress reports. I decided to peer down on them.
Looking good. I want the city finished after three days time. It will be hard but I believe you can do it.
Yes, understood. We will do our best.
Elder Dwarf nodded her head in agreement.
Youve left the building of the walls to your followers?
Theres no problem even if the outer walls are somewhat crude so they should be more than enough for that.
The outer walls that would surround the entire city was being built at the same time as the water ways.
Elder Dwarf and the Dwarf Smith, together with Ancient Elf and the High Elves,or the monsters that could use earth-type magichad already piled up earth and stones atop each other. They had also slightly fortified it.
The duty to form the walls and to further strengthen then fell to the Dwarf Smiths.
If the walls were to be built without the use of magic, it would have probably taken years to finish.
Yeah, they do have strong magical powers after all.
Theyve surpassed me in terms of levels. Its unfair.
The Dwarf Smiths were able to level up and they were now close to their maximum level. The reason for that was the war I had with [Wind] Demon Lord Sts.
To be precise, it was because the ownership of the Mithril Golems who had defeated Sts followers was transferred to the Dwarf Smiths. That meant that all the experience points that was supposed to go Elder Dwarf were also transferred to the Dwarf Smiths. The reason I did so was because Elder Dwarf was to go with me at the time and was therefore too far away to receive her followers experience points.
Elder Dwarf, youcan level up bit by bit. Once the citys stable though, lets go level you up in earnest.
Mhm.
Elder Dwarf silently burned with enthusiasm.
I then looked around: the Golems and Skeletons were restlessly working all over the area. They were probably under Wights orders. Leaving it to him was the right choice.
In order to ready the farnds, the Golems vigorously ploughed thend while the Skeletons removed the pebbles and other unnecessary things. Theynot familiar with the concept of fatigue and thus worked for 24 hours straightwere a valuable part of my forces.
Elder Dwarf, Ive forgotten to tell you but I intend to make the Golems another selling point for this city. So, Im gonna have to ask you to increase their production.
The Golems were made only through Elder Dwarfs skill. She could only make one of them each day but in return, she had never failed to do so.
Master, the Dwarf Smiths are able to make Golems too so I had gotten them making some as well. However, the ones they make can only be as strong as C rank monsters.
So thats why theres so many of them right now. C rank is strong enough. Their quantity is more important for now. Elder Dwarf really is smart.
In my city, the Golems were to serve as its heavy machinery as well as its guards. And now, they would also be another of the citys selling points.
In this world and at its present age, farmers would sometimes rent some horses to make their job a little easier. But the horses took time, effort, and money to be looked after and were thus considered to be luxuries. Golems, on the other hand, were both stronger and easier to use than a horse. So, if the farmers heard that they could utilize the Golems free of charge, I imagine theyd be very fascinated.
The Golems also appealed greatly as guards. In this world where monsters ran rampant, being safe was the first step toward a great life. That was why almost all the cities were surrounded by walls with guards posted on them.
A city with a Golemthat had the strength of a B rank monsterguarding it would be appealing to most people. Appealing even more would be the ability for anyone to rent one of these Golems to guard them whenever they went to another city.
ording to Marcho, a first-ss adventurer could single-handedly defeat a D rank monster while a seasoned veteran could handle as much as a C rank one. B ranks onward, however, were mostly beyond the capabilities of a single human except for the Champions and the Heroes that could take on even an A rank monster.
The Golems that could take on even those seasoned veterans were going to guard my city 24 hours a day each day without any need for sleep. Furthermore, the Golems didnt require any sort of upkeep for me to pay.
Most of all, their presence would encourage public order. It was, after all, impossible to keep public order in a city which has immigrants as its core without an armed force dedicated to keeping it. Any fellow that would aim to disrupt the peace of a city where the Golems were spread out to protect it would be a very reckless fellow.
But master, is it fine to just casually show something like a monster-made Golem? The fact that this city is part of a dungeon might be found out.
Her concerns could be called valid but for this particr instance, it was not needed.
Its alright. Other than being monsters, dwarves are also known as demi-humans. So theres no need to hide.
Monsters that looked like humans were often assumed as beings called demi-humans.
Long ago, the monsters made by a Demon Lord went outside of their dungeon, bred, and increased their numbers. They then established themselves as one of this worlds races.
For that reason, if we told the humans the in truth which was that our citys dwarves were of a superior kind and they were the ones that made the Golems, they would think nothing of it.
Im relieved, then. Ill go and make a lot of Golems.
Yes, please. Oh, those guys should being back anytime now.
As I said so, Kuina, along with Ancient Elf, the High Elves, the Mythological Foxes, and the crow monster appeared from a house built a sizerger. That house that will shall serve as the city heads house was where the Transfer arrays were located. The arrays lead to the ces we were able to instantly travel to like: the [Crimson Cavern] which was our hunting ground; to Marchos dungeon; and to the nearby city of Eba which we shall visit more often.
Kuina spinted toward our direction.
Oto-san, we did our best today too.
She then jumped into my chest. The smell of gunpowder and the smell of battle came from Kuina.
Good job, Kuina. Ancient Elf, the High Elves, and the Mythological Foxes are steadily growing.
Theyre not as strong as Kuina but theyll never lose to any normal enemy.
They were just born so they still had low levels. For that reason, led by Kuina, they went to the [Crimson Cavern] to raise their levels. Each day, they hunted the red-hot monsters there as quick as possible and then returned here to continue on their daily tasks.
Developing the city was important but training them was equally as important.
I usually went with them but today was too hectic so I didnt have the chance to go. After all, whenever a monster of a party that belonged to a Demon Lord defeats a monster or a human, the Demon Lord can get the DP. However, this transfer of DP, like the transfer of a followers experience points, had a limit area of effect. In other words, unless I went with them to the dungeon, I would not be able to get any DP. As ofte, I was gaining approximately about 1,000DP daily.
With everyone equipped, they sure look tough.
Uuugh, the Mythological Foxes are mean. Kuina has rmended the shotgun to them but they still chose the easier-to-use assault rifle.
I understand their choice though. It has better range and better clip size too.
But then, itcks some BANG so thats no fun.
The Mythological Foxes equipped themselves with assault rifles while the High Elves favored the anti-materiel rifles. At first, Kuina tried to make the Mythological Foxes use the shotgun but it seemed they found it hard to use and opted for a gun simr to Elder Dwarfs M&K MK417, the MR762A1, instead. It was easier to use; had a caliber of 7.62mm; and had high offensive capabilities so it was very versatile.
Nevertheless......
How did it turn out like this?
The Mythological Foxes and the High Elves were all beautiful girls. They might be a bit inferior to Kuina and the others but they were plenty cute. Their appearance suggested they were in their mid- tote-teens. Now that I had reached this point, I guess that meant that I really was cursed.
My master, weve returned. Just as I thought, shooting this beast is fun. I pull the trigger and it goes BOOM! I can get addicted to this!
Ancient Elf got close before I knew it.
She was ecstatically hugging her anti-materiel rifle as she uttered those subtly eerie words.
Wow that does sound super fun.
It is! The more I shoot, the more intense the sensations be. More, I want to shoot more!
The Maelstroms only produces a monster a day so do it in moderation. Besides, dont you have work to do?
Oh yeah. I love this gun but I love nature more. Ah, the water ways are almost done.
Ancient Elf then walked over to Elder Dwarf and they discussed various things. Afterwards, they walked along the waterways as they used magic at each vital point.
Where Elder Dwarfs earth magked, Ancient Elf made up for.
And then...
The two of them turned around and firmly held their fingers up.
Was it finished?
Should we let the water flow now?
Yes, lets.
ording to my calctions, its perfectly fine.
The two gave me such reliable replies.
And so, Ancient Elf activated her magic.
The waterways would basically use underground water and rain water as its sources of water.
In case of a water shortage, Ancient Elf and the High Elves could just make it rain a moderate amount topensate. So in truth, a water shortage was absolutely never going to happen in my city.
The conduits that held back the waters were opened and the water powerfully gushed forth.
A clear stream of water then flowed through the farnds the Golems and the Skeletons were working on. With this, the crops should grow well.
Also, we were now ready to ept farmers at any moment.
Our city now had fertile farnds and reliable sources of water. By tomorrows end, the nting of the seeds, the eleration of their growth via Ancient Elfs powers, and the promotion of ournds that promised an abundant harvest could all be done.
I then looked toward the inner part of the city and saw the citys symbol.
The splendid apple tree bore numerous red apples that needed to be picked soon.
There were a lot of things that needed to be done.
Everyone, I have another job for all of you. After its done, lets go take a bath at a hot spring and then eat a meal.
Yay ?! Looking forward to the hot spring!
That sounds nice. Im d its made.
It was surprising when the hot spring appeared, wasnt it? It might be an effect of the Mine floor adjacent to this one. Lets work a little bit more so that we can enjoy the hot spring!
And like that, the development of my city continued.
The sense of aplishment at its gradualpletion felt great.
I was also looking forward to the hot spring that would wash the days fatigue away.
Volume 2 11
Chapter 11: Hot spring
Our work for the day was over.
The infrastructures were in ce so we now nned on focusing on themerce side of things starting tomorrow. The apples and the hard breads would serve as our citys products alongside the weapons that Elder Dwarf prepared. Thinking of additional interesting things to put on sale was a necessary task too.
Leaving that aside......
Hot spring! ?
Yes, a hot spring.
Around the second day of our citys development, Ancient Elf mentioned to me that the water under the ground was flowing strangely. When she went to investigate it, she discovered that there was a natural wellspring there. She dug it up and we built a public bath house for the city using the simple designs suggested by Elder Dwarf.
I thought that a public bathhouse such as this was needed for the health and enjoyment of the people of this city so it was a huge blessing. Health and entertainment arent its only purpose though; it would also serve as an inn that would help attract the humans. For those reasons, we put in the effort andpleted the bath house. I prioritized resistance to degradation and ease of maintenance so the pool itself was built of stone.
By the way, in regards to the natural wellspring, Elder Dwarf devised a pump that would draw the water up while also diluting it down. There was a need for diluting it because this citys wellspring was affected by the elves blessing and therefore had a far higher concentration of minerals than an ordinary wellspring.
Oto-san, youre so slow.
Kuina pulled my hand as she urged me to hurry up. I couldnt help myself from smiling wryly at her.
We then entered the public bathhouse and proceeded to the changing area. She instantly and unabashedly threw her clothes off while Elder Dwarf, on the other hand, looked slightly embarrassed as she slowly took off her clothes. Meanwhile, Ancient smiled as she watched the two. By the time they were done changing, I was instantly undressed. I seemed to not have any trouble with being seen naked.
Oto-san, lets go!
Master, hurry up.
Kuina and Elder Dwarf both look so cute. *drool*
I nodded at them and headed toward the bath.
By the way, my clothes were made of magic power so I didnt need to change. Whenever I dismiss my clothing, my body would absorb the magical energies. In a way, this too was an ability of a Demon Lord. And as the Demon Lord grows stronger, so too will his equipment.
When we entered the bath, clouds of steam were rising. At the center of it all was the pool made of stone.
Kuina, naked and tail swinging, neared the pool of water. Having an appearance of a 12 or maybe 13 year old girl, her growth was going along nicely. As her father though, I think I would want her to show some kind of embarrassment soon.
I then turned my gaze at the silver-haired Elder Dwarf that looked the same age as Kuina. She was a beauty with a t chest but rather than likening her to a little girl, it would be better to say she was as slender as a sprite.
Master, dont look at me like that. Its embarrassing.
That was the right kind of embarrassment I would like Kuina to also disy.
Master, what are you spacing out for?
Something softly collided with my back. It was Ancient Elf who came to embrace me.
Ancient Elf? Can you not do something like this when youre naked, at the very least?
Its master so theres no problem. Im d masters back is so big.
She looked slightly older than Kuina and the others at around 14 or maybe 15 years old. Her figure was greatly more maturepared to them as well. To be specific, she hadrge breasts.
Clinging onto my back, her womanly charms were through the roof.
I get it so let me go.
Despite being my own creation, I had no control over her base personality. I might forget myself if she does something more than this.
Alright. Fufufu. Master has given me the cold shoulder so it looks like I have to show my love for Kuina-chan and El-chan instead, dont I?
Like a beast eyeing its prey, Ancient Elf looked at Kuina and Elder Dwarf.
Kuinas tail then stood on end while Elder Dwarfs spine tingled.
It was a rtively serious matter.
At any case though, Kuina, after pouring hot water over her head, was the first to head to the pool and submerge in it. She then disyed an ecstatic face. So cute.
Lets go, shall we? Otherwise, Kuina will be dizzy before we even get in the water.
Thats certainly so.
Yeah, right? I want to be in the water with everyone at the same time.
And so, we poured hot water on ourselves and submerged in the water.
AH! El-chan, no! Thats my spot!
Firste, first serve. Kuina is always enjoying this spot but today, today is my turn.
I leaned my back to a wall and spread my legs open but the moment she got in the water, Elder Dwarf slid her small body in the space created by my open legs. Kuina was usually the one to do something like this. Just when I thought Elder Dwarf was strangely sticking close to me, it turned out she was just aiming to do this before Kuina even had a chance.
Uggghh. Kuinas spot....
Said Kuina as red toward us.
Now, now. The early bird gets the early worm so theres no helping it. Kuina-chan, let me make up for your loneliness, okay?
Ancient Elf happily hugged Kuina from behind. Moreover, she restlessly moved her hands and caressed various ces. As a result, Kuina leaked out a passionate gasp but immediately reced it with grim expression.
Only Oto-san is allowed to do something like that. Plus, Elf-chan, touching me only on weird ces makes me hate it all the more.
Kuina shook her body and broke free of the hold she was in. She then went my way. When I wondered what she was about to do, she lightly pushed Elder Dwarf to the right, slipped in to the space that was created, and then leaned on me.
The feeling of her tail made wet by the water on the pool and on my skin; the feeling of the girls leaning their back on me... it all felt great.
The two of you are small enough to both fit here.
But todays my turn.
We dont have go by the pecking order, El-chan.
...Ill remember those words. The next time youre about to act like a spoiled child, Ill bounce those words back to you.
Ugh, O-okay.
At that, Elder Dwarf smiled. Kuina was sly but were full of openings which were asionally exploited by Elder Dwarf.
Master, Im jealous. I want to be loved together with Kuina-chan and El-chan.
Yeah,e here.
Rxing at a hot spring and enjoying the warmthing from the girls, this was the life.
Hug us tightly like you always do.
Thats a good idea. Master, please.
I was powerless before their request and wrapped my arms around the two of them. I felt their soft bodies on my arms as I tightened my embrace on each passing moment.
Hot springs are wonderful, I thought as I savored the moments bliss. However, as time passed, problems arose. Problems that stemmed from me being a man. I have to endure, I urged myself.
We should get out soon.
No! The bath feels good, lets stay a bit longer.
Do you not want to stay like this anymore, master?
The girls gave out their undebatable requests. There was no way I could have turned them down after they put it like that. However, the fact remained that I was in a serious pinch. Thankfully, at that moment, a goddess of salvation appeared.
Master, Kuina-chan, El-chan, I made something interesting so that we can fully enjoy the bath.
The goddess in question was Ancient Elf who was holding three bamboo containers.
First, take this Kuina-chan and El-chan.
She poured some kind of honey-colored liquid into cups and handed them to the two. Drawn by the beverages fragrance, the two separated from me.
Its sweet, sour, and delicious. Thanks, Elf-chan.
Its cold. Drinking it inside the bath is the best.
I guessed that those bamboo containers perhaps contained ice-cold apple juice. Also, since Kuina was not aware of anything about it, I guessed that Ancient Elf borrowed the Mythological Foxes abilities. She was fond of beautiful women so naturally she interacted not only with her direct subordinates, the High Elves, but also with the Dwarf Smiths and the Mythological Foxes as well.
For some reason, she was strangely liked. Unlike her equals, Kuina and Elder Dwarf, the followers view Ancient Elf as an existence far higher than their own.
And this ones for us.
She presented another bamboo container which also had a liquid in it. This time however it had some foaming in it.
Can this really be?
Youll enjoy drinking it.
I filled myself with expectations as I drank from my cup.
This is some fine alcohol.
Yes, what she made was alcohol. The drink gave me the impression that it was a strong alcoholic drink with the refreshing feeling of both apple and carbonated drinks.
Its taste and aftertaste both tasted really tasty. It seemed like I could drink to my hearts content.
The cold drink spread throughout my burning-hot body.
Thats right. Just eating apples raw is boring and especially since there were some nice yeast around, I decided to ferment the apples.
Youre certainly right about this being for us. Its still too early for Kuina and Elder Dwarf to have this.
When I said those words, Ancient Elf chuckled and then whispered into my ear.
Yeah, theyre still too young for the alcohol, among other things. If youd like, you can also enjoy those other things with me.
She whispered so and immediately separated from me. She then drank from her cup as she gave me a satisfied looking smile.
No, like those girls, youre my precious daughter so of course I wont do something weird to you. Ahem, moving on, I didnt know you could make something like alcohol.
Yes, its a specialty of mine.
Alcohols are things made by borrowing the power of nature so Ancient Elf obviously, in retrospect, could make some. And alcohol this fine was sure to get attention.
It looks like this will also sell well, wouldnt it? Can you make many of it?
Yes, it will be easy with my abilities.
A reliable reply.
And then, I noticed something strange with my body. My body felt immensely lighter and all my fatigue gone. It could be attributed to the effects of the hot spring, I supposed, but it wouldnt have been this direct. Just what on earth, I wondered.
Ancient Elf, did you put anything special in this drink? My body feels strangely better.
Nothing at all. Its the effects of the fruit itself. The fruit born out of the apple tree which I, an Ancient Elf, blessed with all my strength from when it was a seed. Its no longer an ordinary apple tree, you see.
I remembered that scene where she poured rainbow-colored water into the seed.
Then, how about if I eat apples normally?
If you do, then firstly, your self-regenerative abilities will drastically improve. Any light illnesses will be cured in one go and your resistance to diseases will also improve. You will also recover from any fatigue and make you harder to be fatigued as well. Eating nothing but one apple could sustain you for the whole day.
I was slightly overwhelmed. It wasnt an apple anymore but rather a sort of magic potion. It certainly had wonderful effects but it seemed like it would be too conspicuous.
I am little troubled on whether its alright to sell the apples to the humans.
It would be the hot topic among adventurers in no time at all. There was even the possibility that a war would seriously break out for the apples.
If thats the case, then itll be alright. Only the first tree would have the strong effects. The rest will still have simr effects, just toned down. If I seriously bless every single one of them, no matter how much magic power I have, it will never be enough anyways. Its better too that only the first tree would have the full set of effects because that trees the special tree in our memories, right?
That relieved me of my concerns. If the most the fruit could do was relieve a little fatigue, heal a wound just a little bit faster than normal, and sate ones hunger a little better, I would have little to no problem offering it to the humans.
Im relieved to hear that. Nothing less of the race that lives along with nature, the Ancient Elves.
It seemed to me that she was far stronger than I had expected and the current situation had made me realize that again.
Fufufu. Im an amazing monster too, arent I, master?
She said as she swelled her ample breasts. In that moment, Kuina interjected.
Elf-chan, whats in thest container? Kuinas looking forward to it!
That reminded me that Ancient did bring along 3 bamboo containers.
Seeing that the first two contained some delicious juice and alcohol, I had no doubt thest one would also be something fantastic.
Ta-dah! Its some apple sherbet! When I was talking with master some time ago, something like this came up so I tried to make some. After I added some honey into the grated apples, I whipped the mixture as I froze it.
With a smile on her face, she distributed everyones portion. When I took a mouthful, I found that it had the right amount of sweet and sour. The juice and alcohol were fine treats but this sherbet was out of this world. It made being in the hot spring even more appealing.
Kuina and Elder Dwarf seemed especially charmed, their eyes sparkling as they ate the apple sherbet.
Like this, we leisurely passed the time in the hot spring.
Thebination of the hot spring and the juice, alcohol, and sherbet made of apples would serve as one of this citys attractions and help entice lure in people to stay a night at the inn.
Ancient Elf had performed splendidly today. So much so that it almost made me lose face as her father. I should be more mindful from now on.
Volume 2 12
Six days had passed since the founding of my city.
In the next day, we nned to start earnestly recruiting humans.
Unusual as it was, I was alone as I patrolled the city since my subordinates were busy in each of their final preparations.
The water ways were alreadyid out in the city while the wells were also in ce. Finally, we had also prepared the about 50 private houses and plenty of well-ploughed farnds. The materials used to build these houses were the trees grown with Ancient Elfs abilities along with the stones and metals gathered from the mine in the second room.
Yup, the view looks good.
I was surveying the farnds from a small hill where the field we were growing our prized apples. The wheat grown in a section of the farnds were ready to be harvested. It was ready so quickly because Ancient Elf once again employed her abilities to elerate their growth. I hoped that this could convince the human immigrant candidates that our city had fertile farnds.
Also, the unnaturally intimidating Golems were posted throughout the city. Acting as this citys guards and keepers of the peace, about twenty of them were deployed. But by no means was that their total number as the rest of the Golems were still digging in the mines even at this moment.
Just as predicted, a good amount of silver and iron could be gathered from the mine. In, contrast, gold could only be gotten once in a while and mithril was even scarcer. As for rarer metals, they simply couldnt be mined at all. These predictions about the maximum output of the mines were given by the dwarves based on the fact that the quality of the ores gathered from a mine are rtive to the Demon Lords strength which I apparentlycked and must make up for.
All that said, a silver mine in itself is already good enough, isnt it?
Silver coins were the main form of currency circting at the human city so in short, just by mining, we were gaining their form of money. The [Mine] was a dungeons mine so there was no fear of it ever drying up either. I just needed to be careful to not get carried away and crash the market for silver but other than that, I was certain it was going to be one of this towns essential industries.
The town also had five special buildings. The first of which was the city leaders home. Other than the transfer arraysid out in there, it also featured a considerablyrge conference room. Of course, it was mine but the ones to also live there included Kuina, Elder Dwarf, and Ancient Elf. In order for us to be able live mostfortably, I used [Creation] and made the finest furnishings.
My other monsters were given a house ording to their race. That was except for the undead monsters which included Wight. They lived in the residential area in the second room of the second floor. This room was set to function as a part of the dungeon proper. It was a room that made full use of the undead armys strength and that was also filled with nothing but traps and other things that would serve to help them.
It was a quite a brutal room because it was made under the assumption that the enemy would get past the Mithril Golems + heavy machinegunsbo of the room before it.
Well then, I better get going.
I mumbled to myself as I headed towards the second special building.
Youre hard at work as ever, Elder Dwarf.
I want toplete the improvement of the weapons I wasnt able to attend to recently.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard on her PC as it ran a drafting software. As far as I could see from the opened draft, it seemed she was thinking of how to improve the anti-materiel rifle being used by Ancient Elf.
I am of the opinion that the Pallet ML82A1 being used by Ancient Elf could not be improved any further but just how do you intend to do so?
It certainly is an exceedingly good rifle. Its almost a form of art. You may be right, master, but that is only if it wasnt Elf-chan using it.
Care to borate?
Mhm. In order for her guns bullets to follow a straight trajectory, its barrel is made awfully long but with a barrel made of wind Elf-chan imagined into being, the bullet would go straight and therefore making it alright topletely remove the barrel.
It was an extremely bold idea.
For her gun to provide better uracy and tter bullet trajectory, its gun barrel was lengthened at the cost of it bing considerably heavier and more cumbersome. Also, due to the centrifugal force produced, it was harder to swing left and right. It wasnt a gun originally designed to be carried around so those things werent too much of a w, really.
Also, although the mechanism to reduce the recoil is excellent, it is alsoplex which results to the decrease of the recoils intensity but also to the increase of the guns weight and the chances of it breaking down. Simplifying it would resolve those issues and have it still working as intended as Ancient Elf she could simply employ an air cushion to dampen the recoil. I see no alternatives other than that; increasing the output firepower with the oldplex mechanism is impossible. It is a difficult choice but one that must be done in order to use the more powerful mithril bullets.
That would certainly be a downgrade for anyone other than Ancient Elf. After all, it would have severe recoil and horrible bullet trajectory.
Precisely. But for Ancient Elf, the loss of the long, heavy gun barrel would result to it being more bnced, stable, and not as easily affected by centrifugal force, therefore making it easier to aim with. It would also result in an increase to her mobility. As for the part about simplifying the recoil, it would increase the recoil but also reduce the chances of the mechanism breaking down and give it better reliability. I intend to rece the materials it is made of to mithril to make it stronger while also making it lighter. Also, Ill increase its magazine capacity.
She was rationally and thoroughly considering her options for her n to modify the anti-materiel rifle.
The bullets will be more powerful too. After all, the power of the special bullets that uses mithril powder should be nearly twice as powerful as the normal ones. If the initial velocity of the bullet is increased, the range it could traverse should also increase. However, after doing away with theplex recoil mechanism, this monster of a gun would usable to no one except Elf-chan.
It seems like that girl will be pleased.
There was no way Ancient Elf, the trigger-happy sniping idiot, wouldnt be happy after knowing that her gun became easier to use, has an increased magazine size and range.
Thats pretty much my ns on remodeling the gun. As a final note, Ill also try using Enchant magic this time around. My level wasnt high enough when I made Kuinas gun but as I am right now, I should be able to apply some to it.
Im looking forward to it. How about the other job I gave you?
Mm. I gave the recipe for that to my followers. Its going fine.
Elder Dwarf stood and led me to an inner room of the workshop. There, a furnace burned with crackling mes. In the middle of workshop designed by Elder Dwarf herself, the two Dwarf Smiths worked to forge a sword. Leaning on the wall behind them were dozens of swords.
It certainly is going well.
Mm. We are making swords with about the same materials as that shop in Eba, only ours are a rank better. The swords are mainly iron with only a little bit of mithril mixed in.
I wanted to conserve our current stock of mithril but on the other hand, adventurers didnt ce much trust on iron swords. And so, this was the result of thatpromise.
The concept might appear simr to the ones sold in the city but since these swords are made using the form made by Elder Dwarf herself, there was no contest between them. The difference being it wasnt a downgraded sword just to save on mithril but a sword made of an actual quality alloy.
There was nothing to be done about its weight but the sharpness and durability wasparable to a true mithril sword.
If we have this many, we will have no trouble in our stocks. Youve helped us a lot.
We can have another thirty done by tomorrow. These ones are of excellent quality.
A reliable reply.
As far as the weapons were concerned, I need not worry.
However, among the swords leaning on the wall, there was one that stood out.
Whats that?
Its the prototype I made using all of my skill. The alloy used in it is made from the orihalcum and mithril gathered from the [Beast] Demon Lords Mine as its core. The alloy was that way not because I was being stingy on orihalcum but because it was necessary to make the finest alloy with the materials at hand. It is also endowed with Enchant magic to increase its durability and its shing ability .
I picked it up and felt an extraordinarily dreadful feeling from its de. It was a beautiful silver magic sword that specialized in shing. Furthermore, it was unbelievably light. As to be expected of a work done by her, an S rank monster, when she gives it her all. Her skills were probably at a height no human could ever dream of reaching their entire lives. Not to mention, this sword alone would undoubtedly fetch a price most them wont ever attain even if they work for it their whole life.
May we also sell this?
Fine by me; I can just make another. But is it really alright to sell it to the humans? Borrowing masters words, this sword is too strong.
I certainly mentioned before that selling a weapon that was too strong would be the cause of much conflicts but...
Well only use it attract customers. Well put a price tag on it that no one could ever afford. Just by disying the sword, it would increase the sales of the other swords.
All of the shops items would increase in value if it seemed like our shop was the shop of an expert cksmith who could forge such a sword.
I understand but I have one request.
What is it?
That sword yearns to be wielded by a swordsman. I wish to sell it only after a swordsman I approve of appears. This is my request even if the swordsman turns out to be a human.
Alright, we would only sell it then.
With that, the list of things that we needed to talk about was finished.
I had ensured that the weapons made by the dwarves wereplete and ready to act as one of my citys main products.
Also, master, I finished the disguise. This disguise should do the trick.
Thanks again, Elder Dwarf.
I received the special disguise Elder Dwarf made and decided to examine itter. It was an important item to allow my important staff officer to work freely even after the humans havee.
And so, I headed onto the next location, onto where Kuina was. Wight should also be there.
Well then, Im off to the next spot. Dont work yourselves too hard.
Mm. Ahm, master, I mean, after the sword arepletely ready,
Elder Dwarf tried hard to say something but was hindered by her hesitation. I kind of knew what she was trying to say though.
Yeah, Ill praise you a lot. So, do your best, Elder Dwarf.
Yes, I will.
And so, I left the workshop.
Volume 2 13
My next destination was the third of the five special buildings within my town: the store. It was ced in a spot that was easy to take notice of as soon as one entered the city.
It was a big shop that dealt with the selling of foodstuff and also the weapons made by the dwarves.
The foodstuff avable were the raw apples; the alcohol made by Ancient Elf; the longsting, hard-baked, and salt-seasoned bread; water; and the dried meat bought from the human city. Other than the apples, each one was necessary in dungeon exploration. I had every reason to believe that each item would be popr since our city was situated right in the middle of the [Time] Demon Lords dungeon and the giganticmercial city of Eba.
Once weve gained more than enough immigrants and merchants, we could feature a wider array of products but for now, so as to not pressure ourselves with the sales, we opted to limit our products to the necessities.
Apart from selling those items, we would also offer the service to repair equipment. Though I guess this task would primarily go to the Dwarf Smiths.
Master, you came.
Ancient Elf, carrying a barrel full of apples, greeted me so.
Yeah, were finally opening tomorrow so I wanted to see how the stores progressing.
The preparations are all in order.
When she put the barrel down to ground, I heard the sound of water.
What is that barrel?
Im pickling the apples in the water of life I made. While the apples are submerged in the water, it will not go bad. Even if an apple is dipped in the water just once, it will still take a very long time for it to decay, all while retaining its deliciousness. This water will also increase the apples effects.
......keep it moderate, okay?.
Yes, of course!
Even a simple apple could turn into an imbnced item as long as my Ancient Elf was involved.
The words water of life came up casually but for the humans, they would undoubtedly regard it as a big deal if they heard it.
How about Kuina and her group?
Theyre in the interior of the store, practicing. The lovely salesgirls and their excited elder sister...
Ancient Elf who was fond of cute things said so as she became mesmerized.
Is that so? That makes me feel uneasy; lets go take a look.
Ancient Elf and I went to the inside of the store.
We went in and found Kuina and the Mythological Foxes.
Now then, use [Transform]!
Kuina ordered so to her subordinates, the Mythological Foxes.
The fox-girls enhanced their magic power and sped their hands together. They then shone with light. In the next moment, their fox ears and tails vanished which made them appear exactly like humans.
No matter how much the humans of this world were ustomed to demihumans, it was still better for the salesperson to be of the same race as them. It was especially more important if they were ones to call in the customers. Therefore, the beautiful Mythological Foxes who could use [Transform] to hide their ears and tails were perfect for the job.
Ah, Oto-san, look, look! Its so cute!
Kuina puffed her chest with pride. They surely were cute.
They wore a shopkeepers clothes designed by Elder Dwarf to have lovely fluttering frills. The eyes of the person beside me, Ancient Elf, sparkled as she looked at the Mythological Foxes. It was, without doubt, within her preferences.
......The Mythological Foxes werent the only ones to wear the clothes, Kuina wore them too.
However, Kuina wore it without transforming, keeping her fox ears and tail. I guessed it was probably intentional since there was a hole through which her tail passed.
Youre not going to transform?
Kuinas job, no, Kuinas highest priority is to safeguard the city. So I cant attend to the store.
Well, she was right.
She was after all this citys strongest and therefore could not spare the time to be a salesgirl.
Youll be ourst line of defense. Were counting on you.
Yay! ?
I approached her and brushed her head.
As I did so, I heard footsteps.
The additional bread are done so Ivee to deliver it. Oh, youre here, my lord.
The one who came was Wight.
On the back of the Golems were boxes filled with bread.
In charge of baking the bread which shall be one of our products were the Skeletons led by Wight.
As one would expect, unlike the Golems, it was impossible for the Skeletons to wander about in the city and therefore had no other way to be helpful to the city when there were no battle happening other than to diligently bake bread and then have the Golems deliver it.
The scene of a group of Skeletons making bread was so boundlessly surreal, it simply could not be shown to the humans.
Thanks for your work. Can I have one?
Yes, certainly. Please enjoy a bread we, the Undead army, put our all into making.
The bread made by a Skeleton. If I imagined it normally, it could only turn out to be bad but...
The taste of the hard baked bread sprinkled with a lot of salt to preserve it wasnt bad. It wasnt revolutionary but not awful either. It was a normal bread. And if it was so, it could be one of our products.
Yeah, this can sell well.
We are unable to taste so we simply focused on the quantity, my lord.
As long as the work involved was simple, there probably was no other superior to the Skeleton army led by Wight. They were like machines, repeating the predetermined movements urately and indifferently.
Wight, once the humanse,
I understand, my lord. It would be better for us to not wander above the ground. Our bodies are not normal, to say the least, and we would only be a hindrance to the city my lord is making.
Wight anticipated my thoughts and said so.
His concerns were indeed valid. It was no surprise that, unlike the demihumans and the Golems, the Undead were regarded as an enemy of human kind. Normally, it would be absolutely impossible for them to show themselves without incident. However, this time was an exception and so, I smiled.
What are you talking about? Youre my staff officer. Ill be troubled if you dont stay and help.
...that makes me happy but this body, my lord,
Thats why I had this prepared.
I ced the mask on his face.
This is a beguiling mask I had Elder Dwarf make. It has [Beguile] Enchant magic applied to it. As long as you wear this, you will have the appearance of a human. But [Beguile]s effects are limited so you will have to wear your robe over your body, some long pants, and gloves.
Upon hearing my words, Wight trembled with emotions.
He then spoke, still trembling.
My lord, to make something like this for me. Even for the supreme dwarf, Elder Dwarf-sama, such an item, it couldnt have been simple to make.
Theres no way I can neglect a good performing subordinate such as you. I had Elder Dwarf do the impossible and so, Im expecting much from you, Wight.
His quick wit, vast knowledge, and ability to perceive the subtleties of a persons emotions were essential to the operation of this city.
Yes, I am at yourmand, my lord.
He then knelt immediately. I would be relying much on his abilities.
And like that, I left soon after.
Afterwards, I went to the fourth special building: the inn.
Built under the assumption that it would amodate as much as a hundred, it had a considerably high number of rooms, some of which were evenrge enough to amodate groups of people. There were arge amount of nkets prepared too.
Actually, as I was in the inn, all I thought about was the services to be offered to those staying the night. And so far, I had only included the nket. Multiple nkets were ced in each room and was to be used freely by the patrons.
The private rooms were set to be expensive while the sharedrge rooms were set to be cheap. Patrons could use the water wells along with the public bathhouse. Our inn wouldnt serve any food so if they wanted to eat something, they could simply buy whatever it is they want to eat in the store. It was pretty much a self-service inn.
As I thought, were really short on hands... I should actively hire human help.
Shopkeepers, inn receptionists, advertisers, and bathhouse and inn cleaners.
These jobs could be easily filled up if we didnt mind the quality of the employees. Perhaps even have some broke adventurers do some part-time work. Funds werent an issue either due to the silver coins that Elder Dwarf could make just like those used in themercial city.
There was no reason at all to let my monsters do these jobs forever.
Ideally though, I want some pros. Its hard to have no connections at times like this.
If only we could have good and skilled merchants we could entrust even the management of the inn and store to and maybe even get them to open up store branches of their own in this city, everything would be fine. This city having more fascinating things that would serve to attract humans in was far more important my own profits.
Deciding how city would develop would be an issue in the future but for now, even if it only had a facility that would be able to amodate humans, I would consider it a sess already.
I then went to the fifth andst special building of this city: the public bathhouse built on the hot spring. The male bath and female bath were also finished without incident. Hopefully, these would contribute to the satisfaction of the people staying at the inn as well as the sanitation of the city.
We also constructed a hidden and special bath for our use only.
With this, my inspection of all the city wasplete.
From tomorrow onward, we would be able to invite the humans into our city.
The early morning of the following day, I gathered all of my monsters in the city za, Skeletons included.
My beloved followers, I thank you for your hard work. Our dungeon, no... Our city has finallye into being. There are still many things to do but at least now, we are finally able to wee the humans toe into our city.
The infrastructures were in ce and the food and equipment which were to be our products were fully prepared. We also had an inn and pretty much a recreational facility.
Today is the day we wee the humans as well as the day we finally get to consume their emotions. Moreover, this day would mark the true start of our city management.
Nothing is perfect from the get go but this would nevertheless allow us to advance forward.
There may be some of you who think that instead of doing these dull things, we will be better off eating the emotions of the humans as we murder them. I can understand these sentiments but know that such methods are only for the short-term. We could only have the strongest dungeon by building a city where hundreds, thousands... no, tens of thousands of humans couldugh together. And I promise you that we can be the strongest dungeon.
Compared to the dungeons of the other Demon Lords, ours would earn us more DP and allow us to eat a lot more emotions.
Not to mention, this way is more enjoyable. If we run a proper dungeon, we will trick and kill the humans but we could also get killed by them. I will also have to use you, the monsters, as bait to lure in the humans. It might be na?ve of me but I dont want to lose any of you. Each of you is dear to me... Therefore, please lend me your powers to achieve my dream. No, give it to me. This is mymand as your Demon Lord!
As they heard my words, each of them expressed their resolve and immediately kneeled.
Now then, everyone, let us open the gates of our city of hopes and smiles. Let us open our Avalon! Now, everyone, to your posts!
Right after my shout, each tended to their duties.
First was to invite the humans and the rest would follow.
Volume 2 14
Ill be going then, Procell-sama, Kuina-anesama.
Yeah, do your best!
One of the two Mythological Foxes, in human form, bid farewell and went outside of the city. Apanying her as her guard was a Mithril Golem who possessed the strengthparable to a B rank monster.
Kuina waved her hand and sent her off. Her destination was a certain highway outside of Avalon which was the route often taken by many adventurers in the early morning, the present time. Our n was a straightforward but reliable approach at getting their attention. Just therge signboard carried by the beautiful fox-girl was sure to stand out.
The message written in the signboard read that bread, dried meat, and water were for sale here and for 40% cheaper than the price offered in the city of Eba. Taking the opportunity, it was also written there that our inn only offered the service for an overnight stay without any meals and was therefore dirt cheap.
The adventurers that were on their way to the dungeon probably already had enough provisions on them but upon seeing our prices, some might think about getting even more provisions while some to replenish their stocks on their way back.
Also, upon chancing on our city on their way home, they might consider staying the night at the inn and should they find the experience to be pleasant, we might be able to make them to consider another visit on their next expedition to the dungeon.
My n was to slowly but steadily umte regr visitors.
Kuina had an unusual uneasy look on her face.
Im worried about the Mythological Fox. She went outside even though shes weak.
She might be weakpared to a Celestial Fox like Kuina but shes actually pretty strong, you know?
A Mythological Fox was a B rank monster. It was a powerful monster with a mastery over fire.
And when it came to B rank monsters, even first-rate adventurers were no match in singlebat.
Between that, her raised level and the Elder Dwarf-made knife she kept while wearing the lovely uniform, the chances of encountering an adventurer that could defeat her was next to nothing.
Uuhh, even so, Im still worried.
She has the Mithril Golem with her so theres no need to worry. Besides, we have our jobs to do.
I said so as I tapped her head.
By the way, the Mithril Golem wasnt sent out there just to be a guard but also as another way to attract the humans in. A gigantic Golem was after all more conspicuous than a beautiful girl.
If the Mythological Fox or if by some chance the Mithril Golemwas asked, they were instructed to exin to the adventurers that the city selling the products was founded by the descendants of great sages and powerful dwarves. In other words, a glorification of our story.
Well then, Im looking forward to how many wille.
At about the 30-minute mark after the Mythological Fox went outside, a party of four adventurers arrived.
They were a well-bnced partyposed of a male warrior d in light armor, a giant of a man with truly impressive facial hair, a short but agile female thief, and a female magic user.
However, each one of them looked worn-out. The two vanguard looked especially worse: their swords were broken and their armors were full of holes. They also hobbled which certainly meant that they were still injured.
It was weird for visitors at this time of day but they were probably returning home instead of going into the dungeon. Amongst adventurers, there were some who pass the night inside the dungeon. Since the dungeon was a dangerous ce crawling with monsters, spending the night there while taking turns to stand guard at night would not do any help at alleviating ones fatigue. However, such practices became necessary in order to do a prolonged hunting session.
By their appearance, I thought they probably ran into some kind of trouble and was then forced to stay the night in the dungeon.
The warrior-looking young man who seemed to be their leader rushed into the store.
Food, water, and a ce to rest ourselves, please.
Exchanging the tired look on his face for a ghastly one, he drew the attention of the Mythological Fox in the store. Any ordinary man would be surprised at the beautiful teenage girl tending to the store but the young warriors circumstances didnt allow him to care for such things. Luckily, the fox-girl was trained to be an expert clerk.
Since youve ordered for some food, might I interest you in this fruit called an apple? Its sweet and juicy. It will not go bad even after two months. It will relieve your fatigue and bring back your strength. We also sell some hard-baked bread and some dried meat, if those are more to your liking.
Apletely by-the-book response.
She only did what she was taught to do but for a man in a desperate situation, her response would of course sound indifferent.
Anythings fine so hurry it up.
Then would you like one of each? If you order it as a set, it will only cost you a silver coin.
Yes, yes, yes, four sets, hurry up!
Understood. Additionally, how about an alcohol made of apple? Its the Avalon special for souvenirs. Its a really sweet and good quality alcohol, a great gift to a femalepanion.
The warrior-looking man popped a vein. I slightly felt sorry for him. She shouldnt go that far with her textbook responses.
Stop it! Are you making fun of me?! Quickly get me the food and water!!
Certainly. That will be four silver coins, please.
When the Mythological fox said such, the man took out a pouch from his chest and threw the coins onto the counter.
I received four coins exactly. There is a roofed dining area in the back of the store so please make use of it if it is to your liking.
When the fox-girl skillfully handed over the items as a set, the man took it as though he snatched it from her.
When the adventurers were gone, so did the business smile from the fox-girls face.
HAaa. I was soo nervous. Procell-sama, Kuina-anesama, how did I do? Did I pull it off?
The Mythological Fox hesitantly asked. Actually, this was the way she truly was.
And to her, Kuina gave a thumbs up.
It was perfect. Keep it up!
Oh well, I thought, Ill just consider this one as a rare unlucky event. Besides, she didnt mess up on her responses.
Im soo d.
I guessed it was alright until she got used to it.
Considering she properly sold the items and that it was her first customer, she did great.
Setting that aside, I decided to do a little follow-up and headed towards the dining area where the adventurers were.
~From the adventurers point of view~
Geez, what was with that clerk? Just how long was she going to ask questions!
The male warrior voiced his irritation along with his sigh.
Along with the food they bought, they came to the back of the store. Just as the clerk said, there were tables and chairs avable there. Whats more, they lookedfortable.
Calm down, Solt. We should consider ourselves lucky just to be able to get some food. Its extremely cheap too and yet it looks to be made of fine ingredients, doesnt it? Like this bread, no second-rate wheat could smell this good.
The big man that had impressive facial hair said so and smiled.
Upon that sight, the young warrior regained a bit of hisposure.
In any case, it was the time to eat their food.
Their exploration this time ended in a massive failure. There was the fact that they got careless at exploring the familiar dungeon but it was primarily because a ridiculously strong monster appeared in the first few floors. They ran for their lives but in so doing, they were forced to leave behind the knapsack filled with their food and treasures.
They always carried a tiny amount of provisions on their persons but that too was used up. With their bodies too worn-out to hunt, they thought they had no other choice but to beg for help from any passing adventurer.
Im sorry, everyone. If only I had enough magic power...
Said the female magic user in an apologetic tone.
She was a practitioner of a very valuable magic: healing magic. However, at this moment, her magic power had run out and thus, she was unable to use magic.
The male warrior and the big man with impressive facial hair desperately pretended to be fine but in addition to the bruises all over, they suffered from sprains and broken bones in various ces of their bodies.
Dont be, Mira. If it werent for you, I would have died already. Im only alive because you healed that big gaping hole I had. If only I wasnt injured that badly, you might still have some magic power...
The male warrior recalled the battle that happened the other day. The monster that suddenly appeared was nightmarishly strong. He had no doubts it was a B rank monster. It was actually a wonder they were still alive.
After their necessary escape, they decided to hide themselves, to heal themselves through whatever means, and to then somehow get out of the dungeon.
Rather, I should be the one to be sorry. Im the only one with good health and yet I wasnt able to do anything.
The female thief looked downhearted as she casted her head down.
What are you talking about? It was because you took guard duty that we were able to sleep at night. Also, if it werent for you, we all would have been killed by traps long ago.
Hmm, you are still young but your capabilities as a scout are excellent.
Solt, Fam.
They were certain on what they said. A thief was able to perceive the presence of traps and enemies, unlock chests and the like. They were useful on many aspects and were indispensable to a party.
The girl then spoke with a voice ovee with emotions.
Anyway, lets eat!
Hmm, lets
And so, they began to eat. First, they drank the water. The male warrior drank it and was surprised. It entered his body smoothly and spread. What a taste, he thought.
As parched as he currently was, it would certainly taste good but this water went beyond that. It tasted good in the true sense of the word. He was in disbelief. Moreover, he was being reinvigorated by it.
He next ate the red fruit which the clerk called an apple.
It had a nice texture to it in his mouth. As he chew, the bittersweet juices that came from the fruit spread all over his mouth. It was so delicious, he thought hed cry. The moment he gulped it down, he knew his entire body, down to his cells, felt ecstatic.
What is this, he wondered, is this the fruit of the heavens?
His body rxed and his aches faded away. The fatigue that weighed on his body like heavy lead also vanished.
By the time he noticed it, the fruit he held was already gone.
It was strange. He considered himself to be a glutton but this one fruit pleasantly drove away his hunger. He next ate the bread. It looked like any other bread but it was unbelievably good. He tasted the sweetness of the wheat it was made from. He himself grew up in a household of farmers but never has he tasted a bread this delicious. The quality of the ingredients, most especially the wheat, was very exquisite.
Anticipating the same kind of experience, he tried the dried meat but to his disappointment, it was utterly ordinary. The male warrior then turned to check the state hispanions were in. After they drank the water and ate the fruit and bread, everyone was in some kind of stupor.
After thest lingering effects of the stupor had faded, the male warrior spoke.
Hey, everyone, wasnt that red fruit unbelievably delicious?
Yeah, it was the best. I still couldnt believe something like this existed in this world. The water and bread too were superb. This city is great. We gotta tell the others.
I know, right? Like, I was so tired but now its all gone. And I know shouldnt feel so happy right now, considering our circumstances, but I am!
Its exactly like the taste of something blessed by thend. It got rid of my tiredness and at this rate, it looks like my magic power will soon recover.
Each of them were shocked by the great taste of their meal, especially by the apple. It was not only delicious but it had also provided them with obviously good effects.
Hey, how about if we return to Eba, withdraw some money from the bank, then stay at our usual inn until our injuries are healed? And, right after that, go to the dungeon again?
Sounds good. Considering our injuries and Miras spent magic power, that might just be our only choice.
This four-man party was a top-ss party. With their forcesbined, they could hunt even C rank monsters down. The feat alone earned them money, plenty enough to have some savings. With such savings, even if they suffer serious setbacks like this time, it was possible to recover. But doing so was not cheap, not at all.
How about a change of ns? I think we should stay at this city for a while. If we eat those red fruits daily, our injuries and magic power should recover. And we can challenge the dungeon sooner. If I remember correctly, the sign the girl held said this city had an inn and it costs dirt cheap to stay too.
But then, how about our broken equipment? We have to get the cksmith we frequent fix them. One way or the other, we have to return to Eba. Besides, Im not confident the inn in this town is a proper one.
The warrior was confused. He couldnt deny any of what the big man said but the price of the inn in this city was so much cheaper than the one in Eba. So too were the food and drinks in this city.
Their wound and magic power recovery time was also bound to be shorter here. And if so, that would mean that their dungeon exploration downtime was also going to be shorter.
No matter how much savings they had, they wanted to avoid spending it as much as possible.
Any which way he thought about it, staying at this city was for the better.
He knew these and yet returning to Eba...
At that moment, a lone fine looking young man came. He aged somewhere between 15 and 19 years old.
He was wearing finely made ck clothes. The young man was supposed to be smiling but for an instant, the warrior felt so much dread, it made his spine tingle. His long years of experience as an adventurer had honed his senses and he felt nothing but the aura of a true man of battles from this young man.
I thank you for taking the time to visit our city this fine day. It might be impolite of me but I couldnt help but overhear your conversation.
And you are?
I am the leader of this city as well as the father of all the demihumans that reside here. I am called the great sage Procell. This city that has weed you, dear adventurers, besides having an inn, also has a cksmith that has prepared an arrangement of high quality items. Certainly, youll allow me to guide you there?
He said so and the elegantly bowed.
It was nothing short of a blessing. It was good news to the adventurers to learn that the city also had a cksmith.
They didnt expect much from this citys cksmith but they thought the said cksmith would at least have enough skill to be able to do simple repairs.
The warrior turned to check on hispanions responses...
Then, please lead the way.
Volume 2 15
Intending on following up on the Mythological Foxs sale, I headed to the ce the adventurers were and although there were someins at first, I was relieved to know they approved of our products.
However, the conversation they had afterwards led me to believe they had need for an inn and some equipment. And so, I decided to talk business with them.
If you want, I can show you around. My city has sells equipment and also does repairs. We also operate an inn.
Although they were bewildered by my sudden appearance, they immediately regained theirposure and spoke.
What do you mean father of the demihumans? And youre a great sage? Just who are you?
This is a city I built for the demihumans being persecuted by society and I am their guardian. Also, to be able to build such a city, I can be nothing less than a great sage, dont you agree?
I said so smugly but I might have gone a little too far with my bluff. They were looking at me with suspicion in their eyes. I screwed up, I thought. It was a little embarrassing.
Alright, lets change the subject.
...Moving on, how about that tour?
Oh, oh yeah. Can you first show us to the inn?
Yes, my pleasure.
I nodded and led the adventurer party to the inn.
The one currently running the inn was Wight.
I figured I wouldnt have anything to worry about if he was in charge of it.
Wee, dear guests.
Wight greeted us as we opened the door.
His entire body was wrapped with his high-ss robe and on his face was a mask.
The mask was enchanted with the effects of [Beguile] and it should make him appear like a refined gentleman as long as he wore it.
Is this the citys inn?
Yes, it is. Or so I would like to say but right now, its more of just a ce to sleep at. Let me exin our systems.
I cleared my throat once and spoke.
We have two ns for you to choose from. The first option is to rent a private room. Regardless of the number of people to stay in the room, you are expected to pay two silver coins per night. Well, two people should be able sleepfortably in them but it should still be able to amodate four people. These rooms have locks installed in them so if you want some privacy, this is the option to pick. And dont worry, no matter which n you pick, nkets will always be provided.
By the way, this was a really cheap price. In the city of Eba, manualbor aimed for adventurers would earn them 6 silver coins a day.
Its so cheap.
A ce to sleep is all were offering, after all. Guests are expected to clean after themselves during stay. As for meals, please purchase those at the store you visited earlier. Youre free to use the water well in the inns courtyard so if you have anyundry, you may wash them there. Also, our city also has a hot spring and youre also free to enter that.
You have a hot spring!?
The eyes of the thief girl, the only adventurer in good health, sparkled.
La, you know anything about it?
The warrior-looking man asked the thief.
Yeah, I do. Its a warm bath you soak yourself into. It really, really feels good. Plus, it takes helps to relieve your stress away.
With an ecstatic face, the thief girl imagined the hot spring.
Youre quite knowledgeable. As you said, hot springs relieve stress. But my citys hot spring is special. Aside from the stress relief you mentioned, it also: makes your skin beautiful; elerates recovery from wounds and illnesses; gives magic power recovery; and a lot more.
All that just from bathing in hot water?
Yes. Besides from the hot springs own mysterious powers, its because of the high-ranking elves blessing this city.
What I said was definitely true. Although the effects may be minor, they were there nheless.
Each time Ancient Elf entered the bath, the effects grew stronger; she was then most probably the cause, I thought.
Hey, Solt, lets stay here! Id like to enter the hot spring, its the best! Itd speed up the healing of your wounds too! Plus, Mira will also recover her magic power there!
...I still cant believe it. Oh well, we were nning on staying here today anyway, might as well try the hot spring out.
Oh, yeah! Im looking forward to it now!
It seemed like the hot spring worked properly as a weapon thanks to their fondness of it.
Earlier on, you said you had two ns but whats the other one?
I did, and the second option lets you stay at argemunal room. Of course, the room wont have a lock so we would advise the guests to be mindful of their belongings and to be on the lookout for theft. On that note, its cost is cheaper at only 1 silver coin per person. In your case, dear guests, rather than themunal room, it would be cheaper to stay at a private room, and thus why I mentioned it first.
Themunal rooms were basically a n aimed toward adventurers traveling alone.
For a party, private rooms were always cheaper and better.
Then, well rent two rooms. Four silver coins will be enough, wouldnt it?
Yes, perfectly.
When I said so, Wight took out two keys and exined the particrs.
Dear guests, these are the keys to your rooms. Please consult the map in the wall that shows the room numbers for your rooms locations.
The warrior-looking man took a key while the other one was taken by the female thief. It seemed like they split up ording to their gender: a rare consideration for adventurers.
Procell, could you wait until weve dropped our baggage first before you guide us to the equipment shop?
Yes, of course.
I replied and smiled.
For adventurers, this party was strong and experienced. If they were impressed, the widespread news of our city via word of mouth was likely. A little effort for that was tolerable.
A little whileter and the adventurers came back. It seemed they donned a change of clothes, this time wearing casual clothing. However, I also noticed that they were carrying arge bag on their shoulders which, I guessed, contained their broken equipment.
And so, I led them back to the store.
When we returned to the store, Kuina and the two Mythological Foxes were busily moving around. I figured the Mythological Fox sent outside to draw in visitors had in fact drawn in too much to the point that she was called back to help.
When I noticed the sign and the Mithril Golem that acted as a guard werent in the city, I figured the Mithril Golem must have been told to keep holding the sign. The Golem did have the ability to draw visitors in so for the moment, I didnt have to question such a decision.
The foodstuffs had sold well.
There were about thirty customers inside the store. It may not have been a lot but considering there only three of them to tend to the store, their job was tough.
Kuina then looked at me with eyes pleading for help but I pretended to not notice. It was alright, I trusted they were able to handle something like this. Rather, they have to in order for them to handle future sales. And so, I steeled my heart and hoped the girls would grow.
I then cleared my throat and faced the adventurer party.
Well then, this is where the transactions for the purchase and repair of equipment takes ce. For the moment though, only swords are being sold.
I said so and led them into the store. We then proceeded to the area opposite of where the foodstuffs were ced. There, a lot of swords were casually disyed. The only sword that was framed and furnished to the wall was the sword Elder Dwarf seriously made.
When I thought about it, the swords didnt really stood out. Upon entering the store, one would have had to search for them to notice them. In fact, the adventurers within the store were still yet to notice them.
I noted to ce them somewhere betterter.
But as I thought so........
Where are the swords ced? I heard there were wonderful swords being sold here but where are they?
A new group of visitors arrived and asked the busy girls. They numbered close to twenty. Right from the start, they were looking for swords. I thought they must have heard of the rumors of this citys cksmiths expertise.
With the arrival of the new group, the girls began to panic. Seeing that, I decided to take care of the new ones.
The swords are this way. These customers are about to try the swords out as well so why dont you join us?
Oh, that way, huh. I didnt notice.
I gathered the customers interested on the swords together. The inside of the store was vast so there were no problems with this many people inside.
I picked a massed produced sword up and handed it over to the warrior-looking man.
This sword youve given me, its quite the item.
The moment the warrior-looking man took the sword, his eyes changed from that of his rxed usual self into that of a swordsmans.
He stared intensely into the sword and then touched its de. Afterwards, he readied himself and swung it. The sound of the sword cutting the air reverberated. He had good skills.
This is a wonderful sword. You wont see many swords this fine in Eba.
Why dont you try swinging it at something?
Is that alright!?
He was more into it than I expected.
I ced a log upright so that he may test the de on it. There were metal fixtures attached to its bottom to keep it from falling by itself.
The warrior-looking man readied himself once more and swung the sword sideways. Upon doing so and with a swoosh, the log was cut.
This is absurdly sharp. Its also light and strong. I also feel magic power flowing in it. This is far better than my sword. How much is this?
Two gold coins.
As soon as I said so, the warrior-looking mans jaw dropped. He must have been surprised.
Wait, what!? This sword is only for two gold coins!? Even my current sword cost me four gold coins! No matter what, a sword this fines gotta be at least six gold coins... no, eight!!
He spoke as he drew closer to me.
By the way, I based the price of our sword on the mass produced mithril-padded-with-iron swords being sold in Eba.
Comparing the two swords, ours uses a much better alloy with better distribution ratios and purity. The skills involved in making them was also not up for contest. The Dwarf Smiths may be only making the swords to meet their production quotas but humans would have had to be top-ss craftsmen working earnestly to be able replicate our sword.
Furthermore, although the swords made by the Dwarf Smiths couldnt be enchanted with Enchant magiclike the one made by Elder Dwarfit was still capable of absorbing ones magic power and were thus able to have its performance improved. It was a kind of magic sword.
Our sword simply wasnt at the level of a budget sword.
Our cksmiths are very skilled so making an item of this level is rather simple for them.
Is there a grand master ss cksmith here!?
Only lovely dwarf girls. This city is a demihuman city. We have very talented people here capable of what no human is capable of doing.
An elf blessing the city and dwarven cksmiths, what an amazing city this is. Sell this sword to me right now! For this price, I have to buy now or risk it being bought by somebody else right away!
The man, his eyes bloodshot, eximed as he handed to me a gold coin and 30 silver coins.
A gold coin was worth 30 silver coins so what he handed to me was worth exactly two gold coins.
Considering a manualborer would earn six silver coins for a hard days work, it would take said manualborer roughly about half a months time of working continuously to earn this amount.
By no means was it cheap but considering its quality, it was a bargain.
We are only selling swords at the moment but the cksmith that made these also does equipment repair. Youll find the map to the workshop this way. Basically, in addition to the raw materials used in the repair, customers will be charged a standard fee of 6 silver coins. Please pay the amount over at the counter. Also, other than swords, we also ept requests for custom-made weapons made out of the same materials and forged with the same techniques as that sword. Although that will be rtively more expensive at three gold coins.
I have no doubt about the skill of a cksmith capable of making this. Ill ce the care of the repair of my armor to them.
The man marveled at his newly bought sword.
But just then, I felt something weird. It was from the gazes cast on me by the many people behind the warrior-looking man.
The ones that looked at me no longer were just the group that looked for a sword. From some time ago, all the adventurers focused on the foodstuff began to look over my way as well.
In the next moment, they came at me all at once.
Show that sword to me as well!
This is a mithril sword isnt it?
What sharpness!
This is for only two gold coins? You serious?
The swords were slightly far away from the entrance so the customers didnt notice it before but with the current uproar, they now did.
One after another, they examined the swords. And after briefly doing so......
Alright, Ill buy it!
Hey miss, Id like tomission a spear to be made with the same materials and techniques as those swords but lets bargain!
Wha theres no more already? When are you gonna have more?
The customers flocked into counter where the Fox girls handling the sales were. Other than handling the sales of the weapons, they also took care of a lot of inquiries and requests. The already busy counter now became chaotic.
Stupid Oto-san! This is too much!
I heard Kuinasint-heavy voice say. It certainly was my fault things became like so. Even though sheined, as to be expected of Kuina, she nheless did her job quickly and properly.
Sorry about that.
The warrior-looking man looked apologetic.
This was bound to happen; it was only a matter of when.
It was just that the customers didnt notice the swords.
The girls were able to handle something like this anyway.
Hmm, whats that sword!?
The warrior-looking man suddenly raised his voice.
He was looking at the sword framed to the wall.
He looked tranced, as though his entire soul was taken away from him. He then wrapped both his hands around his body and shook.
Procell, that sword, terryfic. Is that, is that for sale too!? Sell it, sell it to me pleeease!
He then ced both of his hands on my shoulders as he shook me.
Even his way of speaking became weird.
Thats special and is therefore expensive. It costs 10,000 gold coins.
It was as expensive as a castle but it was truly worth it.
Thats too much... but...
His eyes becamepletely filled with greed. I feared he was going to steal it.
Well, this store always had two Mithril Golems guarding it so that wasnt really an issue to begin with. Expensive items were tagged with magic stone fragments and unless these items were purchased through the counter, it would be perceived as theft and the perpetrators will be attacked.
As I was thinking of such, the thief girl and the female magic user, wearing grim expressions on their faces, drew near the warrior-looking man.
Say, you paid two gold coins for that sword but did we have that much money right now?
If I recall correctly, I think paying for that exhausted all our funds. Am I wrong?
The two pressed the warrior-looking man and he was drenched in cold sweat.
La, Mira, sorry! That was the only chance for me to buy a sword this fine. Instead of paying to repair my old sword, I figured it was better to just buy a new but stronger sword. I mean, look, its all sold out already. Unless I bought it back then, I wouldnt have been able to buy it at all. Its really an awesome sword.
Just as he said, all the swords that once were on the shelves, were now in the hands of the adventurers lined up in the counter.
I understand how you feel; I know it is an amazing sword but... but now weve exhausted our pocket money and will have to return to Eba for the moment.
Their stay at the inn for the day had already been paid for but they were probably unable to pay for it from the next day onward. Not to mention, their daily meals would also cost them money.
And then, I had a good idea.
If you dont mind, how about if the two women work part-time work here? The men are injured but the women should not have any difficulties with moving their bodies. She looks like she has exhausted her magic power but it seems eating an apple has made her a little bit better and is able to work. Im willing to pay 12 silver coins a day.
It was twice the amount of a manualborers wage. Besides, their party was unable to head back into the dungeon until the mens injuries had healed.
It made sense to earn money doing part-time work while they stayed here and waited for their recovery.
I ept
So they both said.
Women working to feed the men. Well, there was something noble about that.
Thank you very much. Then, I would like to ask you to start right away and help those girls. The store is open until it gets dark and you will be paid at the end of each day.
When I said so, the two of them headed to the counter which had already be a warzone.
As expected of adventurers, they were brave.
It was their first day on the job but they took to things immediately. It helped that they were quick-witted too.
At any rate, we were able to secure an extra set of hands.
With this, Kuina and the others duties were reduced.
And with the addition of our newest recruits, we somehow began to do things better. We would have been really hard-pressed otherwise.
Anyway, the customers for this day were going to bring in more customers and those customers would bring in even more. Which also meant that things would get even more hectic.
Oh well, Im looking forward to what will happen from now on.
Volume 2 16
A week after thepletion of my city and its subsequent opening, the number of humans visiting my city had increased. My most recent tallies stated at least 300 humans per day were visiting and at least 50 of them stayed the night on our inn.
DP too was steadily being gathered.
An average of 5 DP was gained per human that stayed in the city for a full day. If they only stopped by momentarily, this number would drop to 2 DP on average. All in all, my daily ie was around 500 DP.
It seemed like this city stimted various human desires and since human emotions fluctuated more than I expected, my ie amounted to such.
At the moment, Kuina and the others hunting in the [Crimson Cavern] still provided me with more DP but that was bound to change as I gained more human visitors.
Because I had finally secured a steady flow of ie, I could now prepare for [War] and build my vicious dungeon without worry.
It would be a rather bad idea if I did not begin preparing for a [War].
It was to my advantage that I was able to make a dungeon whose sole purpose was the annihtion of any and all intruders while the other Demon Lords had to bnce protecting their crystals and drawing in humans into their dungeons.
Atst, Ive finally made it this far. The headaches were endless but I made it.
...but there still were problems.
Given that a great number of hot-blooded adventurers wereing to our city, it was only natural for them to have disputes with their fellow adventurers.
On top of that, there were issues of theft too. The group of people trying to steal swords were especially high in number.
The Golems, however, resolved all these problems with a show of force.
The Golems were programmed to suppress ensuing acts of violence at once and also to arrest anybody trying to take with them items from the store that they didnt pay for.
Besides those problems, there were an endless supply of apple thieves, people squatting in order to skip out on the inn charges, and people who harass the Mythological Foxes, Dwarf Smiths, and High Elves.
...They were all dealt with by the Golems though so our city remained peaceful. Golems were truly convenient.
Oto-san, things have finally settled down.
Nice, isnt it? Weve hired helped, after all.
At the moment, I was at the city leaders house, diligently doing office work.
The store and inn now had at least 10 adventurers working part-time which freed up Kuina from working there.
It seemed like with a daily sry of 12 silver coins, twice the average sry of a manualborer, the job was so fascinating that some of the broke and lower-ss adventurers even wanted to keep on working for us for the long-term.
In some point in the future, it might be better to give them a house to settle into instead of letting them live meagerly and stay at amunal room in the inn.
I hoped to have full-time employees at the inn and store rather than part-timers.
As I was thinking so, the door burst open and in came Elder Dwarf and Ancient Elf.
Master.
My master.
The two wore serious looks on their face as they walked.
Whats wrong? Why do the two of you look like that?
Master, were shorthanded. I need more help.
Me too. Theres too much work.
They were quite distressed.
The store and the inn didnt require much skill out of its employees so adventurers working part-time were able to do most of the work and only needed to be watched over. cksmithing and agricultural duties however needed expertise.
Apparently, the adventurers boasted about the swords they bought in our city and were steadily spreading news about it, leading to even more adventurers visiting our city to buy the swords. Perhaps it was even too popr that even if we doubled its price, more will stille.
The apple, for its mysterious ability to relieve stress, and the bread, for its unusual deliciousness, had also gained poprity among the adventurers.
These were all reasonable but the number of swords that could be made in a day was limited while the apple and wheatthe main ingredient of our breadwere only grown at an elerated rate due to the elves power.
It was bing quite taxing.
I kind of understand. But first, Elder Dwarf, I ordered to to lessen the number of swords produced down to twenty a day but did even that not help? Sure, you already have a months worth of advance orders but is that pace too much?
I was hoping that increasing the scarcity of the swords instead of selling them all out at once would, aside from making the dwarves workload lighter, keep the customers going back.
Furthermore, the cksmiths and the resale merchants of the nearby city would seriouslyin if we sold too many swords.
However, if we went to the other extreme and sold all the swords only through advance orders, its effect to draw in visitors would be gone. So I decided that five of the twenty swords made daily would be disyed over the counter and would be sold to the winners of a lottery.
In addition, the raw materials were also an issue. The Golems diligently dug and gathered the materials night and day but between their current mithril output and our [War] preparations for the dungeon proper, that was really all we could spare.
There are still a lot of requests for weapon and armor repairs. Also, the orders for custom-made items are too detailed and bothersome. The Dwarf Smiths couldnt handle it all by themselves so Im forced to working on the orders too. The humans have increased so an expansion of our buildings is also necessary. We are just barely able to handle the orders right now but it keeps me from doing my true job: the development of our weapons.
I understood what she meant then. The sales aside, the repairs of their equipment wasnt something we could make the adventurers wait for too long.
Alright, Ill give you two new Dwarf Smiths.
Thanks. Two of them should be enough.
In our past week of operations, my DP had increased by a considerable amount. This much of an expense should pose no problem.
Plus, Dwarf Smiths were B rank monsters and would be a significant addition to our fighting force so it was like killing two birds with one stone.
Okay then, how about you, Ancient Elf?
Yes, as for us, we are harvesting more than we are able to grow. No matter how much we elerate the growth, it is rapidly being consumed. Its to the point that the High Elves have gotten groggy.
The apples aside, instead of you guys growing the wheat, could we not just use the ones bought from Eba?
Its better that we dont. Our bread is now known to be delicious and there are a lot of visitorsing to our city for the bread so if we used the wheat bought from Eba, they might get upset.
She was definitely right. If the bread suddenly stopped being delicious, the customers would indeed get upset.
The taste of the wheat was the result ofbination of the blessings it had received from the elves, the fertile farnd, and the water supply.
Even if the elves did not elerate the growth of the wheat, good tasting wheat could still be harvested in ournds. In the future, the immigrants shall be the ones to grow the wheat, only it would take them longer before they could harvest.
I understand. Ill also give you two new High Elves. Like so, the growth eleration to the crops would be enough. Also, why not make your work easier and make use of the humans to harvest the apples and wheat? As soon as possible, hire part-timers... no, theyve got to be immigrants, dont they?
So far, we still didnt have any immigrants. Something I should rectify soon.
Yes, of course. I think Ill leave it to them then. Thanks!
With that, I somehow managed to solve their issues.
But then, I saw Kuina looking enviously at the relieved Elder Dwarf and Ancient Elf.
Oto-san, just like El-chan and Elf-chan, the Mythological Foxes...
We cant, at least not now. We only have so much DP left, I think its better to spend it elsewhere for the moment.
Almost all of the DP I had gained after the founding of this city was going to be spent on creating the Dwarf Smiths and the High Elves.
So of course, we couldnt afford to make the Mythological Foxes whose numbers were enough for the moment.
I understand... how unfortunate.
When I thought the conversation was over, I heard the sound of the bell installed on the door.
Enter
Yes, my lord.
The one that came in was Wight. Behind him were a wealthy looking man with good physique and a slender man with a well-trained body.
This gentleman said that he wanted to talk with you, my lord, no matter what so I led them here.
As Wight said so, the gentleman lined up beside him.
I am most honored to meet you. My name is Konanna Krutrudo and I run a small firm back in Eba. The purpose of my visit to this splendid city being governed by the great sage Procell-sama is that I have something I wish to talk about with you.
Just when I thought he radiated the scent of money, he indeed was a merchant. The man standing close beside him probably was his guard.
What an honor it is. Are you perhaps Krutrudo of the best andrgest firm in themercial city of Eba? Certainly, I would listen to whatever it is you wish to talk about. But first, instead of talking standing here standing, why dont we sit ourselves and rx in the room over there?
I guided the men to the drawing room I had prepared in this house.
When I gestured for them to sit, the man with good physique... Konanna, did so but only after he gave me his thanks.
This is a good item. This is my first time to see a chair this fine andfortable.
Im pleased to know it is to your liking.
It was made with [Creation]. It was the finest chair in my memories.
If asked, Elder Dwarf was likely to say it was an ergonomic, unbelievably rational, wonderful beauty.
Many of your furnishings, among other things, are unfamiliar to me. It might be rude of me but where did youe from?
In a humble vige somewhere across the sea, far to the east.
And the name of that ce is?
A secret. The fruit and swords we sell here at Avalon as our specialties are all from there so excuse me from not sharing any further knowledge.
It was a line I had prepared beforehand.
Saying the items were brought over from the other side of the sea and were therefore developed there was, by itself, persuasive.
I see, thats reasonable. I wouldnt tell a stranger anything about my secrets to sess, after all.
Thank you for your understanding.
Can you tell me one thing though: I would like to know your reason to build a cityposed only of young demi-human girls here in this remote, monster-infestednd?
I was surprised that even though he was a merchant, he wasnt asking anything directly rted to money.
But then again, he could just be looking for anything that could be used as my weakness.
Yes, I can tell you that. It might not be obvious based on my appearance but I have the blood of demi-humans flowing in me. I was being persecuted as I grew up and by the time I reached adulthood, I immediately left to go on a journey. On my journey, I met with several others that had simr troubles. I then thought I wanted to help them somehow.
I smiled wryly as I reached the end of my made-up story.
If demi-humans are going to just be persecuted wherever we go, I decided I would rather build a city outside of any nations borders where demi-humans could happily live out their lives. I then gathered candidates for my city. Luckily, everything that my n needed was here.
It was aplete and utter lie but it couldnt be easily dismissed as one.
The merchants eyes grew sharper as he tried to see through my real intentions.
I see, thats wonderful. You are not just an influential man that has built and is governing a city like this but you are also a man of character.
I dont think he seriously believed my story but he didnt press any further.
I dont deserve to be called a man of character. It was simply my ego at work.
I see, I see. I shall take note of that distinction. Yesterday, I had the privilege to stay at your inn but, oh my, that hot spring was wonderful. It relieved me of some of my fatigue. And thebination of submerging myself into the hot bath and the ice-cold alcohol made out of the fruit called the apple was simply the best!
It pleases me greatly to hear that. But leaving that aside, shall we get into the main purpose of your visit? You dide here to do business, did you not?
Yes, indeed.
The smell of profit emanated from this city. And so, humans were rapidly gathering here. With them doing so, it was only natural for humans like him toe rushing here.
I was rather grateful to them, the humans who woulde here bringing their own products to sell, for Avaloncked a great number of things.
Im sorry but let me say this upfront: I will refuse any business that involves selling our products outside of the city and any that will reveal the techniques we use.
Wha
The merchant was clearly taken aback. Perhaps what I said was his true purpose.
My goal was to gather a lot of people here in my city, not to earn money. No matter how many items we procure or how much of it we could sell was of little consequence to me.
That was why I was perfectly fine with something like selling only one sword to each customer.
But, if the deal is going to be within this city, you have my utmost cooperation. Now that thats out of the way, let us discuss the details of your deal.
And like that, a battle different from ones where swords shed against swords began.
Volume 2 17
Chapter 17: The Other Face of Avalon
Ive changed the merchants name to Conanna Curtrude
With my preemptive attack, the merchant faltered.
"Oh my. Shot down before I even got the chance. For now though, could you at least listen to my proposal, please? If I sold the swords you make in this city over at Eba, I could sell it for as much as four times the price youre selling it now. That is if you let me buy them in bulk even at three times the price. I think its a fair trade with both of us profiting."
"I cannot approve of this deal. For reasons I will not discuss, my purpose is to gather a lot of people here in this city, even if I must do so alone. And so, I cant sell you the swords which I use to encourage people to stop by."
If I felt like I needed money, I could just make as much as was needed.
What was important to me was the humans themselves.
"Hmm, thats surprising. It should be easier for you to just sell them to me in bulk and yet... Anyway, how about selling to me the process to create your swords? If you do, Im willing to even give you a gold coin for every sword sold. Like that, your ie will grow by a hundred-, no, a thousand-fold!"
His way of thinking was truly that of a merchants.
If I agreed to what he proposed, Avalon would earn money even if it remained idle and produced nothing.
"Im repeating myself but I dont intend to sell this citys products elsewhere. No amount of money can change that."
"Your purpose means more to you than money?"
"Gathering a lot people here and making the city develop is everything. Anything else means nothing to me."
The merchant peered into my face and let out a sigh.
"I see. I cant move you, not even an inch. It looks like youre being sincere and not just bluffing."
I nodded in silence.
"It would seem we are at an impasse. Then, let me add on an additional proposal: I would very much like it if I could open up a store of my Curtrude firm here in your city."
As far as the city was concerned, he couldnt propose anything better than that. Avaloncked a great number of things. Right now, the only food being sold in Avalon were the bread, apple, and dried meat. While they may be cheap, the humans still wanted more variety.
After a long time of living here, they would also want some clothes and footwear. And while Im at it, I think I should also open up a store thats open at night to serve a variety of cuisines. Actually, there already were adventurers and small-time peddlers who were bringing in their own products to sell.
We didnt have enough manpower so it was troublesome for each time we stocked up on the items that could be bought from Eba. But once Avalon had a store of arge firm, we would then have a steady supply of the essential items.
Most importantly, we would be freed up of worrying about those products and then be able to focus on thinking up of new ways to lure in the humans.
"I think this is a fantastic deal for Avalon, Procell-sama. As such, I would like to ask you of two things. First is about the tariff-"
"There wont be any. You may bring in as many products as you want."
"What-"
Conanna raised his voice in his surprise.
Normally, tariffs were an important source of ie. It was unheard of to forgo it.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes. Avalon shall be a ce where your firm is exempt of tariffs and may trade in peace with the many people gathered. In doing so, I am hoping it would lead to an increase in the variety of items in the city that would be offered at a low price. Also, the store directly managed by Avalon will only sell products that are made with the ingredients that are produced here or from those could be bought in the city... by that I mean products made with the ingredients that could be bought from the shops that will open here in this city, hopefully including yours. If your store will also be selling dried meat, we are willing to stop doing so. But then again, its a different matter altogether if your store didnt sell the items that we need."
The merchant gulped down.
In this day and age, each city solicited tariffs from anyone bringing in goods. On the other hand, doing business outside of cities where monsters ran rampant was worrying, to say the least.
Setting up a shop in a city where one could trade safely while not paying any tariff was bound to be a very profitable business venture.
Furthermore, by saying we would only sell the things I said we would, I made it clear that merchants didnt have to worry aboutpeting with us who didnt care about making profit.
Ours was a city where a lot of people gathered, that had many specialty products, and that had a lot of ability to attract crowds and yetcked a great many things. There were countless opportunities to profit.
"Let me state my second request then."
Conanna shed an amazed smile.
"Before that, let me inform you that I will collect a tax of 10% of your monthly gross profits. That and nothing more."
"Our gross profit and not our profit? Its still cheap. Very well, alright. Now then, I would like to set up shop as soon as possible but is it possible to purchase somend?"
"I shall provide you with an already-built building. You may renovate it your liking. It has utilities including a water well, a drainage system, and ess to water from the hot spring. I will also give your firm a Silver Golem. Let it serve as my apology for not being able to procure my citys products... at least, not from me."
"Im very thankful. May I inquire what you mean by thatst part, Procell-sama?"
I guess it was only natural to be intrigued. If this was a normal trade, the merchant would bring in items for him to sell and on his way back, he would stock up on items he could sell on other cities. Being unable to aplish thetter would halve his profits.
"Sooner orter, this city would have its first immigrants and when they have grown their own producebe it the apples youve so praised or the high quality wheat you cant find in any other citythe immigrants would then be able sell some to you. Also, many adventurers are bound to stop by at this city and with them are the treasures theyve gained in the nearby dungeon. Treasures that should be up for purchase. I have no intention whatsoever to regte the trade with these people Ive mentioned."
"Yes, it would seem I can indeed obtain them through those means. Its regrettable I have no way of procuring batches of your most special swords but this should be plenty enough. And then, about that golem?"
When he asked about the golems, his eyes changed colors. A merchant would probably recognize their significance right away.
"Im hoping youll let it pull your carriage instead of a horse. They may not sprint as fast as a horse but over a long distance, a Silver Golem will be able to outrun one. With its strength, itll allow you to load more into the carriage. It doesnt eat, drink, or even get tired. And with its power that will rival a C rank monster, it could act as a guard too."
Such were the appeals of a golem. Horses needed time and money to raise and look after. In times of monster attacks, they also needed to be defended.
Golems were inherently slow so I was going to give the merchant a Silver Golem to satisfy my statement.
Moreover, in this age where monsters ran rampant, it was necessary to hire adventurers as ones guards.
A Silver Golem were able fulfill all those roles and would therefore greatly reduce the cost of transportation.
"Furthermore, I will prepare houses for the employees of your store. Though let me state one thing: they would have to pay the tax I mentioned earlier about your store: 10% of the money theyve gained."
My proposed terms were insanely good.
"Wait, wait a minute, Procell-sama, what, what is up with those terms!? Are you serious with those?"
"Didnt you express it yourself? That your store would be a definite boon to my city? Hence, these terms. Consider it an investment to make my city grow, if you wish. If somehow these terms are not to your liking, feel free to turn it down for I could just offer the same deal to another firm."
At that, the merchant flinched.
He probably thought my offer was too good to be true. And though he still doubted it, he feared for the deal to go to anothers firm.
With that in my mind, I decided to appease his.
"Conanna-san, all that said, in exchange for such a generous condition, I would like to ask for something in return."
"...Which is?"
"I would like you to promote this city and its charms to your firms contacts. And also to spread the fact that we are looking to take in immigrants."
I handed him a piece of paper.
Written on it were the things that detailed the recruitment process.
"This is?"
"This city wont beposed only of adventurers passing by but also of permanent residents that we hopefully could recruit. At the moment, we are specially looking for tenant farmers to tend to the remaining unused farnds."
"This tax is too cheap, Procell-sama. The tenant farmers would find this most fascinating. Did you know that in Eba, the tax is 70% of what they could harvest? And yours is just 30%! Im honestly wondering how this city could function with just this much of taxes."
"Easily is my answer. Thanks, in part, to the Golems protecting our city free of charge. And also to the magic of the demi-humans who had built the various infrastructures like the waterways. Its far cheaper this way than if humans were tasked to take care of the city."
Naturally, making humans do both tasks would cost an unthinkable amount of money. Not to mention, we built the city in a week whereas humans would take more than a decade to do so.
"...Very well. We will make use of our contacts to disseminate the news that your city is looking for immigrants. Phew, you are sorelycking in greed, Procell-sama. If you were to have such a mindset though, you should be able to earn a lot more."
"Saying Im not greedy is rude, is it not? Anyway, I am greedy. Its just that it isnt money that Im greedy for."
Conanna and I shook hands. And with that, our contract was sealed.
The distribution of goods in the city would increase right away, all while Avalon was being promoted.
If I consulted with him, he might even rmend me talented individuals.
...and a big firm such as his was sure to have some political power. To an extent, I was relying on it.
"Conanna-san, let me give you a piece of advice. Know that Avalon and I will trade with you in full honesty but also know that we will not forgive anyone who betrays us. We dont especially mind whatever it is you do in the shadows but please be reminded that there are no secrets that could be hidden from me here in this city."
"I understand.."
We then both smiled.
Afterwards, I showed him a few of the houses. He decided on which one to take and we then hammered out the details.
It was only in passing but he mentioned that aside from his store, he would also like to someday open brothels, bars, and the likes, all of which I regarded positively.
The most efficient method in business wasnt to work hard to develop a product and then sell it. Rather, it was to prepare a ce where trade could be done and let the people and merchants gathered there to do their own trading give you a part of their profits.
But then again, if I could spare it, I think I would like to open up even one restaurant, just to have fun.
At any rate, with this conclusion, my city would grow rapidly.
I saw Conanna off as he rode away on his carriage being pulled by a Silver Golem.
As a sign of our friendship, I gave it to him sooner rather thanter. Should he not honor our deal and just run off with it, there would be no real damage so I did not hesitate to do so.
When I tried to get back home, I felt that something gently touched my shoulder.
"Oh, you came again?"
On my shoulder was a little blue bird.
I guessed he came to deliver a letter from [Wind] Demon Lord Sts.
In the letter, she stated that she had also built her own dungeon, managed to lure in adventurers to it, and earned the DP that they gave. Also, as her rival, she asked, in a rather provocative manner, how I was doing.
"Ohh, nothing less from Sts. In this short amount of time, she has managed to put together her own proper dungeon. Nevertheless, really, that fellow..."
However, halfway-through the provocative letter, it changed into a letter that seemed to say she cared for me. It detailed advice she got from her parent, the [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth. She also implied that in case a [War] was dered on me, she would back me up.
...I got myself a good friend indeed.
"You dont have to worry, Sts, everythings going fine here as well."
I wrote my reply to her letter as I passed through the entrance located within the [Mine] area. This entrance skillfully hidden by both Elder Dwarf and Ancient Elf led to the underground dungeon, the other face of Avalon. A dungeon designed to thoroughly annihte anything that dare stray within.
Should anyone make it past the first room guarded by the Mithril Golems and their heavy-machine guns, they would be greeted by the Undead in their favored graveyard area in the second room.
Also there were the bread and ordnance factories.
The Skeletons diligently made bread in the bread factory while some of them continuously made bombs with the materials I produced using [Creation]. For 20 DP each, the Skeletons sure were a great addition to our workforce.
This room also had a sky and if you looked up to see it, you would find the Griffon flying there. Flying with it were the monsters two ranks below it, the rock-carrying Hippogriffs. By creating a Griffon via Synthesis, I was able to purchase D rank monsters that could fly and carry a certain load. They were convenient in various ways. It also helps that they were cheap and could be mass produced.
They were repeatedly picking up rocks from the ground and dropping it off from high in the sky.
"Okay, your training has borne fruit. You have grown incredibly precise, havent you? Even our air-raid unit training has gone well, huh."
They were to serve both as shield and spear in our fighting force.
And now, my preliminary preparations wereplete. Its time to focus on the other face of Avalon for the shadows of [War] were creeping in.
Volume 2 18
Chapter 18: New Power
Conannas Curtrude tradingpany arrived and the city grew even livelier. For why would it not be when there were so many humans that hade here in such a short amount of time as result of the merchants use of his contacts to promote our city? The adventurers too added to the buzz with their satisfaction over the great array of new products brought by the tradingpanyproducts that the store managed by the fox-girls didnt have.
That said, that didnt mean the sales of the store managed by fox-girls declined for we still had the apples that were blessed by Ancient Elf and the swords forged by the Dwarf Smiths, both of which couldnt be bought anywhere else.
So basically, we sold our specialty products while the Curtrude tradingpany took care of the rest. We existed inplete harmony without interfering with one another.
In contrast, the city benefitted from the opening of the tradingpanys branch store by it creating jobs. The employees of these jobs increased our count of settlers.
Although the merchant and I came to an agreement that the citys store would only sell the things that could be harvested in the city or the things that could be made from the products being sold by the stores here, it wasnt really a bother. If I did want to increase the kind of things our city could sell, like meat and eggs, all we needed to do was raise them.
In fact, it might be a good idea to have at least one more special product other than the apples and swords or maybe even build a recreational facility like a casino or something like that.
And then there were the increasing number of farmers.
In the city of Eba, 70% of the crops they had grown were taken away from them as tax but in this city, that amount was reduced to only 30%. Moreover, in addition to the promise of an abundant harvest, our farnds were being blessed by elves and the harvested crops were bound to be extraordinarily nutritious and delicious. Information of those alone should convince a lot of the farmers to immigrate.
The timing was perfect too. The farmers had just harvested their crops for this year so instead of growing their crops back in their previous respective towns, a lot of them opted to terminate their contract with theirndlords and move here.
At the moment, I was patrolling the city along with Kuina, Elder Dwarf, and Ancient Elf.
"Its all going so well, its kinda scary."
"The humans are amazing. Kuinas a little surprised."
Gazing at the city that had all of a sudden became popted and abuzz, Kuina eximed so.
"I agree. Even though we can make amazing things, that is something beyond us."
"I know, right? Theyre weak so in order to live, they have to be wise and ingenious. Its in this regard that we are inferior to them."
Elder Dwarf and Ancient Elf expressed their agreement to Kuinas thoughts.
The people of the Curtrude tradingpany had assumed various duties so the girls workload had lightened. Add in the fact that the number of Dwarf Smiths and High Elves had increased, the girls were actually quite free.
When I had given the humans the authority to govern themselves to a certain extent, they were able to quickly make rules that would allow them live peacefully and easily.
They were basically autonomous although I still held the final say on things.
All that said though, that didnt mean everything was perfect. Since the people of the Curtrude tradingpany were handling most of the management of the city, much of the authority also befell on them.
Still, I had the right to have the final say. And probably most important of all, we were the only ones in charge of handling the citys security. With these in mind, I doubt anything strange would happen anytime soon.
"Master, Kuina, Elf, I have something I must show you all. I have atst finished the new weapons. I finally got the time to develop weapons so I did my best."
"Woah, Kuinas shotgun got even stronger??"
"Mhm. Ive leveled up so my enchant magic also got stronger and thus the things that I could do have increased."
"Thank you, El-chan!"
Kuina then embraced Elder Dwarf. In the battle against the Emerald Dragon some time ago, Kuina was forced to use the full-auto mode of her shotgun and as a result, it broke down.
It was repaired soon after but Elder Dwarf had promised Kuina that she was going to improve the gun and make it able to endure firing fully automatically.
"I have also finished improving Elfs anti-materiel rifle. I promised you that I will improve its range and firepower more than what it was currently capable of and I had done just that."
"I love El-chan as well!"
Ancient Elf proceeded to hug Kuina and Elder Dwarf while they were in an embrace themselves.
Kuina was ovee with her emotions and thus hugged Elder Dwarf but Ancient Elf did so simply because she liked cute girls and enjoyed seeing Kuina and Elder Dwarf in such a happy mood.
Oh well, its alright, I thought. Three beautiful girls embracing one another was quite the sight.
"Ugh, its hot. Let go of me."
The short Elder Dwarf spoke in a somewhat pained voice and separated from Kuina and Ancient Elf.
"Elder Dwarf, sorry to be so sudden but can you show us the new weapons?"
"Yes, I nned to do so from the start. I had it prepared."
And so, we headed to her workshop.
The moment we reached the workshop, Elder Dwarf brought out two cases.
When she opened one, a shotgun emitting a silver brilliance was there.
"First off, here is Kuinas shotgun. The Curtana EDS-03. From being made of only mithril, it is now made of an alloy that isposed of three rare metals: mithril, orihalcum, and adamantite. Its heavier but its also far stronger. This is more durable and should be able to endure firing fully automatically. But due to issues with its internal mechanisms, firing fully-automatically in quick session will risk it of breaking down. After firing it in full-automatic mode, I ask you restrain from doing so again right away."
"Thanks, El-chan! Im happy I can fire it again like that."
"Ive enchanted it with [Explosion]. By just applying magic power to the gun, the shells it will fire off will have that effect. In the moment the shell scatters, [Explosion] will activate and cause the pellets the shell isposed of to travel at a faster and stronger rate."
Thats interesting, I thought. Like so, the shell would be elerated only after it had been fired so, despite increasing the shells firepower many times over, it would have no impact on the guns barrel and would thus not increase the recoil.
"Amazing! Like this, Kuina will be more powerful."
"But Kuina, if you apply too much of your magic power to gun all at once, it will break. So you need to gauge it. Ill help you practiceter."
"El-chan, youre the best!"
Kuina tried to hug Elder Dwarf once more but it would seem Elder Dwarf had learned so she held out her right hand and ced it on Kuinas forehead to stop her.
Kuina pped and swung both of her hands in protest for a while but gave up in the end and separated, disappointment visible in her face.
"There is no need to hug me; this is my job. Now then, Elf. I have alsopleted your anti-materiel rifle. Here it is, the Durandal EDAM-01."
Elder Dwarf opened the other case and stored there was therge high-powered rifle whose purpose was to shoot even through armored vehicles.
However, it was different from ordinary anti-materiel rifles which were known to have long gun barrels as this rifle only had about half of that length.
"There are three main points where this rifle is improved. First, is that the gun barrel is only half of its usual length, allowing better maneuverability as well as making the gun lighter. In that regard, the bullets fired will follow a less straight trajectory, have less closed space to traverse, have less time to burn, and have less firepower. But then, that is where your virtual barrel made of windes in."
"That works. I have always been using the virtual barrel from the start so having a shorter barrel isnt an issue."
It was a feat only Ancient Elf could aplish. Even the High Elves couldnt do as much since theycked the same mastery over wind to fully realize a gun barrel.
"I thought as much given that its Elf. The second point for improvement focuses on improving the guns strength and durability by simplifying its recoil mechanism. So be prepared for the recoil. In addition, I have further increased its strength while also making it lighter by changing the materials the rifle is made of with the same alloy of rare metals as that of Kuinas shotgun. Its bullets too are now the same mithril bullets which have more than twice the power of an ordinary bullet. If you couple all that with the simplified recoil mechanism, expect extreme recoil so once again, be prepared for it."
If a human were to fire off such a rifle, it would result either in the rifle flying off or, in an attempt to hold down the rifle with his body, his bones being broken by it.
"This too isnt much of an issue. I negate the recoil with my wind cushion, anyway. ...so far, weve only talked about the gun itself, havent we?"
"Mhm,pletely about the guns mechanisms. Ive also enchanted it with [Rotation] and [eleration]. By putting some of your magic power into it, the bullets will rotate and traverse at a very high speed. It will travel in a straighter trajectory and have a higher piercing capability."
Those were simple but great enchantments. And precisely because they were simple, it was possible to apply two of them.
For the sniper Ancient Elf, there was no better gun. It was so not just because Elder Dwarf had the skills to be a master cksmith, a genius one at that, but also because she was able to pay careful attention to the abilities and personalities of herpanions thus enabling her to make weapons that perfectly matched their owners.
And through it all, she never became conceited. That, without a doubt, was one of her best qualities.
"Elf-chan, Kuina wants to try out the new shotgun right away!"
"Me too! I want to know just how much this little one has grown!"
The two, in their excitement, struggled for breath.
"Master, I feel the same as these two. Id like to go to the [Crimson Cavern] to test their new weapons and to also level up our newpanions. May we?"
"Why, thats a great idea. Shall we go, everyone?"
"Lets go!"
"Roger, master."
"Im looking forward to it!"
And like that, we decided to go to the [Crimson Cavern] along with our newest members, the newly created Dwarf Smiths and High Elves.
I had also decided on one other thing. I wanted to reward her for her major contributions to building the city, to improving our fighting force, and for whatever else.
When the might of the new weapons are disyed in our uing hunt, I would give Elder Dwarf the thing she most desires.
"Master, why are you looking at my face like that? Is something wrong?"
"Nothing... but now that I think about it, has there been no improvement in the development of your own weapon?"
"Ive just finished a prototype but I still cant show it yet. Once I do though, Im sure master will be astonished. I may be weaker than Kuina or Elf for now... but after Ive finished it, Ill be equal if not stronger than them."
Elder Dwarf smiled from ear to ear as she dered so.
Her innocent face was so cute, I absent-mindedly brushed head.
Volume 2 19
Chapter 19: Rorono
The [Crimson Cavern]; the dungeon without a Demon Lord.
With its Demon Lord now gone, the core kept on making monsters on its own. Furthermore, the [Maelstroms] that were in ce from when the Demon Lord was still alive also continued to gush forth new monsters each day.
Originally, it was a dungeon ruled by the [me] Demon Lord and as such, most if not all of it were volcanic areas. There were many monsters made of [me] too.
Each day, a fixed amount of monsters were being made so we were using it as a convenient hunting ground.
"Id like to also make a [Maelstrom]."
"Oto-san, whats wrong?"
"No, its nothing."
By paying a hundred times that of the price of a monster one could buy with DP, one could purchase a [Maelstrom] which was able to gush forth that monster each day.
Demon Lordsother than myselfcould only synthesize monsters of up to A rank. That meant that they could only buy monsters two ranks below A rank, or in other words C rank monsters of that lineage. But since I could make S rank monsters, I was able to buy even B rank monsters with DP.
Having one new B rank monster each day was a great boon.
After all, B rank monstersmonsters that originally could only be made through synthesis were such powerful monsters that they served as the main force of most Demon Lords.
However, as my fighting force was still not yet ready, it was far more preferable to have a hundred monsters right away than to save up for a [Maelstrom]. I guessed I wont have one anytime soon.
"Please be careful. An enemy is approaching."
Ancient Elf informed us so.
She had attuned herself with the wind here and was therefore able to perceive the state of things wherever there was wind.
This was perhaps the best radar above ground.
"Elf-chan, please tell us detailed information about the enemy."
"Okay. Its an armadillo type monster covered in hard scales."
"Ahh, that one. I know it. Leave this one to Kuina."
We had been going in and out of this dungeon a considerable amount of times so we had understood the kind of monsters that were spawning.
"Kuina-chan, it will be here soon. Please ready yourself."
Around thirty seconds after Ancient Elf warned her so, the enemy arrived.
Its appearance was that of an armadillo except for the metallic glow emitting from its back and the spikes littered all over it.
It was a C rank monster. An Iron Armadillo.
As it name would suggest, its back was covered in steel and had high defense.
"Just the right thing to test my shotgun on."
Said Kuina, smiling.
The Iron Armadillo rolled itself into a ball and then rolled forward.
In all regards, it was the bane of gun users.
On top of it being absolutely tough, the countless spikes on its back had the effect of deflecting bullets.
But Kuina, against such an enemy, dove right in.
Her silver shotgun, the Curtana, then shone red, a clear indicator she was pouring magic power into it.
She pulled the trigger and a thunderous sound shook the air. Her shotgun made use of the high powered 4 gauge shells hence that sound. However, there was another sound that soon followed.
Due to the enchantment Elder Dwarf ced on the gun, whenever a shell was going burst into countless pellets, [Explosion] was also set to activate which would elerate the pellets and thus further increasing their destructiveness.
The countless pellets pierced through the tough metallic carapace and came into contact with the enemys flesh, further drilling into its body.
"Amazing! Its more than what I imagined! This gun is the best! Even shotshells can prate like that!"
Kuina spoke with delight obvious in her voice, happy to have that much power in her gun.
"Im d you liked it. For now, try out the full-auto mode."
"Okay! If I had this gun firing slugs fully automatically before, during our hard fight with the wind dragon, I think I could have beaten it a somewhat easier manner."
It really did seem so.
Afterwards, Kuina had beaten about three enemies and her tests were thus concluded. When she tried to shoot her shotgun fully automatically, it did as was expected and didnt broke down. Kuina was so happy, she kept swinging her tail.
"Then, next is my turn."
Kuina finished her test firing so now it was Ancient Elfs turn to do so.
We exited the cave area and proceeded to an area sprawling withva.
Withva burning all around us, it was extremely hot.
It was an extremely dangerous area wherein if one failed to step on the narrow footholds, they would be plunged headfirst into theva.
"Well then, Im off. Please wait there, everyone."
Ancient Elf said so as she jumped in the air and flew.
Theck of footholds was not an issue for her.
Still, I worried. I worried because somewhere here, enemy monsters were lurking. Specifically the rock-skinned giant snakes swimming in the sea ofva. They rarelye out of theva so we generally tend to avoid them.
However, Ancient Elf said to leave it to her.
Did she have some kind of n, I wondered.
She hovered in the air and aimed the anti-materiel rifle that Elder Dwarf masterfully made, the Durandal EDAM-01, toward the ground.
She must have been looking for her prey, I thought.
"But that cant be... is she nning to shoot them through the water?"
As if to answer my question, Ancient Elf pulled the trigger. Even I who had far better kic vision whenpared to a human couldnt keep up with the extremely fast bullet her gun fired off whereas before this, I was still somehow able to see it in motion. Its initial velocity had clearly increased. The mithril bullet must have synergized with [eleration], the first of the two enchantments ced on Durandal.
Theva where the fired off bullet struck formed a swirl, probably the effect of the second enchantment: [Rotation].
Theva then rose and exploded, the sounds of it following momentster.
And then, some moments moreter, the corpse of a giant snake floated on the surface of theva, its head clearly blown off. It must have been an instant death, I thought.
The bullets power should have beenrgely attenuated byva and yet it still had enough to go through the giant snakes head.
Most likely, the [eleration] and [Rotation] enchantments were responsible for that. The bullet, by travelling at such a high speed and having that much torque, was able to maintain its straight trajectory despite pushing its way through theva and was even able to hit its mark. Furthermore, that rotation gave it so much destructive force that the bullet didnt just pierce through the snake, it gouged and shredded its flesh.
For Ancient Elf who possessed the [Shooter of Magical Projectiles]which enhances the uracy and power of long range weaponssuch a rifle made her all the more powerful.
I dont know if it was simply because she wasnt satisfied with just one prey but she rapid-fired at different targets as she moved through the air just like an acrobat.
There in the sky was a highly lethal and highly mobile artillery battery. Such was Ancient Elf. She was already far more than a single soldier; she was a so-called tactical weapon.
And then, one by one, the corpses of giant snakes floated over theva. Maybe it was because we avoided the giant snakesfor we thought they were not worth the effortthat there were so many of them here.
We were dumbfounded as we watched Ancient Elfs sniping exhibition.
After some time, done with sweeping up the enemies, she triumphantly returned.
"El-chan, this guns the greatest! Its firepower has increased sooo much and since its so easy to wield, I can aim it at the next target right away. Plus its such a durable one so I can be rash and shoot it as much as I want!"
The trigger happy Ancient Elf said such as she pressed her new beloved gun to her cheeks as if to embrace it.
I knew how she felt. Anyone would be excited if they could have a high performing gun.
Elder Dwarf had magnificently prepared the best guns for Kuina and Ancient Elf.
"Im d you liked it. I was worried I overly customized it."
"Its the best and easiest to use gun for me! Thank you very much!"
I smiled as I watched the three. Kuina, Elder Dwarf, and Ancient Elf excitedly discussed the performance of the guns.
Elder Dwarf seemed proud and rightly so, for her guns were the best. Thus, I decided to give her the reward Ive thought of.
"Elder Dwarf, I have something I want to say to you."
"What is it, master?"
She asked as she tilted her incredibly cute head.
"You have been conducting yourself really well. You have made us our weapons and helped to improve our army. The golems youve made serve as both a substantial part of our fighting force as well as a part of the citys workforce. Even on the construction of the citys infrastructures, yours were thergest contributions. I dont intend on disregarding everybody elses contributions but such are what I believe as true."
Perhaps it was due to her being embarrassed so much but her face grew red. She then hung her head down so as to conceal it.
And as she was like that, Kuina and Ancient Elf talked to her.
"Kuina agrees! El-chan had worked the most!"
"Yeah, thats right, I think so too."
"...thats... not... it... I only did what I could..."
Elder Dwarf grew even more embarrassed as her white skin was dyedpletely red.
"And today, youve given Kuina and Ancient the best weapons for them. Of course, you may develop something even better someday but the fact still stands. And as such, I wish to give you something to show my recognition of your efforts."
"Master..."
"I want to grant you a name. I want to reward you who have worked more than anyone else; you who have helped the creation of the city more than anyone else; and you who have improved our forces more than anyone else. I want to reward you in hopes that you will make use of your new powers to further help my cause."
I dered so and smiled.
On her face, tears began to fall.
"Is it alright to be me?"
"There cant be anyone else. Rather, I want to ask you, Elder Dwarf: will you be willing to live on as one of my [Monsters of the Covenant]? To devote yourself as one of my generals?"
"That should not even be asked. Yes, with pleasure! I wish to serve you all my life, master."
"Then, from now on, you shall be known as Rorono!"
I named her after the best cksmith from the world in my memory.
"Thats my name... Rorono... It sounds good... I am Rorono... Rorono..."
Elder Dwarf, no, Rorono repeatedly said her name over and over again.
Her body was then wrapped with faint light, signifying that she received power from her Demon Lord as well as signifying that our fates were then forever intertwined.
As for me, I received deeper knowledge about her race and just like Celestial Foxes, Elder Dwarves still had much hidden potential.
"And now, you are also one of my [Monsters of the Covenant]"
"Mhm. I am masters."
Rorono proudly smiled. But soon hesitated in speaking:
"Ahm, master, now that I am your [Monster of the Covenant], I have something I wish. Is it alright for me to say it?"
"Of course."
"From time to time... let me call you Father. Kuina has always been calling you Oto-san and Im envious."
I absent-mindedly burst intoughter; what a silly thing to ask for.
"But of course you can, Rorono. From now on, call me Father as much as you want."
"Okay, Father! I will do my best now more than ever."
Her eyes shone as she looked at me. She was too cute; I absentmindedly hugged her.
Volume 2 20
Chapter 20: Promation of War
We ended our hunting session for the day and were setting out to return to our city of Avalon.
Kuinamerrily swinging her new weaponand Ancient Elf seemed satisfied that they were able to perform so well.
And even after the girls fought with all their might, their guns proved reliable and didnt show any sign of breaking down. Reliability is the utmost important thing to consider about guns; no matter how powerful a gun can be, it is worthless if it cant be used when you need it most.
"Master, Ill work even harder from now on."
On our trip back, Elder Dwarf, rather, Rorono was adherently sticking close to me as we walked.
I noticed she reverted back to calling me master. She did say she was only going to call me Father from time to time so maybe that meant it was only going to be on special asions.
Kuina always had a sort of rivalry with Rorono and wouldpete to be the one to be close to me but this time, she was just quietly and joyfully watching us. She did prided herself as an elder sister so this was probably her being one and giving way to her younger sister.
"Im expecting much from you, Rorono."
"Mhm."
The moment I said Rorono,she smiled from ear to ear.
I then looked back to Ancient Elf who was walking about two steps behind me. She too was smiling.
She had worked hard as well so I wanted to also give her a name.
However, before I even had the chance to voice my thoughts, she went first.
"Master, dont worry about me. I still havent done enough to earn a name."
Really, why are all my monsters so obstinate?
Even though I thought each of them had done more than enough...
"Alright, Ill give it to you at ater time."
I figured she would at least ept my intention of naming her.
"Yes, Ill look forward to it. Ill do my utmost to be worthy of being named."
With the way things were going, the day I would grant her a name didnt seem far.
Truth be told, I already had an appropriate name for her.
We had returned to the transfer array at our home.
"Master, I have work to do so see youter."
"Me too, to grow more apple trees. Pretty soon, the demand will outweigh our supplies."
Rorono and Ancient Elf quickly returned to their own duties.
I then remembered that soon a full month would have passed since Ist made a [Creation] original medal and would thus soon be able to make another.
I have to carefully choose which monster Im going to create next, I thought.
It seemed like I already had enough monsters that could help around with the administration of the city so a monster focused purely on battles was what I wanted this time around.
Kuina and I then read the proposal that came from the people at the Curtrude tradingpany regarding the citys administrative policies.
"Oto-san, youre making a scary face."
"No, its just that I didnt think the humans would show their greed so soon."
Perhaps it was because I was being too generous but their proposals had been rapidly bing more and more demanding. I wondered: are they under the misguided thought that they were the rulers of this city?
By my guess, the tradingpanies would eventually tell the country about the particrs of this city and assist on the citys requisition. They would then coborate with arge amount of soldiers and adventurers and try to drive me and my monsters out of the city to im it for their own.
Well, if at least that much did happen, they would soon realize the cost of their folly.
I figured it would take the country at least a half of a year to determine they would indeed attack my city, collect the necessary funds, recruit and train the soldiers for their cause, formte a stratagem, and then finally mobilize. If so, then I had more than enough time to build my fighting force and have a n of my own.
"I guess I have to subtly warn them. Geez, if only they observed what is right and proper, all would be happy."
Oh well, even if it did happen, it wont be anytime soon.
Thus, I put an X on the documents.
"Ah, Oto-san, I feel magic power from that letter!"
Among the bunch of documents, it was another letter addressed to me.
Recently, petitions from the city Eba and those surrounding it had arrived. These petitions requested the exportation of the apple seeds and the dwarf-made weapons. In addition to these petitions, many were also asking to buy the golems.
Of course, I had turned all these requests down politely.
Since there were many merchants looking to directly buy our products inrge bulks, I implemented a policy that, for items like the swords, we would sell only one of such per person.
The smart Mythological Foxes had good memory so they knew whom to not sell the swords again. Even resale merchants would find it hard to procure many swords at once since they had to buy each sword from a different person, thus forcing them to stay in this city which was beneficial to me.
"It seems to be from a Demon Lord from the same generation as I am in."
I found it quite amusing that to send a letter, a Demon Lord would make use of the samemunicationworks used by the humans.
I read the letter and it said that the other party wanted to meet face to face and that if I was interested in the said meeting, I should go to a certain caf in Eba on the specified date.
It was tedious but such couldnt be helped. After all, us new Demon Lords had a rule that forbade us from harming one another other than when both parties were at [War]. As an exception to this rule, if a Demon Lord were to somehow creep himself into ones dungeon, the dungeon owner was allowed to one-sidedly attack the intruder as a form of self-defense.
So in short, if Demon Lords wanted to have a peaceful conversation, somewhere outside of both of their dungeons was preferable.
"Oto-san, what will you do?"
"Ill go."
"But its dangerous. That Demon Lord might dere war on you."
Once a deration of [War] was made, [War] couldnt be refused.
There was also rule that stated both Demon Lords had to be facing each other when dering [War] so if one were to lock himself within his own dungeon, extremely speaking, he could kill his would-be-[War]-opponent Demon Lord assuming that Demon Lord came into the dungeon.
Furthermore, even if the deration of [War] was sessfully made, by killing the enemy Demon Lord before he left the dungeon, it would be considered a victory even before the [War] has officially started.
"Its alright. Even if it turns out to be like that, I dont think its such a bad thing. After all, I am required to be in a [War] within a years time. So I should not pass up the chance to be safely in one."
I was sure I was invited for something like that.
The other Demon Lord had most probably done his own preparations for a [War] but I didnt fear losing for I believed in my subordinates.
Besides, I was sure I had the best DP ie among the new Demon Lords. So long as it was through standard means, I seriously doubted newly made dungeons could make as much in this short amount of time.
"Alright but if they do intend to fight, I have a good finishing move thought up!"
The mention of finishing move got me worried but Kuina was always serious when fighting so it should be fine.
"Now then, I wonder just what the heck kind of talk this will turn out to be."
As I continued to go through the paperwork for the administration of the city, my thoughts unconsciously wandered toward my meeting with the other Demon Lord.
Volume 2 21
Chapter 21: Private Talks
Morning came. This day was the day of my meeting with the other new Demon Lord.
Lying on my bed, I opened my eyes and felt something warm on both my arms.
"...Oto-san, another cup..."
"...Master, brush my head..."
Hugging my right arm was the fox-eared beautiful girl Kuina and purring softly as she embraced my left arm was the silver-haired dwarf Rorono.
Both were wearing thin nightwears.
Kuina wasnt just coiled in my right arm, her tail was wrapping around my leg too. It had such a soft feel to it.
I was using a king-sized bed so sleeping together with everyone was no bother.
The girls, soft and good smelling, were the worlds best hug pillows. I who was riddled with numerous worries was healed.
Ancient Elf was sleeping peacefully besides Kuina, by the way. Our sleeping arrangement each night was decided by way of rotation. Each night, the ones on my sides would change and it was only by chance that it was the two today.
I looked at my beloved girls sleeping faces and gentlyso as to not wake thembrushed their heads. I once more I thought that I had to protect these girls and their happiness.
After eating breakfast, we made use of a pair of transfer arrays to go to an abandoned house in the slums of Eba city. Humans rarely came here so I figured that it was safe toy down a transfer array here. After all, it was convenient in various ways to be able to directly move to the city.
"Kuina, you dont have to be so vignt like that."
"No, today, Kuina is Oto-sans guard and I cant let my guard down. Even if the Demon Lords and their followers are forbidden to hurt one another, therere a countless loopholes to that!"
What she said was certainly true.
For example, one could summon wild and rabid monsters and just relinquish his control over it. By doing so, those monsters were no longer treated as his followers and even if those same monsters ran amok and fought an enemy Demon Lord, the Demon Lord that summoned them would not be at fault.
Additionally, one could hire powerful humans and make them attack the enemy.
I had just thought of it but evidently, there really were a lot of loopholes to the rule.
Truth be told, Rorono and Ancient Elf also wanted toe but I instead asked them to stay and take care of things while I was gone.
There was also the possibility that the other Demon Lords had something nned and thus I wanted to reserve the majority of my fighting force to the city. And of course, there was the fact that the girls had their own jobs to do.
I brought Kuina along since guarding me had been her role all along.
She was highly versatile: from doing intelligence gatheringby making use of [Transform]to head-on confrontations. Whenever going out of the city, Kuina was the best choice to act as my guard.
"Alright, Ill be relying on you then."
"Sure, I wont let themy even a finger on Oto-san!"
Thus, Kuina became even more pumped.
I smiled at her and then proceeded to head to the caf that was the designated meeting ce.
With the aroma of good coffee drifting through the air, the specified caf seemed like an extremely high-ss store despite coffee being a luxury in this city.
When I approached, a light-brown-haired young man on a terrace seat waved his hand.
He fashioned a stylish jacket from which I could feel magic power simr to my Demon Lord clothes, convincing me beyond doubt that this man was the Demon Lord that invited me here.
Nevertheless, he certainly had adapted to the city. I had heard from Marcho that there were many Demon Lords that were fond of indulging themselves in amusement mainly intended for humans but he blending right in in the city must be a special case altogether.
"Hey, d you came. Im the [Steel] Demon Lord, Zagan."
"Im the [Creation] Demon Lord, Procell. May I ask why youve invited me here?"
Unintentionally, I didnt have the chance to make his acquaintance on the [Evening Party] so we first introduced ourselves.
ording to the intelligence I had gathered, I had a rough idea on the ranks of the medals of the Demon Lords in my generation and I knew that his [Steel] was a B rank medal.
In a straightforward fight, there was little to no chance for me to lose against him.
"We met for only one purpose: to discuss [War]. Let me say this beforehand though: I am allied with two other Demon Lords. In short, the three of us are ready to [War]."
Is this the source of his confidence, I thought.
If they were to challenge me despite knowing of my strength based on the exhibition on the [Evening Party], they needed to at least be this prepared.
"I see."
"Youre not surprised?"
"I have anticipated this much. So, did youe here today to use your superior numbers as a shield from me? Or do the three of you perhaps intend to dere [War] on me here and now?"
For his sake, I hoped Zagan understood that if they were to indeed go to [War] against me, even if their alliance won, their losses would be too great.
Considering that, it was then fully understandable if he made use of the might of their alliance as a shield to avoid [War] altogether.
"Pfft, ahahahaha! You really are something. Such confidence despite it all. But then again, if you were disturbed by this, negotiations would have easily broken down."
[Steel] Demon Lord Zagan distorted his handsome face with a smile.
"[Creation] Demon Lord Procell, youre strong. So strong that even against three Demon Lords, you still feel like you have a chance to win. A chance, but not a certainty... on the contrary, dont you feel like the odds are stack against you? Anyway though, personally, if against you as the opponent, I need to be prepared to suffer some loss, something I would like to avoid if at all possible."
"I wonder. Well, let me just say that I think even against a single enemy, you can never truly be certain you will be the one to win."
I knew I mustnt let my pride get the better of me for I still had no idea where he would spring his trap.
"Thats a good mindset, isnt it? But what if I told you there is a sure way to gain victory?"
"And that is?"
I grew even more suspicious. He was talking to me as if I no longer was an enemy but rather an ally.
"The two I am allied with, I told them I should first talk to you and convince you to surrender. If in case you didnt ept, they will dere [War] on you immediately. Theyre prepared to transfer here at a moments notice. So just to be safe, will you surrender?"
Well, Ive expected as much from three people teaming up.
"I have no intention whatsoever."
"Seems about right. Then, my only choice now is to call the other two, isnt it? But then again... after the two had dered [War] on you, Im thinking I could dere [War] not on you but on the other two."
I was a little surprised but then, I understood what this guy was suggesting.
"It would be a two on two rather than a three on one, right? This way, theres hardly any chance for us to lose. After all, the other two are weaker than you... and I put together. Its all but certain. Also, like this, we both would be able to clear the condition to break the crystals of other Demon Lords. On top of not needing to participate in another [War], we can also gain new medals."
"But why would you do such a thing?"
"Because its much more profitable for me. We were afraid you, the strongest of our generation, would wage [War] on us so thats why we came up with this n but even if the three of us did defeat you, only one of us will be able to break your crystal. The other two will still have to go to war."
I wasnt aware of that rule. I knew only of when the victory conditions, like breaking the crystal, were met. If it truly were so, then his words made sense.
"Rather than fight a formidable enemy such as yourself wherein I would undoubtedly lose numerous monsters, I would much prefer to ally with you and defeat a weak enemy. Even you must see that this is much, much better than fighting us three. As a precaution for me though, I would like you to promise that you will not go to [War] against me, at least for a duration of a year."
Such was [Steel] Demon Lord Zagans proposal. To be honest, I was surprised he went with a third option rather than the two I had thought up.
It was perfectly reasonable too. I had no doubts I would profit should I side with him.
Confident I would say yes to his proposal, Zagan kept smiling.
"I see, I get it. Then, [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan, about your proposal,"
Thinking of only the profits to be gained, I had no reason to refuse it but......
"I refuse."
I waspletely against it.
I didnt know if it was because he was so surprised but Zagan was wide-eyed.
He was surprised even though it was obvious there waspletely no way for me to ept his deal, all because of one ring detail he overlooked.
And so, I decided to begin the real negotiations.
Volume 2 22
Chapter 22: Irregr Rule
TL;DR note: Humans are also transferred at the start of a war. Read below for more.
The [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan was discussing with me his alliance with two other Demon Lords.
One of his offers involved him betraying his two allies and teaming up with me to then defeat the other two.
I of course turned down that offer. Zagan trembled and stood, separating himself from his earlier image of an aristocrat calmly enjoying his fine coffee.
"Are you a fool? Did you not understand anything Ive said? Dont you get it? This is the best option for you!"
"It certainly is not a bad deal."
If I fully cooperated with him and did everything as we discussed, victory was all but certain.
At the very least, it would be far easier than fighting three at once.
"Then, why!?"
It seemed strange he even had to ask but then again, it was strange for him to think I would ept such a deal to begin with.
"Its simple: how can I trust and cooperate with someone who has betrayed his own allies? How can I believe you wont stab me in the back just like you discarded them? No, at this point, you will undoubtedly do so. Theres even the chance this is all just part of an borate n you cooked up to trap me."
"How can I even be capable of such?"
"Its not so inconceivable. After all, youre doing it already."
His calm demeanor from his confidence that I would go along with his ns was now nowhere to be seen.
His n definitely gave more chances of sess but I wasnt so gullible that I would believe someone that would easily betray his allies. And besides, that wasnt my only reason for refusing.
"Another thing, isnt it more profitable to fight three Demon Lords at once?"
"What the heck are you talking about?"
"I mean, by doing so, dont I have a chance to gain three original medals? Oh how can I ever pass this chance up?"
I intentionally shed him a smug smile and said so as if to suggest they were prey I would naturally hunt.
He visibly trembled. I would guess that he assumed I would have been afraid of the notion of a three on one [War].
"Such arrogance, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell. You wille to regret that decision."
"Am I now? I think Ill regret it more to trust someone like you to guard my back."
He trembled once more and then raised his right hand and voiced the next words out loud:
"Come! Ronove! Morax!"
When he said so, a transfer array appeared on the ground. That transfer array must have been concealed with some kind of power.
And what appeared out of the array were two Demon Lords.
Ronove was a bipedal frog. He was an extremely unattractive man who stood nearly two meters tall and had boils all over his body.
Morax would have passed for a human man on the prime of his life except he looked fiendish, what with his demonic horns and wings.
The two looked ready and even excited to announce their deration of [War] against me. It would seem what Zagan said about summoning these two after I refused his proposal for my surrender was true.
Zagan was just about to speak but I decided to cut in and put a damper on things.
"You two, [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan here just tried to sell the both of you out. He requested something like an alliance between the two of us and then fight the two of you together. He said that it will be easier for me to defeat two small fries rather than the three of you all together. Not to mention, he will certainly clear the one [War] quota if we allied."
Upon saying so, the two looked at Zagan and then at me.
A great alliance crumbling so easily.
But then, Zagan clicked his tongue and spoke.
"Dont be fooled! Its a trick to confuse us! I will never say those things! If we cant trust each other, our alliance would be meaningless and he will get exactly want he wants!"
Zagan shouted at the two but they only grew even more confused. I expected he would say something like that but my purpose for speaking was more about nting seeds of doubt so it didnt really matter if they believed me or not. In times I would need it most, I just had to drive a small wedge into their already fragile alliance.
"B-but t-that-"
"What are you mumbling about, Ronove? Youre acting like a half-wit. But then again, you cant do anything without me, now can you? So just shut up and listen to me."
"Hii! Okay, okay, I get it."
The two-legged frog curled his body down as if to hide.
Evidently that was the power bnce between the two.
"You too, Morax, do not be fooled by such tricks. We are allies!"
"......I guess youre right. Yes, Im sure its as you say, Zagan."
Hmm, this fiendish-looking demon is actually timid, huh.
Zagan was a small fry but strangely enough, he was of the crafty kind. And he chose Demon Lords he could easily manipte as his allies.
"Ronove, Morax, quickly! Lets dere war on him. Ill go first!"
Zagan forcibly pushed the idea, leaving them unable to fall back. It wasnt such a bad move.
"I, [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan, do hereby challenge [Creation] Demon Lord Procell to a [War]!"
"I-I, [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove, do hereby challenge [Creation] Demon Lord Procell to a [War]!"
"I, [Evil] Demon Lord Morax, would like to issue a challenge to [Creation] Demon Lord Procell to a [War]. Yes."
Zagan started it off and the derations of war came one after another.
Right after so, I heard a sound within my mind. That sound was the Creators voice. It was strange but I felt like I missed it.
<>
So this is what happens when war is dered, I thought.
The war could be started in as short as 48 hours after deration and Demon Lords that were dered [War] on must participate.
I still felt the connection with the Creator and thought it the right time to ask one thing.
"What are the victory conditions for a three on one? I get that I lose if I get killed or my crystal is broken but will I have to break all their crystals to win?"
I wanted to make sure.
If I could win by breaking just one crystal, that would make things a lot easier for me.
But then I heard the Creatorsughter within my head. That doesnt bode well.
<>
Wait a minute, did I hear that right?
"A time limit!? And the winner will be the team with most crystals? This is the first time Ive heard of this rule."
<>
It was an inevitable conclusion. Still, it wasnt what I anticipated.
I had toe up with a counter-measure but more importantly than that, I had to gather information.
I got hold of the fading presence of the Creator and asked him one more question.
"I would like to ask one more thing. When you ordered us to go to [War] within a year, was the purpose for us to really go to [War] or for us to break another new Demon Lords crystal?"
"Its thetter. You can break crystals even when not involved in a [War]."
Those words were thest words the Creator said before I could no longer feel his presence within my mind.
I had confirmed what I wanted to confirm. This information shall undoubtedly serve as a weapon.
Nheless though, this rule was almost too much.
"Fuhahaha, I could have never imagined there was this kind of trap for you, [Creation] Demon Lord."
[Steel] Demon Lord looked andughed at me mockingly.
It was only natural he would, given that this rule put his side in a great advantage.
The fact that there was a time limit of 24 hours and the fact that after said time limit, the side with the most number of crystals remaining would be victor meant that even if their side devoted themselves to defense and ignore offense altogether for 24 hours, they could still win.
They had three crystals to begin with so even if I had been able to break one, they would still win.
Defending a dungeon was easier than assaulting one. And I was outnumbered so the best thing for me to do was to lure them into my dungeon wherein I would have prepared an advantageous battlefield for my forces but, due to the time limit, that option was as good as sealed.
Thus I must take the risk and assault at least two dungeons.
However, if I were to mobilize enough troops for two dungeon conquests, I would not have enough to defend my own and will then be attacked by the third Demon Lord in the blink of an eye.
"Well, do make sure you do your best. While repenting for your arrogance, that is."
The three Demon Lords activated a transfer array and vanished.
Kuina who was beside me held my hand tightly.
"Oto-san, this rule is quite awful."
"It is, isnt it? Indeed, its unexpected."
In just 24 hours, I would have to endure the fierce attacks of three Demon Lords while also having to break at least two of their crystals that could only be found in the innermost part of their dungeons.
As I was pondering on my circumstance, Kuina looked at me and recing the worry on her face was a forced but cheering smile, an effort perhaps to encourage me.
"Dont worry, we will absolutely win. We will protect Oto-san and Avalon!"
Such powerful words were spoken by Kuina. I was pleased and brushed her head.
Her soft hair and fox ears felt great to touch.
"Ill be relying on you then, Kuina. Also, it seems youve got the wrong idea about something. I have no ounce of doubt about winning. Its just that with this rule, we might have to fight a little harder that what I thought."
"Wow, Oto-san, thats amazing!"
I expected total andplete victory but now, we had to take a little risk to win.
But then again, this might be a good opportunity for my monsters to experience things. It was better for them to feel tense once in a while.
Now then, time to modify my ns a little as I think up a strategy.
I returned to the dungeon and began to earnestly prepare for [War].
The citys poption had increased and the DP I could gain in a day was now close to 1,000 DP.
We were able to entrust most of the jobs to the humans so our own workload had lightened and we were able to go and hunt in the [Crimson Cavern]. We could gain as much as 1,000 DP this way.
Thanks to all that, I currently had 21,500 DP.
With this much, I should be able to do almost everything I was nning and the first on the list was...
"I have to make the third room on the underground dungeon."
The first floor was for the city and anything that could help it while the floors underneath it was a dungeon dedicated to protecting the crystal.
The first room of the dungeon proper was the same two-kilometer-long room that I used against [Wind] Demon Lord Sts and that had Mithril Golems equipped with heavy-machine guns guarding it.
The second room was the graveyard zone that housed the Undead army. It was a nightmarishbyrinth that was not only littered with countless traps but was also bombarded by the aerial units led by the Griffon.
And then, there was the third room that would be thest line of our defense.
With the rule in mind, I would have to mobilize Kuina, Rorono, and Ancient Elf as part of attacking forces so that our side could win.
And that left only the remaining units for defense. To make the defense sessful, I began making the third room. I had to borrow Rorono the Elder Dwarfs help to figure out the rooms specifics.
And then, I pondered about the insurance that I could depend on when things got dire.
My enemies were under a wrong assumption for there was a loophole that allowed a Demon Lord to have fighting forces beside himself and his monsters.
To arrive at this loophole, consider these three points:
If the rule that states every creature inside the dungeon except Demon Lords and monsters are transferred to a different ce at the start of war is put in another way, it can also mean that only Demon Lords and monsters remain within the dungeon at the start of the war.As soon as the [War] has begun, wounding other new Demon Lords and their monsters is allowed. Nowhere does it state that this applies only to the parties involved in the [War].Even if it wasnt their [War], if one broke a crystal, it could fulfill the requirement of going to [War] within a years time.
Given these three points, I was of the thought that the Creator intentionally made this loophole. If so, I was going to make use of it immediately.
We could win by ourselves but it was better to be prepared.
Owing that fellow wasnt didnt sit well with me but for the sake of my city and my beloved monsters, I didnt have such luxury.
"If they made an alliance of their own, why do they foolishly think I wont do the same?"
Thus, I wrote a letter with a certain friend in mind.
Note:
Sorry, Ive misread one of the rules of war stated in . Instead of all creatures except for humans and monsters..., it is in fact every human and every creature that is not a monster within the dungeon will be moved to a ce where time is stopped.
Volume 2 23
Chapter 23: Supporter
I was in my crystal room, the deepest part of the dungeon beneath Avalon. As I watched the holograms being projected, Rorono, the silver-haired Elder Dwarf, restlessly typed in environmental parameters.
To modify the dungeon, the Demon Lord book and the crystal were both needed. And the form of the interface to input the new information varied depending on the users perception of it. In her case, it was aputers keyboard.
"Master, I havepleted the basic design. Making the third room itself was no problem but to aplish masters n, we need more explosives."
"Ill make more materials via [Creation], then. The question now will be would we have enough by the due date?"
"Basing on the current rate of production... Mhm, well somehow just have enough by then. But are you sure? It seems so short-termed."
Elder Dwarf and I were discussing about the ns for the third room. To realize these ns, both of her knowledge and technical skills were needed.
I would make the materials using [Creation] and the Skeletons would untiringly assemble them intorge amounts of explosives. Some of these explosives were to be used by the griffons bombarding unit while some were to be ced in the third room.
"Its alright since were only concerned about efficiently annihting the enemy."
"Mhm. I understand. Also, it seems the traps are hard to detonate despite the window of opportunity to do so being quite short."
"It requires some strength, huh. Let the golems detonate them. Itll sacrifice the golems but they can be reced. Such cant be said about you guys."
For this war, unlike the exhibition I participated in, one wrong step and any which one of my monsters I love would die, never toe back.
All of them, Kuina, Rorono, Ancient Elf, and of course Wight, Griffon, the Mythological Foxes, the Dwarf Smiths, and the High Elves, were importantpanions. Companions Ive sharedughs and smiles with. I didnt want to lose a single one of them.
"Understood. I am pleased with masters feelings and as a [Monster of the Covenant], I will do my best so as to not disappoint Father."
With new found determination, she examined the once finished ns for the third floor and searched for ways to improve it.
Ever the reliable child.
At any rate, I hated the time the war would start. It was because the soonest I could make my [Creation] medal for this month was while the war was ongoing, or 10 hours after its start to be exact.
If I made the new monster to be able to grow, I wouldnt have enough time to level it up to the point it could serve as a part of my fighting force, even despite being an S rank.
On the other hand, making it to have a fixed level was wasteful.
Whatever it might be, I had to decide as soon as possible.
While we were in the middle of work, a blue bird perched itself on my shoulder.
This bird was [Wind] Demon Lord Stss monster. The one she uses to send letters to me.
"Ill be there soon. Please prepare some tea as you wait."
So it said.
I wondered if she even received the letter I sent her.
For her toe so soon, she really was a good person.
Rorono had finished her work on the n and we were chatting as we ate some sweets. But then, the outside grew noisy so I went out wondering what the cause could be.
As I stepped outside, I noticed the noisy adventurers looking up in the sky.
I looked at the sky myself and saw a gigantic Griffon approaching my house.
From the magic power I could sense to its size and color, I concluded it wasnt any ordinary Griffon but one at the top of its lineage.
When the gigantic griffonnded, a determined green-haired beautiful girl jumped off of its back and rushed her way to my direction.
Needless to say, the adventurers were dumbfounded.
Humans that could tame monsters and travel using those monsters were rare but nheless existed. However, for a human to tame an A rank monster such as this superior griffon, they had to be in the same ss as a hero. Thus, the adventurers surprise at her was justified.
"Here I am, Procell. Things have be really serious, havent they?"
"Thank you foring so soon. Weve got a lot to talk about so why dont we so inside?"
All around us were the adventurers and I didnt want any of them to hear our conversation where words like Demon Lord and War would undoubtedlye up a lot.
"Yeah, I guess so. Is this your house? Its quite grand, isnt it?"
"This is the house and city I boast. This way please."
And like so, I invited Sts inside and into a guest room.
As Iseated in the guest roomwas about to sip on the prepared ck tea, Sts voiced her many concerns.
"Procell, Ive read your letter and knew of your [War]. And with three people, nheless."
"Yes, thats so. Youve warned me beforehand of an alliance but I was still surprised to have three Demon Lords dere war on me."
I had guessed as much as two but three was wholly unexpected. Moreover, I would have never fathomed it would be a war with such a disadvantageous rule.
Evidently, I was still so na?ve.
"Im d you wrote to me. I was worried since the information about your war was transmitted to all Demon Lords, you know."
I nced up and kept my vision there. What she said sounded troublesome.
"Can it be that this war as well will be broadcasted?"
"It doesnt look like it but I expect the results would be announced."
"Okay, thats good."
After all, this war wasnt one I could refrain from using my aces so exposing my hand to all the Demon Lords was something I would like to avoid if possible.
"Do you believe you can win this war?"
"Yes, I do."
I fully believed so.
"Wow, you said that without a trace of hesitation though I guess thats just like you. Ahem... do you want to raise your chances of winning?"
Truth be told, Ive only written in the letter I had sent to her that I wanted to meet and talk about my present circumstances.
I intended to ask for her cooperation but I didnt expect for her to bring it up herself.
"Wait, are you offering to help me?"
"Exactly so. At the same time as the start of the [War], any creatures within the dungeon that is not a Demon Lord or a monster will be transferred to a ce where time is stopped. Conversely speaking, other Demon Lords and monsters not under the rule of a participating Demon Lord can stay within the dungeon during a [War]."
I had also found out that loophole.
Even if one couldnt directly participate in a war, they could still help out.
Furthermore, at the start of the [War], new Demon Lords and their monsters could attack one another without worry of repercussions.
However, ording to that wording, older Demon LordsDemon Lords other than the NEW Demon Lordswere still forbidden from harming us during the [War].
"Thank you for your offer of help. I was thinking of asking for it myself. But what kind ofpensation would you like in return?"
I frankly asked her so. I intended to give her something suitable for help.
"That will be unnecessary."
But [Wind] Demon Lord matter-of-factly replied so.
"Im thankful for that but will it not be a problem for you to gain nothing from risking your subordinates to danger?"
It was our responsibility as Demon Lords. Seeing as we were making our monsters sweat and bleed for us, getting some kind of reward out of a task was the least we could do.
"Im going to assist you in this war out of my own ego. Im going to be involved not as a Demon Lord who is inmand of an army of monsters but as a friend helping out a friend in need. So under such circumstances, I cant make my monsters go along with me. I will be the only one to help you this time."
"Im happy to hear that butand dont get me wrongbut what can you alone bring to table?"
"What are you saying? Have you already forgotten about my abilities? Besides, I have my own dungeon to defend so you can say the real reason for being alone is that I cant take too much of my fighting force from my dungeon."
I remembered the exhibition war we participated in before.
A skill unique to Sts, her [Wind]. And that skill wasposed of many varying skills.
Standing out among those skills were...
"Are you talking about your [Omnipresence]?"
"Yes, exactly. Im an army even by myself."
That was no exaggeration, only a statement of fact.
"Again, Im thankful for the help but why help me so much?"
Sts and I werepeting rivals to be the strongest among the new Demon Lords and me being defeated should have been in her best interest.
"You are my rival. For you to be defeated by anyone else is out of the question! ...Also, ahm, youre the first friend I ever had so of course Ill help."
What, a tsundere!? I almost said so out loud but thankfully managed to gulp it down.
"Understood. But still, I have to repay the favor youll be doing; epting charity, even from a friend, does not sit well with me. Thats it then, well be dealing not as Demon Lords but as doing one another favors. First, let me wee you to my city and provide to you the grandest amodations possible. Furthermore, I swear to you that I wille to your aid whenever you need it."
Upon hearing me, Sts thinly smiled. Such a grown up expression suited her.
"Youre so stubborn. But Im happy you said so. Ill be looking forward to you paying me back, then. Ill call on you if ever I got into trouble. I mean, we are friends, right? ...anyway, Im helping you out so you absolutely cant lose, okay?"
Sts gleefully yet awkwardly emphasized us being friends.
I found that way of talking amusing so I smiled.
"I have one request, though. I want my monsters to push themselves for this war. It might be dangerous but now is the perfect opportunity to try and find out about their hidden potentials so I have to do it like that. So that we may focus our efforts on that end, I ask you, [Wind] Demon Lord Sts, to stay within my crystal room and guard my crystal until the war is over."
I dered my request.
She was to be ourst line of defense. If at all possible, I would like to win without ever borrowing her strength.
Even though she was here to help me, letting her into my crystal room was still dangerous but I had enough confidence to think she would never betray me.
"Alright. So you really n to go all out on the three of them by yourself; as expected of my rival. That said, I wont forgive you if you show such a pitiful performance. "
"You can see everything going on within my dungeon if you stay at the crystal room so please evaluate my fight."
I got help from someone unexpected.
But with this, my chances of winning went up further.
Now, all that I needed to do was to steadily hasten my preparations.
Note: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundere. There is no simple English equivalent so I suggest you get familiar with the term if you havent already.
Volume 2 epilogue
Epilogue: Eve of the War
I was alone when I exited the city heads house and looked up in the sky. The moon made the night beautiful.
The city was different tonight than what it usually was.
The peace-keeping golems that were usually scattered all over the city were nowhere to be found.
It wasnt just the golems within the city, even the golems digging 24 hours a day were relieved of their duties. All of them were now assigned to defensive duties in the dungeon.
Even though it was currently the night, the adventurers within the city were still strolling about.
Bars, brothels and other such entertainment facilities were now in abundance within Avalon. It was not umon for the adventurersstill having enough strength after a hard days workto visit these facilities one after another all night long.
Interestingly enough, upon the building of such facilities, there was an increase to my DP ie which seemed as though the humans became more emotional. If it really was so, I wanted us to someday build some of these facilities and thus be able to directly influence the emotions of the human beings ourselves.
"Tomorrows finally the day, huh."
The grace period given for the war was over right away.
Thankfully, before it ended, we were able toplete the third floor of the dungeon proper.
Regarding the [Creation] original medal I would be able to make in the midst of war, I had decided which monster I wanted to create with it. However, if I were to make it be able to grow, I wouldnt have enough time to level up it up. On the other hand, if the monster had a static level, it would have a lower maximum level and also lower stats over-all.
Setting a hard-to-obtain S rank monster to have a static level would be wasteful.
As a solution to that dilemma, I had decided to just be prepared to synthesize at any moment. I would wait until the end of the war to create a monster that was able to level up unless we were driven into a corner, in which case the monster would have to be a static-leveled S rank monster.
"I have to win"
I uttered to no one but myself.
My chances of winning were good but my calctions were based only on the information I was able to gather; I couldnt help but feel there was some kind of trick I failed see.
"So you also make a face like that, huh, Procell."
With green hair swaying in the wind, the determined youngdy appeared.
She was my friend and rival, the [Wind] Demon Lord Sts.
She was in my city because she was willing to lend me aid. To prepare for the war tomorrow, I asked her to stay the night in the inn. She probably was feeling as I did and went out to calm herself too.
"Yeah, well, given the circumstances, anybody would be worried. Theres so much at stake for me."
There was no use bluffing so I told her what I truly felt.
Whenever I thought of losing Kuina and everybody else, I shook in fear.
As their Demon Lord, I couldnt allow myself to show such weakness in front of my subordinate monsters but I felt that with Sts, I could reveal a little of that weakness.
"Im a little relieved, actually."
"Relieved?"
"Yes, because I thought even Procell has a face like that. Youre just like me; just like any other Demon Lord."
I found her words amusing so I smiled wryly at her.
"Procell, there is no need to worry because I shall be your insurance. Ill be your guarantee that your crystal will not be broken, no matter what. So be at ease and rampage on the enemies dungeons."
"Thats reassuring but if at all possible, I would like to win without ever borrowing Stss power."
It was arranged that she would lie in wait within my crystal room and onlye into action after our n on the third room had failed. This arrangement was born out of my obstinacy and my faith on my monsters strength.
"I like it when you say things like that. You really are my rival."
"Im just doing my best not to disappoint."
"So, care to escort me there?"
"Yes, of course."
She had to be in the crystal room beforehand. I guided her there and with my privilege as the dungeons Demon Lord, left the room.
I had a lot of things that needed to be done.
The second room of the underground floor normally was the graveyard area that normally served as the residence of the Undead corps and the location of the bread and ordnance factories.
At the moment, all my monsters were lined up there.
First of all, there was the aforementioned Undead corps led by Wight. The Undead corps wasposed of the Skeletons and the monsters reanimated by Wight when we fought against [Wind] Demon Lord Sts and when he hunted in the [Crimson Cavern].
They were arge force exceeding a count of 100.
Considering their abilities as monsters, the Skeletons were awfully weak. However, by equipping the MK416, the assault rifles I made using [Creation], their offensive capabilities were improved.
Next was the Golem corps which wereposed of the golems made by Rorono and the Dwarf Smiths.
At a count of 80, they were second only to the Undead corps in terms of quantity.
Worthy of mention among them were the 12 Mithril Golems.
Each of them possessed strength that would rival a B rank monster. On top of that, they were equipped nicely for they wielded the Browling D2 Caliber .50, a beast capable of spewing out multiple rounds within a second, rounds usually used by anti-tank rifles. For a human, it was totally inconceivable to wield the heavy machinegun as though it was but an assault rifle and yet the Mithril Golems effortlessly did.
The other golems were given equipment that made best use of their overwhelming power. It was a slow but powerful corps.
And then, there was the aerial bombing corps that restlessly continued training ever since the founding of the city. This corps was led by the B rank Griffon. In addition to it, the corps wasposed of mixed monsters like the D rank Hippogriff.
Their role was to drop down bombsassembled by the Skeletons from the chemicals produced using my [Creation]from up in the sky.
Unless our enemies had some kind of countermeasure against aerial assaults prepared, this war could very well be a one-sided onught.
This corps was originally formed under the assumption that they would be used against human cities but they should still shine in this war.
Finally, there was the mixed units corps. It was an ensemble of B and C rank monsters born to have static levels. They were created using the imitation medals I mass produced using the excess points from my exhibition war with Sts. B rank monsters were what most ordinary Demon Lords synthesize and they were by no means weak.
These monsters were my main force. After them were the elite corps:
The two Mythological Foxes excelling in stealth, mobility, and even direct confrontations. They possessed the ability to control fire and to use [Transform].
The four Dwarf Smiths that look up to Rorono, the Elder Dwarf. They excelled at supporting the army through their earth magic as well as through their work at the workshop.
The four High Elves who admired Ancient Elf as their elder sister. They had the ability to manipte the wind as well as the ability to easily search for enemies. In conjunction with that, they could perform long-distance, high-impact shots using their anti-materiel rifles.
And, of course, the ones that I trust in most: my girls, Kuina, Rorono, and Ancient Elf.
An overwhelming army, such were my trusted monsters.
I now faced all of them as I stood atop a stage prepared beforehand.
"My beloved monsters, the time for war has finallye!"
Tension engulfed the area.
"This is unlike the war we had before, this is a true [War]. Should anyone fall, they wonte back this time. And if we lose the war, we lose everything."
In the war against Sts, all of our fallen monsters were brought back by the [Time] Demon Lords ability. This time however, there was no fail-safe. If my crystal was broken, everyone would vanish. And even if I win, everyone that perished would nevere back.
"I dont want to lose any single one of you so dont die. I have prepared a strategy so that that goal may be fulfilled. Fully use your powers and grab victory, those are my orders!"
I looked at each one of them and saw not dread but the determination in their eyes.
Telling them not to die probably disqualified me as a Demon Lord. Originally, a Demon Lord used monsters to lure humans in or work them hard for whatever purpose he sees fit, not to empathize with them. But such notions didnt sit well with me. The girls who I thought of as my daughters were of course important to me. But it wasnt just them, Wight whom I trusted and relied on as well as the Mythological Foxes, Dwarf Smiths, and High Elves whom I talked andughed with many times were important to me too.
I was thankful to the bread-making Skeletons. While the Griffon made me feel safe each time I rode on its back.
Everyone gathered here was an importantpanion of mine.
"I will now ry to each of you our strategy to survive and win this war. You will be divided into three main groups. The first group will beposed of Kuina, Rorono, two of the High Elves, and the highly mobile monsters from the mixed corps. Kuina will head this group. The groups goal will be to destroy the crystal of the [Viscosity] Demon Lord. You will immediatelyunch an assault against his dungeon right from the start of the war. Once you have broken his crystal, immediately return to our dungeon and aid in its defense."
This group was very likely to seed. Kuina and Rorono were both S rank monsters; the High Elves were excellent scouts; and the B and C rank monsters wereparable to the elites of the enemies forces.
"Understood, Oto-san. Well crush the small fries and return right away!"
"Yes, please do. Once you break his crystal, we will have one less enemy so how quickly you do it will be a very important factor in this war."
After the time limit for this war had expired, the victor would be decided by the number of remaining crystals.
Our enemies could win by just focusing on defense. This leaves us no other choice but to be on the offensive. And if we were doing so, we were going to do it with our strongest and fastest units.
This would also serve as part of our defense. [Viscosity] seemed weak-kneed to me so if we attacked his dungeon, he might recall the troops he sent to attack and repurpose them for his own defense. Not to mention, once the first group had broken his crystal, all of his monsters would vanish.
"As for the second group, I will lead it. Our goal will be breaking the [Evil] Demon Lords crystal. Joining me will be Ancient Elf, the Mythological Foxes, two of the Dwarf smiths and half of the Griffon corps. Also, I will be putting the slow moving monsters of the mixed corps into my [Storage]."
Ancient Elf would provide us with firepower and reconnaissance while the Mythological Foxes would be her back up. I was also going to take along some of the Griffon corps that could bombard the enemies from the sky while the slow-moving monsters were to be transported via my [Storage] to counter-act against their slowness.
Unless our enemies could make A rank medals, I reckoned our chances of victory were pretty high.
"Ancient Elf, you winning against the enemys elites is the key to our operation. I will be relying on you."
"Leave it to me, my master. I wont lose to anyone."
She replied so, matter-of-factly.
It was no exaggeration either for she was a highly mobile fortress: flying swiftly in the air and shooting high-impact rounds from great distances. Even Kuina would have a hard fight against her.
"I believe you. Show me your true might, Ancient Elf."
I said so and smiled at her. I had decided that if she managed to defeat the enemys elites and break his crystal, I was going to name her.
"Finally, for the third group, I think you might have already guessed but your role will be to defend the city. Wight, I will leave you in charge of everything. You willmand all of the remaining monsters and defend Avalon. You will be fiercely attacked by three Demon Lords but their aces shouldnt be among those troops. I can only leave this task on you, my staff officer. Can you do it?"
Upon hearing my question, Wight respectfully nodded.
"My lord, with the Undead corps Im proud of; the resilient golem corps; the two Dwarf smiths that would direct the golems as though the golems were their own limbs; the two High Elves that would serve as our eyes and also give us countermeasures against air units; and the rest of the griffon corps; if we had this much, defending against third rate Demon Lords will be easy. We will show you that we can repel their forces without even using the trump card youve set up on thest room."
Geez, hes really reliable, I thought.
As he said, the forces I had prepared were more than enough but to be able to make full strategic use of it was up to themanders ability which Wight certainly had.
I did not tell my monsters about the Stss participation; I did not want them to feel too secure. All except for Wight, that is. The moment his group could no longer win with their strength alone and defeat was imminent, all of them were to retreat to the third room, make use of the contraption prepared there, and seek for Stss help.
This bitter decision was for Wight to make. His and his alone.
"To everyone that will stay here, upon my absence, Wight will have full authority. Treat his orders as though it was mine."
To that, my monsters nodded.
Wight shook with delight as he spoke.
"My lord, we will defend Avalon with our own strength even at the cost of our lives!"
What he said made me happy but he got something wrong.
"Wight, I am happy with your resolve but you are mistaken about something. I dont want to lose any single one of you. Win and live, that is mymand!"
A win without any sacrifice.
"Yes, as my lord wills!"
With that, our strategy meeting was over so there was only one thing left for me to say:
"Lets start the [War]. Our goal is to attainplete victory; for everyone to return andugh again. Now, to your positions!"
My beloved monsters hurriedly began to mobilize.
Now, lets go win this war.
This marks the end of the second volume. The light novel version of this volume wille out on 15th April. This will feature new chapters that I wont trante (not right away, anyway) so please support the Tsukiyo Rui-sensei and purchase a copy once ites out. I will post link once its out.
Volume 3 prologue
The war had finally begun.
Should I win, I would henceforth be able to permanently make the original medals of the defeated Demon Lords and also clear the quota of one war within the year that was imposed on us new Demon Lords. Not to mention, after this, I would be able to focus my undivided attention on developing my city and dungeon.
However, should I lose, my dungeon... my city of Avalon would be gone along with my important monsters.
Thanks to the Creators kindness, we would be able to rebuild our dungeon after a year but such couldnt be said about the monsters, they were gone for good.
Even if I could make another, it wont be Kuina and the others anymore. It would be someone else entirely.
We were preparing for war until this moment.
My monsters were now ready and deployed, each with their weapon in hand.
And then, the sun rose. At that moment, my entire body was enveloped with magic power. It was an indication that I was being transferred. I then thought that the Creator should be the only one capable of pulling such a feat.
After that, my consciousness faded.
When I came to, my surrounding was all white.
When I looked around, I saw my city of Avalon to my back and three dungeons to my front.
Starting from the left, these dungeons seemed like: a stylish stronghold; a tower with a suspicious atmosphere about it; and a limestone cave that smelled of saltwater.
I was certain these dungeons belonged to the three Demon Lords I was at war with this time.
If the rules from thest war applied to this one, this white space should serve as our staging ground against the enemys dungeon. However, under that same assumption, any action within this white space aimed to hurt or hinder the other party would be forbidden.
"Is that them?"
After several seconds, three Demon Lords in the same generation as me were transferred.
A gentleman-looking man wearing a jacket only worn by humans, [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan.
An unattractiverge man that looked like a bipedal frog, [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove.
A fiendish-looking man with the horns and wings of a demon, [Evil] Demon Lord Morax.
Representing them, Zagan walked toward me and spoke.
"I was growing tired of waiting for this day. Sumb to despair knowing youve lost everything you have as you regret turning down my offer."
Zagan seemed like he was under the assumption that he would outright win.
It was understandable though since their side were the three on our three-on-one.
In addition to that, there was the time limit of 24 hours for this war. After that time limit had passed, the side with the most crystals would win.
Unless I make it pass their defense and break their crystal, they would win.
It didnt help that I had to spread my overwhelmingly fewer fighting force into both offense and defense against enemies that were fortifying their own defense.
Furthermore, the moment I attack and therefore have lesser troops on defense, the Demon Lords whose dungeons I didnt attack would attack me as well.
For that reason, I had decided to attack two dungeons at once with immense speed. Spreading my troops further might seem like an inane n but attacking with my best troops would make it work. There was also the point that by attacking two dungeons, their offensive actions would lighten.
It was a tactic that I could do precisely because I had three S rank monsters.
"Why would I regret anything? After all, by the end of this war, aside from fulfilling my war quota, I stand to gain three original medals. I cant stop myself from smiling, if anything."
I intentionally acted smug and said so.
"Tsk, nice bluff. Theres no way the three of us would lose. We know about your tactics and weak points. Youre a fool to show your power in your exhibition!"
With that, I was convinced. Convinced that though he acted like someone smart, he was nothing but an idiot.
"Oh, that is most impressive. But then, arent you the fool for openly saying you know about your opponents weak points and have measures against them?"
As I said so, Zagan burned red.
He was a fool, yes, but I was seriously outnumbered and that worried me so I thought it would be good if I could unsettle him even by just a little but I didnt imagine it would have this much of an effect on him.
Still though, him proudly announcing he had countermeasures nned, I wondered didnt he stop and think even for a second that I had taken that under consideration and had measures to counter his own counters as was natural?
<>
I heard the Creators voice in my mind informing me that the war will begin in an hour.
As I had guessed, the rules were mostly the same as thest time.
My three opponents hurriedly retreated to their respective dungeons. A Demon Lords life was important since dying would obviously equate to them losing. Thus, retreating to ones own dungeon would be the safest bet. If I had the numbers, I would also want to do that. However, being as outnumbered as I was,zing about was something I could not afford to do.
We Demon Lords grow stronger by receiving some strength from our [Monsters of the Covenant]. I who had given names to two S ranksKuina the Celestial Fox and Rorono the Elder Dwarfwas as strong as any other S rank monster and was also able to use a fraction of the girls powers[1].
Furthermore, Demon Lords had the ability to use [Storage]. This ability allowed me to store up to 10 monsters in a different dimension and bring those monsters wherever I went. With this, I could pull off a stunt like releasing my slow but powerful monsters in the middle of the enemys stronghold.
So for those reasons, I was going to set out to conquer my enemys dungeon instead of being safe within my own.
All that said, I had to go back to my crystal room for the moment.
There were still a lot of important things that needed doing.
I made use of my privilege as the dungeons Demon Lord and transferred to the crystal room. When I arrived, Sts was busy watching the going-ons within the dungeon through the screen being projected by the crystal.
"So itll begin soon, huh? Did youe to do some final preparations?"
She was myst line of defense and as such, she was standing by at the crystal room.
Should ite to the point that even this room was about to attacked, we had agreed that she would fight to defend my crystal.
She was but a single person but with her ability, she was worth an army.
"Yes, something like that. After all, I have to protect the city we worked so hard for."
The first floor of my dungeon contained my city while the floor beneath it served as the dungeon proper designed to annihte any and all intruders.
If left as it was, the city we worked so hard to build and develop would be destroyed.
"[I Shall Compose]"
I recited the words of power and took out a book.
And then, by using [Floor Swap], exchanged the city floor and the dungeon proper.
Moreover, I changed the outer appearance of the dungeon into the cheapest and most standard: a cave.
From being a city filled with lush greenery, my dungeon within the white space became an unimpressive cave.
And thus, the city was protected. That was, of course, unless the enemy had somehow managed to get pass the dungeon proper.
"The humans truly did vanish, huh."
"I know, right? I heard it before but Im still surprised."
As was exined to us beforehand, the humans, the animals they raise, and even the wild creatures in the city were gone.
When the participating dungeons were connected at the start of a war, all creatures except Demon Lords and monsters within the dungeons were to be transferred to a ce where time was stopped.
Moreover, time in this white space flowed much faster than it did normally in the world. Even if a day had passed here, not even ten seconds would have passed in the normal world. The humans would not even know that a war took ce.
I who ran a city found this set up to be extremely helpful.
The Floor Swap wasplete so next was to mobilize the units for dungeon conquest.
I should move my attacking troops outside of the dungeon before the actual start of the war unless I wanted the enemy monsters to clog up the entrance of my dungeon and effectively block my troops froming out. But then again, if my troops went outside too soon, my enemies would catch wind of my ns.
Topromise, I had decided to just position my troops very near the entrance wherein they would be able to go out as soon as the fighting starts.
"But it is frustrating to not be able to ce a transfer array on that white space, isnt it?"
"Is that so? Thanks for telling me."
Even with the help of a monster that could use [Transfer], transferring outside ones own dungeon could only be done by jumping from one transfer array to another.
I was of the thought that if there was an array somewhere in the white space, I could freely send out some of my monsters to perform a pincer maneuver on the attacking enemies.
"But then, I can just make an array as long as I am inside the enemys dungeon."
The crow monster that the [Time] Demon Lord had provided me could use [Transfer] so I was going to bring it with me.
I had already prepared an array on my dungeon and as soon as I have broken an enemys crystal, I intended to transfer back.
"And thatpletes my final preparations. Im off, Sts."
"Good luck. Ill watch your dungeon defense from here and studiously analyze your every tactic."
Said Sts as she made a mischievous smile.
I was hesitant but it was the least I could do for her.
"Yeah, sure, but do keep in mind that my dungeon will have changed a vast amount next time so there really is no point of knowing my dungeon as it currently is."
She smiled and for a moment, I thought she looked amazed.
And now, to transfer to out.
[1]Im going to leave this vague for now. It says that demon lords can use the abilities of their named monsters. Id rather wait until he can use a skill of theirs himself.
Volume 3 1
The next area I jumped off to was the cemetery area.
There, Wight was busy finalizing the defensive troops deployment.
Beside him were the Dwarf Smiths and High Elves that were to be left behind to help in our defense.
He was conversing with the Dwarf Smiths when I arrived. The Dwarf Smiths were the ones controlling the golems and as such, being on the same page with them was important.
When he noticed me, he concluded their conversation and ran up to me.
"My lord, how nice of you toe."
"Are your preparations in order?"
"Yes, my lord. We will be somehow able to pull off the strategy you came up with."
"Thats good news... Wight, Im sorry for asking you aplish this unreasonable role."
For this war, the one with the greatest responsibility was him: to endure the fierce assaults of the three Demon Lords. We had set up some tricks and traps to counter our inferior numbers but those required mastery and nerves of steel to implement fully.
"Im d to have been entrusted with such an important task by you, my lord. I am not as strong as Kuina-sama and the others and yet youve recognized my intellectual prowess to be worthy. I truly am a monster luckier than I am due."
The same as ever, Wight said some pretty pleasant things.
"Ah, I have such a good follower, thats what I think whenever I see you."
"I should be the one saying so, my lord. I take pride in serving you."
As he replied so, I noticed him acting a little hesitant about something, as though he couldnt say whatever it is he wanted to say.
"If you want to say something, you may freely do so."
".........Can I make a shameless request?"
"Go ahead."
"If we get through this ordeal, I would like to ask for a reward."
It was unusual for him to say something like this himself. It pleased me though to know that he had such a side to him.
"What is it you want? In deference to your undeniably good work thus far, I will grant whatever it is so long as its manageable."
"After this war is over, I was thinking of marrying Ske-san and I would like you to officiate it. There is no one I want to officiate it more than you, my lord."
For a moment, I was at a loss for words; I was too surprised. A marriage between two undead monsters of all things.
That said, I did think it was fantastic. There was no way I would say no to this.
"Okay, its a promise so you absolutely cant die, you hear me?"
"Yes, as my lordmands."
After I had checked and instructed some members of the defensive troops, I once again transferred to another location.
"Ah, Oto-san. The first toon haspleted all its preparations."
"The maintenance of the weapons for the first and second toon isplete, master. Were ready to go at any time."
My next destination was the entrance of my dungeon.
Here, the dungeon conquering troopsincluding Kuina and Rorono were gathered.
Each monster was properly equipped and motivated.
"Kuina, Im counting on you to lead the first toon well."
"Yes, leave it to Kuina!"
The first toon wasposed of Kuina and Rorono at its core, the two High Elves, and the 12 highly mobile monsters from the mixed unit corps.
Having high-rank monsters like Kuina and Rorono made this toon an elite one but it was due to the two High Elveswho were going to provide excellent reconnaissance as well as anti-air measuresthat the toon could fight without any reservations.
They would be led by Kuina. She might appear and act like a child but in truth, she possessed one of the sharpest and quickest minds among my monsters while also having an outstanding sensitivity to perceive danger.
She might not be suited to lead our entire fighting force due to herck of a greater perspective but as amander of a detachment being dispatched on a mission like this, there was none better.
"Okay, now, second toon, follow me."
I was the one to lead the second toon.
At its head was the S rank monster Ancient Elf. Performing high-precision, high-impact sniping with her improved anti-materiel rifle as she flew at very high speeds, there was no single individual that could match her prowess. No one except for Kuina that is, for as mighty as Ancient Elf was, her capabilities to annihte her enemies were still inferiorpared to Kuina. She was frailer than Kuina too.
Plus, on a ce where the ceiling was low, her mobility was greatly hampered.
To cover up for her weaknesses, there were the two mobile and destructive Mythological Foxes to guard her sides and the two Dwarf Smiths to support them.
Furthermore, to insure destructiveness, we were also going to take along half of the Griffons aerial bombardment corps as well as the six slow but powerful B and C rank monsters that remained from the mixed corps.
In terms of number, this toon might seem inferior to the first toon but in terms of overall fighting power, the two were roughly equal.
"Yes, we will follow master anywhere, even to the ends of the world!"
Said Ancient Elf before she smiled.
I had decided that if she could prove herself in this war, I was going to name her.
By doing so, I would havepleted my [Monsters of the Covenant] and I was excited for that.
"Okay, lets go over our strategy onest time."
Only five minutes remained until the fighting begins. I decided it was better for us to review our strategy just to be sure.
"Kuina, you will be taking the first toon and assault the limestone cave. That cave is probably the dungeon belonging to the [Viscosity] Demon Lord. Go in there and cause as much ruckus as possible."
"Yeah, were gonna blow things up. By drawing as much as attention as possible, we will be making Wights duties a little bit lighter. Oto-san, Ill show you what a Celestial Fox is capable of in a war."
It seemed my intention was properly transmitted.
The more they were able to force the enemy Demon Lord to focus on defense, the less his offense would be. The number of enemies Kuina and her toon would face would increase but with their speed, they would be able to outrun most enemies resulting in fewer battles.
"Ancient Elf, as soon as the war begins, we will be heading to the tower dungeon with full haste. I believe that belongs to the devil-looking [Evil] Demon Lord but it doesnt really matter if Im wrong. Dwarf Smiths, you two will be riding on the back of the griffon corps."
Ancient Elf nodded and the Dwarf Smiths prepared to ride the flying monsters.
With this, the slow-footedness of the Dwarf Smith would no longer be an issue.
"Now, everyone, to [War]!"
Right when I announced such, a voice resounded in my head.
<>
And thus, we flew out of our own dungeon.
For us to not lose, we had to conquer at least two dungeons as Wight held on. It was a race against time.
~From [Steel] Demon Lord Zagans point of view~
"Damn, that bastard, how dare he look down on me"
[Steel] Demon Lord Zagan had retreated back to his own crystal room and shouted thus.
It wasnt enough to calm his rage though so he pounded on the walls.
In his assumptions, [Creation] should have been cowering in fear but the enemy was calm and was even provoking him.
And with that, he was enraged.
"Damn, damn, damn, hes facing three Demon Lords and yet why does he act like he has the advantage? Why do I have to be mocked by that guy? Is it because I can only make B rank medals!?"
That had be a sore spot for the [Steel] Demon Lord. His high pride could not forgive the fact that he was inferior right from the moment he was born.
From the moment his parent told him that he would be able to create anothers original medal if he was somehow able to break that Demon Lords crystal, the thought had always been in his mind. So back when he proposed an alliance with [Wind] Demon Lord Sts, it wasnt only out of gaining a powerful ally but to also gain a chance of tricking her and snatching away her [Wind] medal.
But s, Sts turned down his offer. In his mind, it wasnt because she sensed his ill intentions but because she was falling in love for Procell.
Finding even his charms being outdone by Procell wounded his pride all over again.
"Getting carried away just because youve got a good medal out of pure chance while I had to rely on my own ingenuity, hard work and connections. Ill make this lucky bastard realize what real strength is. With my wless strategy, that bastard will be crushed instantly."
With hazy eyes, he stared at the monster standing beside his crystal.
It was a demon being lent by the [Evil] Demon Lord.
Its form was that of a cross between a goat and a human. It was capable ofmunicating via telepathy with its fellow quadruplets no matter how far away they were from one another.
By making use of this monster, he was able to get in touch with the Demon Lords on his side at any time.
"Fufufu,e attack and well end you."
Their strategy was exceedingly simple.
First, they gathered more than half of their troops on the very first room of each of their dungeons. Procell who would lose if he doesnt attack was forced to split his troops between attacking and defending.
And the troops he would send to their dungeons were bound to be of poor quality, Zagan thought. If so, those monsters would be crushed by the fighting force they assembled at any of their dungeons. At the same time as that assault, the goat demons wouldmunicate with their twins and the Demon Lords not under attack would join together andunch their own offensive against Procells dungeon to tear it apart.
They did not fear his defenses either even if it had annihted Stss monsters. The golems and the mysterious weapons were the only threat it had but they found a way to counter it. And that countermeasure lied within the overwhelmingly high resistance to physical attacks of a Monster of the Covenant of [Viscosity]. That and the useful subordinates of [Evil].
"Theres our trump card too."
In addition to those mentioned above was a trick that seemed almost like cheating. In the final room of each of their dungeons were A rank monsters that had grown up to their maximum levels. These monsters were given by their parents that deemed Procell to be dangerous.
A parent was allowed to give to their young Demon Lord only three original medals and a few DP but nothing else. However, that restriction only applied on a parent and their ward which meant [Steel]s parent giving [Evil] the ownership of a powerful monster was allowed. And so, [Viscosity]s parent also gave a monster to [Steel] while [Evil]s parent gave one to [Viscosity].
Of course, these monsters had to be returned upon the wars conclusion but still, it was reassuring. Even if a monster somehow made it to the innermost part of their dungeons, there was no way it could win against an A rank monster at its strongest state. These loaned monsters would turn the tables on the unsuspecting invaders, never letting the crystal be broken.
"Procell, before my resourcefulness, youre but a fool unknowingly dancing to my tune. Now that I think about it, I feel quite sorry for you, fuhahaha! I wonder what Ill do after I break your crystal. Shall I make you beg for your life only to kill you soon after? No, Ive got a better one. How about before breaking your crystal, I tell you to transfer your monsters over to me? Ill tell you something like they wont vanish if I control them. Knowing how big of a fool you are, youll probably even be happy to hand them over, wont you? Hmm, your monsters are pretty so how about right after I have control over them, I show you how Ill appreciate them? Fuhahaha."
The [Steel] Demon Lordughed out loud. The [War] was going to start soon but he couldnt help look forward to what kind of face that awful [Creation] Demon Lord Procell would make upon being defeated by his ingenuity.
Time passed quickly as he was lost in his thoughts and then the [War] had begun.
TL note: usually defaults to sheep in dictionaries. Goat just seems more fitting for a demon, isnt it? And yes, demon (ħ/akuma) is used. Whether there is a difference with monsters or its just because it originates from Evil, well have to wait and see.
Volume 3 2
The [War] had begun. At the same time as the start of the war, several shadows leapt out of [Creation]s dungeon.
At the forefront were a golden-haired, fox-eared girl and a silver-haired girl.
"Kuina, youre going too fast"
"But Oto-san ordered us to hurry"
Their true identity was that they were powerful S rank monsters made by [Creation] Demon Lord Procell.
Kuina the Celestial Fox sprinted and Rorono the Elder Dwarf followed suit. Their destination was the limestone cave made by the [Viscosity] Demon Lord.
"Aside from me, no one else can keep up with you; you ought to slow down a little."
"Ah, sorry"
And so, Kuina slowed her pace a little. Thanks to that, the High Elves of the first toon that were chasing after them finally caught up.
The girls then checked their surroundings. There were no one else but their ally monsters. The enemy Demon Lords didnt yet show any indication that they would attack themselves.
"What do you think, Rorono-chan?"
"Im certain theyre just waiting to see what we will do. I think theyre hoping for master to attack and split his forces, making our defense even less."
"Yeah, I think so too."
But then, Kuina twisted he mouth into a smile.
"Are you nning something?"
"Oto-san did say to cause as much ruckus as possible."
Kuina then enhanced her magic power. Her magic power was so great, the space around her distorted.
And acting as a battery to store that magic power was each strand of hair on her golden, fluffy tail which now stood on end. Each of these strands could hold up magic power up to what a B rank mage-type monster could have.
This made the fur such a valuable material for magic tools. So much so that obtaining a single strand would allow an adventurer to live out an entire year quite luxuriously.
For when her beloved father, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, needs it most, Kuina, up until now, was diligently saving up her magic power onto her fluffy tail. One reason she could spare to do so was because rather than use magic that would eat up her magic power, she was constantly using a weapon that had high offensive capabilities: a gun.
She had umted equal to 120 B rank monsters worth of magic power which was enough to rival an entire army. Just knowing only this much would make one realize just how much outside of the norm a Celestial Fox was.
"Rorono-chan, so long as the enemy aims to counter us like that, there should be a high chance that a lot of their fighting force would be gathered in ce where they canunch an offensive of their own right after confirming their dungeon is not under siege. Im gonna surprise them with a big one ?"
Kuina was nning on activating a magic attack that would use an amount of magic power sorge, she could just barely control it. The magic power for it, however, woulde from the magic power she had stored up in the furs in her tail.
Even if it was her though, without her tail to act as a battery, releasing about 30 B rank monsters worth of magic power in just one magic attack wasnt advisable even if said magic attack was indeed powerful.
By the way, Kuina would need more than half a months worth of time to store this much magic power.
"Whenever I look at Kuina, I feel like mymon sense is going to break."
"Rorono-chans also amazing though. Kuina cant ever make something like a gun. And Kuinas magic attacks are so specialized in area of effect destruction that in terms of pure destructive power versus a single enemy, my magic will be no match against the shotgun you made."
Kuina didnt say such out of humility; it was what she perceived as the truth.
A pragmatist at her core, she didnt like useless things and based on her own judgement that guns were anything but useless, she grew to love them.
"Mhm, okay. Well then, after a long time, show us your power as a Celestial Fox"
"Kay ?! Watch me properly! Also, Elf-chans little sisters, Id like you to lend me powers."
Kuina addressed the High Elves following behind her.
"Yes, Kuina-sama. Well back your mes with our wind."
"As expected of being trained by Elf-chan"
Wind could increase the intensity of mes and the wind of a powerful monster such as the B rank High Elves would increase it even further.
Originally, it was abination technique Kuina and Ancient Elf developed and was then taught to the High Elves by Ancient Elf.
"Atst, the enemys dungeon! Everyone, ready yourselves!"
The monsters behind her nodded and they all finally entered the dungeon.
The first room of the dungeon that Kuinas toon entered was a very wide space.
At the center was an undergroundke where the aquatic monsters swam. Slimes, frogs, and fishmen monsters could be seen in and out of the water.
There were about 50 monsters in total. That much were gathered there due to [Steel]s strategy. In it, any dungeon not attacked wouldunch an attack of their own against [Creation]s dungeon. Thus, the Demon Lords instructed most of their fighting force to gather somewhere near their respective dungeon entrances so that the counteroffensive could be done immediately.
At that, however, Kuina just fearlessly smiled.
"Ahead of us arent obstacles, just prey, lots of prey. Perfect, a wide area. It seems like we will be able to fire up huge fireworks just like Oto-san expects."
The monsters that took notice of the toon red and yelled at them.
Kuina didnt flinch, much less feared them for although the enemy side had a few B rank monsters, none really stood out that could be seen as her match.
With frightening force, the enemy monsters rushed toward the toon.
The fishmen monsters readied their oddly shaped spears; the slimes heaved their bodies onward; and the frog monsters moved both of their arms while their eyes coarsened.
The intelligence of most of these monsters was incredibly low. So low in fact that they couldnt evenprehend that the monster before them was one way out of the norm: a Celestial Fox.
If any of them had any deep understanding of magic, then perhaps they would have recognized just how deadly the magic being readied right before their eyes. Magic that was already about to hit a critical point and so impatient to be released.
"This will be the opening act. Know the might of Oto-sans monsters! [Golden med Purgatory]!"
TL note: ןz
Kuina thrusted her palms forward and released a lot mes.
The two High Elves behind her then followed suit and let loose green winds.
The area was engulfed by the sea of golden mesmes that were unnatural to this world.
However, do not be under the assumption that Kuina released and directed her magic toward the hoard of enemies awaiting her. Instead, the magic targeted and affected the room itself to burn everything within it. Yes, it was such a great magic that it could be called a world-altering magic[1].
Next came the sound of an explosion. It was a steam explosion caused by the instantaneous evaporation of the water in the undergroundke. Arge number of the monsters pitifully got caught up in the explosion.
"Everyone, you might die if you take even just one step away from Kuina so be careful."
Kuina hadplete control over her mes and made it so that her magic wouldnt affect anything behind her. However, if an ally of hers was to take even a single step outside of the area shes protecting, even they would be swallowed mercilessly by the golden mes.
A Celestial Foxs true mes burn everything to the ground.
After about five minutes, the mes finally died down. There was nothing but ashes left within a 500 meter radius of the vast limestone cave, even the undergroundke was no longer there.
This was an S rank monster.
A monster capable of an attack that would release magic power was beyond absurd.
Afterwards, Kuina with her head held high, turned around and spoke to the toon.
"Now, lets go everyone. The [Viscosity] Demon Lord should be trying to reconsolidate his defenses! Now is the perfect opportunity for us to strike!"
They didnt have enough time to spare. They were told by their father to smash the enemys crystal as soon as possible and they had every intention to see it done. If they could break the crystal and return to Avalon, their beloved city, as quick as their father expectedor even quickerthen they were bound to receive lots of praise from him. That alone drove Kuina forward.
Her line of thought wasnt wrong but unknown to her was the powerful being lying in wait in the dungeons innermost room.
[1] Anti-World magic was the term used here. If the context provided isnt enough, try reading up on in the Fate series
Volume 3 3
Keeping watch on the situation in the dungeon from his crystal room was the [Viscosity] Demon Lord. After witnessing the Celestial Fox in action and being convinced it was an existence far out of the norm, he shook there, frightened.
With just one easy fell swoop, Kuina broke his will.
Hii-Hii!! M-my monsters, my monsters gathered on the first floor, they-theyre all gone with just one attack. This is absurd, this is impossible!
Beside him was a demon which was a cross between a goat and a human. This monster made by [Evil] Demon Lord Morax had the capability tomunicate via telepathy with its three twins. By making use of these monsters, the Demon Lords on [Steel]s team were able to quickly share information with their fellow team members.
In their initial strategy, the one whose dungeon was attacked by Procell would focus on defense as the other twounch an assault on Procells dungeon using the monsters they had prepared on the first room of each of their own dungeons.
If they did so, Procell who was outnumbered to begin with would be forced to recall back his attacking troops in hopes that it would prevent the fall of his dungeon.
In other words, they could shut him down with just their numbers. Or so theyd like to believe.
With one attack, ONE ATTACK! Theyre fiends, FIENDS! This isnt what I was told about. And theyreing! Im scared, so scared...
[Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove was keeping watch of his dungeon through the holograms projected by his crystal. Those fiends he talked about were [Creation]s monstersspearheaded by the fox-eared girlthat were easily traversing the second room of his dungeon despite the defenses and traps he had set up. Ronove could have never imagined that the invading monsters feat of avoiding the traps time and time again were due to the abilities of the High Elves who had control over the wind as well as due to the Elder Dwarf who ruled over the earth.
Through the goat demon, Ronove spoke to someone that wasnt there.
Zagan, it-its me. [Creation] Demon Lord Procells monsters came to attack me.
The half-human, half-goat demon open its mouth but [Steel] Demon Lord Zagans voice was the one that came out.
I see, so they came there? Then, Morax and I will be the ones to attack [Creation]s dungeon. Well defeat him quickly so hold on until then.
Th-thats impossible. Theyre too strong. Already, my monsters... the monsters I put on standby near my dungeons entrance were all killed with just one attack. I heard nothing of this; no one told me they were this strong! Zagan, you said we wont be in any danger whatsoever so I cooperated with you but thats evidently not the case here.
I see, so he sent out his powerful monsters, huh. Well proceed with the conquering of his dungeon as nned then.
Upon hearing those words, the despair Ronove was feeling grew even further.
Zagan, I want the [Monster of Covenant] I lent to you guys back. As it is, I will be killed way before you break his crystal. So please, Zagan, I beg you, send me some reinforcements.
In his desperation, Ronove pleaded so. However, Zagan unconcernedly replied:
I cant do that. To get past the Golems that overwhelmed Sts, we will need your [Monster of the Covenant]. So, sorry but try not to die until we break his crystal.
You-youre horrible! Do you intend to abandon your ally!?
Its just strategy, nothing personal. In order to win, we sometimes have to make cruel decisions. And hey, think about it, theres no way youll lose to the few troops Procell sent out. So raise your chin up. ........besides, we do have those aces up our sleeves.
After saying those words, the goat demon remained silent. No matter how much Ronove protested, Zagans voice never again came out of the demons mouth.
Zagan, were not done talking yet! I dont, I dont want to die. You told us we could win and wlessly too so I cooperated with you. But as things stand, I, Im going to die! This isnt what you promised! Answer me, answer me, Zagan!
Again and again, Ronove kept talking to the goat demon but no reply ever came. After a while, he came to an unbelievable conclusion.
...Could it be? Have I been used? Was I so stupid that I was tricked? No, no, no! Had I known that the enemies were these fiends, I would have never gotten involved in this alliance.
[Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove was at his wits end. As he was like that though, the enemy monsters were fast approaching. At the rate they were going, it wouldnt even take an hour for them to reach the crystal room.
No, no, I dont want to die, I dont want to die. I have to use that, yes, yes, I will.
Staggering, he went out of his crystal room to meet with his barely-legal trump card that if possible, he didnt want to put into y. But even if this trump could drive those so-called fiends away, there was something it could not help with.
Everyone will never return. Everyone that died, everyone Ive lost, Ill never see them again.
The monsters on the first floor that were annihted with just one attack would nevere back to life.
For the first time in his life, Ronove cursed at his own stupidity.
He believed Zagans assurances that they could win and he himself thought such would happen. The result though was the death of his important monsters.
If there was a next time, he decided that no matter how hard and painful things got, he would be thinking for himself and not rely on anyone else. Never again would he make this kind of mistake. And as such, he matured.
He called out his trump card that he received from a skilled Demon Lord. It was an A rank monster that could grow so it was the strongest kind of monster.
Looking at him with its cold eyes, its form really was vastly different from his own monsters.
Under normal circumstances, it was so strong that it should be impossible for it to lose to any kind of monster made by a Demon Lord that was just born.
He knew that and yet his unease never ceased.
As he still felt worried, Procells monsters finally arrived at the depths of his dungeon.
Thus, with a prayer, he sent out his trump card.
Please, please, I beg you, please.
At this point in the war, praying was all he could do.
Volume 3 4
"Kuina, our bullets are limited so conserve as much as you can."
"Okay, Rorono-chan"
After exiting the first room, Kuina spearheaded the first toon forward.
The second room was aplicated maze but thanks to the High Elves, they never lost their way.
By attuning their senses with the wind, the High Elves couldprehend the structure of their surroundings. Of course, scouting as much as a few kilometers like Ancient Elf does was too much for them. That said, scouting several hundred meters was easily manageable.
"Kuina-sama, theres an enemy lying in ambush in the corner up ahead."
"Gotcha"
Kuina, ball of fire in her hand, sprinted toward the said corner. As soon as she took the turn, she released the ball of fire, resulting in the slimewhich was resistant to physical attacks but was weak to firethat was supposed to be one doing the ambushing violently bursting into mes.
"Lets hurry"
Kuina said so to everyone in the first toon. Her strength inspired trust and that in turn led to an increase in morale.
"Kuina-sama, there is a flying monster patrolling over there."
"Can you shoot it down?"
"It is well within our range."
"Ill leave it to you, then."
"Yes!"
The High Elf readied the anti-materiel rifle that was hanging from her back. Unlike the one Ancient Elf wielded, her gun wasnt customized. Since the High Elves were unable to fully realize a barrel made out of wind and were also unable to negate further recoil, a customized rifle like Ancient Elfs would actually lead to a decrease in performance rather than improve it.
That said, an unmodified anti-materiel rifle was powerful enough to shoot through armored vehicles and urate enough to shoot over long distances even without the help of magic.
And so, the High Elf carefully aimed her rifle and shot down the demon patrolling in the sky. It was more than 500 meters away but such distance was trivial to them.
"Kuina, you should eat this."
Rorono the Elder Dwarf tossed an apple over to Kuina.
"Is this one of Elf-chans apples?"
"Mhm. Its from the first apple tree."
"Thanks!"
Kuina munched on the delicious apple and upon doing so, the strength from within her body welled up. She felt that her fatigue was gone and that her magic power recovery had quickened. Such were some of the effects of the apples grown by Ancient Elf. It increases ones natural healing powers alongside his magic power recovery rate; removes some abnormal conditions one is feeling; and grants varied but temporary resistances.
"Rorono-chan, eat some too"
"Yeah, thanks"
Kuina threw the half-eaten apple back to Rorono.
Upon catching it, Rorono bit on it and then ced a hand on the wall. As she did so, a scream was heard several meters ahead.
The source of the scream was the enemy monster being skewered by the spears that Rorono grew out of the mud wall.
Just like the High Elves with aligning their senses with the wind, Rorono was capable of attuning herself with the earth. In addition to knowing the locations of the enemy monsters, she could also detect the traps that wereid beforehand.
"Good job, Rorono-chan"
"Likewise, Kuina"
The twoplimented one another.
The girls were primarily using magic due to fact that the enemies were so weak, guns were unnecessary. But even with that, thanks to the girls being S rank monsters having such huge amounts of magic power as well as Ancient Elfs apples, the girls were recovering magic power before they could run out of it.
Ronove, on the other hand, was traumatized with the genocide in the beginning and was sending only so few monsters between wide intervals. The result was that the girls were not tired at all and were quite pleased instead to be served experience points in sets like courses in a meal.
"Still, even though its just a fruit, it has such amazing effects."
"I concur. Its as effective as the potions of legends. As an [Alchemist], Im envious."
"If it has such effects, wouldnt it be better to have even more like it?"
"Maybe but I doubt thats likely though. It might not always be obvious but Elf is head over heels for master. So when even master treats the first tree as specialdue to the memories we all shared under itshe goes way out of her way to give more care to it than she could to the other trees. She even goes so far as to sprinkle it every day with the [Water of Life] she made which was infused with stupid amounts of her magic power. Her care had changed it so much I feel its more appropriate to call it a World Tree than an apple tree."
"As someone who drinks Elf-chan the high-ranking elfs juice mix every day, and as someone who knows the work she puts into the apples, I agree. What do you think will happen if that tree is somehow knocked down?"
"Someone will probably be killed. When seriously angry, she is, after all, the scariest among us."
They chatted like so as they explored the dungeon but not once did they let their guard down. They still had plenty of bullets and magic power to spare, not to mention that no one in their toon was in any way wounded.
And just like that, in a speed not even Procell could have predicted, they arrived in the veryst room of the dungeon.
Thest room of [Viscosity]s dungeon was identical to the first one: an undergroundke in the center of an expansive cave.
There didnt seem to be any kind of traps in particr. And if the toon was forced toment, they would say there were more B rank monsters here than in the first room.
"Atst, we dont have to conserve our ammo anymore."
"This should be thest room so lets rampage as much as we can."
Kuina wielded the Curtana EDS-03a shotgun modified by Rorono while Rorono herself was equipped with an MK417an assault rifle simr to the powerful MK416 but was made to be able to fire 7.62 mm bullets.
"So in the end, you werent able to finish your own weapon, Rorono-chan?"
"Ive finished it and actually brought it but my weapon isnt a gun."
"Is it inside that bag youre carrying on your back?"
"Mhm, Ill use it if ever we face a strong enemy."
Rorono made a somewhat smug face. She was aware that her own fighting strength paled inparison to Kuinas and Ancient Elfs. Thus, to bridge that difference, she knew she had to develop a new weapon.
She had made countless of prototypes but none of them really satisfied her. However, with her newly awakened powers when she became a [Monster of the Covenant], her weapon development showed great progress and finally, Roronos exclusive weapon wasplete.
In her opinion, if they were all to thoroughly demonstrate their abilities, she should be able to outperform both Kuina and Ancient Elf.
Also, she had be attached to her weapon. It was, after all, a weapon made using a special power she obtained after being influenced by Procells own powers. To her, in a sense, it was her and Procells child.
"But it doesnt seem like youll be able to test it out today."
"I agree; the Demon Lord here is weak."
They had not encountered anything that gave them any real resistance.
And for Kuina, it didnt seem likely for a monster that could pose a threat to themS rank monstersto appear any time soon. They were already in thest room and yet they were still overpowering their enemies in battle.
Pretty soon, the entrance to the crystal room would be in sight.
It was when Kuina thought all these that a High Elf shouted something.
"Kuina-sama, something big, strong, and fast ising from above!"
Kuina, acting in ordance to the High Elfs warning, immediately did a backstep.
In the moment that followed, a thunderous sound was heard as the ground was gouged, signs that something travelling at a speed faster than the speed of sound descended from above.
Without even confirming what that something was, Kuina immediately pulled the trigger of her shotgun. By charging the Curtana EDS-03 with magic power, its bullets elerated at twice the rate and was therefore more destructive.
She hit the enemy squarely and yet the shot was blown away.
At that, Kuina bit her lip.
"Even Curtana cant pierce it?"
That was not normal. If, by chance, Kuina was to receive that shot, the shell would certainly pierce through her body. What this meant was that the enemys defensive capabilities exceeded her own.
Sure, her defense was nothing spectacr but it was stillparable to a superior A ranks defense. So if the enemy could defend against her attack...
"Could it have strengthparable to a superior A rank or even a normal S rank?"
No answer came but the smoke cleared up. What it revealed was a stone structure with massive wings. It was a monster poprly known as a gargoyle. Its body had a metallic glow of orihalcum to it, much like in the gun she loved.
It was such a strong monster that [Viscosity] obviously could not have created it.
As Kuina thought so, the gargoyle made of orihalcum roared.
One, two... Ten shadows in total then descended from above. All of them proved to be gargoyles as well but instead of being made of orihalcum, their bodies were of adamantite.
They might not feel as powerful as the first gargoyle but they were stillparable to an ordinary A rank monster.
"Rorono-chan, this doesnt look so good."
She knew by instinct that she was notpatible with their enemies. The enemies were highly resistant to her mes and since they could fly, they could outmaneuver her. And then, her shotgun which was herst option here, had proven to be ineffective.
Furthermore, she needed to fight those enemies while also protecting her allies that didnt stand a chanceexcept for Rorono, of course.
And yet, despite all this, Kuina boiled with joy. It had been a while since shest fought seriously and was able to test out her true mettle.
"Kuina, you look like youre enjoying yourself."
"Oh, youve noticed?"
"Mhm, of course. You look like someone who have found a new toy, after all."
"Well, its been a while since I looked forward to a fight."
"...Sorry but todays my turn."
Rorono reached for the bag on her back. In it was her secret weapon and she just couldnt resist testing her new arsenal here. For where else could her secret weapon demonstrate its true might but against a powerful enemy?
"Mhm-kay, its a contest, ROoono-chan!"
And thus, the fight between S rank monsters and well-trained A rank monstersa fight normally impossible to witness in a [War] of fellow new Demon Lordshad begun.
Volume 3 5
The powerful enemy that could not have possibly been made by the [Viscosity] Demon Lord stood in Kuinas toons way.
The enemy in question was a gargoyle.
A gargoyle was a magical creature with big wings and a tough body made out of some mineral. Unlike the golems though, they possessed a good amount of intelligence.
And due to their ability to fly, they could move in any direction in 3d space.
Strong, durable, and mobilethey were wlessly excellent in all of these points.
To top it off, this particr enemys body was made of orihalcum which meant an even more spectacr hardness and resistance to magic. Such was the enemy that challenged Kuina and the others.
It flew in the sky and descended upon them. In retaliation, Kuina fired off her shotgun but its shell was simply deflected.
It then did a mindless charge at her but thanks to her natural agility, she narrowly evaded.
"Is this guy something like the golems youve made, Rorono-chan?"
"No, itspletely not. This things really alive."
"But theres no way [Viscosity] could have made this monster... just what kind of..."
Mid-sentence, the Adamantite Gargoyles in the skythe followers of the Orihalcum Gargoylegave her chase.
These Adamantite Gargoyles were easy to defeat in singlebat but facing them all at once while also fending off the Orihalcum Gargoyle was decidedly going to be taxing.
Rorono provided some covering shots but against such tough opponents, the firepower of her assault rifle proved insufficient.
Furthermore, upon seeing the opportunity, [Viscosity] Demon Lords original subordinates, the slimes and fishmen, surged against Kuina and her toon. In response, the units in the mixed corps and the High Elves intercepted.
As themanding officer, Kuina assessed the situation. Things werent going so well for them to the point that unless they immediately did something about the Orihalcum Gargoyle, their annihtion would be imminent.
"That guy flew again... whats he up to?"
The Orihalcum Gargoyle in the sky spread its arms and Kuina sensed it gathering a huge amount of magic power. It was enough magic power to make even Kuina feel fear.
The positive note about this turn of events was that Kuina was able to urately gauge how strong her opponent was: an A rank monster that could grow and had therefore been raised to the utmost of its limits.
Finally, an opponent she could fight with all her current might, she thought.
Pleased as she was, she could not let it fire off that magic it was readying. Thus, she created a small, localized explosion in the ground that propelled her upward.
At that, the Orihalcum Gargoyle was startled. Despite not having any sort of dominion over the sky like she had over fire, she moved in a speed that was inconceivable.
When she neared it enough, she activated the full-automatic mode of her shotgun and fired off consecutive shots of overwhelming firepower.
"GYA!!"
Even it could not endure the onught of the highly destructive shells fired off in very short intervals. It was blown away and lost control of the spell it was readying.
However, it seemed that with just sheer willpower alone, the enemy was able to activate it anyway. The spell summoned a meteorite and it was supposed to fall on Kuina and the others but instead only hit the ground, leaving behind a very deep crater.
Kuina was relieved to know that nobody got caught in it for even she would not be able toe out of being hit unscathed. That relief however was only for a moment since the Adamantite Gargoyles rushed toward her once more. Being unable to properly maneuver mid-air and being out of shells due to the full-auto firing she just did, she was forced to rely on her me but the gargoyles simply went past it and assailed her with their ws and fists.
Wounded all over, she smashed into the ground. Blood spilled from her mouth and yet Kuina still smiled.
"Rorono-chan, that guys no joke; we have to take him seriously. Ill focus on him so you focus on the Adamantite Gargoyles."
Kuina had decided it was time to use her trump cardher [Transform]. By changing into her future, grown-upped self, she was able to make use of 100% of her hidden potential.
It was powerful but so were its drawbacks. Once she had used [Transform], she would be unable to fight for a few hours afterwards. Be that as it may though, she could not afford to hesitate using it against her current enemy for if she did, they would be killed.
"[Transform]!"
Kuinas body was wrapped in golden mes. Once the mes were gone, her golden hair was glossier and longer while her charming tail was fluffier. Her body had grown into one full of feminine charm. This strong and lovely Kuina was her future form.
"Now then, time for round two."
Against her formidable foe, Kuina stepped forward. However, Rorono interrupted her advance.
"Kuina, lets change roles. Ill do something about that Orihalcum Gargoyle so please be the one to take care of the other gargoyles."
"But wont that guy be too much for you?"
"Ill be using my trump card; I want to test it out. Besides, youve had plenty of fun with that guy already; its my turn next."
Kuina looked at Rorono and saw confidence in her eyes along with some hint of excitement.
"...Alright but our first priority is to break the crystal. Once Ive finished with those guys and you still havent defeated the Orihalcum Gargoyle, Ill unapologetically snatch it away from you."
"Fair enough. Ill be finished with it in a moment, anyway."
Rorono then unpacked the bag she was carrying on her back and within it were a countless number of silver metal parts.
"Ill show you the power Ive got when Father had given me a name. ...[Suit Up]"
Ovee with great emotions, she referred to Procell as Father, a thing she said she would only do on special asions. That was her way of showing her resolve.
Rorono shouted powerfully. The countless metallic parts then floated in the air and came toward her. A lot of the parts assembled itself swiftly and became a garb sorts that wore itself unto her. The lightweight garbemitting a metallic and mysterious polishsuited the silver-haired Rorono very well.
"[Mechanical Warmaiden]. There is no way the culmination of my techniques will lose against a stone fiend such as you."
She then stepped forward and thrusted into the empty sky as though she was a bullet.
When she received her name and thus became a [Monster of the Covenant], a new power had awoken within Rorono. And that power was the materialization of magic power into a material that contained one magic spell that could then be used.
As a production skill, it was beyond extraordinary. However, its only real advantage to her was it allowed her to easily use magic that she could use to begin with. Of course, it was a different topic altogether if someone other than her were to use the material but as far as her fighting strength was concerned, it didnt really contributed much.
She was well aware that she was more of a craftsman than a fighter but that didnt mean she had to stop on trying to be stronger than anyone else, especially now that she had [Materialization]the union of her own special ability and [Creation] Demon Lord Procell Unique Skill.
Determined against such adversities, she had developed a multipurpose integrated tactical unit: the [Mechanical Warmaiden].
If the materials produced by [Materialization] contained only a single magic spell, then she just had to assemble those materials as parts of a single, cohesive unit.
Regardless of how much processing capabilities Kuina and Rorono had, it was still impossible for them to have overwhelmingbat and supportive capabilities by activating multiple, varying magic spells all at once. That was until...
"Dance, [Mechanical Warmaiden]!"
First, the maic field generating unit installed on Roronos ankle produced maic fields. By walking through the produced fields, her movement was greatly elerated.
Additionally, a gravity-controlling unit allowed her to change which way was down or up for herself. Using these two units in conjunction thus made it possible for her to move in high speed in whichever direction she wanted to in the sky.
The Orihalcum Gargoyle was understandably surprised. It felt the danger and pped its wings to create some distance between them. It flew at its top speed while following a zigzag pattern. It was convinced that she couldnt have kept up and thus turned around, only to find the silver-haired girl calmly giving chase. Or rather, closing the distance between them.
"Youre slow; you wont get away from me like that."
The Orihalcum Gargoyle was once again greatly surprised; a wingless, non-flying enemy was quickly catching up to him. Needless to say, that injured its pride.
It pointed its hand toward Rorono and fired off a stone; an act quite simr to firing a gun.
Thanks to the unit in her chest that granted her thought eleration, she had perfect grasp on what was happening. Despite that, however, she did not try to evade the stone bullet. Instead, she made use of the hardening feature within her gauntlet and deflected the projectile.
She then finally caught up with the gargoyle and thrusted her fist into the base of its wing. The gargoyle whose body was strong enough to defend even against a shot from Kuinas shotgun was wounded badly, sending the monster crashing down. The cause of such destruction was the knuckles of her gauntlet vibrating at an extremely high rate.
"This will be the finishing blow"
Rorono readied the huge gun on her back and pointed it toward the fallen gargoyle.
That gun featured the best of her gun-making skills in the form of a modified .950 caliber JDJ. Even unmodified, it was ridiculous for it to have nearly twice as much destructive power as the armored-vehicle-piercing anti-materiel rifles.
She modified the bullets by changing the powder it used to mithril powder, thus allowing magic power to be put into the bullets. Furthermore, the case of the bullets were also changed into orihalcum to make it hit even harder.
The gun that could fire off such a bullet was, of course, no ordinary gun. Using her knowledge from when she developed Kuinas and Ancient Elfs weapons, she added [eleration] and [Rotation] into it to make it even more powerful.
However, since the power had increased so much, its recoil proved to be too much to bear. Aiming it was hard too due to the unsteady gun barrel. But then again, wearing the [Mechanical Warmaiden] made these drawbacks manageable, if not negligible.
This gun was also different in the way that it had two gun barrels side by side. The logic for which was exceedingly simple: twice the bullets fired was equal to twice the damage.
"Goodbye"
The moment that Rorono pulled the trigger, a roar that could be mistaken for thunder resounded.
The fired off bullet traveled at a high speed and directly hit the Orihalcum Gargoyle. It then exited the monster until it hit the ground. No matter how much the Orihalcum Gargoyle could endure, it was impossible for it to endure even that.
Rorono then let out a sigh of relief.
"Fuu, this is its first actual battle but everything went well. With this, Ive proven myself as one of masters [Monster of the Covenant]"
She slowlynded and cancelled [Mechanical Warmaiden]. The goal of using multiple, individual units that, although not strong by themselves, were able to function simultaneously was a sess.
That said, there were still a lot of ways for it to improve.
Various issues were also confirmed in this battle. First and foremost of which was the huge consumption of magic power. The moment the [Mechanical Warmaiden] was worn, its magic power demand would constantly be at maximum.
It therefore could not be used for a long period of time. In fact, in the short time it was activated just a while ago, it had depleted 70% of its magic power reserves or the equivalent of eating one of Ancient Elfs apples. Clearly, something had to be done.
Rorono then recalled Kuina furs in her tail which could store up magic power. She pondered whether or not to pluck some of them so that they may be used as some kind of battery. It seemed to her that only about a hundred among hundreds of thousands were used to store up magic power so it should be fine for her to use some of the rest.
"That was amazing, Rorono-chan!"
Kuina who had already taken care of the Adamantite Gargoyles embraced Rorono. She had reverted back to her usual form. The burden of her other form was great but Rorono judged that Kuina waited until the demise of the Orihalcum Gargoyle before she undid her [Transform].
"Mhm. I am one of masters [Monster of the Covenant], after all."
Said Rorono in an awkward manner.
"More importantly, Kuina, are you alright?"
"It was a little too close forfort. The bacsh from [Transform] is making me dizzy. I can stand only due to my willpower but it seems Ill pass out pretty soon."
"Before that even happens, we have to quickly break the crystal."
"Yeah, lets."
Headed by the two, the monsters of the first toon exited thest room and finally entered the crystal room. In there was the unattractive, bipedal frog, the [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove.
"Coe at me! I wont let you break my crystal!!"
Together with his now considerably fewer followers, he stood before his crystal, desperately trying to protect it.
"Youre in the way"
However, Rorono pulled out her assault rifleexpertly aimed it so that she would not hit Ronove and heartlessly shot the crystal, shattering it into tiny pieces.
"Ah, ahh! Ahh! Wah! My crystal!"
His few remaining monsters then vanished. Some Devil-type monsters survived and quickly fled. It seemed that the reason those monsters didnt vanish despite the destruction of the crystal was because they werent Ronoves.
The ground within the dungeon then began to tremble, signaling its eventual copse.
"My-my monsters, return them! Return my monsters!!"
Tears in his eyes, he took a swing at Rorono but she effortlessly avoided it and pinned him down instead, pressing down the muzzle of her rifle against his temple.
"Answer this: How could there have been such a strong monster in yourst room?"
Rorono was no longer concerned about Ronove. What worried her instead was that gargoyle.
"I-I have no reason to tell you thaah! Ahhhhhh, my shoulderrrrrrrrrrr!"
Rorono wordlessly shot his left shoulder with her rifle. That opened up a hole in that shoulder and made his blood scatter all over the ce.
"Answer me. If you dont, the next hole will be in your left foot. And if you still wont answer after that, Ill just kill you."
She had to know the secret behind it. The life of her beloved father was at stake, after all. Through it all though, she maintained a calmposure.
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"
Ronoves answer was only a scream. Dismayed by that, Rorono pressed the muzzle of her gun into his temple once more, grinding it harder and harder.
"You have three seconds to answer exactly what I asked, no more, no less."
Ronove looked into her eyes and was convinced she would really kill him. He had told Zagan he would keep it an absolute secret but before such eyes, such an obligation didnt matter.
"If you promise not to kill me, Ill tell you, Ill tell you."
"I promise."
Upon receiving her promise, Ronove told her the truth, piece by piece.
And upon hearing it, Rorono clicked her tongue.
"This isnt good, Kuina... Oh, you passed out already..."
Due to the bacsh of [Transform], Kuina lost consciousness.
After a moment, Rorono then returned to thinking. What should I do?
There was the risk that there could be a monster as strong as the Orihalcum Gargoyle within the dungeon Procell and Ancient Elf went to. But then again, there was also the risk of Avalon being attacked by such a high ranking monster.
It was bad no matter which way.
"I have no choice but believe in Elf and go back to help Wight defend."
With such a conclusion, she began to mobilize the toon. She carried Kuina on her back as they returned to Avalons dungeon as fast as they could.
The key to her conclusion was simple: she could not imagine Ancient Elf ever losing.
Volume 3 6
Departing a littleter than Kuina and her toon, we headed toward the ominous-looking tower dungeon.
I led the second toon whichprised of Ancient Elf first and foremost; the Mythological Foxes and the Dwarf Smiths who all were B rank monsters; some of the Griffon aerial bombardment corps to carry out a special task; and some of the monsters I created using various imitation medals the slow-moving but powerful ones that I put within my [Storage].
Other than the Griffon and its corps, all were equipped with guns, enabling them to shoot at any time.
There were a fair number of ready-to-use ammunition loaded into the backs of the Griffon corps and I myself could make additional bullets if need be so as far as bullets were concerned, there was nothing for us to worry about. The toon could liberally fire to their hearts content.
It didnt take us long until we had crossed the white space and entered into the dungeon.
The inside was a vast, open space made out of stone where the numerous demon and demon beast types of monsters were gathered. Upon taking notice of us, they there were immediately startled.
Judging from their appearance, it seemed that my guess was spot on and that this was indeed [Evil]s dungeon. Even if my guess was wrong though, wed simply be stumping on [Steel] earlier than nned.
"GYUAAAAAA!"
"BYAAAAAAA!"
The demons and demon beasts simultaneously roared at us.
[Evil] must have had something in mind to easily deploy this many monsters to an open space. Perhaps, instead of dwindling our numbers with traps or stalling our progress with a maze, he intended to crush us outright by having the greater number of fighters here.
Really though, how convenient is this? It was the best time to try something I really wanted to try out.
Also, basing on the fact that he gathered this many monsters here, I now had a rough idea of what their sides strategy was.
I raised my right hand to signal the attack. The Mythological Foxes and Dwarf Smiths threw something that looked like a metal pineapple. In truth, it was often referred to as a pineapple. Its formally called a hand grenade though.
Of course, these hand grenades were no ordinary ones. It was a sizerger than normal and had mithril powder within it.
The ones to throw it, the Mythological Foxes and the Dwarf Smiths, were B rank monsters. Thus, their attack power made the hand grenade all the more destructive.
Despite the focus on destructiveness and thus making it heavier, if the ones throwing them had the strength of the Mythological Foxes and the Dwarf Smiths, the grenades would still fly straight as an arrow for over 300 meters.
Enemies within ten meters of the center of the explosion were blown away.
After the Mythological Foxes and the Dwarf Smiths had each thrown their grenades, they picked up their MK-417 assault rifles and began suppressive fire. Their rifles sported the slightlyrger 7.62mm bullets which guaranteed firepower for the gun.
[Evil]s monsters who should have won simply with numbers were assaulted by powerful and continuous gunshots. They were around 500 meters away, a distance [Evil] thought his monsters could easily shorten. That being said, their numbers were still too much. Little by little, they were inching their way to us.
"Ancient Elf, can you take control of the sky?"
"Yes, itll only take me a while against this bunch."
The monsters moving in the ground were being kept in check by the Mythological Foxes and the Dwarf Smiths while the ones flying in the sky would be shot down by Ancient Elf one after the other.
Her main weapon was an anti-materiel rifle. It was a rifle that even normally would be able to shoot through armored vehicles. But this, the one she wielded, was modified by Rorono the Elder Dwarf through technical and magical means as much as possible so that it may have even higher capabilities to the point that it was ridiculous.
And thus, with that ridiculous gun, Ancient Elf very urately sniped her enemies several meters ahead.
This was possible due in part to her skill the [Shooter of Magical Projectiles] that gave bonuses to the power and uracy of her long-distance attacks.
It was also in due to her beautiful jade green eyes. [irvoyance] that gave great kic vision and allowed one to see clearly from far away; [Future Vision] that allowed one to see the world one moment in advance; and [Spirit Vision] which allowed one to see the spirits and the flow of magic power. All of these were included within one of the strongestto the point of being brokenmagic eyes: her [Jade Eyes].
Furthermore, thanks to her full control of the wind, not once did her bulletsfrom the moment they were fired to moment they made impactever slowed down.
Each time she fired off a bullet, the flying monster that received the said bullet burst open. It wasnt just pierced through, it burst open due to the excessive power the bullet had.
There might not be a monster that could hope to match Ancient Elf in a long-distance battle.
"Master, I will have full control of the sky soon enough. You can go and send them out at any time."
"I see. Then, I guess the star performer is about to enter stage, so to speak."
I then snapped my fingers and each member of the aerial bombardment corps here pped their wings and took to the sky.
Up until this moment, all the fighting the others had been doing including Ancient Elf was ultimately nothing more than an opening act and everything hereafter was main event.
Thus, the griffon corps flew right up the ceiling of room. One by one, they each dropped some kind of metallic cylinder to the ground.
Since Ancient Elf had exterminated every flying enemy monster in the sky, there was no one that could stand in the griffon corps way.
Upon dropping the cylinders, the corps returned as I ordered. The cylinder, on the other hand, hit the ground and then exploded. It didnt stop there though. The raging mes spread to a wide area and it just kept spreading. It spread and spread and spread.
"Master, what is that? Thats no ordinary me, is it? It feels sinister."
Ancient Elf who could control nature voiced out the fear she somehow felt.
"Yeah, thats no ordinary me, alright. That is science... no, rather, those are the mes of demons."
It was ironic calling them such considering the demon-type monsters being burned by it.
One of the monsters that got caught in the explosion and yet still lived tried to extinguish the mes all over its body by rolling around in the ground. Despite its best efforts though, the mes remained. It screamed and trashed about until it drew itsst breath. Nevertheless, the mes still kept on burning.
At another spot, a certain monster was engulfed in the mes to the point of driving it mad. In its desperation, it lopped off another monsters head, causing a fountain of blood to spurt on him. All the same, the mes continued to burn.
As I had said to Ancient Elf, these were no ordinary me. The bombs that gave birth to these mes were actually called Napalm Bombs. During the day, the Skeletons worked on making delicious breads but at night, they diligently made these bombs.
"Those mes, as soon as they are started, will continue burning unless they had exhausted all the oxygen in their surroundings or a special mixture is used on them."
A napalm bomb was a fuel gel incendiary device made of abination of gel-like thickeners and some kind of fuel. The term napalm was coined out its thickeners two primaryponents: Naphthenic acid and Palmitic acid. Napalm would continue to spread and burn at extremely high temperatures like 1300 degrees Celsius.
Its worst feature was, as was mentioned before, the ability to burn as though it would continue to do so forever; as soon as one was caught in its mes, they would keep on burning until they die and even after that.
"Its gruesome, isnt it? No kind of attack, whether through magic or some kind of ability, has this kind of effect."
"Yeah, its more than what I expected. Its a good thing we had this chance to try it out."
It was great that I had thought of the napalm bombs and then make them but I didnt think I would be lucky enough to have the chance to experiment on their effectiveness. To actually have that chance, this war was a great boon indeed.
Against the monsters and even some humans of this world, ordinary bombs werent enough. Their bodies were weirdly resilient that even an explosion wouldnt be enough to kill them. That couldnt be said for the effects of the napalm though. They would continue to burn even long after they had died; no matter how resilient their body was, they would burn.
"Oh, I remember now; these bombs are being made in the underground dungeon."
"Yeah, weve made a lot in order to prepare for when the humans choose to be our enemies, if they so dared. We have enough to raze a full city."
Originally, I had decided to make these napalm bombs to anticipate for when the humansunched an assault on Avalon.
I intend to have peaceful negotiations with them but in case they were not so inclined, after showing our power by incinerating their armies, I intend to use the bombs as some kind of deterrent by threatening to raze one of their cities down.
Napalm bombs were dubbed to be the weapon of demons due to its far too inhumane effects. It was even greatly frowned upon if not prohibited to be used on wars. However, to make up for whatever it was that Icked, it was something I needed.
".........If possible, Id rather that not be used."
"Yeah, I think so too. Anyway, shall we go? If we fly in the sky, this fire wont affect us."
Despite having burned and killed each and every monster here, the mes kept on burning even to this moment.
"How about these mes? How do they disappear?"
"If we leave it be, I think it will continue to burn until it has exhausted all the oxygen here. But then again, dungeons are mysterious things. It might ignore thews of nature and provide things that are necessary to live, like oxygen, so maybe the fire will only stop burning if there is nothing left for it to burn. Either way, this me will serve as a roadblock to keep the enemy within the dungeon so its best to leave it be, I say."
Ancient Elf was always keeping the air around her clean so our toon could safely pass on through but in case this thing was used in a closed space, it would result in instant carbon monoxide poisoning for everyone in that said space that somehow hadnt burned. Hence, the reason I ordered the griffon corps to return after dropping the bombs.
On the other hand, this space full of invisible poison was the perfect means to keep the enemies within.
As I thought of such, I climbed onto the Griffons back while the Mythological Foxes and the Dwarf Smiths each rode a Hippogriff. And thus, we safely crossed the sea of mes.
We have to do our best so that we wont lose to Kuina and the others, I thought as we exited the first room of this dungeon.
The 2nd volume of the Light Novel is out! Purchase it at or at ! As before, I will be teasing the illustrations an image at a time. This time however, I had created a page where you can view the already posted images.
Volume 3 7
Within his crystal room located in the depths of his dungeon, The [Evil] Demon Lord Morax who looked like a humanoid demon was enjoying his ss of wine. To go along with his drink were the images being projected by the crystal.
The images he saw showed the first room of his dungeon being turned into a sea of mes.
"Hmm, so it hase to this."
He was aware that [Creation] Demon Lord Procell was strong. He acted prudently and thus teamed up with two other Demon Lords to wage war on Procell. Despite all that however, Procells strength far exceeded any of their expectations.
At the moment, [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronoves dungeon was also being invaded; the monsters gathered on the first room of his dungeon were being trampled and were about to grant easy ess to the next room.
It was an unbelievable simultaneous conquest of two dungeons.
Already, their teams n had copsed. This n detailed that should one of their dungeons be attacked, the forces from the other twos dungeon were to go out and invade Procells dungeon.
"This, none of us could have predicted this. Well, maybe someone could have if someone like [Time] was the enemy."
Morax uttered so as he watched the scenes being projected by Ronoves crystal that was then transmitted by the demon he lent to Ronove. This demon was one of a quadruplet of demons. Ronove and Zagan was led to believe that the demons lent to them were convenient means ofmunicating with one another but the truth of the matter wasnt so simple.
The quadruplets were constantly sharing what they sensed with one another. In other words, everything that was transpiring near the demons were being leaked to Morax.
The three allied Demon Lord each had one of these demons while thest one was entrusted to an ally Ronove truly trusted. This was to ensure that any information revealed in this war would be shared to that ally no matter what happens to Morax.
"[Creation]s ability is worrisome."
Procells fox monster had annihted Ronoves main host of monsters with just one blow. Furthermore, this monster was apanied by another monster of about the same strength. Perhaps even the monster loaned to Ronove by a veteran Demon Lord would not be able to stop the invading monsters. Ronove was not at all at fault here; the enemy was just too strong.
More troubling was that Moraxs own dungeon was under attack by griffons and their mysterious ordnance. High ranking, powerful monsters were one thingfor as much of a threat they were, their numbers were certain to be limited and in truth, Procell only had three truly peerless monstersbut for weak, low ranking monsters to be made to have such frightening offensive capabilities, it was a whole other conversation.
Given time, Procell would be able to earn even more DP and if so, it was only reasonable for the griffons and also the golems that obliterated [Wind]s monsters to increase in numbers as well. Not to mention, Procell probably had other powerful cards at his disposal.
If left unchecked, Procell would undoubtedly be up to par if not stronger than even Demon Lords several generations ahead of him. And that would certainly result in some wrinkle in Moraxs own ambitions in the future.
"We want to see him crushed, was it?"
Instilled with that desire, Zagan, a fool that believed himself to be surperior, was goaded into starting this three on one war and employing a method that was almost like cheating. Should such a method be found to indeed be in vition of the rules after the war has ended, Zagan would be deemed the primary instigator and be given heavy punishment while Morax should only receive minor ones.
Morax thought everything would go smoothly but then he never imagined Procell was this too out of norm. He realized then how na?ve he still was and how much he still had to learn.
As it was, his crystal being broken was a certainty. So long as that remained as a fact, he had to think of ways to lose with minimal damage.
While pondering on such, the demon spoke. It seemed to be Zagan who was contacting him.
"Morax, what are you doing? I heard from Ronove that he was being attacked by Procell. Ive already ordered my monsters to march onto his dungeon; hurry and order your monsters to do the same."
Zagan had a stupid look on his face as he instructed Morax so. This guys really the go-with-the-flow kind of guy, Morax thought, well, it was because hes an idiot that I was able to instigate him into this war so I guess whatever I say will not really matter. Though I guess Im a fool as well for misjudging my opponents strength.
"I would very much like to but my main force gathered on my first room have been annihted. Despite splitting his troops to attack my dungeon at almost the same time as hes attacking Ronoves, his fighting force is still more than adequate. Procells quite the cheat."
Zagans face immediately turned pale. It seemed that the shock was too much for a cowardly person like him. He blinked repeatedly and sweated profusely in his bewilderment but Morax did not have the luxury of time to wait for Zagan to recover from his shock.
"This is beyond what we predicted. [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan, what will our next course of action be? Will you invade his dungeon by yourself?"
The reply dide right away. Zagan repeatedly opened and closed his mouth, groaned, and then finally came to a realization.
"N-no way. [Viscosity] said his main force have already been massacred as well. That bastard Procell has to leave some of his troops for defense so are you saying he had enough troops to not only defend but to also win against two dungeons!?"
"Im afraid so. Perhaps he saw through our strategy and as a form of defense, decided to go on the offensive. If so and he took out our troops gathered in the first room, he would then have fewer enemies to fend off. Really, Procell-dono is quite the schemer. So, whats our next y? "
"Th-that bastard Procell, h-he had more troops than we thought. Our initial n as it is of no use, absolutely wasted. Yeah, yeah, thats it, lets fortify our defense as we revise our strategy."
Fortify our defense? While we revise our strategy? What is this guy saying?? Wondered Morax as he tried so very hard from cursing at him. I knew he was an idiot but I didnt think hed be this much of an idiot!
Focusing on defense now would only give Procell the time to eventually finish conquering their dungeons and therefore the chance to recall back the troops he sent out. Even a monkey could see that so is he stupider than one?
"Hmm. I will try to buy you time as much as I can but sooner orter, Procell will break through. [Viscosity] probably wont hold on for long either. By defeating us, he would then be able to repurpose all of his troops. So the question now is, do you have the confidence to take on his dungeon by yourself?"
Morax knew this war was already a lost cause. That much was pretty certain but he couldnt very well do nothing and let the following developments be boring either for that would mean that the Creator would be bored. And if that Creator was bored of watching ame [War], the punishmentdetermined by himfor the losers would of course be heavier.
ording to his parent, the Creators train of thought was in and simple: anything goes so long as it was entertaining.
With that in mind, they had to at least give [Creation] Demon Lord Procell a challenge. If they failed to make this [War] a good show, it wouldnt matter who the main instigator was, all that would await Morax would be ruin.
"Invade by myself? Th-that would be a little hard"
"Ohh, only a little hard? So you can do it and win? As expected of the [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan"
"We-well, you know, my unique skill [Steel] is strong and suited for battle, after all."
The ss of wine Morax held then showed cracks. It seemed that pretty soon, he would have reached the limits of his patience.
The [Steel] unique skill involved metal purification and metal maniption. Also, depending on the magic power expended, Zagan could make metals with his unique skill. He boasted that he could make a fist-sized lump of orihalcum if he used up all of his magic power. It seemed he even equipped some monsters with weapons that used orihalcum as a material.
What the heck, if you want orihalcum, you could just buy it with DP via a [Mine]. Not to mention, Procells monsters have countless ridiculous weapons.
"If youll have my opinion, I think that if ever were going on the offensive, it has to be now. Even by yourself, you should head to Procells now less guarded dungeon."
This was their only y; no matter how much they wait, they would not find a better chance than now. At least now, all three of Procells monsters were deployed outside of the dungeon.
"B-but that bastard is absolutely hiding something in there. We have to first investigate what that is and then form a n about it."
Resisting the urge to ask him how much time do you intend to waste, Morax instead decided to move the conversation.
"Assuming so and if you have any worries about invading by yourself, you should deploy the A rank monster lent to you."
"But then what if he invades my dungeon instead?"
"By the time Procell could afford to invade your dungeon, we would have already lost. Upon conquering my and Ronoves dungeons, Im guessing hes gonna fortify defense and forego attacking unless everythings perfect."
Does he notprehend even this!?
Once again, Morax suppressed what he wanted to say.
Patience, a little more patience.
"A-alright but I have a condition. Give to me the monster that was lent to you. Even if its that guy, he cant possibly take on all of my best troops and two fully-leveled A rank monsters."
Phew, finally, he realized it.
Morax could have proposed so from the start but due to Zagans inexplicably high pride, he was unable to ept and go along with strategies suggested by another. It was better to let him think he thought of the n himself.
"Thats a good idea, yeah. Ill make it transfer there. Ill also hand over the right of control to you so that it wont vanish even if my crystal is broken."
Each of them had ced transfer arrays on each others dungeons. If they made use of it, they could then safely lend monsters to their allies.
That said, there was only one monster that could use [Transfer] and that monster could, at most, only transfer five human-sized individuals at a time. Because it would eventually run out of magic power in three roundtrips, they couldnt afford to use the monster carelessly.
"Be thankful for I shall do my best to fill the shorings of the two of you. I will break that bastards crystal and win this war. Fufu, fufufu. Yes, I alone will invade his dungeon; I will show you all my courage and might!"
"Amazing. Ill try to hold out for as long as I can and keep him from recalling his troops back to his dungeon but I hope you win this quickly."
Deep inside, Morax was ridiculing Zagan. That isnt courage; unless he had such strong monsters by his side, he wouldnt be this confident. Really, after relying so much on others...
With that, their chances of defeat went down from a hundred percent to an eighty percent. They were desperate, yes, but the n they thought up was surprisingly not too bad.
As soon as the A rank monster was given to Zagan, they concluded theirmunication. He probably thought it was troublesome to return the demon but due to that alone, information kept being sent to Morax.
"Now then, shall we get this final struggle started?"
Morax took out his Demon Lord book and using as much of the remaining points he had, he increased the floors his dungeon had and bought abyrinth room that was asrge andplicated as possible.
If a room was too wide, monsters would have a hard time intercepting invaders. Furthermore, such a room would make the dungeon unpopr to the adventurers and that would normally only be a bad thing. This however wasnt the time to mind such things. If Morax could gain even just a second of time, it would also buy Zagan an additional second, thus increasing the likelihood of conquering Procells dungeon.
"What would I do once Procell reaches me?"
Surrendering immediately would allow him to keep his life. His crystal would be broken resulting in him losing all the monsters he had made up until that point and his dungeon disappearing. But that loss was tolerable for, fortunately, he hadnt chosen anyone to be his [Monster of the Covenant].
Demon Lords could live for as long as three hundred years and he would only be inactive for about nine months of those 300 yearsnine months being the time he would have to wait for a new crystal to be given to him if his current one was indeed broken this war. After that, he would go independent and rebuild.
He would look at this as the price to be paid for him to learn and grow stronger. Even if it took him decades, he would bounce back from this.
"Let me learn everything I could about you, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell."
And thus, he gathered the information from the quadruplet demons.
After a while, the Orihalcum Gargoyle lent to [Viscosity] was defeated. Seeing that, [Evil] was convinced that handing the A rank monster who was the center of his defense over to Zagan was the correct decision. It was far better to use it offensively than for it to be kept within his dungeon.
As he casually watched the scenes unfolding in the screen, he noticed the blond elf.
She was beautiful and was appealing to the eyes.
Using DP and medals were not the only ways to increase ones number of monsters. Other methods included the coption of monsters of the same race and thus bearing a child; the usage of a corpse for undead monsters; the natural splitting of the monster as was the case for monsters like the slimes; and of course, for some demons and demon beasts, the usage of the females of another race to give birth to a new kind of monster.
[Evil] possessed the ability to make use oftter.
In fact, a good number of his subordinate monsters were born from human adventurers. The more magic power the individual had, and the more attuned the said individual was to [Holy], the stronger the newly born monster was.
So, when he saw that elf, he couldnt help but gulp down. That elf was the ideal candidate to be a mother to his monsters. Monsters born out of her could possibly be extremely fantastic. His intuition and the sensation in his loins was enough for him to prove that point.
I want to try her, I want to try her so bad.
If he confronted them head on, he would probably be crushed in an instant but if he could catch them off guard, then maybe... He still had enough monsters to aplish that.
No, wait, settle down. I cant risk provoking [Creation] Demon Lord Procell here and now. Calm down, I have to calm down. Ill buy as much time but once theyve reached me here, Ill say I was tricked by the [Steel] Demon Lord and beg them to forgive me enough to spare my life. Procell who has softness in his heart should spare me.
But, but....
"I... I cant endure it anymore"
Thinking about it, going along with that idiot brought me considerable stress. Maybe I can enjoy myself even if only a little.
Volume 3 8
"Master, if this dungeon continues to be as tedious and long, its probably better to take a break."
"Yeah, okay, it was getting a bit tiring."
Ancient Elf and I were conquering [Evil]s dungeon. We had defeated the many monsters posted in the first room of the first floor and continued on to the second and third rooms. Upon exiting the third room, we made it into the second floor.
It had beenplex in its own right thus far; traps were set all over the ce and enemies were charging at us in single bursts. Despite that however, we were able travelfortably thus far.
But from this floor on, however, it had gotten weird. It was nothing but an excessively long andplicated maze. Enemies or traps didnt appear anymore. The ceiling was lowered and that prevented us from using the sky as a shortcut.
"As I thought, even if we follow the shortest route, wed still be taking a detour to get to next room."
Ancient Elf who had mapped the entire room using her wind sonar made an unhappy face. The room had been nothing but a long maze for a while now and I was convinced the [Evil] Demon Lord was buying for some time instead of trying to actively killing us.
That said, there was no way I would let my guard down. It was not hard to imagine that a dungeon designed to stall for time would have a nasty trap waiting for when the invaders got careless. Keeping that in mind, I have to break through this dungeon.
Peacefully coasting through the dungeon, I thought that if this dungeon operated normally, [Evil] dungeon should not have an awful lot of DP earned. Even if he only added stonebyrinths with no traps, the most he could buy should be three floors worth of such rooms.
When I spotted the end of the room, I was a little bit relieved.
"Finally, it looks like we can get out of this room" said Ancient Elf in a weary voice.
She was a strong monster and while the stress on her body was more than manageable, the stress on her mind was not due to her continually keeping watch with her wind. As it were, she was bound to have apse in her concentration.
"Just a little bit more; you can do it."
"Yeah, Im still alright. What worries me though is that even from some rooms ago, I get the feeling that Im constantly being watched. Its an unpleasant feeling like someones groping me all over. And yet, theres no enemy nearby."
"Maybe its the enemy Demon Lord taking a look at us through his crystal."
"Uuugh. I dont like the sound of that."
Perhaps that unpleasant feeling of being watched was the cause for her getting tired.
From that information and the information gathered beforehand about [Evil], we had formted a n. If it went well, we would be able to conquer the dungeon in one fell swoop but the chances of it actually being put into motion was slim so we focused on normally going through the dungeon conquest.
Regardless, I wanted to make her more at ease even if only for a little so...
"Ancient Elf, lets talk for a bit"
I decided to give her some kind of motivation.
"I have no doubt in my mind that Rorono had contributed the most when we founded Avalon,"
She oversaw the construction of the infrastructures like the waterways, the houses, and the walls surrounding the city. She had also manufactured the weapons that could not be found in any other city. All these brought many humans into the city. If we didnt have her, it probably would have been impossible to have such a well-formed city.
"Yes, I think so too. But not only that, shes also contributing to enhance our fighting force by developing our weapons. Rorono-chans amazing." she said with a somehow envying face.
"Even Im aware that Im a jack of all trades. In terms of fighting ability, I cant win against Kuina-chan; that girls on a level all on her own. Also, in terms of production, theres Rorono-chan. My abilities are convenient but they cant hope topete against Rorono-chans. In terms of tactics and poprity, Wight-sans the clear winner. No matter what field of expertise, I couldnt be the best."
In a way, her self-analysis was right but frankly...
"You are stronger than Rorono and Wight; better at producing things than Kuina and Wight; more popr than Kuina and Rorono, and more suited to be amander too. In terms of an overall score, no one is better than you."
She wasnt the best but she could do anything and for that, she was helpful for me.
"I am able to invade this dungeon despite the absence of Kuina and Rorono because Im relying on you. Also, despite your humility, the apples youve made have be materials that invited a lot of humans into our city. The farnds that promised an abundant harvest have also attracted farmers that eventually became settlers. So be proud for you are amazing."
Despite being slightly embarrassed upon hearing me, Ancient Elf smiled.
I then took out a ring from my pocket.
"My original n was to give this to you after youve be my Monster of the Covenant. I have decided that Kuina, Rorono, and you, Ancient Elf, would be my [Monsters of the Covenant] and thus give you these matching essories."
It was a tinum ring engraved with the image of an applethe symbol of our city of Avalonand was decorated by a jade green gemstone. The warm and gentle light it reflected suited her perfectly.
Going along with her gemstone were the fire-red ruby for Kuina and the cold and sharp purple of the sapphire for Rorono.
Each of their rings suited the wearers personality.
"This makes me so happy, master, but I cant possibly ept this; Im still not one of your [Monsters of the Covenant], after all."
After crying tears of joy, Ancient Elf said an apologetic but clear refusal.
"This is just an advance gift. For all your achievements thus far and for when you manage to break the enemys crystal this war, I intend to make you a [Monster of the Covenant]. To be able to lead the conquest of a dungeon by yourself is more than enough to be regarded in the same way as Kuina and Roronomy trump cardsright? Im giving this to you now rather thanter to ensure that youll bring me victory."
She was wide-eyed at first but then smiled. That smile wasnt the same lonely smile she held earlier either but one of true happiness.
"Yes! I will do my best to live up to your expectations, master. Ill definitely conquer this dungeon especially now that Im reenergized."
Looking at her smiling face, I was convinced I made the right call.
"Ancient Elf, give me your left hand."
"Yes."
Despite her shyness, she extended her left hand over. I then reached for her hand and tried to put on the emerald ring. But then...
"Kya!"
Ancient Elf briefly shrieked. Twisting around her ankle was... something... a purple tentacle of some kind extending from the wall...
"Ancient Elf!"
I hurried to grab her but was too slow. Connected to the tentacle was a purple octopus monster and it was activating some kind of magic. In the next moment, Ancient Elf and the purple octopus were gone. The magic must have been [Transfer], I concluded. So long as it was within ones own dungeon, Transfer could be used to move to any desired location even without a prepared transfer array.
I thrust my hand forward in an effort to hand over the ring to her but only touched the empty air. The ring fell to the ground and made a nking noise, as I copsed into the ground myself.
"How, How!? Just how could I have not noticed it!?! I shouldnt have let my guard down. For that matter, how did that monster get past Ancient Elfs senses!?"
As much as I could without seeming too unnatural, I acted as though I was flustered, full of regret and didnt understand anything that was going on.
It was an act with the [Evil] Demon Lord as the audience in mind. If he believed my act, he would be thinking something like he was lucky that his n worked.
Combining the information of Ancient Elf being watched and the information we had gathered on [Evil] beforehand, I had reason to believe this trick would work but never had I thought it would go this smoothly.
In ordance to my n with Ancient Elf, we had deliberately fallen into the enemys trap but from that moment on, I wondered what the enemy would do next.
Nevertheless, I would have preferred it if he could have waited for a moment longer; I really wanted to see the look on Ancient Elfs face when I put the ring on her finger.
Or could it possibly have been because he saw that that he decided to start his n?
I sighed as I picked the ring up from the ground.
"It worked! No way, I didnt think it would go this well."
Within the crystal room of his dungeon, he saw the stricken-with-despair Procell and snickered.
And then, by using his privilege as the dungeons Demon Lord to transfer to anywhere within his dungeon at any time he wished, he relocated to his private chambers in the second room of the first floor.
This chamber was totally gloomy and filled with ominous atmosphere. In addition to a bed, there were the many torture devices and the uncouth instruments lined up. While this chamber was mainly used for [Evil]s hobbies, it was also for improving his fighting force; using the chamber many times over to pleasure himself with the women and making them scream. Remembering that made [Evil] Demon Lord Moraxugh vilely.
Ancient Elfs ability to search for enemies was troublesome to Morax. By knowing of each of her enemies movements, an ordinary surprise attack wouldnt work on her. But then, by observing her keenly, Morax found a gap in her ability. He had observed that the only information she could gather remotely were those that could be perceived by the eyes and ears. He was convinced of such after she repeatedly did not take notice of the monsters disguised as the walls. Confident he found the weakness, he enacted his ns.
"Gufufufu, first is to train you."
He said, staring at the gigantic water tank in a corner of the chamber. The tank was filled with a pink-colored mucus. Within the water tank were the octopus monster which transferred there and the blond-haired beautiful elf.
"I wonder how long you willst"
The pink mucus true identity and effects included being a strong aphrodisiac, a muscle rxant, a mind enhancer, a hallucinogen, and so forth.
Consuming some amount of it would immediately break any sturdy warrior.
By directly transferring to it and submerging Ancient Elf into the tank full of mucus, the octopus monster had safely rendered her powerless. So long as she was under the mucus effects, they need not be afraid of her, no matter how strong she was.
"Wonderful, simply wonderful!"
Submerged and wet, her clothes clung to her body and gave emphasis to her bodyline. Her face so beautiful, it terrified him; herrge and nicely shaped breasts; her dazzling white thighs; the splendidness of her bodyline up to her buttocks... the [Evil] Demon Lord was already ecstatic.
Ancient Elf struggled within the water tank but the very sticky mucus made her actions meaningless. Its effects had also addled her mind enough for her to not be able to use magic.
Even if for some reason she was able to resist the mucus and its effects, the water tank was made of a special magical metal that would take a dragon to destroy it.
As a result of her futile struggle, she took in more of the mucus. Though even if she hadnt, the mucus would seep through her skin and steadily break her.
After a while of struggling, she then became motionless. Either she ran out of breath or the mucus had taken effect. [Evil] endured the strong urge of taking her out of water tank and having his way with her right away, and instead waited for about a minute to ensure she was really knocked out and could not recover from the mucuss effects.
Her clothes were opened and looked almost risky. The sight of that alone fueled [Evil]s lust even more. Thats enough already, thought Morax before ordering his subordinate monsters to take her out of the water tank.
"Now, time let us enjoy ourselves. Well, truth is I know I shouldnt be doing this because something like this would anger [Creation] but with such an exquisite product before me, how could I endure!?"
With her body covered in the mucus, each time she took a breath and thus making her chest rise and fall, hisher region reacted.
Such a fine female specimen... he had not and probably would not again see a woman as fine as her.
First, he effortlessly took off her outer garment. From then on was the fun; the powerful aphrodisiac and hallucinogens would soon take effect and make her lose control of herself, enving her to his desires. It was the same as always.
Thinking about it calmly, I dont have to fear [Creation] anymore, do I? Especially now that his greatest fighting force has fallen into my hands. If I train her up a little, shell do whatever I say.
With a face full of lust, Morax creepily wiggled his fingers as his hands approached Ancient Elf. Just a little bit more and its the moment Ive waited for all this time; just a little bit more and I could touch her.
Right when he thought his hands had touched her, she opened her beautiful jade green eyes and stared at him. Her eyes were cold and unfeeling, as though she was looking at nothing but an insect instead of a person. But most of all, her eyes werent those of someone under the effects of the mucus but rather someone fully capable of reason.
"Eh?" said Morax, dumbfounded, as he raised his hands up to his face and found them missing. Soon after that, came the realization of the pain and then the screaming.
Ancient Elf then stood up and spoke
"Did you have a good dream? You better wake up soon though because Im quite mad for you interrupting at the good part. Dont expect me to show you too much kindness."
Upon hearing those words, he felt anger enough to drive him mad.
As far as he was concerned, women were to be abused and dominated but here was one that was looking down on him instead. There was no way he could forgive such. He had decided he would vite her over and over and over again until she waspletely broken. And after impregnating her a number of times that she was then useless, he would kill her in the most gruesome way he could think of.
Promising himself that, he took the monsters in his [Storage] out and ordered them to attack.
Volume 3 9
Ancient Elf stood up and raised her magic power; she waspletely in battle mode.
She then checked out her state her surroundings as well as her own. Firstly, her main weapon, an anti-materiel rifle, was currently submerged in the water tank. Her side-arm, an automatic firearm she hid in her clothes, was rendered useless by the mucus that got into it. That meant she had to win her way out of this ordeal unarmed.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! My hand! Its gone!! You, I wont forgive you!! Naughty children must be punished! Let me show you I care by correcting your ways!!!!!!!!"
Screamed the [Evil] Demon Lord Morax. He was so enraged that the tentacles between his legs that had been threatening to pop out of his pants finally did.
He had no idea why the mucus had so little effect on her. That being said, he knew there should still be some effect on her and that should be enough to hinder her in battle, enough for his monsters he had to win over her.
Im going to torment you; make you beg for your life as I vite you.
He then took out the monsters within his [Storage]. Each was born out of a different captured female adventurera warrior, a beastwoman, an elf, and a magic user. All of them would rival a B rank monster in battle and were thus his personal guards.
"The enemys just a weakened elf. If you close the distance, she wont be able to do anything!"
She might be a strong elf but unarmed and drugged, she wont be able to make use of her strong suit which is long-distance fighting.
Thus the four monsters charged in and challenged her in a short-distance battle. Using her weakness against her, they knew they wouldnt lose. In what Morax perceived as cheekiness, Ancient Elf didnt seem to fear her predicament. However, in truth, she was just analyzing her enemies. Nheless, Morax was irritated further.
"Go, get her!!"
The first ones to charge in were the monster born out of the female warrior and the one born out of the beast woman.
[Evil]s ability was vile and powerful. With it, he could make a woman pregnant with a demon monster. This demon would inherent the best qualities of the mother and be stronger than her. The stronger the mother, the better the monster was.
Of course, this ability had limitations.
The first of which was that Morax had to lust from the bottom of his heart.
Another concerned the burden of the monsters birth on the mother; unless the mother was an immensely sturdy individual, she would be broken and of no use after giving birth once.
Due to their mothers being humans and demi-humansbeings that possessed high intelligencethe monsters that Morax took out of his storage were cunning. They approached Ancient Elf from her front and her back resulting in a pincer maneuver.
"You seem to have three misunderstandings here." sneered Ancient Elf.
She moved herself closer to the warrior-type monster that approached her from her front before it could swing down its sword and thenunched an attack with the heel of her palm. In her palm though was a lump of wind that had terrifying power as though it was apressed typhoon.
At the same time her palm hit the monster, the wind was released resulting in the monsters body to be torn in half and blown away.
The other demon, the one born from a tiger beastwoman, then attacked her from the back with the ws it had inherited from its mother.
"I see you"
Without even turning around, Ancient Elf narrowly avoided the attack and then, still not facing the demon, hit it with back of her hand wrapped in wind, bursting the beast-man demons head like a melon.
Meanwhile, the elf demon nocked an arrow into its bow and readied to fire but, in the end, never got to as the sword carried by the warrior demon was thrown and lodged between its brows thus killing it.
The only one that remained was the demon born from a magic user. In the middle of its chanting, it was suddenly in pain. It turned purple and dropped down. The cause for such was Ancient Elf emptying the surrounding area of all oxygen.
It was a massacre. In less than a minute, all of [Evil] Demon Lords elite guards had fallen.
"Hii!!"
Morax fell down on his bottom and squirmed himself away in an effort to distance himself even if for only a little. Watching that scene convinced him that hepletely misread this monsters might.
I have to get away! I have to use transfer and go to my crystal room.
"If youre nning to use transfer, I suggest you stop. While your mouth was hanging open,pletely like an idiot, I threw a lump ofpressed wind into it. The moment you stray from my area of control, the wind would explode in your stomach. There are better ways to die, right?"
Ancient Elf said so to Morax with a smiling face. And with that, Morax halted the transfer.
"N-no way."
"If you want to find out, be my guest. Just know that youll die immediately once you do transfer."
It was then that Morax epted the fact that he couldnt run away. On the other hand, he couldnt even wound Ancient Elf. He was checkmated.
No, wait, not yet. Ill focus on surviving at all cost. No matter how strong she is, shes still a girl; there will definitely be a chance.
Upon his silence, Ancient Elf spoke.
"It seems youve understood you couldnt escape. Lets chat for a while, shall we? Before the fighting broke out, I said that you misunderstood three things," said Ancient Elf as she held up three fingers. "First, you believe youve caught us in a trap but in truth, my master is the one that caught you in his trap. Ive actually detected the monsters that tried to hide. Considering your inclinations and your ability, it was obvious you would try to iste and kidnap me. We then decided going along with that was faster than exploring the long and winding maze you made."
Those words were enough to crush Moraxsst few remaining pride. He held on to the notion that he lost to Procell in terms of their subordinate monsters and their Unique Skills but now he learned that even in their strategies, he lost.
Also, Procells side conducted some intelligence gathering. [Evil]s ability leftsting impressions on its victims. On top of that, he rampaged too much. That made gathering information about him quite simple.
Then, during their dungeon exploration, Ancient Elf felt a malicious re on her and informed Procell about it, leading to the formtion of this n.
To make Morax think that she could detect only the things that were perceptible to the eyes and ears, she had no choice but to act as though that was the case but if for some reason the hiding monsters didnt aim for her and instead eyed Procell, she probably would have killed them then and there.
"Second, I certainly do excel in long-distance fighting but that doesnt necessarily mean I cant hold my own in short-distance battles; Im also great in it, you know."
Through the wind, she could sense everything from every direction. She could feel where and when an attack was going to be made and immediately respond to it; there was no front or back for her. Furthermore, by dding herself with an armor of wind, she could improve her movement and offensive capabilities.
Ancient Elf was a force to be reckoned with even at close range.
In the first ce, if her enemy was a creature that needed oxygen to live, she could just suck out all the oxygen in the surroundings as was demonstrated earlier. Alternatively, she could increase the oxygen in the area for the enemy to experience oxygen intoxication, thus rendering it unable to fight.
"Lastly, your poison wasnt really effective. We had guessed you would use poison to weaken me so I ate an apple beforehand. Though even if I hadnt, Ill still be alright since I have a strong resistance to poisons."
Every day, Ancient Elf poured arge amount of her magic power into the [Water of Life] which she then sprinkled into the first apple tree in Avalon. Growing out of the tree that was alreadyparable to a World Tree, was a fruit called an apple and eating one would increase ones resistances to everything temporarily among other things.
In summation, from start to finish, [Evil] Demon Lord Morax was dancing to [Creation] Demon Lord Procell and Ancient Elfs tune. Upon realizing that, Morax was flustered; he made a blunder. Lost in his greed, heid his hands on something he shouldnt have. This was no enemy he could ever win against.
"Well, Ive talked for a while but lets get to the main topic, shall we? Question: why do you think youre alive when I could have just killed you whenever I wanted?"
"Is-is it perhaps because [Creation] Demon Lord Procell-sama sees my worth as a negotiation partner? A-actually, Ive been wanting to talk with Procell-sama; they threatened and forced me into coborating with them for this [War] when all along, I just wanted to ally myself with Procell-sama. If he and I were to team up, wed be invincible so I definitely want to do so!!"
Morax was convinced he found the foothold of his survival and for that, he was willing to abandon [Steel] and [Viscosity]; they were just his pawns anyway. He would not regret doing so.
Besides, if he convinced Procell to team up, with these ridiculously strong monsters and their unknown yet powerful skill in his back, he could just sit back and rx. And in this way, if he could somehow gain the chance, he could stab Procell in the back and reap all the rewards for himself. However...
"Youre grossly overestimating yourself there. My master has no need to work with someone like you." said Ancient Elf even though for Morax, what her eyes and tone of voice seemed to really want to say was what kind of nonsense is this guy saying?
He clenched his fist and grinded his teeth. Not only did those words made his new ns crumble, it deeply wounded his pride.
Whats a guy like ME supposed to mean? thought Morax, his anger driving him mad. Despite that however, he made sure to not let his anger be noticed as he smiled the widest smile he could.
"Ye-yeah, thats right. A fine gentleman such as Procell-sama surely would have no need to partner up with a Demon Lord as insignificant as me. But then, just what would he want out of me? Say it, just say it and Ill do it whatever it is!"
"Its something simpler. You see, its troublesome to go through these mazes to break your crystal so we thought wed get you to remove it."
If a Demon Lord died, it would be considered as them dropping out of the war but unless the said Demon Lords crystal was broken, his dungeon and monsters would remain. Since some of Moraxs monsters were probably already within Procells dungeon in an effort to conquer it, Procells sides had to break the crystal without fail.
To that end, the time-consuming maze Morax made was a hindrance.
Morax desperately wracked his brain out, not for how to refuse the demand of course; he knew from the start that wasnt an option. He knew bing unable to buy more time would inconvenience [Steel] but his own survival was his top priority. What he thought about though was how he could increase the chances of his precious survival even if only a little.
"Alright but I have a condition. I will remove all of the mazes but I want you to spare my life; thats all I ask."
Ive properly taken the initiative, he thought, like this, I wont be killed. But then he realized he was doing the same exact thing that Ronovewho he looked down onhad done.
"I see. Then, the terms of our deal is that in exchange for removing the lump of air out of your stomach so that it wont kill you, all you have to do is to empty your entire dungeon. Deal?"
"Deal."
As Morax epted his utter defeat and gnawed on the humiliation done to him by this girl, he essed his Demon Lord book and used it to empty all of his dungeons floors. He didnt do any sort of trick for how could he afford to when upon the discovery of even a small trick, he would surely be killed regardless of him resisting.
Deep inside though, he was seething with anger. And yet, despite him being looked down on and be ordered around by a womana creature meant to be vited and dominatedthere was nothing he could do but endure. He remained determined to rape, impregnate, ruin, and kill her. But for now, it was the time to endure. No matter how long it took, what price he has to pay, or what kind of tricks he has to use, sooner orter, he promised himself he would have his way with her until she herself begs him to kill her.
"Its done."
The moment he said so, the surroundingndscape became nothing but an empty plot ofnd.
"Thank you. We can now easily break your crystal. Ill trust you and not bother on checking on the other floors. Next then is for me to do my part of the deal."
When she said so, a violent gush of wind started to flow out of his mouth. Thissted for about a minute.
If that wind was perhaps released inside his belly, he would most probably had expanded like a balloon and then died.
"May I return to my crystal room now?"
He had to reportvia the goat demonseverything that happened in his dungeon thus far to his trusted ally before it was toote, before his crystal and therefore his monsters were gone.
He so wanted to attack her exposed back but decided against it for he knew that despite seeming vulnerable, she was always on the lookout for any attack from any direction. So instead, he began the transfer process. Began but neverpleted for his head was separated from his body by a de of wind.
Our deal, Morax tried to say but was not able to voice out. Still, Ancient Elf seemed to know just what he was trying to say.
"I have properly done my end of our deal which is to take out the lump of wind within your belly."
Those were thest words [Evil] Lord Morax ever heard in his life.
From the start, Ancient Elf only said she would take the lump of wind out and never anything about sparing his life; she was faithful to their agreement. That said, she was not as kind as Kuina or Rorono.
In a sense, hering to conquer his dungeon was Moraxs greatest misfortune.
"I never had any intention in letting you live. Youre a Demon Lord that harbored ill will toward my master, after all. Also, you disgust me. The only ones that could touch me are cute girls and my master."
Ancient Elf said so and ced a hand between her breasts. In there was the crow monster. As per Procells instruction, she brought along the crow monster that could use transfer as an insurance.
They hadid down a transfer array on each floor so that in case something dire happened, they could escape by means of the crow monster. However...
"Ah, I forgot to make this guy eat an apple."
The crow monster was also submerged in the tank and thus became intoxicated by the aphrodisiac.
Giving up on using the monster to transfer, she tucked it back between her chests.
She then unintentionally looked at the tank they transferred in. The mucus within was a very powerful medicine. So much so that in spite of her resistances and the apples effects, it still managed to affect her a little. It wasnt so much that she was not able to endure it but she did feel a weak sensation in her abdomen. Piquing her interest, she emptied her water canteen and filled it with the pink colored mucus instead.
"Now then, here I go."
Soon, she would be reunited with her beloved master and have him shower her in praises. Also, upon their reunion, she was to receive her name. Thinking about it, she couldnt help but smile.
Containing her happiness, she began to sprint back toward Procell.
Volume 3 10
I traversed the mazes of [Evil]s dungeon together with the Mythological Foxes, Dwarf Smiths and the others.
I believed Ancient Elf would prevail against the enemy Demon Lord without suffering any real harm. The chances of there being a monster that could win against her were nil. And even if for some reason there was such a monster, I assessed Ancient Elf who was the fastest among my monsters would be able to escape unharmed.
"Ancient Elf, I believe in you."
I murmured so and quickened my pace
After about 15 minutes since Ancient Elf was abducted and transferred away, the surrounding scenery suddenly became distorted. The walls that hindered our progress slowly vanished and theplicated maze became an empty plot ofnd.
I breathed a sigh of relief knowing Ancient Elf seeded.
"Everyone, Ancient Elf has defeated the [Evil] Demon Lord. She will probably catch up to us soon. In the meantime, lets push ourselves a little bit harder."
Upon hearing my words, my monsters who all adored her looked at each other and smiled, pleased with our imminent victory and her safety.
I didnt think stopping and waiting for her was a good idea; its her so she would catch up to us soon. For the sake of Wight and the others currently still enduring our enemies fierce attacks, we had to break the crystal as soon as possible.
We cleared floor after emptied floor. We havent broken the crystal so the monsters should still be alive and yet we received no form of resistance on our travels.
That was a little unexpected. Perhaps, the reason they were not stopping usdespite them disappearing after we have broken their crystalwas that they didnt have wills of their own.
Demon Lords, to a certain extent, could affect the strength of their monsters ego upon synthesis.
So most likely, [Evil] had deprived the monsters he created of an ego of their own. And thats why, unless their Demon Lord told them to, they wouldnt really be able to do anything.
I looked at my own monsters and thought I wouldnt want them to be like that.
I wanted them to have their own will and work toward achieving their own happiness.
After all, I would probably die earlier than Kuina and the others.
The girls racesCelestial Fox, Elder Dwarf, Ancient Elfwere extremely long-lived races. Their body, after maturing up to a point, would remain youthful forever.
Whereas I was set to live for exactly 300 years. They would live long after my death.
Of course, that was under the assumption that Avalons crystal is not broken at any point of time.
I thought of such andughed to myself; that was still a far-off thing.
For now, I must focus on the war before me.
"Master!"
I heard a cheerful voice and, without the chance to turn around, I was hugged from behind. I also felt something soft pressed on my back.
"Wee back, Ancient Elf."
"Yes, Im back! As master hoped, I have defeated the [Evil] Demon Lord and his aces."
I freed myself from her embrace and walked beside her. The smile and look she had on her face had the words Praise me written all over it.
As we walked, I brushed her head. Her silky blond hair felt good to touch.
"Good work, Ancient Elf. As expected of my [Monster of the Covenant]"
Her eyes sparkled when she heard the words [Monster of the Covenant]; by defeating [Evil] she had earned her ce to be one. However...
"I will properly praise you and also give you your nameter when we have broken the crystal. For now, lets hurry onto the innermost part of the dungeon."
"Yes! Ill work dly work extra hard!"
Ancient Elf cheerfully said so and deployed wind magic.
It was a spell that would eliminate the wind resistance we were to face while also making the wind blow on our backs. It was nothing grand but I was thankful nheless.
It made our steps lighter and our fatigue less.
Most of all, it made us faster, enough for us to dash through the dungeon in one go.
And then, finally, we arrived at the crystal room.
In the center of this simple room was a stone pedestal and atop of that was the crystal that emitted a pale light. This was the dungeons core.
"Ancient Elf, be the one to break it."
With this, she would have fulfilled all of my conditions.
"Yes, master."
She nodded and hit it with a lump of wind, thus breaking it.
With this, all the monsters under [Evil]s control vanished. The dungeon then shook; in a few hours, the dungeon as well would vanish.
"Our n after breaking the crystal was to immediately set up a transfer array and go back to our dungeon but... that doesnt seem to be possible right now."
I shifted my eyes to the crow monster lying exhausted in Ancient Elfs hand.
The crow monsterthe only monster among my followers that could use transferwas caught alongside Ancient Elf in [Evil]s trap but unlike her, it partially lost consciousness due to some drug.
"Its alright; its consciousness should return in about 15 minutes or so. I had it eat an Avalon apple and also carefully poured magic power into its body so that it would recover."
Hearing that made me feel relieved. Empty as the dungeon was, returning on foot would still take time.
I figured it would still be better to patiently wait for the 15 minutes for the crow monster to recover and about another five minutes for it to prepare the transfer array.
...if so, then to better make use of that time, I thought I should give Ancient Elf her name.
"Ancient Elf, it is because of you that we are able to conquer [Evil]s dungeon. So, thank you. Also, for all your achievements thus far and your distinguished role this time, I am granting you your name and making you my [Monster of the Covenant]."
She was speechless.
And then, after handing the crow monster over to a Mythological Fox, she came to face me eye to eye.
"Before I give you your name, let me confirm: Ancient Elf, will you be my [Monster of the Covenant]; to be with me, to fight with me, tough with me, to cry with me for as long as we live? Do you have that kind of resolution?"
To that, Ancient Elf nodded.
"But of course. I am masters. I will always be with you. Even if you say you dont want to be with me, I will always be somewhere near."
She said such a pleasant thing.
Then, I too should resolve myself.
"Alright. Then, Ancient Elf, from now on you are Aura."
Aura.
While also being the name of a goddess, it was also a word for ones radiance.
I wanted her to shine and wrap everybody else with her radiance. That wish was attached to her name.
"Aura... My name is Aura. Thank you, master! From now on, Im Aura!"
She repeatedly murmured the word and then epted that it was her name. In that moment, ourmy and Ancient Elfssouls were connected. Her power came flowing into me. Not only that, her feelings, her thoughts, as well as information about abilities that were unknown even to her came rushing in.
By Aura bing my [Monster of the Covenant]as with Kuina and Roronopowers that lied dormant were brought to the surface.
I see, so thats why she had the skill Personification of the.
I also underwent chang. Power swelled up from deep within me. When I was aware that I could now use the girls skills and some of their magic, I somehow understood.
Bypleting my three [Monsters of the Covenant], I was then finally able to fully wield my strength as a Demon Lord. By my reckoning, as I was, I wouldnt fall behind even against an A rank monster that could grow.
I calmed myself from bing drunk with power and looked at Ancient Elf, only to see she was in the same state as me.
This is amazing. Masters power, heart, and soul are flowing in. Its warm. Has Kuina-chan and Rorono-chan always been feeling this sensations? Im a little jealous."
Dazed, Ancient Elf, rather, Aura murmured so.
Her face was flushed and colored.
To sober her, I spoke.
"Aura, will you give me your left hand?"
It was to put the ring I failed to give her earlier. It was a tinum ring engraved with a crest that resembled an apple. It also featured a green gemstone.
Perhaps she realized what I meant for her face grew red as she gave me her left hand.
Thus, I put on the ring on her left middle finger. I put it there to symbolize my wish for her to be safe from maliciousness as well as for her to continue working with me.
"From now on, Ill be relying on you even more."
"Yes! Ill do my best for master now more than ever!"
And like that, I was able to give Ancient Elf the name Aura.
When I looked at the crow monster, it was upright without me noticing. It then began to draw the transfer array as it walked unsteadily.
At that rate, we would be back in Avalon very soon.
Aura and the others were still alright so that meant that my crystal wasnt broken yet.
My only worry at the moment was whether Wight would be able to hold on.
Like that, I stifled my anxiety as I patiently waited for thepletion of the transfer array.
Volume 3 11
Wight who was left in charge after his lord had gone out to conquer [Viscosity] and [Evil]s dungeons quietly concentrated. Never did he doubt that his respected lord or even the girls his lord loved would seed.
However, his duty was to protect the city his lord, Procell, founded. It was an important duty entrusted to him precisely because his lord had faith he could do it.
Failing was absolutely not an option even if it meant sacrificing their lives to protect the dungeon.
"Wight-sama, the enemies have arrived."
The brown-skinned girl beside him, a Dwarf Smith, spoke with a slightly tensed voice. In recognition of her operation of the golems which yed a major role in thest war, she was appointed to be the adjutant to Wight.
Wight was currently in the second room of the dungeon and was therefore unable to survey the enemies through the crystal. To make up for this and to serve as his eyes was his adjutant, the Dwarf Smith, who was able to see what the golems she controls could see. By letting her report detailed information, Wight would then be able to issue the appropriate instructions.
Their first line of defense, the first room of the dungeon, seemed like the same 2 kilometer straightforward room used in the war against the [Wind] Demon Lord with Mithril Golems equipped with heavy-machineguns stationed near its exit. ...it was actually an improved version of that room with many and various additional gimmicks.
"Hmm. Miss, how many enemies are there?"
"About ten."
"I highly doubt the enemies are only this much. I think its safe to assume these enemies are spies sent to gauge our strength. If that is what they want, then let us show it to them. Issue the order to begin attacking."
He judged that it didnt matter which kind of trick was at y and ordered an attack.
By the Dwarf Smithsmand, the Mithril Golems pulled the trigger of their heavy-machineguns and unleashed a mass of murderous intent.
Like that, the curtains of the battle were raised.
Procells words floated in Wights mind. Each of his lords words were d in a radiance seen in the likes of gemstones.
His lord had imparted to him countless of tactics.
Even now, his heart was with his lord. He decided that just perfectly aplishing the role granted to him wasnt enough; he would do better than perfect.
~[Steel] Demon Lord Zagans point of view~
I really have unreliable allies thought [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan as he clicked his tongue.
He allied himself with two other Demon Lords but they were so unbelievably useless. After letting the [Creation] Demon Lord do as he pleased, they lost the will to fight and decided to just hole up in their own dungeons.
In the end, he had no choice but to conquer Procells dungeon on his own.
Still, he got to admit he was thankful to Procell for deploying his best monsters outside of the dungeon.
Though it was that ipetent decision of Procell that forced Zagan to be the only one to set out to conquer the dungeon in the first ce, he didnt feel angry about it; if anything, he felt happy to be the one to get to personally crush Procells crystal. He thought of such and raised the corner of his mouth while being d with his Monster of the Covenant, a Killing Armor.
The Killing Armor was a higher-ranked Living armor. And monsters of the Living Armor lineage were monsters that had great offensive and defensive capabilities. They were also armors that were hollow inside and could therefore be worn.
Aside from the Killing Armor, the two A rank monsters that were loaned to him were also by Zagans side. He was as safe as could be imagined. A coward such as him wouldnt dare go out to the battlefield if he had anything less than this.
"That guy Morax did a wonderful thing giving me his A rank monster. Hes still useless but hes at least better than [Viscosity]. Fufufu, now, lets attack this deserted dungeon with two A rank fully-leveled monsters!"
The [Steel] Demon Lord chuckled so.
No matter how he thought about it, there was no way for him to lose.
Even so, he knew he needed to be cautious about the Mithril Golems and their huge cylindrical weapons that were used to crush the [Wind] Demon Lord.
To break through of those, he formted his n. Procell would probably not even know what hit him.
First was to send out scouts.
Zagan wasnt a fool that would just implement his Mithril Golem countermeasure right off the bat. There was always the chance that there could be traps ced to counter his own countermeasures. Hence, to confirm whether or not Procell used the very same tactics as before, Zagan sent out scouts.
A tiger does its best even when hunting sheep. There is no room for error.
D rank Living Armors made nking noises as they entered Procells dungeon from the white space. The purchase of these monsters with DP became possible ever since Zagan had made the B rank monster Killing Armor. And so, losing the Living Armors was of little to no consequence since he could always just buy some more.
Zagan then closed his eyes.
Supposedly, his ability was to create ores and that would make one think of production. However, there was two other points to his ability. He concealed these two points to even his allies and made them think he was a fool that would carelessly expose all of the cards on his hand.
Anyway, the first one was that he could also see what the inorganic-type monsters under his control could see. Some monsters could do this with golems but his Unique Skill was overwhelmingly far more extensive.
The second was that he could enhance the defense and magic defense of the inorganic monsters in the same room as hes in. His monsters which even normally had high defense would be much tougher, enough to rival an iron wall. Any half-hearted attack would be easily shrugged off.
He thought of his Unique Skill as appropriate for him who would someday be the strongest Demon Lord.
And like that, Living Armors entered Procells dungeon.
"Really now, a fool only ever knows one trick, huh?"
Zagan sneered.
It was a straight path and at its end were the Mithril Golems and their cylindrical weapons; the very same scheme Procell used in his battle against the [Wind] Demon Lord.
Seeing this, [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan was convinced and certain that his strategy was superior to Procells.
It was clear just from their first moves. Procell probably thought they would devote themselves to defense given their sides advantage and thus intended to defeat them by ordering all of his troops to attack.
In actuality, their side opted for an aggressive strategy; when attacked, they were to immediately share that information to the others and whoever was not attacked would invade Procells dungeon. To Zagan, it was an ingenious n.
[Evil] Demon Lord Morax suggested that Procell had managed to see through their strategy but for Zagan, that was an overestimation born only out of Moraxs main force being annihted all at once. Really, that Morax is such a coward.
In addition, the countermeasures against the Mithril Golems which Procell seemed to rely heavily upon were perfect.
Other than the ranks of their medals, Zagan was confident he wouldnt lose to any other aspect against Procell and that included this [War].
And then, after he had beaten Procell, his next target was [Wind]. He felt that her medalAn A rank and one of the four great elementssuited him just fine.
Thatll show that shit of a woman for rejecting my offer of an alliance. After I break her crystal, Ill be sure to make her suffer..
After their first year, the new Demon Lords were to be given a new crystal should theirs be broken within that timeframe. However, that would amount to nothing if the Demon Lord themselves were killed. So if Zagan were to threaten to kill a fellow new Demon Lord, he should be able to pretty much make them do anything he wished.
"Now then, time to show them all my strategy!"
Zagan shouted so and the slimes in the vanguard began creeping its way forward. Most noteworthy was the gigantic light green slime that looked like it could swallow a fully grown adult whole. Beside it were more than a hundred dog-sized slimes.
The gigantic slime was [Viscosity] Demon Lords Monster of the Covenant, an Acid Slime.
While the rtively smaller ones were the D rank Glow Slimes that Ronove had be able to purchase.
A characteristic of the Acid Slime was its [Shock Absorption]. In exchange for an almost nonexistent attack power, this monster was more than able to withstand a barrage of attacksing even from an A rank monster. In addition to that, this slime also possessed powerful self-regeneration.
The Glow Slimes too possessed simr abilities albeit of several ranks lower.
His strategy was exceedingly simple.
First, the Acid Slime was to advance while it endured the enemies onught. When it has taken too much damage, the Glow Slimes were to act as its shield and buy the Acid Slime some time to heal itself. The Acid Slime also had the ability to absorb into itself another slimes liquid body. This meant that the Acid Slime could absorb the bodies of the fallen Glow Slimes that acted as its shield to speed up its self-regeneration.
And then, once they were close enough, the Acid Slime was to wrap its acid body onto the Mithril Golems and their mysterious weapons. The acid wouldnt be able to melt mithril but the weapons should be ruined. So long as the weapons were taken care of, everything else was easy; there was no need to fret about the slow-witted Mithril Golems.
But then, by his estimate, things might not even need to reach that point. This was based on the projections of the war before where the cylindrical weapons took a rest from firing, suggesting a limit to its continuous use.
Furthermore, since it was a long-range weapon, it should have limited ammunition. He was confident that before the slimes even get the chance to swallow the weapons, those would have first turned into useless metal rods.
For this war, they had handed DP over to [Viscosity] and had him make a massive amount of slimes. And Zagan fully intended to make a profit out of this investment.
"I have to finish things here before [Viscosity] falls. Though I doubt his A rank monster would lose to Procells monsters. Well, it is [Viscosity] and he most probably will find ways to screw himself up."
And like so, the slimes borrowed from [Viscosity] entered Procells dungeon one by one.
Creeping its way in the very front was the gigantic Acid Slime.
It didnt have much but the slime seemed to have at least enough intelligence to squeeze its liquid body down to as slim and low as its highly dense body would allow, hence resulting to an efficient means of defense.
Behind the Acid Slime were the numerous Glow Slimes that were creeping their way forward in a simr fashion. And flying over their heads were the countless bullets being fired.
It was going great but then the Mithril Golems, upon the Dwarf Smiths instruction, momentarily stopped firing and adjusted the angle of their guns muzzles. After a short while, they resumed firing, only this time, they readjusted the angle of their guns muzzles for each round fired.
The bullets that flew over the gigantic slimes head began to graze it, getting closer and closer, until finally, the slime was hit. The gigantic slime wobbled greatly. However, that was it, nothing more, nothing less. The bullets stopped moving before it could exit the slimes body. The slime then continued to creep forward as it spitted out the 12.7mm bullets it stopped.
Evenpared to all monsters, the physical resistance disyed here was top ss.
As I thought, if anybody could do it, its these guys, thought Zagan who struck a victory pose when he saw the scene through the eyes of a small inorganic monster that used the slime army as shield.
And then, perhaps due to being done with adjusting the angle of their guns muzzles, the golems began to once again rapid-fire.
Despite only seeing it through the eyes of another being, the storm of mayhem was enough to make Zagan tremble.
The heavy-machineguns spewed out ten bullets per second and each of those bullets wasparable an A rank monsters full-strength attack. And yet, the Acid Slime pressed oneven though it shook wildlyas it absorbed arge amount of bullets into its body.
By all rights, the hail of bullets should have ovee the Acid Slimes [Shock Absorption] by now but thanks to the slime squeezing its body close to ground, only one out of three bullets hit it. That low uracy gave the slime enough time to self-regenerate.
Even so, the damage done to the slime was piling up little by little. The Glow Slimes were used to shield some parts of the gigantic slimes body and thus give it more time to recuperate. The bodies of the killed slimes were then absorbed into the bigger ones body, healing it even more.
All in all, things were going as [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan had predicted it would.
"Fufufu, has no one ever told that stupid guy to never again use an already exposed trick? This is what he gets for wanting everyones attention and recklessly volunteering in that sideshow!"
And then, the heavy-machineguns finally stopped firing due to its gun barrel bing too hot to use.
In the meantime, the Acid Slime finally finished healing itself up and proceeded to rush ahead.
"Even that ipetent [Viscosity] could actually be of use to me. Now, my monsters, attack!!"
He made his monsters that were on standby in the white space rush inside.
As for Zagan himself, he remained outside with the A rank monsters. He was to remain there until all of his monsters have entered the dungeon.
Even when some of his monsters had entered, the firing still havent resumed. It was as though those weapons have bepletely useless. Just in case it was a bluff, the slow slimes remained in the lead, still acting as important shields.
It was the right call to assign [Viscosity] the fools monsters to act as shields.
Halfway through, things suddenly changed. The slimes were all of a sudden wrapped in mes that came from the sides.
Slimes were strong against physical attacks but were awful against high temperature. And so, being covered in mes, they writhed in pain.
The Acid Slime wrapped the other Glow Slimes into its body in an effort to put out the mes. Ultimately, it failed atpletely doing so. It had an almost nonexistent intelligence and yet it nevertheless felt injustice as it burned away.
"Wha--whats going on!?" cried [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan.
The cause for such was simple: Golems. Although the dungeon room looked nothing but a straightforward path no matter how one looked, its walls were actually excavated wide enough to fit the golems that would hide in them. These tunnels were then disguised in order to conceal them.
Thanks to Elder Dwarf and the Dwarf Smiths continued efforts in making golemsone for each of them each daythe amount of golems in Avalon was well more than enough. In the same way, they also prepared many weapons that could correspond with various situations.
One of those were the methrowers that were carried by the golems that just appeared. These weapons repurposed the napalm mixture used in the aerial corps bombs. Thats why, even when the Acid Slime wrapped itself with the Glow Slimes, the demonic mes born out of the mixture did not disappear.
Procell considered his enemies would counter his Mithril Golems and their heavy-machineguns using monsters that most likely had abilities like shock absorption or ones that granted physical damage resistance. If so, then to answer this, he made the golems with the methrowers hide in the tunnels where they could ambush the enemies.
And then...
"Wait, what, whats the meaning of this?"
The attacks of the Mithril Golems surely did stop and the heavy-machineguns unusable. That much was no act but...
"New golems with those damned weapons have appeared!?"
If something was broken, you simply had to rece it.
There were actually six Mithril Golems with heavy-machineguns. Also, they were setup so that they could switch with one another at any time.
Then, why had they not switched until now, one might ask. The answer was simple; Wight patiently waited for when the enemyafter being trickedcharged his troops in.
As a matter of fact, the slimes could have been dealt with much earlier but doing so might have made Zagan hesitate and thus not send in his troops.
And so, until serious damage could be dealt, Wight waited.
The slimes that acted as shields were no more, exposing the numerous prey.
The new Mithril Golems open-fired with their heavy-machineguns. Its 12.7mmrge caliber bullets, released at a rate of about 10 rounds per second, travelled at nearly three times the speed of sound. When shooting a human with it, rather than opening a hole, it would make its target explode beyond recognition. That power is then increased further when itsbined with the bonus provided by Mithril Golems crazy strength. Its destructiveness which was ineffective before was now finally on full disy.
Zagans monsters were inorganic monsters that focused on toughness. However, against those heavy-machineguns, it could not hope topete.
Zagans monsters made cracking sounds and fell one by one.
"Fall back, FALL BACK!"
To decrease his losses even if by only a little, Zagan issued so.
However...
"More?"
More Mithril Golems appeared. Of course, they were also with heavy-machineguns of their own. They were positioned further back in the room so they most probably were from the adjacent room, Zagan thought.
The new ones then lined up with the first ones and the assault became even fiercer. Twice the guns meant twice the damage.
At a lightning fast speed, Zagans monsters were exterminated. Zagan came to this realization when there were no more monsters that could be his eyes. In the end, not one monster that went into the dungeon came back.
"My... my strategy, he has seen through it.." whispered Zagan as though the words had to be wringed out of his throat.
He intended to counter Procells strategy but got caught up in Procells own countermeasures.
With the catastrophe just now, he had lost half of his monsters.
Furthermore, hecked any means to break through.
What should I do, what should I do???
His joy from earlier was now reced with gut-wrenching despair.
When he was about to give up, the monster beside him spoke up.
It was a white tiger-type monster.
It had two sharp fangs; its body was muscr and tough; and was covered in beautiful tinum and ck body hair.
High-ranking beast monstersthis one includedheld intelligence and could even speak.
"Boy, I mean, you, what do you intend to do? I have been peeking into your mind since a while ago and I have also seen that spectacle. So, do you want to break through?"
"Of course I do, but what about those strong attacks?"
"Hmm. Then, leave it up to me. This ought to be fun. If their opener is this enjoyable, then Im sure the defenses further in will be even more. Good, good. Ive heard from my master that this war will be interesting so I participated but for a moment there, it was boring me to death. But if things are like this, it looks like Im going to enjoy myself."
Such was the monster born as an A rank monster that could grow. It was a being that boasted of being one of the most powerful among the monsters of [Viscosity]s parent.
"Please, I beg you, do something about those guys."
"I got it. After all, for the moment, you are my master."
Zagan threw away his pride and just wished for the defeat of the Mithril Golems.
Volume 3 12
One of the two A rank monsters that apanied [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan was a tiger-type monster with beautiful white fur contrasted by some ck. The name of its race was the Byakko. It was a race of monsters that stood out even among the ridiculously strong A rank monsters.
This Byakko was given a name even though he wasnt a [Monster of the Covenant]. [Monsters of the Covenant] were deeply connected to their Demon Lords. So much so in fact that a Demon Lord and a Monster of the Covenant shared their magic power and even their soul with one another, thus making the burden of naming them light for Demon Lord.
However, the same couldnt be said when naming a fourth monster and so on; in the absence of a deep connection between them, the burden was one-sidedly all on the Demon Lord. And so, the Demon Lord was to pour all of his magic power into the name. However, the effects of this naming would stop at just awakening thetent potentials within the monster and nothing more.
Demon Lords rarely named monsters other than their Monsters of the Covenant. The process used magic power far more than their own total magic power. As such, going through the naming would leave them with a rather harsh bacsh: the inability to recover their magic power for nearly half a month.
In this period until theyve recovered their magic power, on top of bing defenseless, Demon Lords would also be unable to use skills that required magic power.
So, to put in another way, for his Demon Lord to go so far and name this Byakko, it showed how capable the Byakko was as well as how much his Demon Lord trusted him.
"Temporary master, Im now going to break through this dungeon rooms defenses. This should be quite fun" said the Byakko with a joyous face as he slowly walked toward the dungeon.
"Wait, take some support monsters with you."
"Dont need it; theyll only slow me down."
"But for the sake of improving the chances of victory, you"
"I said I dont need it. Get in my way and Ill kill you"
With a nce of a monster he should have control over, Zagan backed down. The Byakko had no intention whatsoever of showing the [Steel] Demon Lord any respect. After all, he only came due to his interest in the amusing Demon Lord his master talked about.
There were three old Demon Lords that meddled in this war. Unlike the other two who participated to preempt a potential problem and thus secure their position, the Byakkos master did so to test [Creation] Demon Lord Procell.
If Procell, in the end, was defeated but still showed promise from the Byakkos perspective, the Byakko was ordered to subtly arrange for his survival.
For the Byakko to do so, first let us discuss the only two restrictions a monster has concerning the Demon Lord that has control over it:
A monster cant go against his Demon Lords ordersA monster cant make an attack against his Demon Lord.
In other words, a monster was free to do whatever it wants so long as these two points were followed.
Next, let us consider Byakkos abilities which includes his overwhelmingly strong body and the magic to strengthen it further; his fur thats highly resistant to physical and magical attacks and that can also be enhanced further the more magic power was channeled to it; and the powerful ability to affect the mind of his targets.
In conclusion, the Byakko was at least free to guide Zagans thoughts and thus enabling the Byakko to prevent Procell from being killed.
Challenging the restrictions wasnt limited to the Byakko either; it wasnt umon for monsters to use and take advantage of their Demon Lords in some form. Thats actually why some Demon Lordsunable to trust monsterstended to avoid monsters with intelligence.
"Wha-whats with that attitude? I-Im your master, damn it."
"Then, show me the conduct and excellence of someone Id like to take orders from."
As though their conversation was over, the Byakko proceeded to enter the dungeon.
Along the way, among the monsters kept in reserve, the slimes Zagan borrowed from [Viscosity] all vanished. It was the proof that [Viscosity]s crystal was no more.
In this short of a time, he has already conquered [Viscosity]s dungeon.... interesting. Im sure that that Orihalcum Gargoylea monster even I will have a hard time fightingwas there, thought the Byakko as it raised its evaluation of Procell.
Meanwhile, in Zagans mindwhich the Byakko readwas mostly fear and impatience.
Zagan then pinned his hopes to the Byakko and spoke, begging it to break through the dungeon in front of them.
This made the Byakko sigh internally.
Even if its just temporary, why do I have to serve a small fry like this? Oh well, at least from now on, I can get rid of all this boredom. [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, I hope youre different from this small fry, thought the Byakko as it entered the dungeon.
When he was inside the dungeon, he recalled the words his real master said to him
"Kohaku, if my estimates are right about [Creation], even if he loses this war, he will have the strength and the capabilities to impress even you. However, should it turn out that hes more that I gave him credit for, it will mean your life in the battlefield. That is actually the oue I am praying for. Demon Lords... us Children of the are only here as tools to guide the humans... if we can find a person that could escape from such fate and get him on our side, I will not mind losing you. Now, Kohaku, I leave this task to you."
A man that could make his master say that much...
His blood boiled at remembering those words.
He could have refused this mission but chose not to. He had be too strong; he couldnt even remember thest time he had to fight at full strength. As it was, if he was going to rot away anyway, hed rather fight with all his might and die.
As soon as Byakko entered the long cave, he immediately switched into battle mode.
So long as a target was either within a 100 meters around him or was within his line of sight, it was possible for him to read its mind. Should he choose to spend time and magic power, affecting his targets minds was also possible. Coupling his ability to always predict an enemys moves with his vastbat experience and physical strength, he could effectively respond to every action with maximum efficiency. Such was the secret behind his strength.
So, with the Mithril Golems in his line of sight, he began to use his ability to read the golems minds and dashed forward.
The inorganic golems also had something like an intent behind their actions so they too could be predicted.
"Here ites"
At almost the exact time or perhaps even earlier than when the bullets from hell were fired, the Byakko who already read the Mithril Golems minds ran at top speed and took three steps: one on the ground, one on the wall, and another on the ceiling where he proceeded to run as though he ignored thews of physicsan act possible precisely because it was this Byakko.
And so, the Byakko avoided and ran past the bullets below.
Using his experience to assess the bullets threat, he calcted how many he could endure.
If I poured in my magic power into my highly physical damage resistant fur, Id say I can take on about ten of those.
The secret behind the overwhelming power of these long-range attacks was of course the dreadful weapon itself but the Mithril Golems offensive capabilities added tremendous damage to the attacks as well. A Mithril Golem was overall equivalent to a B rank monster; it was horrendously slow but in exchange, in terms of physical strength and physical strength alone, it wasparable to an A rank.
A weapon that will not only make up for the golems slowness but will also make good use of their strong points; that [Creation] Demon Lord was clever to pair them.
The golems then adjusted the angle of their heavy-machineguns upwards to try and hit the Byakko. However, the Byakko read this move and quickly dropped down. He then ran forward, mindful of keeping his body as low as possible.
Hisnding was not without injury, however; before he reached the ground, two bullets grazed him. Even if such an attack wouldnt instantly kill them, anyone less resistant to physical damage than the Byakko would still take great damage and most probably make them lose their bnce, exposing them further to more bullets.
"Those attacks, theyre certainly strong... but they cant cope with quick vertical movements."
The dungeon floor was a long cave structure with nowhere to hide. The Byakko concluded that there was only one way to get past: quickly moving up and down.
By running on the ceiling, suddenly dropping down to move on the ground and then up again, he would be very hard to hit as the golems would have to correct the alignment of their guns each time, only for the Byakko to change his position by the time they have finished their adjustments.
After about more than half a minute of running and jumping between the ground and the ceiling, something exploded in the ground. That something was andmine that Procell set. However, the Byakko was travelling far too fast; by the time thendmine activated and exploded, he was already so far away.
The golems hiding in the tunnels too were of no use. The tunnels in the sides were skillfully disguised and the Byakko did not see through that disguise but so long as the golems were within his territorya 100 meters to be exacthe could hear their minds voices even though he could not see them. There was also the matter of his speed; he ran past them in a blink of an eye, resulting in their mes hitting only the air.
"Is this because I got careless?"
Halfway through, he held his breath in since mixed in the air was a powerful poison. He inhaled a little but his self-healing abilities was enough nullify its effects. Nheless, if he continued to intake more of the poisoned air, he would have most probably lost control of his body. Such was that poison.
Despite of it all, Byakko smiled at the number of things being thrown against him.
Still, there was a limit to how long he could hold his breath and unless he quickly breaks through these defenses, all that awaited him was death.
As he neared the end, the golems adjustment of the angle of their heavy-machineguns became quicker.
The Byakko read their minds and yet he still didnt have enough time to evade. So, he instead poured as much magic power as he could into his fur to increase his defense while also evading those that would almost directly hit him.
So far, he was directly hit three times and grazed seven times.
The pain assailed his entire overused body as though it was screaming from being torn apart.
Still, forcing himself with willpower, he pressed on until finally, he was at the far end of the dungeon room.
Despite being wounded all over, he smashed the Mithril Golems weapons with his sharp ws. He then dodged the attacking from the now unarmed golems andunched an attack of his own by biting down the golems throats. As a result, the golems with mithril bodies were broken.
"This was quite a fun distraction."
Laughed the Byakko as he swallowed down the mithril he chewed.
Next, he sucked in the air along with the poison mixed in it and roared.
The roar functioned both as a victory cry and as a means to dispel the air of the poison.
Afterwards, he readied himself from any enemy attack that might follow. It was not unthinkable for more golems with those weapons to appear from the next room, after all. In this way, he could react immediately to any threats.
A short while after, Zagan and his subordinate monsters entered the dungeon in groups.
The Byakko watched their numbers be reduced by the by the golems from the side tunnels as well as by stepping on thendminesid on the ground that he didnt set off.
He only watched for he could not dare leave his current post.
If by chance there were new Mithril Golems to appear and he could not immediately respond to them, he ventured their side would take heavy losses.
Moreover, since there was another A rank monster with them,plete annihtion against things like the golems was unlikely.
And so, he patiently waited for the slow-advancing group to arrive at the other end of the room.
The [Steel] Demon Lords desire to always want to be close to the other A rank monster was actually causing their slow advance; it could have gone faster if he just ordered for that monster to kill the golems hiding in the tunnels.
"Youre finally here, temporary master. You sure took your time."
"Why!? Why didnt you dispose of the traps and the golems?!"
Instead of words of praise or thanks, the first words that Zagan uttered were words ofint.
Thus, Byakkos evaluation of Zagan went down by another mark. Hes not the kind of Demon Lord a monster would wish it has.
"I couldnt afford to destroy them all when I was advancing. And when you arrive, I couldnt leave this ce. Those are the only reasons. Wait, do you even have any clue why I cant leave this spot?"
"O-of course!" said Zagan even though he had no clue at all.
The Byakko decided that he could no longer expect anything useful out of [Steel] as he patiently waited for their entire force to go to the next floor that they now had ess to.
Now, what kind of n are you going to let me enjoy next?
"Wight-sama, I have no excuses. We have beenpletely defeated. The golems that hid within the tunnels are safe for now but will soon be trapped there. They do not have much time; their numbers are far too different."
"Mdy, do not feel down; that enemy is just too strong."
In a residence near the end of the second room, Wight and a Dwarf Smith discussed their next course of action.
The first room was conquered almost entirely by a single monster. That fact hurt but more worrisome than that was that that monster was now headed toward them.
"Mdy, is something on your mind?"
"Yes. That monster, by some way or another, seems to be able to predict our attacks. Other than that, I have no exnation to offer on how it reacted so swiftly to our assault. It also seems to have a high-rank search magic as it was able to notice and evade the surprise attacks of the golems in the tunnels."
"Hmm. Either it can see the future, read its enemys minds, or just simply have extraordinary reaction speed and reflexes......... in any case, that ability, whatever it is, coupled with that monsters athleticism and its defenses, is indeed worrisome."
They guessed what the Byakkos ability was as well as nned countermeasures against it.
As of the moment, there was no monster among them that could directly confront that Byakko, much less win. Unless they nned measures against it, they would indeed not be able to stop it.
When they reviewed all the information they had so far, there was one thing that stood out: the golems attacks were predicted wlessly while the nerve gas mixed in the air as well as thendmines in the ground were not. Thus, Wight valued this point to be a hint to have a better picture of that monsters ability. He asked the Dwarf Smith several questions over and over again, listened to her detailed reports and impressions until finally, he had a rough idea about his enemys ability and how to counter it.
"The golems in the first floor are now annihted. It looks like the Byakko is going to invade again only after it has reunited with the troops that were left behind."
"Not only strong but wise and cautious as well. If only he blindly gone to the next room, we could have lessened the number of the troops that are catching up."
Wight said so as he was instructing his temporary subordinates one by one. The second room was in some way his domain; it was arge graveyardbyrinth.
He did not regard himself as a strong monster but even then, there were a lot of things he could do. Especially in this ce that his lord made after listening to his opinions.
"Im scared, Wight-sama. How will we defeat that monster? It can stand up even after being directly hit by the D2s .50 caliber bullets. Moreover, its fast and strong; it even chewed mithril. Theres absolutely no way we can win."
It seemed that the Dwarf Smith who, through the Mithril Golems, saw the fight against the Byakko hadpletely lost heart.
Seeing her like that, Wight put his handthat was nothing but boneson the Dwarf Smiths head and stroke it; an action his lord would have surely done.
"Mdy, do not worry, we can do this. First of all, our goal is to stall for time, not to defeat them. Through the countless traps and schemes we have, we will hinder their progress."
"Fufu, yeah, youre right. I will do my best."
The Dwarf Smiths presence of mind have been restored, feeling at ease and thinking they could hold on until their currently absent master, Procell, returns.
"There is another reason why we wont lose."
"May I hear that reason?"
"It is because our lord, Procell-sama,manded us to perform these strategies. Since our lord, someone powerful enough to be regarded as almighty, thinks we can do it then we can do it. There is no way our lord could be wrong."
Wight firmly believed so from the bottom of his heart.
Even if their strategies were indeed wrong, even if things proceed worse than what their lord assumed, by his own might, he was going to make it right. He was going to make it seed.
Surely, thats why Im here; for my loyalty.
Now,e. From here on is the real deal. With all my strength, I will demonstrate [Creation] Demon Lord Procellsmy beloved lord, the strongest Demon Lord there ispower.
Volume 3 13
The Byakko was quietly resting his body.
Even though he had defeated the Mithril Golems, his injuries were by no means minor. In fact, each of the Mithril Golems bullets hurt him like hell.
His excellent healing capabilities was one of his many strong points but even then, it was impossible for him topletely recover in a short amount of time.
"Temporary master, youre distracting me; just calm down."
For a while now, [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan was restlessly rocking his body as he waspletely covered with his Monster of the Covenant, the Killing Armora moving hollow armor.
"How can I calm down!? That fool [Viscosity] has been defeated!"
With the fact that the slimes borrowed from [Viscosity] had vanished, it became evident that [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronoves crystal had been broken. Or in other words, a powerful monster capable of even defeating a monster as strong as the Orihalcum Gargoyle that was with Ronove was now on route to return to this dungeon and face Zagans troops. There was also the chance that that monster was instead headed to Zagans defenseless dungeon and break his crystal.
Before either of those things happen, [Creation] Demon Lord Procells crystal must be broken.
"Thats precisely why you must calm down. Or else youll be flustered. A Demon Lord must always remain calm. If you be agitated, youll make the wrong decisions. Not to mention, itll also lower your subordinates morale. Havent you learned even that much?"
The Byakko informed Zagan so with a shocked tone.
However, his words only made Zagan even more flustered. Choosing to just ignore the shouting Zagan, the Byakko began to focus on resting his body.
And then, when the slow-moving monsters had finally caught up and the preparations for marching onward were ready, two Mithril Golems 500 meters behind suddenly appeared from the tunnels. In their hand were heavy-machineguns.
Damn, thought the Byakko, the furs on his whole body standing on end.
In the next moment, the two Mithril Golems opened fire. One by one, Zagans monsters that were in the rear fell.
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaa! What is this!? Cowards! Attacking from behind, cowards!! Everyone, quickly, go to the next rooooooooom!"
Half-crazed, Zagan instructed so in an effort to escape the hail of bullets from their rear.
"Wait, temporary master, youre overreacting."
The Byakko tried to quickly eliminate the enemies but due to the stampede of his ally monsters going the other way, he was unable to do a thing.
"Listen up! Hurry on to the next room, goooooo! If we go over there, those attacks wont reach us!!!"
And so, the was given.
Despite only being temporary, the Byakko was still Zagans monster and a monster could not go against his Demon Lordsmands. As such, the Byakkos body moved against his will.
"Listen to me well, were being goaded to rush to the next room. So before..."
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"
Even his ability to give Zagan advice was now sealed with thatmand. The Byakko couldnt help but grind his teeth. Hes been duped.
In the front and rear of this march were the elites of the monsters made by Zagan himself. And by his side were the two fully trained and fully leveled A rank monsters.
The enemymander had been waiting for this one instance where they loosened their alert. Even when arge number of golems were being crushed, themander did not reveal this trump card and instead chose to patiently wait for this very fatal moment. That moment being when they were almost ready to move to next room.
In addition, the Byakko who could slip through the Mithril Golems bullets guessed that him being hindered from responding immediately by the waves of ally monsters was also predicted by the enemy.
Moreover, their side, Zagans forces, without the opportunity to send out a scout, waspletely unprepared as well as panicking as they entered the next force without reserve.
Putting himself in the enemymanders shoes, he ventured that if it was up to him, now would be the right time to round up the invading troops as though they were sitting ducks.
Unable to convey his thoughts due to themand given to him, he grew vexed.
"Alright, we got out!!"
[Steel] Demon Lord Zagan shouted so with delight.
Laid out before them were a graveyard area lined up with gigantic tombstones that became an open field as it neared the entrance. There were no enemies to be found.
And so, they marched on.
A B rank monstera member of Zagans elitesthat was at the very front... fell down a very deep ravine. Several secondster, a sound suggesting that something broke was heard.
Not only was it a ridiculously deep hole but also a very wide one at around 3 meters.
It was hard to take notice of the ravine from near the entrance but not so much as one neared it. Perhaps, if the fallen monster wasnt in such a panic, it wouldnt have been caught in the trap.
The elite forces in the very front suffered casualties but the ones behind them were somehow able to stop their march. However...
"Come, faster! No, you guys, stoooooooopppppp!"
Following Zagans earliermands, the monsters further back marched on with full speed.
But then, Zagan issued amand to halt. They tried toply but their momentum did not allow for a sudden stop. If left as it was, it seemed the monsters in the rear would be able to shove even Zagan into the hole of hell.
"Waste them, Byakko, Arc Demon!"
By [Steel] Demon Lord Zagansmand, the two A rank monsters, the Byakko and the Arc Demon, attacked their allies and pulverized them.
As a result, Zagan avoided the fate of falling down that hole.
The Byakko looked at his temporary master with eyes of rage. How dare he, how dare he!? How dare he make me murder my allies!?
For a military man such as him, this was the greatest dishonor.
He wanted to kill this trash who spewed nothing but harm.
However, now was not the time for that because beyond the hole of hell were Mithril Golems and Skeletons. These enemies were hiding behind therge tombstones that were in the boundary of the ins and the graveyard.
The Mithril Golemsequipped with heavy-machinegunsand the Skeletonsequipped with assault riflesspread out like fan.
Seeing that, the Byakko smiled. It was only natural to set a trap at the ce where you goaded your enemies into.
And so, the Mithril Golems and the Skeletons simultaneously opened fire.
His sides predicament was the worst; even annihtion was not an exaggeration. However, the Byakko was confident that if they responded to the threats calmly, it will be alright. When he convinced himself of such...
"Hii! Hiiiiii! Byakko, Arc Demon, do something about those guys! Hurry, right now! Dont hold back!"
Overreacting, [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan issued such a foolishmand.
Thus, two of the strongest monsters trained to the utmost began to act because of thatmand... without holding back.
The Arc Demon unreservedly deployed a wall of darkness that would guard Zagan and his forces. This wall of darkness was capable of easily fending off all of the iing bullets. In exchange for a tremendous amount of magic power, that is. Originally, it was a trump card reserved as a barrier against even army.
Even without such a wall, the Arc Demon would have still been able to protect Zagan and for less magic power too. However, themand to not hold anything back forced him to use this instead.
And then, there was the Byakko. He raised his magic power high enough to shake the very air. By virtue of thatmand, he activated his greatest trump card and its name was...
"[White Tiger Lightning de]"
(Note: а)
His body transformed into white lightning and then shone brightly. In the next moment, the Mithril Golems broke into tiny, little pieces.
The white lightning then traveled in an arc, pursuing the Skeletons that were in a fan-like formation. Needless to say, the Skeletons were instantly annihted.
With the task done, the Byakko returned to his original form.
"Haa, haa, haa"
The Byakko breathed heavily and for good reason. That move was one of his strongest moves that was supposed to be reserved as ast resort. It was such a lightning-fast and certain-kill technique that there havent been anyone to survive after receiving the attack. He was confident it could take down even S rank monsters. A true certain kill technique limited to one use a day.
He obtained this power to exceed his limits when he gained his name. In exchange for using it, 80% of his magic power was expended; his already wounded body got even weaker; and his physical strength hadpletely left him.
For his techniquewhich he decided to be used only on warriors he recognizedto be activated on such weak foes when he couldve dealt with the enemies in a more efficient manner, his patience was nearing its limits.
"Hey you! What the hell do you think youre doing?"
The moment he tried shout that, [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan received a powerful blow to the forehead and was blown away. He lied face up with the helm of the Killing Armor broken open, revealing blood flowing from his forehead.
He didnt die but it seemed he suffered a considerable impact. The concussed Zaganid there with nk eyes.
There were no signs of any enemies nearby which made it all the more iprehensible for the Byakko. But then, his body moved before he could think; he jumped over the hole, covered Zagan, poured magic power into his fur, and braced himself. In the next moment, he felt an impact as well as pain in his shoulder.
This pain was very much like an attack from the Mithril Golems weapons.
It must have been the reason for the high-defense Killing Armor to be broken open. The Byakko then thought that if he hadnt protected Zagan, that second attack would have killed the Demon Lord.
He then studied the angle the attack came from and looked in that direction.
A kilometer away in an elevated position was a pretty blond elf holding a long tube.
And so, the Byakko was convinced that the wide and deep hole as well as the golems and Skeletons that ambushed them were nothing but distractions just for this snipe attack. From the very start, the enemys aim was to kill Zagan, their Demon Lord, and end the war right here.
The Byakko then grabbed Zagan by nape of the neck and ced the Demon Lord on his back. To prevent Zagan from falling, the Byakko made his fur wrap around Zagan.
Since he caught the elf in his sight, the Byakko was able to read its mind and thus avoid being hit. He did just so for the third and fourth shots as well as another shot that came from his blind spot, a shot that was fired by another elf.
He was able to avoid thest shot only because he was aware of the ambush from reading the mind of the elf he had in his sight. If it not were for this ability of his, he most probably would have been shot.
The second elf fired the shot from atop a tree branch five hundred meters ahead. This second one being outside of the 100 meter range of his ability, he decided to focus on just the first elf.
The current situation was quite dangerous. For one thing, the Byakko had no clear idea on how many tricks were set up against them. He wanted to think this was thest one but then, up in the skies, a group of gryphons flew around and dropped a ck lump to the ground.
That lump was a napalm bomb. The Byakko had no idea what it was but he perceived it as dangerous nheless. He sent the Arc Demon a look and then ran with all haste.
The two and some of the monsters a little bit ahead of them jumped over the hole but only about half of the monsters made it.
And then... the napalm bomb hit the ground and the very picture of hell was painted.
The napalm bomb exploded and engulfed the ins in mes that continued to burn.
The monsters that were not able to jump over the hole burned and continued to do so until they were nothing but ashes.
The trailing monsters that were still following Zagansmands continued to flow into the dungeon room but were very soon engulfed by the hellfire as well. Not that these monsters could return to the previous room though since all that awaited them there were the hail of bullets from the Mithril Golems heavy-machineguns.
It was then that the Byakko understood; they werepletely trapped.
[Steel] Demon Lord Zagans monsters have almost been annihted. All that remained were the Byakko, the Arc Demon, and about 10 monsters lucky enough to escape from the bombing.
The Byakko then led the survivors to enter the graveyard area; the ins was far too dangerous right now.
After a while, Zagan awoke.
"Temporary master, what shall we do?"
"Whatever it is, first we advance, advance forward. Its dangerous here."
"For once, I agree."
Within the graveyard area, Zagans side found a ce enclosed with walls where they could finally rest their weary bodies.
The Byakko probed the surroundings and confirmed there were no enemies nearby. Furthermore, to protect themselves from the long-distance sniping, they moved themselves into a ce where line of sight against them was impossible.
"Byakko, what, what is this, how did this happen, howe I was injured, howe many of my monsters were killed? Tell me, tell me how!"
The Killing Armor Zagan wore was destroyed, forcing him to be exposed with his own flesh.
For whatever reason, whether it be due to the blow he suffered earlier or not, Zagan held his knees and trembled with fear.
"This is due to the might of [Creation] himself. He doesnt have much troops and yet look at how well he has done."
The Byakko uttered words of praise.
Amongst the monsters that had appeared so far, B rank had been the strongest. The enemies were so few and yet still managed to oppose their side this much.
And, most noteworthy was the enemysmander.
Themander was calcting, meticulous, as well as being bold while still knowing when to pull back.
How much of a real man is he? I sure would like to meet him.
Around the time the Byakko thought of such, several Skeletons entered his thought perception range.
Two Skeletons in the vanguard that were supposed to be ambushed by the Byakko didnt panic and insteadunched suppressive fire against him.
The Byakko ignored it and dashed in; this much damage could be endured by his fur. Meanwhile, the Skeletons retreated as they continued their shooting.
Not letting them escape, the Byakko put force on his steps and a little whileter, got close enough to use his ws but then... two Skeletons from the center holding suspicious nozzles stepped forward. His reason dictated they were but Skeletons and should not be feared but his instincts demanded that he fall back. And thus, he retreated.
In the moment that followed, mes were unleashed. mes that were of the same kind as the hellfire created by the griffons earlier.
Seeing it, cold sweat poured out of the Byakko. No matter how resilient his fur was, if those high-temperature mes that just wont disappear got hold of him, it would be dangerous.
As the Skeletons continued to fire their assault rifles, they retreated to a narrow passage. After they entered the passage, golems appeared andpletely block the way with their huge bodies. By the time he defeated the golems, the Skeletons had safely vanished.
"They dont intend to let us rest, huh."
The Byakko guessed so and he was right.
As though to harass them, the Skeletons attacked and then used the golems as shields to escape.
They did so many times over. Sometimes they used a different trap that was in the graveyard, sometimes they mixed in the High Elves sniping, while at other times they made use of the dwarves earth magic. Each case, no matter which one, was hard to deal with.
Such half-hearted attacks dealt insignificant damage but the mental fatigue it gavewith the Byakko as an exceptionwas a different matter. Especially so for the [Steel] Demon Lord.
By the tenth attack, the Byakko hade to a decision.
"Temporary master,"
"Wha-what is it, Byakko?"
"Breaking through this room while having to worry about you is impossible."
For some time now, the Skeletons had been doing whatever they pleased; Zagans side had managed to defeat only ten Skeletons ever since they entered the graveyard.
"Then, what do you propose we do?"
"The three walls surrounding us will make it hard to make a surprise attack against us. With the Arc Demon by your side, you will remain safe. So stay here."
"How about you?"
"Ive read the mind of a monster earlier. I know that theirmander is somewhere here and more importantly, where he actually is. Once the enemymander is no more, the enemy army will be reduced to a disorderly mob. If I go out alone, its possible."
It was no bluff. Certainly he was wounded, his magic power spent, his body fatigued, and his trump card wasted but even so, he was more than confident it was doable. Such was the Byakkos confidence in being one of the strongest monsters.
"Alright. Then please. I will be waiting here so please do something about the enemy quickly."
"Yeah, just dont get in the way."
And so, the Byakko went out by himself, an act he would not do ordinarily. There was even the chance that he might die without even reaching his objective.
But what tugged at his heart more than that possibility was the chance at a confrontation with the enemysmander that he deemed to be a real man.
Holding that expectation, he began to dash with all his might.
Volume 3 14
"This cannot be. Never did I expect even that would fail."
Wight murmured so as the map spread out before him rustled. It was a map filled with illustrations and letters; a map detailing the state of the battlefield.
Wight being as smart as he was had memorized every small detail featured in the map and therefore did not need it; it was really only there for the sake of the Dwarf Smith, his adjutant.
"Wight-sama, its unfortunate that the High Elves were not able tond the killing shot with their long-range sniping. Additionally, to be able to recognize the threat of the napalm bombs even though its only his first time to see it, I cant call it anything but having a terrifying perception."
"Yes, that tiger monster alone is a problem."
Out of all his miscalctions, the existence of the monster known as the Byakko was the greatest. If that monsters was not there, they would have killed and won over the [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan a long while ago.
"Theresmunication from the sentinel golems; that tiger monster is headed this way by himself. Hes taking down our defensive one by one. He cant be stopped."
"Is that so? Without anything to weigh him down anymore, there will be no monster here in this dungeon room capable of stopping him."
Wight replied so with a wry smile.
"As things are, its bound to get ugly. Wight-sama, I will stay here so please go ahead and head to the crystal room. If its the third room, the absolute defense room, taking down that monster is possible."
"I cannot do that. If I did that, Sts-sama would have to participate. And if ites to that, its not a wless victory by our lord anymore."
"But..."
"There is nothing to worry about. Anyway, from here on, we will be stopping the deployment of monster units against him and only use golems and traps instead. After all, doing otherwise would only result in increasing the number of casualties. Also, if that tiger monster does reach this point, I will fight him myself. If theres anyone here that stands a chance, it will be me."
Wight matter-of-factly informed her so and thus upsetting her as she looked at him.
"Its suicide to face that beast of an enemy!
"I will not confront him in a head-on battle; I will use myself to bait him into a trap based on his now too obvious ability."
"Then, I too shall participate."
"I will not allow it. You are my adjutant, are you not? In case something happens to me, you will be the one in charge of everyone. Head to the third room as you retreat and then use that. And, please also ask Sts-sama for assistance. Now, please lend me your golems."
"But..."
"Please do not misunderstand, mdy, this is no bout of heroism on my part; it is simply the best course of action, considering my circumstance."
"Wight-samas circumstance?"
"I have already resurrected 20 fallen undead. That amount is close to the limit my ability allows me resurrect."
A Wight was a creature apanied by the dead. As such, he was able to turn a deceased being into an undead as well as being able to resurrect an undead.
However, this ability had limits. First was that it would only work on beings that have been dead for not more than three hours. Next was that Wight could only use this ability 22 times a day.
Strictly speaking, he still had some to spare but then, he wanted to be ready for unseen circumstances.
"I cannot and will not let any of my dear fellow monsters die. Moreover, as our beloved lord had said, lets all smile together once this [War] has ended. I wish for that as well."
It might be aughable and impossible wish but he rather liked his lords na?ve wish.
And so, Wight decided to realize his lords wish of winning without losing a single monster. Of course, this sentiment didnt extend to the golems which werent even considered monsters.
"Alright, I wont stop you but I will participate as well. Please make use of me as a pawn in your ns. I too want to grant Procell-sama his wish." said the Dwarf Smith as she grabbed Wights bone-only hand.
"What a troublesome child. Very well then. But if I tell you to escape, you must, without fail, escape. Only when you promise me this shall I let you participate. I might sound like Im repeating myself but your most important role as my adjutant in case something happens to me is to survive and support the troops."
"I understand. Then, the n..?"
"Yes but first, let us discuss the tiger monsters ability and how he did not notice thendmines, the poison in the air, and the High Elves long-distance shooting despite noticing the other attacks from his blind spots. Considering those..."
Like so, Wight began to discuss the strategy he thought of.
Im certain I have a grasp on that tiger monsters shorings.
Having ovee the myriad of trapsid out by Wight, the Byakko appeared before the building Wight was using as a headquarters.
Wounded all over after breaking through those carefully, well-thought-out traps, the Byakko stood there with willpower-fueled fire in his eyes. Like that, a man came out to meet him.
"Are you themander?"
The identity of that man was the all-bones monster that wore a robe that seemed to belong to an aristocrat... Wight.
"Indeed. I am the monster that [Creation] Demon Lord Procell-sama entrusted to defend this dungeon and Avalon. I am called Wight."
"Youre thispetent and yet youre not named?"
"Yes, sadly. But thats only because there are other monsters far better than I."
"Ohh. For you to say that much, those monsters are interesting. I certainly would like to have a fight with them. Anyway, allow me to show you my respect and tell you my name. I am of the Byakko race. My name is Kohaku. An unparalleled name given to me by my master."
"Kohaku... which can mean amber... I see, that name suits you well. Pardon me for making you the only one to state his name. If in the future I do get a name of my own, I hope that at that time I get the chance to state it to you."
Why Wight did not take the ever precious first strike or why Byakko bothered to strike up a conversation, only they would ever know.
"Now, then, shall we get started?"
"But youre not a fighter; youre not the type that fights head-on battles. In terms of pure fighting strength, you dont stand a chance against me. Without any allies nearby, what are you nning?"
"Why dont you try reading my mind? That is your ability, is it not? But then, doing that might prove fatal."
"Hmm. So youve realized my ability and yet, youre provoking me to use it. Interesting. Well then, lets start this fight between the manliest of men."
Their idle chat over, tension filled the air. Like so, the final, decisive battle within [Creation]s dungeon began.
Wight took out two weapons from his robe. One was a methrower while the other was a shotgun.
The methrower was the only weapon among the two that could fatally wound the Byakko. The shotgun, on the other hand, was mainly there to keep the enemy in check; it was a weapon that allowed him to hit the Byakko even with his level of marksmanship.
The methrower was obviously a customized item that made use of the napalm mixture. While his shotgun was a shotgun converted to use 4-gauge shells and thus had noteworthy power.
Upon converting Kuinas shotgun into 4-gauge, it was further remodeled to increase its power even more. Meanwhile, Wights shotgun was customized to put emphasis on recoil reduction and its ability to rapid-fire. Unless it was customized like so, Wights thin arms wouldnt be able to handle it efficiently.
And so, Wight fired his shotgun against the Byakko.
The Byakko in response, jumped backwards. Although he was unable to dodge all of the shots within the shell, the damaged he received was insignificant. Still, in precaution to the methrower, he did not dare to plunge himself forward.
Meanwhile, although the power of the shots from the shotgun would not be able to deal him a fatal wound, it was enough to hinder the movements of his already weary and wounded body.
Wight continued his sporadic suppressive fire against the Byakko, keeping the enemy in check. But then, his attacks stopped; his shotgun had ran out of bullets.
Right at the moment the barrage stopped, the Byakko attacked Wight. In response, Wight used his methrower. However, such an obvious attack was nimbly dodged by the Byakko.
When the Byakkos w was about to grab hold of Wight, the Byakko felt something from his side and was blown away.
That something was a bullet from a High Elfs anti-materiel rifle. Well before the fight, one of the two High Elves hid itself so that it could provide support to Wight.
This much was within the Byakkos expectations.
He took the first shot but in exchange, he knew the whereabouts of the High Elf and could now read its thoughts by ncing at it from time to time; he would never again be hit by the elf.
Wight then put a hand into his robe. Upon doing so, the Byakko who was just stabilizing his stance was blown away by an explosion from beneath his feet.
It was andmine.
It was not a pressure-sensitivendmine but instead a remotely activated one. The Byakko being too fast for a pressure-sensitivendmine would have escaped long after the explosion actually happened. For that reason, it was better to manually activate andmine that was in a ce that the Byakko wouldnd in.
And then, another explosion erupted.
As the smoke rose, Wight quickly changed the magazine of his shotgun while also being mindful of casting a nce at the rolling Byakko.
Unless Wight was able to reload his shotgun and keep his enemy in check, that enemy will close the distance between them and defeat him.
It looked like Wight was the only one on the offensive but in truth, it was a close fight. Despite all of Wights advantages in the arealike the weakening curse that only affected living creatures, the nerve gas, and every single conceivable trapWight was barely holding on.
"Whats wrong, Kohaku-dono? You dont look so good."
"Do you think this much of an attack is enough to kill me? Listen, if you have some kind of trump card, hurry up and use it. Otherwise, you might die before then."
The Byakko shed a ferocious smile... and then roared, shaking the very air. It wasnt just to threaten Wight either; it was a binding skill that used magic power.
Its power made even Wight, an Undead, flinch and his body to stiffen. It was for only a few seconds but that was more than enough time for Byakko.
And so, he ran. The High Elf that was supporting Wight fired its rifle but the Byakko had read its mind beforehand and thus sidestepped the shot.
In thest few meters between Wight and Byakko, thetter leapt and brandished his prided ws. At the same time, he used his ability and read Wights mind; no matter what traps his enemy still had up his sleeves, he would now see through it.
He hadnt use this ability until now due to his wariness on Wight.
Wight knew that the nature of his skill was the ability to read minds and yet urged him to use it, making him think that Wight had some kind of trap set up. However, he judged that whatever trap that might be, it wouldnt be able to change his enemys fate even if it were to be activated now.
And so, he read Wight mind but...
"GAAAAAAA!"
"That was a bad move, Kohaku-dono."
The most painful headache assaulted the Byakko. His brain screamed, unable to handle the load it had. His movements in disarray, his ws stopped at grazing just Wights robe. Even hisnding was done wrong, making him crash to the ground.
There was a trap set, yes, but contrary to what he believedone where it was active only for a moment of timethis one was always active.
"Wight, you, just how many..."
With the stiffness in Wights body gone, he prepared to use his methrower. Even if this chance was only for a moment, Wights speed was enough. And so, he pulled the trigger and unleashed the extremely high temperature mes.
These extremely high-temperature mes wrapped around the Byakko and yet did not instantly kill him. Still, these made use of napalm and thus would continue to burn until there was nothing left it could use as fuel. Even if it was him, there was no way he could just disregard the mes.
"Its because Im amander. Even though I dont have the strength of a soldier, I have my own means to fight."
The trap on the Byakkos ability to read minds was nothing special actually. His mind simply experienced an overload from being connected with the minds of over a hundred monsters all at once.
Wight, being themander of the undead as he was, could share senses with his undead subordinates. This sharing of senses might feel simr to what the [Steel] Demon Lord and the Dwarf Smiths do but they were fundamentally different.
The difference being that while the others shared senses with their subordinates one at a time, Wight was continuously doing so with all of his undead subordinates at the same time.
"Kuhahahahaha! I might have underestimated you when I saw that you werent a warrior. I see, did I lose? ...Like Ill let that happen"
Still covered in mes, the Byakko took a step forward.
Could he somehow turn it into a tie by killing his opponent before the mes slowly burning him turn him into ash? It was hard even for him to tell. At his current state, if he were to brave the hail of bullets that were bound toe his way, he knew he wonte out unscathed.
Moreover, for some time now, he had felt sluggish. This was due to the curse, the nerve gas, and other traps that were set.
He wasnt even confident that he could evade the High Elfs shooting anymore.
Meanwhile, Wightwithout getting carelessreadied his shotgun. He then raised his hand, signaling the Skeletons and the dwarf girl to appear.
The ce they were hiding in was just barely outside of the Byakkos detection range. Seeing that, the Byakko realized how much of his ability was analyzed:pletely.
And soon, it seemed Wight was gonna pull the trigger.
It isnt even a tie, its myplete loss. If only the [Steel] Demon Lord didnt make me waste my trump card, I can turn my body into lightning and get rid of these mes. And while Im at it, crush Wight with lightning-fast speed.
The Byakko thought so but then smiled; he epted this fight knowing full well of his circumstances. It wasnt like him toin thiste in the game.
Rather, I should think about something else. Can I really not use my trump card again with this wounded body?
In the face of death, he was strangely calm.
Wasnt I the one that decided that limit? If the toll on my body and magic power is big, dont I just have to minimize it as much as possible?
It was only for a moment but with his concentration at its highest, his life shed before him. In it, his memory of every fight he has ever had flowed in his mind. By the end of it, he has thought up a new technique.
He began with the activation of the [White Tiger Lightning de] using the few remaining strength he had but instead of envisioning a de, he imagined a needle.
Wounded all over, drained of magic power, and at the limits of his vitality, he was in a trance. He let go of all he could let go of and then moved like a flowing stream.
Silently in his heart, he uttered the new techniques name. ...[White Tiger Lightning Needle]
No one in the vicinity was able to grasp sight of him.
When Wight thought he heard an almost inaudible sound, his surroundings instantly shed white. In the next moment, his lower body was gone and his upper body flew in the air.
Standing in his previous location was the figure of the Byakko, the mes on his body gone as well.
A momentter, the Dwarf Smiths scream pierced the air.
As Wights upper body danced high in the air, waiting for gravity to pull it down, he uttered so in his mind:
"I lost?"
Wight was an undead and was therefore able to escape instant death by the good fortune of having ced his soul core in his chest. If ever it was in the lower half of his body, he would have been gone along with that lower half.
However, his good fortune ended there. He felt cracks on his core and sensed he didnt even have three minutes left before his demise.
He thought of things as fell, such as worrying whether the Dwarf Smith would do her role as the adjutant as was expected of her and escape with the troops.
He also found it more regrettable to not be able to aplish his beloved lordsmand than dying itself. I have betrayed his expectations.
If he was a human, tears would have fallen on his cheeks already.
"Forgive me, my lord. Wait..."
As his consciousness was fading, he felt a powerful and yet warm magic power. I cannot be mistaken; this is... I see.
He thought so, smiled and then hit the ground.
Half-crazed, the Dwarf Smith and her troops fired their guns against the Byakko over and over again but to no avail; their enemy either repelled their bullets with his fur or simply avoided it.
A Skeleton fell. And then another.
A littleter, the Byakko gouged the Dwarf Smiths flesh and mmed her into a tombstone, her assault rifle blown somewhere else. She was a B rank monster and therefore managed to escape death but still, her wounds were deep.
She then took out the automatic weapon that was her sidearm and fired it. Naturally, it did no damage as well.
The Byakko then walked over to Wights upper body which had fallen somewhere close to where the Dwarf Smith currently was. In reaction, the Dwarf Smith forced her wounded body to rise and protect Wight. She took the weapon before him and pointed it against the Byakko.
"Donte any closer! I wont let you kill Wight-sama!"
Seemingly annoyed by this, the Byakko brushed her away.
After her rolling and tumbling, the Dwarf Smith tried to rise up once more but was unable to do so; all she managed to lift was her head. Like so, she red at the Byakko.
"Wight, it looks like Ive won. You are strong. I apologize for underestimating you simply because you were a B rank and not a fighter."
Those words were filled with respect towards Wight.
"Kohaku-dono, its troubling that you are under a misunderstanding."
"What?"
Byakko inclined his head in doubt.
"The victory of this match goes to me. I have aplished my role."
Wight calmly but also vigorously dered so. It was no bluff either. His role wasnt to defeat the [Steel] Demon nor was it to repel the Byakko. Yes, his role was...
And then, she came.
d in strikingly violent winds, a blond-haired girl descended from the sky.
She was one of [Creation] Demon Lord Procells [Monsters of the Covenant]. She was the S rank Ancient Elf Aura.
Her main weapon, an anti-materiel rifle, was still on her back, unusable due to the pink mucus that had gotten inside it. Because of this, her fighting strength had fallen down considerably.
"Please be careful, Ancient Elf-sama. That monster, it can read minds!" said the Dwarf Smith to Aura who had justnded. To which Aura sweetly smiled and said:
"Is that so? Then, Tiger-san, I have something to say to you: I will now send you flying. Do not expect me to go easy since youve made me really angry; after all, you sullied someone I hold as a little sister."
Both the Dwarf Smith and the Byakko was at a loss for words.
In the next moment, the wind blew, Aura vanished, and the Byakko was blown away.
The Byakko read Ancient Elfs mind and knew that the attack wasing but even so, it was too fast for him to avoid. The knocked away Byakko adjusted his stance, improved his guard, red at Aura, and admitted to himself that the girl before him was much quicker than he was.
And then, he who Wight believed to be the worlds strongest and best Demo Lord finally arrived. It was none other than Wights beloved lord, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell.
He proceeded as he concealed his seething anger within his gentle mannerism.
"Aura, please buy us some time. Im going to talk with Wight."
"Yes, my master. Please leave it to me; Ill limit myself to buying you some time."
He then gently held Wightor what was left of himin his arms.
"Good job, Wight. Youve managed to hold on until I came back."
"I am thankful for your words... Haha, for me to die in your arms, god too can be quite considerate."
"What selfish things are you saying? I cant let you die; youre my right-hand man and you still have a lot of work to do for me."
"My lord is quite the ve driver. How can I die after hearing such words?"
Wights existence was fading away. He felt he did not have much time left.
He opened his mouth and began with his lords proposal that he once before refused, all in order for him to stay by Procells side longer.
"I beseech you, my lord, to please use the power the Creator gave to you. I want to stay with you for a longer time. I hope you grant this selfish request of mine."
"But of course, Wight. What would you like for your new body?"
When Wight heard this question, he looked at the Dwarf Smith and the tears falling on her cheeks.
"I want a strong body. A strong body not only to protect you but also to prevent your lovely subordinates from crying."
"Understood. Anything else?"
Being asked for more, Wight smiled and then talked in an embarrassed voice.
"May I ask that you use your [Creation] medal? I want to be your monster in the truest sense. I have been hiding it all this time it but I was always envious and jealous of Kuina-sama and the others who were created with the [Creation] medal."
"Its surprising to hear you say those kind of words. Very well, I will grant your requests."
Procell nodded and used the first of the two uses of his obtained power.
This power being the ability to temporarily turn a monster back into a medal and use this medal in a new [Synthesis].
He had obtained this power from the Creator as a reward for his performance in the side show on the evening party.
As was mentioned, there were only two uses avable to him but not once did he hesitate to use it on his loyal follower.
He unleashed the power that had a name of...
"[Rebirth]"
Wights body turned into particles and then...
Volume 3 15
"[Rebirth]"
Still holding Wight in my arms, I revealed the power given to me by the Creator. That power being [Rebirth].
It was the reward I got from the side show with [Wind] Demon Lord Sts.
Its effects allowed me to return a monster back into being a medal and use it in a new [Synthesis].
By doing so, the monsters soul would reside within the newly created medal. This meant that it was possible to carry over Wight as he was along with his level to the new monster. In Wights case, he was created as a B rank monster with a static level so he would be reborn at level 56.
Kuina, Rorono, and Aura havent reached level 56 yet so in a sense, it was fortunate that I had created Wight to have a static level back then.
At the same time as I uttered the words of power, Wight who was on the verge of death turned into particles of light that then gathered on the palm of my hand. Those particles felt hot, almost like they could burn my hand. But I could also feel from them Wights presence.
Finally, the particles settled down and manifested itself as golden medal.
That medal was [The Dead] medal.
When turning a monster into a medal via [Rebirth], the created medal isnt any of the medals that was previously used to create the monster. In Wights case, he was created using the [Death] and [Person] medals but what came out of [Rebirth] was [The Dead].
It was an entirely new original medal that represented the monster itself.
And so, I tightly grasped that medal in my hand. From it, I felt strong power and emotions, as though it was Wight himself.
"Wight, Im going to grant you a new body; Im going to grant you your wish."
He wished for a strong body not for himself but for me and my subordinates. In ordance to his desire, I took out the [Dragon] medal. Out of all the medals that I have, it was the best one in creating monsters with a strong body.
After that, I added in another medal: [Creation].
Because Wight expressed his selfish desire to be my monster in the truest sense, I was going to use my own medal in this [Synthesis].
So, in my hand were the [Dragon], [Creation], and [The Dead] medals. With all three gathered, it started to heat up.
Now, lets begin.
"[Synthesis]"
Light shone from my closed hand and it grew stronger.
What floated in my mind were the countless number of possibilities.
I chose the option to make the new monster be able to level up. Even though I chose this option, due to the [Rebirth]s effects, instead of starting from level 1, Wights initial level would be level 56.
Next, the [Dragon] medal had a special ability called [Berserk]. What this does is robbing the monster of its reason and intelligence in exchange for powerparable to a monster a rank above it.
If I added [Berserk] to a potential S rank monster, I might be able to make be the strongest monster.
However, I did not choose it. I liked Wights personality and did not wish to rob that away from him.
And so, the option for [Berserk] vanished.
Right when I thought so far, so good, I heard Wights voice.
The lighting from [The Dead] medal grew more dazzling. The medal then pulled in the [Dragon] medal toward itself. Next, the [Berserk] option that just vanished resurfaced.
As for the [Creation] medal, it began to transform. From among the countless futures, one future became more prominent. The image that floated in my mind was that of a jet-ck dragon keeping the strongest power under its control with its bravery and willpower.
"Wight, are you guiding this?"
It felt like that to me.
[Creation] transformed and what it transformed into was [Hero].
A [Hero].
A being that kills Demon Lords.
A being that ruled over valor and fortitude.
A Champion with excellent wisdom and superior martial arts.
And so, the [Dragon], [Hero], and [The Dead] medalsbined and began to form a monster.
There existed the concept ofpatibility among medals. The [Hero] and [The Dead] medals, unsurprisingly, had the worstpatibility. The [Hero] and [Dragon] medals werent any better either. In almost all cases, their powers will contradict one another, making it hard to create a strong monster.
However, there was a possibility wherein these three miraculously worked in perfect harmony with one another. That possibility existed once every 1000, no, 10,000... that chance existed only once every 100, 000,000 Synthesis.
With my power, with the [Creation] medal, I could just choose the one possibility I want from the countless number of possibilities.
I reached out for the possibility Wight pointed out and grasped it!
Its vague outline grew clearer but then, a dark, ominous haze enveloped around it to mix the power of [Berserk] into the forming monster. ck patterns emerged on the monsters whole body and then vanished.
In the next moment, the monster itself appeared.
It stood on two legs and had gant wings on its back. It also had fangs and ws and a massive figure.
The pupils of its eyes showed an ominous dark crimson.
It transcended even S rank; it was the ultimate monster.
The name that came to my mind was...
"The jet-ck dragon Siegwurm"
It was Wights new form.
It was misfortune personified. It was the dragon of cmity that guarded the gates of hades which ruled over the living and the dead alike.
I looked at Wights eyes and believed he would hold the power of [Berserk] at bay.
In return, Siegwurm, looked at me and roared. I felt fear that seemed to freeze even my soul.
Its eyes devoid of any emotion and its thoughts seemingly devoted only on eliminating the enemy before it, it raised its hand overhead.
I did not close my eyes or even took a defensive stance. The reason for that is because...
"I believe in you, Wight."
I refused to believe Wights consciousness would be overwhelmed by [Berserk].
When Siegwurms hand was just about to hit me, it stopped.
Reason and warmth now dwelling in his deep red eyes, he spoke.
"Forgive me, my lord. I was half-asleep and acted carelessly."
In a tone that feigned innocence, Siegwurm... no, Wight said such.
"So youre fully awake now then?"
"Yes, my lord. Having flesh and blood feels rather nice, isnt it? The pleasant wind; the fresh scents; and the different hue of the surrounding."
He said so as he smiled.
And then, his form changed from that of a gigantic dragon into that of a gentlemanly, middle-aged, white-haired man. All that said, he still didnt look quite human due to the dragon horns and tail on his body.
On his body, he wore a jet-ck butler uniform.
That appearance suited Wight so much it almost made meugh.
"Are you in that form instead of your original form because youve suppressed [Berserk]?"
"Not quite. It seems [Berserk] has an On and Off mode. The more I release Berserks power, the closer to a dragon my form bes. When fighting seriously, it will be better to have no friendly units nearby for I might not be able to control myself. Moreover, if I use Berserk mode for too long, I will not be able to turn back. I guess I will be able to fight at full strength for about 3 minutes or so."
As expected, we couldnt receive only the good parts of this increase in fighting strength.
However, it was reassuring that Wight had the power that exceeded even S rank.
In the first ce, Wight had the power of an S rank monster even in his dragonewt form so situations where [Berserk] would be necessary were probably going to be few.
"So you turn into a dragon by going mad?"
When I heard Wights exnation, I was reminded of a heros legend. In that legend, he defeated a dragon and by bathing on the gush of its blood, the hero himself became a dragon.
The ck Dragon of Deathwhat Wight became upon his rebirthprobably was a monster simr to that legend.
"Here is your order, Wight. You are to defeat with your own hands the monster that previously defeated you. That will be mystmand in this [War]. Now, to your duty!"
"Certainly, my lord. Let me demonstrate to you this new power."
I looked at Ancient Elfs direction.
The fight progressed with her on the dominating side. Overwhelming her enemy with her speed, she did not worry about the enemys ability to read minds. It wasnt only due to her speed either; much like the Byakkos reading of minds, she deployed a barrier of wind which sensed her enemys movements. In addition, it also elerated her movements, thus allowing her to act before the Byakko could even do his next action.
However, having lost her main weapon, her offensive capabilities had fallen and she was not yet able tond the decisive blow.
In that moment, Wight appeared.
"Ancient Elf-sama, please leave this to me. I have been ordered by our lord to take care of this from now on."
Seeing Wight who became a dragonewt, Ancient Elf was round-eyed and then smiled.
"Wight-san, youve be very cool. Although, theres this mysterious and ufortable feeling to it, isnt there? Well, it suits you well. Ok then, Ill leave the rest to you. Youre the star of the show now. I guess that makes me the opening act, doesnt it?"
"You have my thanks, Ancient Elf-sama."
"Dont worry about it. Also, please call me Aura from now on; thats the name master has given to me."
"Certainly, Aura-sama."
As she said those words, Aura turned her back against the Byakko and then lined up beside me.
With the two of us, we watched over the Byakko and Wights fight.
In that moment, new actors entered the stage.
"Oto-san, were back!"
"Kuina, wait for me. This baggage is heavy and I cant catch up to you."
It was Kuina and Rorono. The two have returned after breaking [Viscosity]s crystal.
"Kuina, Rorono, what the heck is that?"
"Ahm, well, as we were on our way back, we suddenly met them so we defeated all his followers and ran off here. We thought of whether or not to kill him but it seemed there was an amazing monster ahead so we thought it was better to let him live and be a convenient hostage."
Kuina puffed her chest as she replied so.
At that, Rorono stared at her and spoke.
"From the beginning of the fight until itsst moments, Kuina just slept through it."
"Ah! Rorono-chan, dont talk about that!"
The one on Rorono back was the [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan. To prevent him from using magic, cotton was stuffed into his mouth. And to prevent him from escaping, his whole body was tied up.
I couldnt help but pity him for being defeated only in passing. He really couldnt be med though; there was no way toe out safe after being in a fight with these two.
"It seems youve safely broken the crystal in that dungeon. Good work and thanks as well for this gift. You two did well."
When I brushed their heads, Kuina happily swung her fluffy fox tail while Rorono narrowed her eyes.
Like that, my three [Monsters of the Covenant] and I turned our gaze toward Wight.
Wight and the Byakko faced each other. They exchanged words for a while and then shed into one another.
After their sh, ck haze then wrapped around Wights body; it seemed as though [Berserk] mode was turned on.
From his butler form, he transformed into a gigantic ck dragon with shining deep red eyes.
He then headed to the sky and roared. Upon doing so, numerous undead appeared from deep underground. Judging by their appearance, they seemed to be strengthened multiple times.
The Byakko, in order to get out of reach of those undead monsters, leapt high into the sky and then sunk his fang into Wight. However, instead of piercing Wights scales, his fang was the one that was damaged and broken. This broken fang that dropped into the ground turned ck and rotted.
Wight as the ck dragon of death was d in miasma; just by touching it, his opponents life was snatched away.
"GAAAAAaaaaA!!"
Wight aimed at the Byakko that became defenseless in the sky. He swung his arm and dove downward into ground. Upon impact, the ground shook and a crater was made. The ground started to rot while the surrounding trees simultaneously withered.
At the center of the crater was the Byakko, barely breathing it seemed. On top of his earlier injuries, all of his bones seemed to be broken now, rendering himpletely unable to move.
At that, Wight voiced out a victory roar. He then undid [Berserk]. The ck haze cleared and he returned to his dragonewt form.
Such overwhelming strength.
"My lord, I have now aplished all of the tasked youve given."
He said so aftering all the way to where I was and elegantly bowing.
For the popr and resourceful Wight to have gained even fighting strength, he was truly very reliable.
It would seem he hadnt lost his ability tomand the undead. I have decided then to let himmand the undead as usual in his dragonewt form and only make him fight as the ck dragon as ast resort.
"Thanks for your hard work, Wight."
Wight smiled at my reply. I was a little pleased to now be able to tell what exactly he was feeling.
"No, it is all thanks to the new power you have given me, my lord. ...its a little hard for me to ask but on top of my request from the beginningfor you to be the one to officiate my wedding ceremonymay I ask for one more reward?"
"It depends on what youre asking for."
"Will you consider scouting a monster? The monster in question is the Byakko. I will handle the negotiations so please consider it."
It would seem Wight respected his formidable enemy and deemed him capable. Furthermore, he asked if I was willing to make that enemy my own power.
At any rate, scout him, huh? This way of thinking couldnt belong to any other monster than Wight.
"Alright, do what you must. Also, you may use the [Steel] Demon Lords life as a bargaining chip."
"Thank you, my lord. Im d negotiations will be easier."
Upon saying so, Wight first walked toward the incapacitated Byakko and began to talk with him a while.
The Byakko then nodded with satisfaction.
Maybe it was because they fought with all they had that they were able tomunicate with each other so well.
At any rate, Rorono dropped down the [Steel] Demon Lord she was carrying in front of Wight.
When Wight poured magic power into his hand, it alone turned into a dragons body parta dragons paw and w to be exact.
Afterward, he removed the cotton stuffed into Zagans mouth so that the Demon Lord may be able to speak.
"[Steel] Demon Lord, wont you transfer the right of control of the Byakko Kohaku-dono over to my lord? Kohaku-dono himself have consented to it."
For the right of control of a monster to be transferred, there has to be consent from the Demon Lord owning that said monster. Unless Zagan agrees, there was nothing that could be done.
"Wh-who would do such a thing?"
"Thats unfortunate. Then, let us begin our negotiations."
With his ws, Wight lopped off Zagans right arm.
Zagan, half-crazed, held his blood-spurting arm as he rolled around.
However, he was interrupted from doing so when Wight easily picked him up by the nape of his neck. Upon doing so, Wight stared straight into his eyes and threatened him.
"Next will be your left arm. If you transfer over the right of control, I will spare you at least your life. So, how about it?"
As things were, the Byakko was to disappear along with Zagans crystal and Wight found that to be regrettable. However, by transferring the right of control over to me, Byakko will remain alive no matter what might happen to the crystal.
Perhaps it was because Wight was greatly exhausted at this point but the negotiation was being extremely harsh.
"Who the hell would listen to a monster like you?"
"Hmm. Off with your left arm then."
And so, Zagan who started to spout abusivenguage got his left arm lopped off.
"GYAAAAAAAA! You bastard, you bastard, you bastard!"
"I may have gone a little bit overboard; you might die at this rate. Allow me to administer treatment."
In what seemed like an application of an ability of his, Wight regrew Zagans arm. However, it was different from Zagans previously human-looking arm; it was grotesque.
As far as Zagan was concerned, that was far more terrifying than when he lost his arm.
"Do you understand? You are currently being turned into an undead. Unless you decide soon, the process will reach even your brain. When that happens, youll be nothing but a mindless beast starved for blood and flesh."
Upon hearing so, Zagans eyes and nose began to shed tears and snot due to his immense fear.
"Stop, stop it, this, this arm, it isnt mine, I give up, I give up, so stop it already."
"Certainly. Then, please begin the transfer of the right of control."
Zagan finally broke.
When Wight dropped him down into the ground, his undead arm came off. The wound has closed so it was unlikely he would die from blood loss.
Wight then pushed him in the back until he was right before me.
"I, [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan, hereby transfer the right of control of this Byakko over to the [Creation] Demon Lord."
With those words, the transfer began. All that was left to conclude the transaction was for me to nod.
"I, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, hereby epts [Steel] Demon Lord Zagans offer."
Thus, Byakko became mine.
"Enough already. I, I surrender."
Like that, Zagan who became pale-white surrendered.
In that moment, his crystal appeared before me and I broke it.
<>
He said deficiencies in the rules but he most probably just found it more interesting that way and therefore purposefully overlooked them.
Like that, I was able to understand the irresponsible train of thought of the Creator.
At any rate, the war came to a close with our overwhelming victory.
My three [Monsters of the Covenant] hugged each other and cheered. Whereas Wight smiled with satisfaction.
Upon our return to our city, I intended to give all my monsters a reward. I also nned on giving Wight who became a ck dragon of death a name.
Deciding so, I patiently waited to be transferred.
Authors afterword: The war has finally concluded! Thanks for reading this far! I am happy to know youve enjoyed this war volume.
TL note: I used Hero for Yuusha () and Champion for Eiyuu (Ӣ). Both of these can mean hero but I decided on those terms based on the context of this chapter.
Volume 3 16
The war ended with our resounding victory. We had satisfied the condition of breaking all of our enemy Demon Lords crystal.
Before me, my lovely girls were embracing one another and cheering.
While Wight who became a dragonewt had his arms crossed and was nodding in satisfaction.
By the way, [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan distanced himself by dragging his injured body. He then leaned his back on a tombstone and used his ability to make artificial arms made out of mithril which he then attached at his shoulders. He was an unexpectedly skillful person. Truly, a Demon Lord of [Steel].
Normally, at the end of a war, we were supposed to be transferred to each of our own dungeons but there were no signs of that happening anytime soon.
It was futile to think of the reason why; no one could ever tell what goes on that capricious Creators mind after all.
In the meantime, I decided to check on our status.
"Kuina, Wight,e here."
I called over Kuina and Wight, themanders of the first corps and of the defensive corps, respectively.
I was referring to him as Wight even though he was longer a Wight but rather a ck dragon of death, a Siegwurm. By all rights, I should be calling him that but it just felt more fitting to call him Wight. I decided that I would continue to do so until I have given him his name.
"Oto-san, Im here!"
"How may I serve you, my lord?"
The two of them came as soon as I called.
In Kuinas case, however, she took the chance to embrace my right arm as she arrived. She must have been so lonely being separated from me. Such a cute girl.
"The two of you are themanders of your respective corps. I would like to have your reports now. First, Kuina of the first corps. It seems youve broken the enemys crystal but are there any casualty?"
Kuina was in charge of the High Elves and the remaining monsters made from imitation medals. With Kuina and Rorono around, I thought it was unlikely to have casualties but it was better to be sure.
"There were some children that got injured but those injuries were light and they have already eaten Elf-chans apples so theyll recover in time. No casualties."
I was relieved to hear that. I see, so theyve finished their mission without casualties.
"Okay but what about the [Viscosity] Demon Lord?"
"We didnt kill him. Since there was a monster almost as strong as Kuina in the deepest part of [Viscosity]s dungeon, we promised not to kill him in exchange for telling us why a monster like that was there. Oto-san, our enemies were so sneaky! They all got monsters from their parent Demon Lords! They went around the rules by getting a monster from anothers parent!"
It all made sense to me when I heard that. I had seriously doubted [Steel] was able to make a monster such as Byakko; he was too strong. If he fought Kuina or the others seriously in a one on one match, I was not confident they would win.
"So their alliance each got a monster as strong as Byakko? And you defeated one? Thats amazing."
I proceeded to stroke her head. Her fox ears and her soft hair felt good.
As she narrowed her eyes, she spoke.
"Oto-san, the one that defeated the strongest monster wasnt Kuina; it was Rorono-chan. Incredible power awoke within Rorono-chan when she became Oto-sans [Monster of the Covenant]! Give her lots of praiseter."
"I will praise herter. But for now, I must praise Kuina who has dutifully done her role as amander, right?"
"Yay! ?"
Kuina, due to being in a better mood, tightened her embrace. I decided that I would brush her tailter in the evening. She did like it when I do that.
"Next, Wight, tell me of the damages on your end."
"Yes. 24 Skeletons have fallen for our cause. However, I have resurrected 20 of them when I was still a Wight. The other four were revived with my Enhanced Resurrection ability that I got when I became a Siegwurm."
Just as a Wight had the ability to resurrect fallen monsters, a Siegwurm did too. In addition, this resurrection ability even made monsters stronger than they were before their demise.
It was not without fault, however. Whereas a Wights ability could resurrect an individual any number of times, a Siegwurms Enhanced Resurrection could only ever be used on a monster once, thus demanding a more cautious approach in battle.
"I see, you did well on enduring the enemy siege without any casualties."
It was precisely because of Wight and his resurrection ability that the defense pulled through with no casualties.
"I am grateful for your praise. However, the golems and the weapons did suffer immense damage. 30 golems were destroyed. As for the weapons, 4 heavy-machineguns and 10 methrowers were broken while 25 assault rifles were damaged. Forgive me, my lord, for allowing your fighting force to be reduced."
"We can always make golems and guns as much as we want. Rather, Im proud of you for putting priority on the lives of the monsters. Truly, nothing less from my right-hand man."
It was much better than being the other way around where the golems and weapons were used sparingly but monsters were lost left and right.
It was because Wight understood and practiced this sentiment that I could rely on him.
"My, I am thankful for your words. I will continue to devote myself for you, my lord, now more than ever."
And then he did an elegant bow. It was a gesture I had grown familiar with from when he was still a Wight.
But when he did so as he was nowa good-looking, middle-aged dragonewt gentlemanit felt just right.
If I was perhaps a woman, I might have fallen for him.
And so, I continued to listen to his detailed report: the damages to the dungeon, how the traps were used, and how the enemies reacted to it, and so on.
Actual battles offered the perfect opportunity to conduct experiments whose results were the best materials we could learn from. In order to make our dungeon stronger, we had to obtain as much first-hand information as possible.
As we were doing so, a young woman appeared.
She was a strong-willed, green-haired girl from the same generation as I was in. She was [Wind] Demon Lord Sts who I had asked to be at standby in my crystal room as my insurance.
"That was a terrific battle, Procell. I thought your ingenuity was already two levels above mine but never did I thought you were more creative than that."
"Was it of any help?"
"Yes. Of course its impossible to implement your tactics unchanged but your way of thinking, attitude, and many other things have served as references for me. Thanks to those, Ive gotten a few ideas of my own."
As expected of Sts; she really was proactive and hard-working.
"Thats good. But then, Ive exposed nearly all of the cards in my hand so having a fight with you right now is a little frightening."
"Dismiss the thought. ......the way I see it, for me to challenge you into a war, I would have to be missing two or three screws in my head. In the first ce, I think of you as a friend; if I didnt, I wouldnt have left my own dungeon ande here. But then again, if you target and fight for my [Wind], then that will be a whole other conversation, now wouldnt it?"
"Im not that ungrateful. Besides, I too think of you as a friend."
Killing a friend for the sake of ones lust for power, that was not how a Demon Lord* should conduct himself.
"Were friends... that sounds good. ...but in the end, there was no real meaning in meing here. Rather than helping you out, I ended up being the only one that benefitted by learning things. Im a little ashamed."
"Dont be. Its because I had you as myst line of defense that I was able to boldly go on the offensive. Even I wouldnt have sent out my three trump cardsKuina, Rorono, and Aurawithout any kind of insurance."
My strategy this time centered on Wight but even if he and the unused absolute defense third room were to be defeated, there was still Sts as myst line of defense.
Her very presence alone contributed to my strategy.
"I will gratefully ept those words, then. But those disqualify you as a Demon Lord, you know? You should feign ignorance and then talk to me about how you didnt owe me any favors."
"When you put it that way, youre the same. Theres no need for you to talk about how you werent able to help around; you should emphasize the very fact that you came to help."
We both looked at each others faces andughed. We were friends so we talked about everything withplete honesty and thats more than enough, if you ask me.
"Procell, your Wight... no, your Siegwurm, may I talk to him for a while?"
"I dont mind but why?"
"Theres just a little something on my mind."
Sts then turned serious and looked at Wight.
Upon my agreement, she headed to where he was.
"How do you do, Sts-sama?"
"I am not your master; theres no need to humble yourself."
"But you are my lords close friend. Any discourtesy towards you will reflect badly on my lord."
Upon hearing his words, Stsughed a little.
"Fufu. You are an interesting one, arent you? Almost enough for me to want to scout you over to my side."
Those probably were serious words.
Wight was an extraordinary fellow. From the start, his ingenuity separated him from the rest but now it was evenbined with high-rankingbat power.
"Ahem. Hey, do you feel any strangeness in your body? Has anything changedpared from when you were a Wight? Its fine to tell me anything, even trivial things."
"...Thats a tricky question to answer, isnt it? My very race has changed so every single thing about me is new. I always have to keep [Berserk] under control so thats just about all the difort I have, if thats what youre asking about."
"I see... its great if those are the only changes you have."
"Sts, why are you so invested on Wight?"
"Its because youve used [Rebirth] on him. My parent, [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth-sama, warned me about it. He said that it was too strong and too convenient and that there was no way that unreasonable person that loves to perplex and trouble us Demon Lordsthat twisted Creatorwould give Demon Lords something just to please us. My parent then went on about how there some kind of trap in this reward."
My own parent, [Beast] Demon Lord Marcho, had said something simr. For two of the three living strongest Demon Lords to warn us so, it could not be ignored.
Thus, I decided to keep an eye on Wight for a time.
"Wight, if you feel something unusual, no matter how little, be sure to let me know."
"Certainly, my lord."
Wight obediently agreed.
I might have been a bit rash in using this power on Wight but had I not done so, I would have lost him. Due to that, I was in a position where I must thank the Creator... even if sometimeter, something were to happen.
"Sts, if something were to happen Wight, I will inform you immediately via a letter."
"Thanks. I guess if after a while nothing happens to him, Ill go and use Rebirth as well... honestly, I really want that power."
"Yeah, its so strong."
Two of Stss [Monsters of the Covenant] were B rank monsters. Her desire to use [Rebirth] should be far greater than mine.
As I was thinking the Transfer sure is taking its time...
<>
Before I could utter a question orint, my mind was assailed by a shock and my consciousness began to fade.
It was a sensation I had grown quite familiar with: the signs of Transfer.
When I next opened my eyes, I found myself seated at a preparedrge, round table.
When I looked at my surroundings, [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan, [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove, and [Wind] Demon Lord Sts were there.
And then, a dreadful, threatening, and malicious feeling filled the air. With eyes filled with the intent to kill for deceiving him, [Viscosity] red at [Steel] and then shouted, expressing in words his intent.
[Steel], however, just red at Sts.
As that went on, spotlights then focused at the head of the table.
Pompous music then began to y, along with the blinking of the lights. The whole thing came off cheap and patronizing to me.
And then, he appeared.
His whole body was d in a robe of ck and gold; his hair and beard were long and white; his skin was wrinkled; and his arms, gnarled.
He looked old but still gave off a mysterious, awe-inducing, and frightening impression.
"Well now, this is my first time to show this form. I am the Creator. I am the true parent of all of you. Now, use this ce that I have prepared to deepen your closeness with one another."
Like that, all the Demon Lords that were here but did not really want to be began to talk.
Volume 3 17
By the Creators will, we four Demon Lords gathered in one ce and was seated onrge, round table.
Shortly afterwards, the Creator himself showed up. This was actually my first time to see what the Creator looked like.
"Now, before we engage in our lovely talk, I will give you all some free time. Ill just stay quiet and watch you Children of the."
The Creator informed us so. But even then, there was no way we could speak thoughtlessly while he watched us on. As I thought that silence grabbed hold of my surroundings...
"Zagan, youre horrible! You said thisll be an easy win and the most reliable way to fulfill our quota so I cooperated! But you liar; I didnt hear anything about this! Return them, return my monsters!"
[Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove fired the first shot.
He looked tattered and was missing an arm. Even though the wound had closed with his capacity as a Demon Lord to recuperate, it was not enough to regrow his arm. A monster with a high-ranking healing ability might be able to do so but with his crystal broken, all of his monsters were gone as well.
"Shut up! If you were just a little more helpful, I would have won! But because you were defeated so early, I was attacked by that fox monster and that dwarf in strange armor! If only that didnt happen, I would have been able to catch up to Byakko and supported him. And if that happened, I would have surely won! So as you see, I lost because of you, you ipetent fool!"
Zagan returned fire.
I doubted though that him supporting the Byakko would have been enough to turn things around.
To begin with, we still had the third dungeon rooman absolute defense area. If that wasnt enough, Sts was also on standby farther in.
"Youre the ipetent one so shut up. Youre the ipetent fool that dragged me and Morax into this stupid war! [Creation] sortied all his monsters out and yet you still failed to conquer that empty dungeon! Youre the most inept, good-for-nothing, pathetic, ipetent fool there is! You should go and change your name to [Ipetent] Demon Lord Muzan(pathetic)!"
"I let you speak and this is what you say, you durd!? If I hadnt taken you in--"
"If I didnt team up with you, [Ipetent] Demon Lord Muzan, at the very least, I could have better protected my crystal!"
It was a terribly ugly fight. It seemed that at any moment Zagan wouldsh out and attack Ronove but a forcepelled him to sit and stay where he was.
This force affected me too. Out of the worry that Zagan and Ronove would act due to their resentment, I tried to ready myself in various ways but to no avail; it seemed that aside from preventing me to move away, the force had also sealed every single skill and magic I had.
Perhaps this was to protect the Creator himself.
Speaking of the Creator, he was grinning as he watched Zagan and Ronove. He probably considered even their bickering as entertainment.
"Sts, right when I thought you simply rejected my offer, here you are as [Creation]s dog, his bitch! Even though I would have taken better care of you!!"
His ugly argument with Ronove finally over, Zagan bared his fangs toward Sts.
Originally, he had offered Sts to join the alliance that was founded to defeat me but was rejected. He must have been aggravated to see her helping me out instead.
Through all of it, Sts kept an unconcerned face.
"I am no dog and certainly no ones. I only came here as a friend helping out a friend in need... But then, you were so weak, that proved unnecessary."
Those words must have sorely wounded his pride.
"I am not weak; if [Viscosity] and [Evil] hadnt dragged me down, I would have won!"
"Is that so? Tell yourself what you must but can you please stop talking to me already? I have no interest in someone like you."
"I really, really could and should have won, I tell you! It wasnt my fault I lost!"
"Dont make me say the same thing again. It is a waste of time to associate myself with a loser like you."
"Did, did you just call me a loser!?"
Zagan screamed but Sts didnt even deign to give him a nce; he waspletely ignored.
But then, Sts probably felt that even if she said anything to him, whatever it was, it would have been useless.
And so, Zagan screamed and screamed until he looked anemic and about to cry. He then cursed and pounded his hands on the table.
After a short while of silence, Ronove murmured something
"Morax... Wheres Morax?"
There should have been another Demon Lord present here. In search for that Demon lord, Ronove repeatedly shook his head left and right but in the end failed to find the said Demon Lord.
No one answered his query. I could have but it was a little unpleasant so I decided not to as well.
After a while, the Creator opened his mouth.
"[Evil] is dead and has already returned to me. For the war among new Demon Lords, as a means of relief, I was willing to give a new crystal by the time they got independent to the Demon Lords that got their crystals broken. There is nothing that could be done about deaths though."
[Viscosity] held his breath.
The other Demon Lords had predicted as much so they werent as surprised.
Even though there was a means of relief offered, it didnt mean it would extend to everything.
"Morax died? But that guy, that guy was the only one kind to me."
Tears dropped from his frog-like, round eyes.
It was only a little but I did feel guilty. That said, this war was either kill or be killed so I didnt regret this oue.
Ronove reproachfully red at me but that was all he did. He probably understood that voicing anyints was misced.
And so, the surrounding once again began to fall into silence. After that happened, the Creator nodded in satisfaction.
"Children of the, it seems you have deepened your friendship with one another so shall we get into the task at hand?"
We all looked at the Creator.
As I did so, a doubt welled up within me. I wouldnt have thought the Creator was this unreliable-looking old man.
To begin with, for the Creator to even age was strange. I couldnt believe a transcendent being that gives life to Demon Lords to have aged this much.
"[Creation], is my appearance so strange?"
"No, nothing like that."
I was convinced my facial expression didnt show what I was thinking but even so, he read through it instantly. Such sharpness.
"You dont have to hide it. But thats weird, hmm... My appearance should have been what everyone here wanted me look like... Then, is this form any better? How about this?"
The Creator then became a young man, then a baby, then a boy, then an old woman, then a beast, then a spirit, and then even a dragon. In the end, the Creator returned to his initial form.
"In the first ce, I have no fixed form and I only prepare a body when I need to. I am a being not as bound and limited as you Children of the."
Unearthly. That word shed through my mind.
He was something I should never think of opposing. That realization made me see him in a new light.
"Hmmmm. As I thought, [Creation] is wise. I hope you illuminate the world with your radiance as a Child of the and aplish your role."
"I thank you for your praise."
I didnt even have anymore the willpower to retort on having my mind read.
"[Creation], you have always surprised me. Aside from the reward for this [War], I am going to grant you one additional reward. Ask me what you would like to know about and I will try to answer it whatever it is. This is your chance to get close to the worlds truths."
What I would like to know about? There were myriads of them.
For example, was there any kind of trap behind the [Rebirth] I used on Wight?
What was the as-of-yet unrevealed role of a Child of the? For that matter, why are Demon Lords called Children of the in the first ce?
Was there a way to be free from our 300-year lifespan?
But most of all...
"Just who am I?"
That was my greatest question.
Why do I know such things as guns? That was not all either. I also knew of way too advanced tools and of things that didnt exist.
I was of the thought that I was a reincarnation of someone. If my [Creation] allowed me to make certain things in my memory, then I was convinced I had interacted with those certain things at some point in my previous life.
"Thats a rather philosophical question, [Creation]. To which, there is only one answer: [Creation] Demon Lord Procell is none other than [Creation] Demon Lord Procell."
"Thats not the kind of thing I want to hear. Just who was I before I became [Creation] Demon Lord Procell? I want to know of the memories Ive lost. Who the hell am I!?"
I unintentionally became emotional. I was always afraid to have a part of myself that I didnt know.
I was afraid that I would change into something else because of that part of myself.
In order to quell these worries, I asked this question.
"You have not lost any memories. You had no past life. Those are the answers. To start, I will address a misunderstanding. Whatever is needed to form a Demon Lords personality and knowledge are carefully selected from thes memoryAkashic Records. Its just that in your case, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, due to your ability, the span of knowledge needed is vast. So as you see, it doesnt mean that a specific persons memory and soul is given to a Demon Lord upon birth. This is also the reason why Demon Lords are called Children of the."
It clicked within me upon hearing that exnation but I still had some doubts left.
"Then what about the guns I use, theptop, the apples, did they all exist in this? I dont think thats likely."
"But they did. In a civilization that had fallen a long time ago, a civilization that no one except the remembers. In a sense, we can say [Creation] truly is a Child of the. Whereas other Demon Lords indirectly aplish their role, [Creation] does so directly."
I didnt fully understand the Creators words but I had aplished my goal: I had cleared the clouds of doubt that had gued my heart ever since.
It felt good. From that point forward, not anymore did I have to be afraid of the shadow of someone I didnt know.
"Thank you very much for answering my question. Knowing that I am who I am and no one else gives me piece of mind."
"Hmm, that response is not interesting... oh well. Then, lets now get into the real topic."
Upon saying so, the Creator nce at [Steel] and [Viscosity] in order.
"[Steel], [Viscosity]. This war is not only about winning and losing; its also about showing your radiance and power as a Child of the. Relyingpletely on your parents generation is not an act I would praise. Showing off the strength of the monsters youve borrowed held no meaning and did not entertain me."
Zagan and Ronove twitched and trembled, perhaps in fear of a severe punishment.
"Nevertheless, I have no intention of faulting you. You are young and are naturally mischievous. If I am to fault somebody though, it will be the older Demon Lords that gave you those monsters. They should have the good sense to not do so and yet they still did. I cannot forgive that. I will be giving them some stern punishment. I look forward to what kind of face theyll make, especially [Darkness] who is at the point where his ambition is burning the most."
The Creator gave a sinister smile.
We were not the ones that smile was directed at and yet we sweated still.
Basically, the Demon Lords closest to the end of their lifespans are the ones elected to be parents to newly born Demon Lords like us. However, just the Demon Lords in theirst year as parents would not be enough to take care of newly born ones; less than 30% of all Demon Lords ever manage to live close to 300 years after all. Due to that, Demon Lords born 3 generations after Marchos generation, the current oldest generation, or in other words Demon Lords with 30 years left in their lifespan became parents. For these Demon Lords, once the older ones were no more, it was finally their time. To be punished now must hurt.
I cant act like none of these affect me; I have to speak here.
"Creator, I have a request."
"What is it, [Creation]?"
"As you may be aware, I have under my control a monster that once belonged to the [Time] Demon Lord. However, this monster has been acquired through a fair trade. I hope you do not punish the other party for transferring the right of control over to me."
It was a fair deal through and through. We both benefitted from our deal so it fell through. I who imposed myself upon his domain could not let this trouble befall him.
"No need to worry. I am aware of that deal. Moreover, I believe it to be impossible for [Time] to do something as stupid as what we are discussing."
I felt relieved. With this, I have not troubled him.
"[Steel] and [Viscosity], having lost your powers and dungeons, just living will probably be hard for you. In light of that, I give you three choices: you may take shelter here in the Demon Lord Pce; you may also choose to be under the care your respective parents; or be daring and set out on your own, possessing nothing. Now, choose."
In regards to those choices, Zagan immediately spoke.
"I wish to take shelter in the Demon Lord Pce!"
Well, it was natural.
His parent was going to be punished by the Creator. As the cause of that, I could imagine he was going to be extremely unweed at his parents dungeon.
On the other hand, being thrown out without any possessions was frightening.
If those were the case, then being under the Creators protection was the mostfortable choice.
When I looked at [Viscosity]s direction, he was deep in thought.
And then, after some deliberation, he hade up with a decision.
"I choose to live by my own strength. I have decided to stop depending on others. I am going to think and act for myself so I will not ask for Creator-sama or my parent for assistance."
Those words were filled with strong conviction.
Although it was only a little, I thought of him in a better way.
"[Steel], [Viscosity], I shall respect your wishes. Now, as for you. [Creation], good work on winning and most of all, on entertaining me. I am going to give you a reward."
The Creator cut off his words and put on some airs.
Even though he called it a reward, I could not let my guard down and so, I tensed up.
"And that reward is..."
I had received the reward. It certainly had terrific power but it was also hard to use.
But then again,pared to [Rebirth], since the disadvantages were obvious, it seemed I didnt have to be as guarded.
"Oto-san, wee back!!"
"Master, yourete. I was worried."
"Were already done with the preparations, master."
After I received the reward, I was transferred back into the crystal room of my dungeon... of my city of Avalon.
The three girlsKuina, Rorono, and Auracame to greet me.
When I looked at the state of the city through the crystal, the city was already back to its usual routine, with farmers and adventurers busily moving about. Just before the Creator transferred the poption of the city back, I hurriedly switched floors but not one of them seemed to have noticed.
Watching that scene, it registered to me that all the fighting was over and that regr life had resumed.
"Everyone, sorry to have made you wait."
"Oto-san, lets hurry and go to Wights bread factory; everyones waiting!"
"Together with Aura, we have made a lot of cuisines. We have also prepared plenty of masters favorite: tomato stew."
"Fufufu, theres also the apple pie made from the First Trees apples! It will get rid of your fatigue."
Kuina continuously tugged at my arm.
From now on was the party at the bread factory; a celebration.
The preparations had been done before the [War] but it seemed that while I was meeting with the Creator, they had finished it all up.
"How about it, Sts? Wont you join us in our party?"
Yes, I wasnt the only transferred here; [Wind] Demon Lord Sts was also with me.
"I guess Ill impose on you, then. Im looking forward to the fruit called the apple that youve written in your letters. Also, I want to enjoy your city."
"Please do. Afterwards, Ill give you something for your help."
"Ill be looking forward to that as well, then. Also, this had been on my mind for a while but that beautiful elf there, could you perhaps used [Wind] to make her?"
"Yes, shes a monster I was able to make thanks to you. She turned out to be very strong and outstanding. Shes also a good kid. So, Im really grateful to you, Sts."
"Could you have perhaps also used [Creation]?"
"I did."
"Oh. So shes my and Procells child."
Stss face became ever so slightly red as she whispered so.
"Fuh-What was that? Although you can certainly say it like that, its a strange way to put it."
I unintentionallyughed.
As I was like that, Kuina and Rorono each took an arm and strongly pulled it.
"Oto-san, how long are you going to talk!?"
"Master, hurry. Everyones hungry and the food will get cold."
As usual, these two were jealous. They were probably thinking their father was going to be taken away. I smiled wryly as I walked away.
"Shall we go, Sts?"
"Yes, lets"
"I didnt hear it clearly back then but Procell, what was the reward that you got from the Creator?"
"Oh yeah, that... No, lets reserve that talk for another time. For now, lets party."
The reward from the Creator was indeed useful but careful deliberation was needed on when and how to use it.
I chose to leave it for another time, though. I wanted to focus first on praising all of my monsters who worked hard.
Thus I along with my important monsters relished the satisfaction from having protected our city of Avalon.
Note 1: Ronove referred to Zagan as Muzan which can mean pathetic or pitiful.
Note 2: Memory of the is noted as Akashic Records which very inurately means an archive of all things. For those that have read or watched Rave Master, Memory of the uses the same words for Ster Memories.
Volume 3 epilogue
Kuina and Rorono pulled at my arms and brought me to the bread factory that was in the second room of the dungeon proper.
In there, all of the monsters under my control gathered. We were about to have a celebration party of us having won the [War].
Arge amount of table and chairs were set up. A lot of food and alcohol were also prepared.
If there were dishes for the humanoid monsters, there were also some intended for the Griffon and hippogriffs as well as the Skeletons and all the monsters made from the imitation medals.
Some of these food were made by Rorono the Elder Dward and Aura the Ancient Elf but for most of them, they were bought from humans living within Avalon.
The number of immigrants and adventurers within Avalon had increased and so too did the number of the taverns and restaurants.
As the humans open new businesses, it increases the variety of useful things and in turn makes the city more plentiful.
By the way, the coins used to pay for all these were the ones made by the Dwarf Smiths out of the silver and gold mined day and night by the golems. When mining for mithril, gold and silver were also obtained so economically speaking, Avalon was quite well off. As expected, real money was powerful; it was a greatly advantageous to be able to buy whatever was needed from the nearby cities. It was extremely helpful in the management of the city.
The existence of the [Mine] was kept secret from the inhabitants of the city. The entrance to that dungeon room was skillfully disguised and were always guarded by golems to prevent unwanted entry. If ever the humans discover the existence of a mine with infinite reserves of minerals, even at the best circumstances, it wouldnt be aughing matter.
"It wont hurt to be able to mine some orihalcum soon though."
"I would be happy when that happens, master. It would widen the kinds of weapons we could make. Additionally, we only have a small amount of orihalcum remaining in our inventory for our weapons and sooner orter, we wouldnt have enough even for repairs."
Rorono replied so to my monologue.
Our stock of orihalcum came solely from Marchos dungeon and that stock was nearly gone.
The rank of the metal that could excavated from a [Mine] was proportional to the Demon Lords strength. Orihalcum and even adamantite could be gotten from [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosmy parentsdungeon whereas mithril was the highest ranking metal that could currently be gotten from my [Mine].
"After a long while, shall we go prospecting tomorrow?"
"Mhm, lets do so. It is matter a life and death for me as a cksmith"
Considering I hadpleted my three [Monsters of the Covenant] as well as the considerable level ups I gained during this [War], it wouldnt be surprising to now be able to excavate orihalcum.
If in the off chance that there wasnt any, I would have to ask Marcho to let me use her [Mine] a little bit longer.
As I thought of such things, I went up to a stage together with my three [Monsters of the Covenant] and my right-hand man, the former Wight that became a Siegwurm.
All of the monsters nces were focused on us.
"My beloved monsters!"
As my mantle purposefully fluttered, I spoke and then looked at each of my monsters faces, each of them brimming with confidence.
We had broken three crystals in this [War] and by doing so, I had obtained the powers of [Viscosity], [Evil], and [Steel].
Furthermore, by winning the [War], I had aplished my [War] quota and even received a reward from the Creator.
That was not all. The high-ranking Byakko became mine. The other monsters that once belonged to Zagan also fell under mymand through Siegwurms Enhanced Resurrection.
These things that we had gained were really great but the greatest of them all in my opinion was the fact that we had won and the confidence my monsters had gained from it.
"We won. In the face of a dire situationa fight against the forces of three Demon Lordswe have fairly and squarely seized victory!! Moreover, just as Imanded before the start of the [War], each and every one of you is here and has survived! You all have realized my fantasy and turned it into reality. A perfect victory for us!"
My monsters cheered loudly and gleefully.
They exchanged nces with the fellow beside them and smiled triumphantly.
"This victory is all thanks to your hard work! Without you, we wouldnt have won. I am so proud and thankful to you all! I am d you are born as my subordinates! Now, to all that can hold a ss of alcohol, grab hold of one!"
By mymand, the humanoid monsters grabbed a ss of their own. The one that couldnt do so moved close to arge bucket filled with alcohol.
"Everyone, raise your sses! .......Cheers!"
A lot of voices yelling Cheers resounded in the area, followed by the sessive clinking sounds made by their sses.
When I emptied my ss in one go, everyone followed suit.
"Well then, from this moment on will be free time. Food and alcohol are served. Enjoy as much as you want and heal your tired bodies. I will be relying on you again from tomorrow onwards."
Like that, I descended from the stage.
The monsters gathered around the food and began chatting with their friends.
Meanwhile, Kuina grabbed my right arm as Rorono grabbed my left. Aura watched us while she smiled and walked behind us.
As for Sts, she very rudely murmured having a weird look on his face from little girls clinging on him, I wonder, could he really be a lolicon?
After Wight congratted me, he hurriedly went over to his fiance, Ske-san. It seemed he had more spring in his steps than usual. He had told me before that they were to be wed after the [War] had concluded. It was a great thing both of them survived the fighting. I then remembered I was asked to officiate their wedding.
I have to think of ways to congratte them. But for now, l should enjoy this celebration party.
We had a splendid time after the celebration party began.
I enjoyed the delicious food and alcohol, to the point my stomach swelled a lot.
asionally, monsters woulde up to me and congratte me.
Closely beside me were my three girls. Sts had been with us until some time ago but she seemed to have drunk too much and had left her seat to get some air.
"Oto-san, say Aaaah"
"Master, your ss is empty. Let me refill it."
"Master, Ill go get more food."
The three girls graciously attended to me. Sts and other monsters were not around so I decided to give that to them.
"Thank you, everyone. This looks like the right time; theres something I want to give you."
I took out two rings from my pocket. They were tinum rings engraved with something that looked like an apple, the symbol of Avalon.
Attached to one of the ring was a fiery red ruby and to the other a cold, purple sapphire.
"These rings will certify that you are my [Monsters of the Covenant]. I hope youll ept it. I have already handed Auras ring to her beforehand but Kuina, I have prepared the one with the red ruby for you, and the one with the purple sapphire is for you Rorono. I chose these gems under the belief that they suited you best."
I gave them the rings to express my daily gratitude to them as well as a reminder that they were my Monsters of the Covenant. I had already given Aura her jade-green emerald ring.
After I put on the rings on their left hand, the girls touched the precious rings on their finger.
"Woah, so pretty. Thank you, Oto-san!!"
"This make me very happy, Father. I will treasure this ring my whole life. I will do my best more than ever for Father."
Kuina shook her fluffy tail repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Rorono didnt refer to me as master but instead as Father.
These were their reactions whenever they were greatly pleased about something.
"Will the three of you show me your rings?"
"Yeah! ?"
"Mhm"
"Certainly."
Each of them showed me the ring on their left hand.
Kuinas ring had a passionate red ruby that looked like it was burning brightly.
Roronos had a refreshing, calm, and tranquil purple sapphire.
Auras had a genial-looking and gentle jade-green emerald.
Each ring perfectly matched the girls distinct personalities and charms.
"Ill dere it again: Kuina, Rorono, and Aura, I appoint all of you to be my [Monsters of the Covenant], therebypleting my three [Monsters of the Covenant]. I swear to face the future with all of you; tough with you; weep with you; as well as swearing to spend my whole life with you, my beloved daughters."
Upon hearing my words, each of them disyed a different lovely reaction.
Kuina, with a smiling face, cheerfully answered Yay ?.
Rorono earnestly nodded.
While Aura smiled with a content expression on her face.
And then, the three exchanged nces and showed slightly mischievous expression... and then, they altogether hugged me. I withstood almost falling over and hugged them in return.
"Oto-san, I love you."
"Mhm. Till death do us part."
"Yeah, I wont go away even if you tell me you dont need me anymore."
As I felt their warmth, I reflected upon the delight of having my [Monsters of the Covenant]pleted and that they were the girls.
Ill persevere even more from now on. I wont let anyone take my city or my monsters away from me. Ill protect my monsters. No, not just that. Ill make my city even wealthier and make everyone happy.
With that determination in my chest, I smiled lightly.
Authors edited afterwords: The third volume isplete! Thank you for reading this far. From the fourth volume on, the scale of the story will be higher. It will be even more interesting so please continue reading.
TL: I edited out what I consider spoiler-ish. Regarding that issue, I will be deletingments I could consider as spoilers to protect the other readers.
Volume 4 prologue
"That [Creation] Demon Lord is interesting, isnt he? Hes more than what I imagined."
Through one of the quadruplet demons, [Evil] Demon Lords real coborator had watched the [War] in almost its entirety.
The other three of the quadruplet demons served under the Demon Lords in [Steel]s alliance as a means ofmunication. Despite that though, information had unknowingly and continuously been leaked to [Evil] and this coborator.
When [Evil]s crystal broke, the feed was interrupted but the amount of information the coborator had received had been more than enough.
From the start, this coborator was a Demon Lord that expected more out of [Creation] than anyone else but even his expectations were surpassed. He knew that Procell had 3 S ranks monsters namely a Celestial Fox, an Elder Dwarf, and an Ancient Elf. He also knew that Procell had a powerful weapon no one had ever seen before.
Moreover, this coborator had heard from rumors that Procell had another, even more powerful trump card that was able to repel even the Byakko that was a long-serving warrior feared by many Demon Lords in the battlefield.
Obviously, this power was strange for a just recently born Demon Lord to have. If left as he was, the coborator believed without any doubt that Procell would soon reign supreme as the strongest Demon Lord.
In light of this, the coborator raised his guard. He was the only one to do so though. All the other Demon Lords knew through their connections about the fact that Procell faced three Demon Lords that were lent that strong A rank monstersthe Orihalcum Gargoyle, the Arch Demon, and the Byakkoin this war and still won in the end.
Their information wasnt as detailed as the coborators but this still proved how the span of a Demon Lords connections was extremely important. The more influential a Demon Lord was, the wider thework he had.
"Whether I crush him or make use of him, I cant dilly-dally. After all, that guy also looks like hes serious."
The owner of the Byakko came to the coborators mind.
He was a prudent and yet daring individual that was very shrewd and popr even among Demon Lords. For that Demon Lord to be so interested in [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, the coborator knew he could not waste any moment.
Thus, he thought up of a countless number of strategies. These strategies were made not just to go up against [Creation] Demon Lord but also to thwart other Demon Lords aiming for [Creation].
"First, some harassment. It will also be as a kind of farewell gift to [Evil] who helped me."
He thought of [Evil] as nothing but a disposable pawn and yet still murmured such a shameless thing. And thus, he began the harassment of young, talented individuals.
~Procells point of view~
"It sure is great that the medals I can make have increased but its rather hard to use."
I was alone in my room in Avalon as I grumbled.
By breaking another Demon Lords crystal, one would be able to make that defeated Demon Lords original medal. That was extremely wonderful and yet...
"It doesnt mean that the number of original medals I can make in a month has increased, only that the kinds of medals I can make have increased."
Dont get me wrong, Im really happy I got them since my [Creation] could only be used in Synthesis with at least one other original medal. Additionally, until now, I didnt have any way for me to obtain original medalsaside from [Creation]on my own. So, the fact that I was now able to use [Creation] in Synthesis and reliably make a monster once every two months was a huge step forward for me.
That said...
"I still have [Time] and [Water]. I want to use those first. So its fine if I only make [Creation] for a while. The new medals are all B rank medals so theres not much charm in making those for the time being."
I had two A rank medals at the moment but hadpletely ran out of [Creation]. Also, thest time I had made a [Creation] medal was in the middle of the [War] I had just won so the next one wouldnt be until after a month. For the moment, these medals would be like pearls thrown before swine, treasures given to someone that could not make use of them.
I then slowly stretched my body. Today, I was not apanied by Kuina and the others who usually did so. I asked to be alone since I wanted to refine some future policies while slogging through my city administration office work.
For now until I officially be independent, which was 9 months from now, I was safe from wars with old Demon Lords. As for fellow new Demon Lords, since I had won over three Demon Lords in a single war, another challenge was unlikely and that gave me a peace of mind.
What I should be thinking from now was what to do when I finally be independent. To not be crushed by the old Demon Lords, I should increase my fighting force as well as make my city flourish. Also, if possible, I would like to have an alliance with strong Demon Lords.
The previous war made me bitterly recognize the importance of an alliance. However, if I were to be in an alliance, I wouldnt be let to be the only one to benefit from it, the others would demand they too must profit.
".........this is making my head hurt. I should go take a break for now."
When I noticed it, the sun had already set; quite the right time to have dinner.
Even though a Demon Lordwho fed on human emotionsdidnt have to eat meals, I found the act of eating meals enjoyable as a form of amusement.
Thus, I left my room and headed toward the tavern within the city.
There were currently two taverns in Avalon. The first one was a store whose only saving grace was its cheapness. It was popr among adventurers and farmers and was therefore always crowded. The other one offered expensive but good food and alcohol. The ambiance there was also calming.
I headed for thetter store.
It gained high points from me not only for the chefs skills but also for actively offering food that made use of ingredients that was procured from Avalon such as our wheats and the potatoes. Furthermore, by making use of my influence as the head of the city, I was able to enjoy their line-up of choice alcohol acquired from various ces.
As such, I visited this store quite often.
Upon entering the store, I noticed that the tables were fairly upied. A few were adventurers but most of the customers were those affiliated with shops that did business within the city.
"Procell-sama, wee. Thank you for choosing to dine with us."
The shopkeeper, a dandy middle-aged person, courteously greeted me so.
"The food is delicious here after all. Give me strong alcohol. Ill leave the choice of food on you."
"Certainly."
As per usual, I left the choice of food on the shopkeepers rmendation and only stated the kind of alcohol I wanted.
This way, I could eat the most delicious food they could make from that days highest quality ingredients. The quality of ingredients procured from other viges and cities tended to vary so what the most delicious cuisine today might not be so tomorrow.
When the shopkeeper gave instructions to the kitchen, fragrant aroma soon filled the air.
What came out of the kitchen was the alcohol along with three dishes.
The first one was a potato gratin. It was an oven-baked dish that featured thinly-sliced potatoes that were harvested from Avalon, ample amounts of cheese and tomatoes, and some minced meat. As a side note, dairy farms had begun appearing in the city; after the fresh milk first appeared on the market, the dairy products in the city all at once became better.
The second dish was a white stew made with duck meat. It was a superb cuisine made from meticulously boiling ducks over long periods of time. The ducks were gotten by this citys hunters from the forest, by the way.
Thest one was a side sd that made skillful use of wild greens. It looked fresh and appetizing.
As for the strong alcohol, it was amber colored like a whiskey. Its smoky scent was irresistible.
"For today as well, your meals seem delicious."
"Yes, we were able to get our hands on some incredibly good ingredients today. It even made the chef scream."
And so, I began to eat.
For the potato gratin, the syrupy cheese exquisitely suited the sourness of the tomatoes. The juicy minced meat contrasted well with the ky potatoes. It was outstanding.
The white stew made with duck meat was out of this world. There were a sufficient amount of duck bones in the stock so its vor had properly integrated into it. The more I chew on the duck meat, the more the vores out from it.
And when I poured and drank the strong alcohol, it was just the best.
I felt really d that I was able to asionally eat these kind of food. Had I not made a city and only holed myself up within a proper dungeon, I wouldnt be able to enjoy these things.
Humans had weak strength and hearts but they were beings with many useful points about them.
I decided to have some of the food wrapped and give them to the girls. They have to taste this, I thought.
As I was thinking of such, I heard the voices of people I knewing from a table further in.
"Please cheer up, Wight-sama!"
One voice belonged to a Dwarf Smith. To be more specific it was the Dwarf Smith that was Roronos top apprentice as well as the one that served as the adjutant for the defensive forces in thest [War].
She was a fairly pretty girl with brown skin and silver hair.
"Mdy, Im sorry you have to see me in such a miserable state but without drinking, I wont be able to go on."
There was one other voice I heard and it belonged to Wight who was previously a skeletal monster but was now a Siegwurm, a ck dragon of death, due to [Rebirth].
He vigorously drank from his ss. The contents of his ss was simr to mine: fairly strong alcohol.
By the way, the shopkeeper wasnt surprised even if there was a dragonewt here since this city was publicly announced to be a city for demi-humans that were being persecuted elsewhere. Various races coexisted here so a dragonewt wasnt so surprising.
"Ill fill you another ss."
"Thanks, mdy."
At a frightening speed, Wight emptied his drink. If he was a human, he probably would have copsed a long time ago.
He was distracted enough to not have noticed me when I entered this tavern. He was supposed to be making preparations for his wedding and should have been at the peak of happiness... did something happen?
"Drink until you drop and youll forget your worries. I will look after you so dont worry."
"......Ill take you up on your offer, then. For your usually proud-looking superior to act so miserably, are you disillusioned by me, mdy?"
"Not in the slightest! If anything, knowing that Wight-san has this weak side to him has made me like... Ahem, made me know you better."
"Fufu, mdy is so very kind. Then, for today only, please apany me in myining and drinking."
"Yes, ok! And I dont mind even if its every day!"
It seemed something painful did happen to Wight and the Dwarf Smith was there to console him. I wanted to ask him directly what the problem was but that seemed a bit too...
As I was thinking so, he mmed his ss against the table.
"A reptilian is physiologically too much, she says. How can Ske-san say that when I love her so much!?"
Pfft.
Upon knowing of the reason why he was so frustrated, I unintentionally gagged.
It would seem that because he became a dragonewt through [Rebirth], Ske-san broke up with him. I might have caused him his troubles, I thought, Ill send over some superb alcohol to him next time.
"Thats horrible, isnt it?"
"Yes, it is. But then again, I understand where Ske-san ising from. The barriers between races are wide. It might be wrong of me to condemn her so. As expected, being together with someone of the same race is the best."
"Not at all!!"
The Dwarf Smith stood and shouted so, attracting the attention of their surroundings. When she realized this, her face reddened and she apologized before sitting down again.
"Whats most important isnt the race but ones attraction to another. Even if the other person is of another race, someone beautiful on the inside will always be the best for me. Whether he be just bones or a dragonewt, as long as hes lovely to me, I want to be with him!"
Upon hearing her words, Wight smiled gently.
"You are such a lovely girl, arent you? I hope someone as lovely as you are appears soon."
".........I feelplicated about that but Im happy to be called lovely by you, Wight-san."
The Dwarf Smith then enthusiastically poured alcohol onto his ss.
Nevertheless, Wight was amazing in a way.
"That guy, just how dense can he be to not notice the Dwarf Smiths affection."
Oh well, it must be because hes heartbroken that his vision has be narrow. They themselves look content so Ill leave it be.
I wasnt an uncouth boss who would meddle in his subordinates romance.
And so, I gave the two ast look, paid my bill, and then left the tavern.
I returned to my house and resumed my work.
After a while, the letters arrived.
Recently the number of cities and viges Ive been in contact with had increased and so too did the number of letters.
Among those letters was one letter that was within a very fine envelope.
I peered inside it and grinned.
"So it hase."
It was a letter from the neighboring citys feudal lord.
The contents of the letter was just as one could imagine.
Basically, this city was located outside of any national border and instead was within the dominion of monsters. The city was therefore not under the rule of any country.
However, such a reason didnt matter to a country or its leaders. If there was a tasty fruit dangling before them, they would want that fruit. That was all the reason they needed and nothing more.
"Now then, how shall I respond?"
I began to consider which countermeasures that I had thought up from the start I should use. I wanted it to go as peaceful as possible but if the other party wasnt so inclined, it would rain blood.
If they wanted me to pay some tax, I would dly do so. However, should they covet the city itself, then...
I was a peace-lover but by no means was I a conscientious objector.
I at least understood that peace was the ultimate luxury and was paid for in blood.
Volume 4 1
I confirmed the contents of the letter that came from a neighboring citys feudal lord.
The phrasing was excessively overbearing but the contents written was easy enough to follow.
To summarize:
It must have been dismal to live in a savagend where the influence of the empire did not reach. However, rejoice and despair no more for His Majesty is benevolent; if you disy for us your sincerity, His Majesty has permitted you to be under the empires protection. In the interim, soldiers whose task is to examine the real state of things will be dispatched three dayster and you are therefore expected to prepare a proper wee for them.
"Its such a condescending way to write."
The letter wasnt wrong.
Avalon was indeed a city built in and under the dominion of monsters and was therefore not under the rule of any country and were under the constant threat of attacks from monsters. Put in another way, we didnt have a patron supporting us. It wouldnt have been surprising to be attacked by whichever country.
That was where the "protection" came in. It might not have sounded so bad but broken down and simplified, it would.
"epting this will mean soldiers will be permanently stationed here and we will be essentially under the empires rule. We will be made to follow their policies. In exchange for their "protection", we will be expected to hand over money and resources."
Generally, we would have to pay a tax that the empire one-sidedly determined and also present the greater part of our produce.
The impact to smaller businesses would be significant in a negative way. Aside from imposing separate taxes on the smaller businesses, this proposal will make us lose even the ability to freely grant these businesses the right to conduct their businesses.
Probably, even the apples and the dwarven-made weapons would be demanded of us as additional offerings.
Additionally, we would be the ones to shoulder the expenses of the soldiers that would be permanently stationed here. Those soldiers behavior as well would negatively affect the other citizens.
"Well, this much is tolerable though."
If we could peacefully conclude things with just this much, I thought that I wouldnt mind silently abiding.
If I turned it down, we were liable to face an unknown number of beings called heroes. Some of these heroes might be from a neighboring country, sent to help aid the empire. Aside from the threat of the heroes, I would also like to avoid of the risk of being attacked by other Demon Lords just when we got exhausted from our fight with the humans.
Since we could just rebel after Avalons operation had stabilized and I had gained enough fighting force, pretending to have an allegiance for the empire wasnt so bad.
Of course, I still intended to negotiate better terms for us but if during the whole affair, a line that I would determine beforehand was crossed, not even that temporary allegiance would happen and a show of force could not be helped.
Maybe we would even end up as the ones ruling over the neighboring city.
I decided that for the time being though, I should consult with Wight; that guys an all-around guy blessed even with a political sense.
...no, its better to do that tomorrow; tonights probably not a good time for him, I thought as I put away the letter.
The next morning came and I awoke in my bed.
I felt something soft and warm in my left arm. I discovered it was Kuina hugging my left arm tightly. Considering she was dressed with her favorite lovely pajamas while also showing a defenseless sleeping face, she lookedpletely like an angel.
I unconsciously brushed her face. Doing so, still sleeping, her facial reaction ckened.
By just seeing her like that, my will to endure and slog through the day was renewed.
"Master, Kuina, wake up. We have ns to go to the mines this morning."
Rorono then entered my room.
"Thanks foring to wake us, Rorono."
"Mhm. Breakfast is already prepared."
Rorono nced with slight envy at Kuina who was still hugging my left arm.
Until recently, we all slept together in one bed but due to the several asions of somebody being kicked out of the bed by Kuinas tossing and turning as she slept, a shifting system was now in ce to determine who would get to sleep beside me. The previous night was Kuinas turn, the next night would be Auras and the night after that would be Roronos. I have to spoil Rorono as much as she wants on her turn.
Sleeping together with everyone all at once was great but sleeping with a different one each night was better. This way, I was able confirm each ones individual and distinct charms.
"Thank you as always, Rorono."
"Mhm. I am a dwarf so as long as its making something, whether food, weapons, or clothes, Im fond of it."
ording to her, she was increasing her repertoire of cuisines that she could make through the cooking book I made with [Creation].
The taste was not yet up to par with a pro but my daughters home cooking would always bring extreme happiness to me.
"Then, lets go. Though before that, we have to wake Kuina first, huh."
And so, I poked Kuinas squishy cheek. It was smooth, moderately stic, and seemingly addictive.
After a while of poking her cheek, Kuina opened her eyes.
"Oto-san, good morning. Hmm, Oto-sans scent."
Kuina let go of my left arm but only to jump onto my chest where she pressed her cheek.
"Youre such a spoiled child, arent you? It cant be helped then."
I did not have the heart to tear Kuina away so I stood up with her still clinging onto me and moved to the kitchen where Aura was waiting for us.
After we finished our breakfast, I headed toward the [Mine] area with Rorono.
Kuina said shell visit the store tended by the Mythological Foxes while Aura said she was going to take care of a new fruit.
The [Mine] area was a secret so we went there while being mindful not to be seen by the public. I greeted the golems guarding the border of the dungeon rooms and then went inside.
An aspect of the Mine was that it was very wide. On the frontside were the hard minerals while at the back were the pools ofva.
"How is it? Has something changed sincest weve been here?"
"Mhm. A considerablyrge scale crustal movement did ur. I wouldnt know the exact figures unless I examine pretty deep down with my sonar but it looks like we can expect good results. This [Mine] has certainly grown."
"I did level up a lot and have gotten stronger so yeah. Moreover, I havepleted my [Monsters of the Covenant]. Even now, I can feel your power flowing into me."
We usually set time and level up in the [Crimson Cavern]. However, since the monsters from [Crimson Cavern] were now in danger of extinction, we had chosen to then hunt only the ones that came out of the [Maelstroms].
Due to that, the amount of experience points that I gained in a day was limited.
However, thanks to the many high-ranking and high-leveled monsters we fought in the previous [War], I had leveled up a lot.
In addition, thepletion of my [Monsters of the Covenant] was also a huge boost. A Demon Lords strength grew in proportion to his [Monsters of the Covenant]s strength after all.
Finally, I thought, I can call myself a full-pledged Demon Lord.
"Im happy that master became stronger. Not only for the power up of the [Mine] but also for your safety. .........Ill begin examining the ground, then. [Mineral Resonance]"
Rorono ced her hands on the ground and used earth magic.
By sending magic power of a special wavelength into the ground, she was able to examine whichever mineral was there. It was such a magic.
And using this magic, she could pinpoint the best mining points and what could be dug from it.
The magics effective range was 500 meters radius which of course included the underground. Meanwhile, a [Mine]s greatest size was 2Km by 2Km. So to inspect the [Mine] in its entirety, we would have to use this magic multiple times at different locations.
"How is it, Rorono?"
"Mithril and gold can be gotten from this spot. There arent any orihalcum but the mithril deposits here has risen so this is good news."
"Okay, onto the next spot, then. If the increase of mithril in the ground is any indication, were bound to find orihalcum soon."
Rorono nodded to my statement in her usual expressionless face. Ever so slightly though, the corners of her mouth were raised. She must have been excited to get her hands on good materials; good raw materials were indispensable to cksmiths after all.
Like that, we continued to inspect different spots. And then...
"Father, here. Orihalcum can be mined here! With this, the things that we can make will increase!"
She excitedly informed me so.
I was about to give up when we finally found some orihalcum at thest spot.
We still couldnt mine any adamantite but adamantite was a metal used purely for their hardness whereas orihalcum was used for its high affinity with magic and was thus more important to us.
"Thats great news, Rorono"
"Mhm. It is indispensable for my [Mechanical Warmaiden] where mithril just wont be enough. With orihalcum, I can repair it when its broken and even do some improvements on it. Come golems and focus digging at this spot!"
She ordered so and the golems under hermand were summoned. They then immediately began to dig. When I looked closely, the shape of their hands was suited for mining.
After she became my [Monster of the Covenant], she became able to produce modified golems. In addition to the before-mentioned mining golems, she could also make transportation-focused golems that walked on four legs as well as kamikaze golems for suicide bombings, to name a few.
The span of our strategies had expanded along with the increase in variation of the golems. The more types of golems she could make, the more tricks we could pull. In line with that, we were continuously and repeatedly researching and experimenting on highly efficient golems.
"It seems like the golems have already dug out some orihalcum."
When Rorono put the silver-colored orihalcum into her hand directed magic power into it, it began to change form through her special ability, the [tinum Alchemist].
The liquefied orihalcum changed its shape ording to Roronos desire. The unwanted impurities was then made to leak out.
Next, while she applied pressure through other kinds of earth magic, she enchanted it by adding in the magic seals into it.
Halfway through the manufacturing process, she took out mithril and silver from her pocket, liquefied it, and added it to the orihalcum. By turning into an orihalcum alloy, its performance increased.
If it was an ordinary cksmith, the process would probably take them a few months whereas she finished it in just a few minutes with her magic.
As a finishing touch, the part of the handle was wrapped by the leather from a demonic beast. And so, two knives made of orihalcum alloy were created. They were small, easy to use, and looked good. Their de was terribly thin.
The sheaths were premade ones from her pocket.
"Master, I have made these tomemorate the first time we were able to mine orihalcum. Theyre thin and light but also very sharp. Theyre made of an orihalcum alloy so despite their thinness, I can guarantee they are durable. I hope you will carry one with you."
I epted a knife from her.
When I picked it up, I was so surprised. It was as light as a feather. When I pulled it from its sheath, its de reflected off the light so brightly. It was a devilish de; just by looking at it, it felt as though my soul was being sucked in.
"I will. If its this, it should be easy to carry around. Its a good knife."
"Mhm. Im d youre pleased with it."
When I stored away my knife into my inner pocket, she did the same with hers.
Rorono acting as though we were mirroring each other was so cute.
"By the way, Rorono, have you ever heard of a metal better than orihalcum?"
"No. Is there such a thing?"
"Ivee to recently think that there might be. The metals that could be gotten from a [Mine] were proportional to a Demon Lords strength and the currently highest ranking metal is orihalcum. I most likely am the only Demon Lord that can make S rank monsters so the power I can get from my [Monsters of the Covenant] should be far greater than what any Demon Lord can get from theirs. By the time the three of you have grown to your fullest, I would be stronger than any current Demon Lord. If thats so, it wouldnt be so weird for us to be able to mine a metal that no one else has seen before, right?"
I thought that such a thing wasnt really outside the realm of possibilities. As long as it was my lovely daughters, I had the expectation that they would bring me to heights no one has been before.
"It certainly is likely. Itll be great if it does happen. A weapon made from a metal higher ranking than orihalcum... I want to make that someday with my own hands, the ultimate weapon."
She was in trance as she thought of that metal.
I then lightly brushed her head. Realizing she drifted off in her musings, her face grew red.
"Weve done what we came for so shall we head back?"
"Mhm. Master, I will do my best for us to get the highest ranking metal ever. I will make stronger and easier to use weapons for Kuina and Aura so that they can be stronger and be closer to that metal."
Since she was saying it like that, I had no doubt in my heart that she would make ite true.
"Yeah, I expect much from you, Rorono. I know you can do it."
"Mhm."
While she tried to hide her face that reddened, I held her hand and we walked to the outside. By bing able to obtain a steady supply of orihalcum, my monsters would grow even stronger.
Also, I had decided that if Rorono had the time to spare, I would request of her a weapon of my own.
After all, it was a matter of honor for a Demon LordFather to be able to could protect his children. And for that, I needed a powerful weapon.
Note: I have changed [Silver Alchemist] to [tinum Alchemist]. Also, I might change the mdy Wight uses for Dwarf Smith to Miss. Wight uses ǥ/Lady but it seems kind of cringy, I guess, even after considering its Wight.
Volume 4 2
The result of my and Roronos trip to the [Mine] was that we found out that the Mithril deposits there had increased and also that orihalcum could now be mined.
In exchange for those though, the amount of silver had declined but that was probably inconsequential.
Upon our return, Rorono said she was going to shut herself in her workshop and begin on making new weapon designs.
ording to her, because our stock of orihalcum before was limited, she had topromise the performance of the weapons she had made for Kuina and Aura. It seemed she also had to consider about the spare parts for when the weapons break down.
None of that mattered now though; the only consideration she had to keep in mind now was their performance.
Anyway, I had other work to take care of today. For the next one, I was walking out of our residence together with Aura the Ancient Elf.
"Well then, master, shall we go?"
"Yeah, Aura."
The day after tomorrow, the soldiers from the next city was going to be dispatched. That being said, that didnt mean the operation of the city had to stop.
On the surface, we were business as usual. Beneath the surface though, we were advancing our various preparations.
And so, we were on the way to see the new fruit Aura had grown.
That fruit was simr to the apples in the way that it didnt exist in this world.
"Fufu, masters sleeping face was so cute."
"Well, I cant see myself while sleeping so I really wouldnt know."
The night beforest night was Auras turn to sleep beside me. Just like how she was the only who didnt who cling to me while sleeping, she was also the only one among them to wake up before me, taking then the opportunity to look at my face.
Sleeping beside her sure was enjoyable but unlike the others, I could feel some kind of distance.
"This has been in my mind for a while now but youre the only one that doesnt refer to me as father; is there some kind of reason?"
Kuina always did so while Rorono calls me father only on special asions like when shes excited about something. However, Aura only ever called me master.
"Do you want me to?"
"No, not really."
Aura then ced a finger to her lips and smiled. It was strangely so charming.
"I also like master but my like is different from the others. Anything beyond this is secret."
She said so as though that was the end of that conversation and then hurried onto our destination. Just like with Rorono, Aura and I held hands as we walked but the way we did so was a little bit different: with the palm of our hands facing outward.
"Alright, I wont ask any further. Lets go then."
Like that, we arrived at the orchards. The High Elves were busily moving about and tending to the apple trees.
There were many human farmers too though they tended to their own crops and not the apple trees.
The apples were Avalons precious specialty product. Since the apple trees were showered daily by the [Water of Life] made by Aura the Ancient Elf and were also raised by the blessings of the High Elves, the fruits could stay fresh for several months. Additionally, the apples could also satisfy ones hunger, thus making them popr among adventurers headed to dungeons. Other effects included its ability to relieve fatigue, strengthen ones recuperative abilities, and help in the treatment of curses.
The regr apples effects werent as overwhelming as those from the First Tree but they were still on par with low-grade magic potions. Rumors of the apples and their effects had spread like wildfire and they became popr items. So popr in fact that they vanished from stores the moment that they appeared.
And so, many customers from other cities came to Avalon to buy apples. They stayed the night at our inns and thus became a lifeline for Avalon.
"As usual, its a splendid sight. Theyre so full of life."
"Naturally. They are after all grown with love by me, an Ancient Elf, and several High Elves."
Ancient Elf aside, High Elves by themselves were superior beings. There probably wasnt any orchard as plentiful as ours.
"Seeing all these splendid apple trees like this made me want to see the First Tree again after a while."
"Okay, lets now go see the new fruit ahead, then. Im sure that child will be d to see master too."
"Really?"
"Really."
Aura informed me so and we moved to the inner part of the orchard.
Upon doing so, I noticed that the trees surround us became twice asrge.
The surrounding atmosphere changed and I felt a cool but powerful aura.
And then, I saw a lot of fruits that looked like they shined, only to realize that they literally, really did shine a golden glow.
"Aura, whats going on? Im sure pretty sure fruits didnt glow like that."
"I believe its an effect of me bing a [Monster of the Covenant]. I have been giving the First Tree the special [Water of Life]which I made by pouring half of my entire magic poweralmost daily. So to cope with all that power, it made changed itself and became a very splendid tree. However, when I became a [Monster of the Covenant], the effects of my [Personification of the] became stronger too, so the fruits this little one bears is nowparable to the fruits of the heavens."
Aura exined so and then stuck out her tongue yfully.
I on the meantime was at a loss for words.
Just by looking at it, I could feel the terrifying power emanating from within.
To begin with, just the fact that it received half of an S rank Ancient Elfs entire magic power was ridiculous. But for it to receive an even more potent nourishment, well, that was beyondprehension.
"May I eat one?"
"Yes, please do."
I drew near the First Tree. Upon doing so, arge, white silhouette appeared from the tree and bared its fangs.
"Ah! Kohaku-san, wait!"
Aura shouted so and Byakko halted his advanced with a twitch.
"Now that I look closely, Its you, [Creation] Demon Lord. I thought you were another apple thief. Sorry."
Upon saying so, Byakko lied down and yawned. He then took out a golden apple from his magnificent fur and munched on it. It was an immensely surreal scene.
"What the hecks going on?"
I asked Aura.
"Instead of a watchdog guarding the apple trees, we have a watchtiger! You have entrusted me with Kohaku-sans recovery, right? So after I had purified the miasmas curse, I brought him here. Kohaku-sans wounds and curse have been cured but Wight-sans miasma attack has seeped deep into his body and has considerably contaminated his soul. So Ive determined that prolonged treatment through exposure to the life energies that became holy around the First tree and through the consumption of the apples was necessary."
"Just one blow injured even a monster as strong as Byakko that much?"
I began to fully realize just how strong the ck dragon of death Siegwurm was.
"Yes. Honestly, if it werent for the First Trees apples, there was nothing that could have been done to help Kohaku-san. Even I couldnt purify himpletely. So the only option for now is for him to slowly recover."
I gulped down. The new golden apple was already proving to be extremely reliable.
That was great and all but...
"What do you mean watchtiger?"
"Exactly that. Look, its written on that sign over there. It says whoever is found stealing an apple will be eaten alive by a tiger. Originally, many humans hade to steal the apples, right? After the apples started glowing like gold, even more came. Plus, first-ss adventurers who cooperated with everybody and fought to the death also appeared. I and the High Elves could handle them individually but the golems on the other hand were too slow so apples were stolen from them. But then, after Byakko came, we were all able to rx!"
"Wha-"
I was momentarily stunned.
Certainly, the apples by themselves were worth risking ones life, what more were the stronger gold apples.
However...
"You shouldnt have made Byakko the sentinel. He still belongs to the strongest ss of monsters. Moreover, hes our great senior."
The Byakko was a long-serving warrior and deserved a certain level of respect.
Upon hearing me, Aura grew smaller.
In response, Byakko spoke.
"I dont mind. I have to stay in this ce overflowing with holy life energy and eat these fruits to recover anyway. This is the least I can do to thank these girls who raised these very valuable recovery items."
He said so and joyfullyughed, kakaka!
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. This ce is quitefortable and the apples are more delicious than anything so I dont really mind."
"Alright, then, until youve fully recovered, please stay here."
"You dont have to request it; be more overbearing. You are my true master, after all."
In exchange for pledging his allegiance to me, he had one condition: to not be asked about his master before [Steel].
Even though it was already his former master, making him divulge his former masters secrets went against his sense of loyalty. If I were to forego his pride, I better be ready for the consequences.
I epted that condition, thinking if I were to gain the loyalty of man like him, that condition was tolerable.
"Aura, inform me beforehand of things like this. Byakko didnt mind but there may be instances where the other party would be offended."
"Forgive me, master."
"Dont get angry at her, now. Im the one that suggested it. She even refused at first but I insisted. It pains me to see my benefactor being med for my imprudence. She did well; shes a good monster."
At that, I smiled.
"Okay. Aura, Im sorry I had it wrong. It seems you aplished your role fully."
"I am not worthy of such praise."
Aura and I looked at each others eyes and smiled.
It was great that she did not harbor ill will toward me.
Byakko watched us be like that and spoke.
"To further repay the girl that helped me so much, let me offer an advice to you. Its about Wight who has been reborn. Do not be overconfident; he is not the strongest monster ever. If you make a mistake on the way you use him, he will pointlessly die. If he and I were to fight again one on one and I havepletely recovered, I can surely win."
"Really? Even against his speed, strength, and powerful special abilities? He doesnt seem to have any weaknesses."
Byakkoughed, kakaka, before he continued on.
"That great man has often visited me to wish me better health but during those times, I noticed something. Its that he uses considerablyrge amounts of power just to hold [Berserk] down. While hes doing that, his overall strength is dipping down to maybe a rank lower. His special ability would also bepletely unusable in that state. Like that, I as well as that girl there can defeat him."
"And if he releases [Berserk]?"
"Thats fine too. Theres a time limit on how long he can release [Berserk] before being unable to turn back. That time limit isnt particrly long but during it, he bes nothing but a mindless brute devoid of intelligence and reason. If one is able to parry and avoid his onught, dealing with him is easy. And when the time limit for [Berserk]es, he would be exhausted and easy to defeat. I and that girl can deploy this tactic. Perhaps other top-tier A rank monsters too. If faced with a dilemma, with his personality, he might choose to rather continue using [Berserk] and be unable to turn back all so that he can fulfill his role."
What Byakko said was quite right.
That being said, even if his strength falls a rank lower, he would still beparable to an S rank monster. I doubted that there were going to be many enemies that could keep up with him and the ones that could do so when hes in [Berserk] mode would be even fewer.
"Ill keep it in mind. Ill stop relying on him too much. Ill make his primary role be as a tactician. But if the enemy chooses to push with just numbers, that might be a good time for [Berserk] to shine."
"I approve. Losing such an honorable man would be a big blow so do take care."
As soon as he finished talking, he circled around, lied down and began to sleep.
Nevertheless, as expected from a long-serving warrior; hes very reliable. He was a great addition to our forces not only for his fighting prowess, but also for making up for ourck of experience.
I nned to assign him to more important tasks after he has fully recovered from his injuries. In ce of the watchtiger, I intended to post the new golems Rorono currently had under development. If those were lightweight, high-speed type golems, they wouldnt fall behind even against first-ss adventurers.
"By the way, what do you do with the apple thieves?"
"Kill them and bury their corpses. When Wightes to check on me, he uses his Enhanced Resurrection and turns them into undead. The high leveled adventurers be undead with high intelligence which always pleases Wight."
...It seems that these two really got along.
Also, even without my knowledge, it seems my fighting force has been growing little by little.
And so, it was finally time for our real task for today.
Aura guided me and we arrived at a location with many trees that had fascinating fruits.
And yet those fruits were not apples but peaches.
Prior to these ones, peaches too were gone from this world. However, there existed overly simr fruits called Pinal (ԥʥ). It seems Pinals were grown in an isted vige founded by the elves that were former monsters of a Demon Lord.
"Is this the new fruit?"
"Yes! And theyve ripened a little bit more now."
".......wont these trees be like the First Tree?"
"That trees special. Its the very first tree to grown in this city so it became spoiled like that. As expected, I can spoil only one tree like that but even so, Ive got a lot of love to give to the others."
I then plucked out a peach.
They had ripened well. A sweet smell also drifted from it.
The apples refreshing aroma was good but the peaches strong, concentrated aroma was superb too.
I took out the knife I got from Rorono, peeled the fruit, and sliced it in half, and gave the other half to Aura.
She smiled as she received it.
"I feel bad for Kuina and Rorono but lets taste this before them."
"Okay, master!"
We bit into the peaches.
In my mouth, fruit juices overflowed. My brain seemed like it would melt with the peachs soft texture and sweet juices.
"So delicious!"
"Yeah. Its really sweet and delicious."
Just like with the apple, this would probably be one of our special products.
Originally, every single legend I knew that involved peaches presented them to give longer life. Perhaps these peaches somehow exhibited simr effects.
"You did great, Aura. Not surprisingly, eating just apples would make one grow tired of it. But with these, more humans would flock to Avalon."
"I hope that happens."
"Yeah, right? But it seems I can never have too much DP. When I have enough, I want to add another floor, increase the B rank monsters I have, and other various interesting things."
Afterwards, we plucked some peaches to give Kuina and Rorono as our souvenirs and then headed home.
This new specialty product would surely y a big role.
I then decided that I would meet with Wight the following day.
I wanted to get an understanding of my new undead fighting forces like the former apple thieves. Also, as his superior, I would like tofort my broken-hearted subordinate.
Most of all, I needed to meet with Wight to get advice on our measures against the humans.
Volume 4 3
For this day, I headed to the underground bread factory to meet with Wight and determine how we were going to respond to the next days investigation by the humans.
I had already figured most of the n out but I still wanted to hear Wights opinion.
I had only indirectly heard it through a Dwarf Smith but it seemed like Wight had already recovered from his heartbreak.
ording to Rorono, that Dwarf Smith was in a strangely good moodtely. When I asked Rorono for a possible reason why, she grew embarrassed and dodged the question.
"Can it be that Wight has fallen for her?"
I uttered to myself, thinking it was probable.
After all, that Dwarf Smith was not only a capable and devoted subordinate but a brown-skinned, white-haired beautiful girl as well. She had grown up more than Kuina and the others and appeared to be a woman in herte teens too. She was a great candidate for a love interest.
A broken-hearted man consoled by such a girl would easily fall in love with her, I thought.
Appointing her to be Wights aide was partly an experiment but it might not be so bad to officially make her so.
As I thought of such things, I soon arrived at my destination.
In the bread factory, the Skeletons were busily moving about. However, mixed among the Skeletons were humans, perfectly ordinary humans...... or so I first thought but they were most likely the killed adventurers-turned-apple-thieves brought back via Enhanced Resurrection.
All the tasksbe it kneading the dough, molding it, or baking itwere perfectly divided among the workers in the assembly line. Under Wightsmand, productivity was at its highest.
Every single day, hundreds of people visit Avalon and buy bread. Half of all the bread they bought were from us so to meet such a demand,rge amounts of bread needed to be baked in this factory.
By the way, the bread baked here was just simple, hard bread. We could make more kinds but I decided to leave that to the humans. For the moment, we and the human-controlled bakeries were able to exist separately since the ones that wanted to eat just to fill their stomachs bought from us while the ones that wanted to eat delicious food bought from them.
"Oh, its you, my lord. Thank you for gracing us with your presence."
Wight headed toward me in a quick pace.
He was middle-aged butler with grizzled hair, hard horns, bat-like dragon wings, and a burly tail.
"Wight, you seem in an oddly good mood today."
"Youre just imagining it, my lord."
So he said but it was obvious that he was indeed in a good mood. It was as though his piss-drunk, brokenhearted self from before was a lie.
"......My lord, there is something I must apologize for."
"Its unusual of you to make a mistake."
"Its not a mistake per se. Its about the request I asked of you before, about being the one to officiate in my wedding; theres no more need for you to grant that."
Wights face distorted and became apologetic.
He was all bones up until recently so I was unable to read his facial expressions, unlike now that he became a dragonewt.
"And why is that?"
I asked him so. Since he wasnt aware that I overheard them that night, it was then logical for me to have no knowledge of Ske-sans "Reptilians are physiologically to much" event.
"Sadly, Ske-san broke it off."
He didnt utter a single word ofint against me even though I was the one at fault for turning him into a dragonewt via [Rebirth].
"Is that so? Thats too bad. Shall I assign Ske-san elsewhere? I imagine working together to be awkward."
"Theres no need for that. Even though we cancelled our engagement, we still get along as friends. Theres no particr ill will between us."
"Okay, if you say so."
Wight and I both smiled.
Afterwards, I looked at him again. It wasnt because I doubted what he said, it was to confirm once more his abilities.
To look at a high ranking monsters status, one would need to have the appropriate level but if the said monster was their own, it was a different story; one should be able to check that monsters abilities down to the smallest detail regardless of level.
First, I recalled Wights original stats.
Race: Wight
B Rank
Name: Unnamed
Level: 56
Physical Strength: D
Endurance: D
Agility: C
Magic: B
Luck: E
Special: B+
Skills:
Commander of Wraiths
Average Undead Creation
Wraith Invigoration
Undead
His stats before he was reborn were not very high. In fact, they were even below average for his race rank. However, that waspensated by his excellent special abilities.
Race: ck Dragon of Death Siegwurm
S rank
Name: Unnamed
Level: 56
Physical Strength: S
Endurance: S
Agility: A
Magic: S
Luck: D
Special: A++
Skills:
Ruler of Death
Enhanced Resurrection
Netherworlds Miasma
Valor
Berserk
Supreme Dragon Emperor
??
His current stats were overwhelmingly high and wereplemented by stronger special abilities.
Ruler of Death: Grants tactical and strategic insight. Improves intelligence. Dominance (Maximum) over Undead type monsters. Strengthening bonus (Large) to ones own Undead units, effective range is over the same dungeon room.
Enhanced Resurrection: Resurrects the dead and turns it into an undead. Upon resurrection, the unit receives improvements (Large) to his capabilities. The resurrected unit is forced to obey the skill user. This skill can never be used on the same unit twice.
Netherworlds Miasma: ds the user in the miasma of the Netherworld. Physical Strength, Endurance, and Magic Resistance all gain bonuses (Large). The miasma does additional damage to others. It deals instant death to B rank and lower monsters. For A rank and higher, curse, poison, and debilitation are dealt. Can only be used in dragon form.
Berserk: When restraining Berserk, the users overall performance and abilities are lowered by a rank. Some special abilities can only be used in conjunction with Berserk. Upon full release, overall capabilities are increased by a rank.
Valor: Grants Mind Resistance (Maximum). All attacks are improved (Medium). Has morale increasing effect (Small).
Supreme Dragon Emperor: Unlocked under certain conditions.
??: ???
"Wight, you really have be strong."
In terms of raw numbers, his was higher than even Kuinas stats.
"This strength is all from you, my lord, the one worthy of being called the strongest Demon Lord."
Wight lightly bowed.
In response, I smiled.
I was d Wight had obtained immense power. Even so, there were things that worried me.
On top of the ticking time bomb that was Berserk, the ??? got me worried. It was my first time see such.
Is it an effect of using [Rebirth], I wondered.
As there was no real way to confirm, I had no choice but watch over Wight very carefully. Just what kind of trap that Creator had set-up, I had no idea.
"Im relieved your personality didnt change when you became a Siegwurm. Ill keep on relying on you as my staff officer. As a start, I have something to consult with you."
I opened with that and then ryed to him about the soldiers from the neighboring city that were going to be dispatched to Avalon as well as the countermeasures I had thought up.
"Yes, for the most part, I also think this n is the way forward but first, we should buy some time. We should entertain their envoys to the best of our abilities, make it look like we are going to swear allegiance, and make them return while looking down at us. We will then tell them we wish for more time to consider the allegiance, and that we could not, at the moment, decide. They will hopefully be arrogant enough to think that the next time theye, we will simply say yes. And like that, we have gained time until the next negotiations. Time shall be our ally."
I saw the merits of his proposal.
Since our fighting force have been increasing by the day, should this whole affair in the ende to armed conflict, even a days time of dy was monumental.
"Okay, lets go with that."
"Yes. If the envoys sent to us wont yield and we therefore werent able to earn time, would it perhaps be better to simply kill them, turn them into undead puppets, and make them send fake reports?"
He then gave me a viinous smile.
With his Enhanced Resurrection, the undead he made looked almost unchanged from when they were alive. In addition, they didnt rot.
"No, lets not do that. It isnt so strange for them to have someone that is able to tell those envoys are actually undead. After they find out, they will then specte that all the humans in our city are all undead and being controlled. If that false information spreads to the other human cities, itll be troubling, to say the least."
If that happened, it wouldnt be so surprising for us to go from fighting one city to fighting the entire humankind.
As far as warfare was concerned, dissemination of gossip was fair game. If a city was known to be ruled by the undead, they would be able justify their war.
"Truly, my lord thinks so deeply. Forgive my rashness. Could I ask for the privilege of also taking part tomorrow?"
"Yes, no problem. Rather, I think I should be the one to ask you to participate."
At that, Iughed with Wight.
With that, our ns for tomorrow have been decided. Theres no telling what will happen though; I cant see whats on the other side unless I cross the bridge. But first, to the preparation of the wee. I hope I can make them enjoy our city to the utmost and return feeling good.
Note: Ive changed the name of a few of Wights skills. Like Commander of the dead tomander of wraiths. Not that it really matters now.
Volume 4 4
"Oto-san, big news! Lots of strange humans came. Theyre demanding the highest official in the city to meet them. Theyre now being handled by the Mythological Foxes."
When I was doing paperwork as per usual, Kuina came bursting in.
This was a day she was supposed to be helping the Mythological Foxes to tend the store.
"Is that so? It seems theyre right on schedule."
The lord of the neighboring city had sent us a letter which said they were willing to protect our city of Avalon. In name, maybe, but in practice, they were aiming to rule over us. Their first move was the dispatch of this investigative unit.
"Thanks. Shall we go meet them?"
"The ones that came, are they Oto-sans enemies?"
"Yeah, they are."
Her face became serious as she tightly grabbed onto my sleeve.
"Today, Im going to stay real close to you, Oto-san, always."
"Yes, please. Its reassuring to be with Kuina, the strongest monster."
"Yay ?"
She eximed so and then triumphantly smiled.
Unlike Rorono and Aura who were both mainly for domestic duties, Kuina was geared toward battle.
There might be monsters stronger than her but the chances of them appearing were probably low.
There was no one I would entrust my safety more than I do with Kuina.
"You have to promise me one thing though. Unless I say so, dont attack...except when an attack is capable of killing me."
"Okay!"
Like that, we left our home.
Along the way, we joined with Wight who was at the inn.
I had much need for his negotiation skills.
"Wight, I ask that you support me in the negotiations."
"Though my skills might not be much, I will do everything I can to be of help, my lord."
It was reassuring to have him around.
Taking the opportunity, I told him something I had in mind.
"To tell the truth, I was thinking of naming you but with our present circumstances, I cant afford to lose the use of [Creation]. So, sorry but wait a bit longer."
Originally, I was supposed to give him a name after thest war but decided to postpone it.
Unlike the naming for a [Monster of the Covenant] where the souls of the Demon Lord and a monster were joined to improve the both of them, regr naming gave magic power beyond what the Demon Lord had to the monster and thus enhancing that monster. The drawback to this process was harsh: the inability of the Demon Lord to recover his magic power for half a month, essentially weakening him.
For that reason, naming shouldnt be done when a potential enemy was right on the horizon.
If I were to name Wight now, the chances of me getting killed would increase drastically. And, without [Creation], Avalons growth and our acquisition of fighting force would slow down.
"Just hearing you say that fills me with joy. Ill wait for it at the end of this difficulty, then. Also, if possible, can you give me a stylish name, my lord?"
Wight smiled and I smiled back.
"Yeah, I promise. A name fitting for you who became a dragonewt. So for that to happen, we must deal with this troublesome ordeal as soon as possible."
"Yes. Since these inferior beings dont even know theyre trash, its all the more troubling."
To that, Kuina nodded.
I only gave a wry smile and continued to head to the central za with the two of them.
What awaited for us there were as much as 20 human soldiers repeatedly questioning and shouting at the Mythological Foxes.
Apparently, the soldiers were told to wait while the leader of the city was being notified but got impatient and angry, shouting how long are you going to make us wait.
The scene of the Mythological Foxes being surrounded by these robust men was quite bizarre. If they were ordinary girls, they would have been frightened by these men already. Instead though, the Mythological Foxes seemed rather bored, trying their best to stifle a yawn.
Seeing the delegates like that, I revised my n.
If there were any official among them that could be reasoned with, I would have negotiated with them in a somewhat intellectual manner but seeing as these soldiers were so focused on intimidating the girls, I decided to negotiate instead from a lower standpoint and tter them.
"Oto-san, theyre strange. Theyre scum but theyre talking to the Mythological Foxes as if theyre better than those girls. Do they wanna die?"
"Its simple, really. Theyre so weak they dont even know how different they are from the girls."
Generally, only upon belonging to the very top rank of adventurers could humans face B rank monsters in an even fight, and only by bing as strong as heroes and champions could they finally be able to fight A rank monsters.
Meanwhile, high-ranking adventurers could fight, at the most, C rank monsters. As for the majority of adventurers, D rank monsters were their limit.
These soldiers were only as strong as high-ranking adventurers so of course the Mythological Foxes werent strained.
Moreover, other than the Mythological Foxes, Mithril Golems which were as strong as B rank monsters were also posted to prevent thievery. Plus, upon hearing the uproar, Rorono and her disciples, the Dwarf Smiths, also came.
inly speaking, even if there were a hundred of these soldiers, it wouldnt have been an issue at all.
"Lets go. I feel sorry for those Mythological Foxes."
The Mythological Foxes were still putting on a smile but I could feel their irritation leaking out. If left alone, something unwanted was bound to happen.
As I thought such, young male adventurers appeared in front of the Mythological Foxesas though to shield themand shouted at the soldiers.
At the sight of that, I unintentionally smiled.
These men were adventurers who used Avalon as their base for going into the [Time] Demon Lords dungeon.
They probably protected the Mythological Foxes because they were infatuated by the girls beauty. In spite of this ulterior motive, challenging the soldiers fully garbed in armor took a fair amount of guts.
"Before I knew it, the humans have grown attached to our city."
At first, the humans had some wariness toward my monsters but was nowpletely familiar with them.
As for my monsters, they still looked down on the humans but they were, to some extent, getting closer with the humans. It was a good trend.
I was d I could confirm it in a rather harmless situation like this.
And so, I smiled to myself and walked forward.
"Im sorry to have kept you waiting. Am I correct in assuming you gentlemen are the delegation that came from the neighboring city of Eba?"
I put on a face as gentle as I could muster and then looked at the Mythological Foxes, indicating that they do the same and remove any hostility they had.
And so, we humbled and deprecated ourselves.
Our goal this time was to buy time. To achieve this, we intended to charm the envoys into thinking we had no will to resist and then make them go for another visit because we could note to a definite answer to their proposal.
"And you are?"
Each member of the delegation looked in my direction all at once. Some even ced a hand on the sword at their waist.
"I am the head of this city. I am named Procell."
A middle-aged man who seemed to be their leader drew near me and then looked at me with suspecting eyes.
"You, the representative of this settlement? Even when youre but a kid?"
Instead of referring to Avalon as a city, he regarded it as nothing but a settlement. This notion probably extended to all of them.
To them we were but a savage tribe in a savagend that needed to be managed by them.
"Yes, that is so. We have prepared a proper wee for you; please follow me this way."
"Hmm, you said Procell, right? Do you have a family name?"
"No, I dont. I am simply Procell."
At that, the delegation leaked out a chuckle.
To them, having a family name proved that one was an aristocrat. Or a very wealthy merchant that paid arge sum of money to get a family name.
Another reason for them to belittle me.
"Whatever, just hurry it up. Im hungry after all that walking we did to reach this damned countryside. Serve us food and alcohol! I doubt youll dare but if you serve us inferior stuff, you know whatll happen, right?"
"Of course. We have been informed of your visit so we have prepared a feast for you."
I began to guide them to a mansion with a reception room rigged with various tricks and magical defenses that no one could see. Additionally, that room was alsopletely soundproof.
In the worst case scenario, we would dispose of them all there and spread the false information that they were eaten by monsters along the way.
"Say, that girls a beast-man ve, right? Tell its master that Ill be borrowing it for a night. Ill be taking real good care of it."
The man pointed at a Mythological Fox and said those words. In reaction, my face somewhat stiffened.
Just what is this guy thinking of doing to my monster?daughter?
"There are no ves in this city. She is a splendid citizen of ours. So Im afraid I cant grant that request."
"Is that so? How boring."
"We have establishments like brothels here so please feel free to enjoy your nights there. They have professionals there with good looks and great techniques. I think youll find their services to be enjoyable."
Thanks to the ease of getting generous clients, cheap taxes, delicious food, and even the presence of a hot spring, many prostitutes who worked away from their homes came to work at the brothel in Avalon.
I estimated that these prostitutes were enough to satisfy the delegates. However, should they demand that it had to be the Mythological Foxes, I intended to kill them right away.
I had decided beforehand that some things should absolutely not be demanded of us and one of those things regarded the safety of my monsters. Should they cross the line, I would show no mercy. I would never sell out my monsters.
"Really now? Of course, theyll be for free, wouldnt they?"
"Yes. We will shoulder everything to make your stayfortable."
At that, the man showed a disgusting expression on his face.
"Alright, its all good, then! I like your attitude, you know your stuff! HAHAHA!"
The manughed as he hit my back.
At that, the fur on Kuinas tail stood on end, showing her silent anger.
"Wait a minute"
For whatever reason, the man went toward the shop managed by the Mythological Foxes. As soon as he entered, he grabbed a sword made by the dwarves.
"Oi, you lot,e look at this. Its amazing."
"Commander, this sword..!?"
"With this sword, we can defeat any enemy!"
"Who would have thought we would find such a fine sword in this remote countryside!"
The soldiers were very pleased with the dwarves swords.
The day before, we took the sword made by Roronothe very same high-quality sword used to attract customersdown and hid it as a precaution. If that was among the swords the soldiers had seen, it would have caused unnecessary trouble.
Anyway, as they held the mass-produced swords, the men of the delegation came up to me.
"Oi, Procell, give these swords to us! If you do, well put in a good word for you to our higher ups."
They said, greed visible in their eyes.
Their words were too frank and were even humorous.
"Yes, no problem. Rather, please carry them. They are one of this citys specialty products."
My answer pleased them to the point that they started doing practice swings right there and then.
After a while, the delegation finally arrived at the mansion.
After a simple inquirysince this was an inspection after all, even if in name onlythey stuffed their mouths full of food and drank as much alcohol as they could. After they were full, each member of the delegation headed to the brothel to have a good time.
I then guided them to their lodgings that I had arranged beforehand. The rooms they upied were first ss ones that cost three times as much as normal rooms. This was of course shouldered by us.
After assisting the delegation, I returned home and scrutinized the contents of their demands.
"I cant ept these conditions. Theyre far more than what I expected."
I intended topromise quite a bit right from the start but their demands easily went beyond what I could tolerate.
Thankfully, Wight was there to give an evasive response.
We cant ept these exact terms but theres still room for negotiations. If we can maybe loosen their terms a bit... were my and Wights opinion. However, I was convinced that regardless of what we would do, in the end, a war with the humans would break out.
It felt like the terms they gave were too demanding and too strict by design as though our refusal was assumed from the start. But if we did refuse their uneptable terms, they would then have an excuse to haveplete rule over us through military intervention.
But could all these really be fueled only by human greed?
Could there be a Demon Lord hiding with human society and using them?
If it was a war waged by the humans, even old Demon Lords would be able toy their hands on me.
I couldnt help but think along these lines.
"At any rate, I should focus on getting those soldiers to be pleased with their stay here so we could stall for as long as possible."
Like that, I thought up of various strategies in my head.
In the morning of the third day since they arrived, I stood in front of our citys gate to see the delegation off.
"Youve taken good care of us in the past three days. For a remote settlement, this has been quite enjoyable."
"Im d youre pleased. For you who havee all the way to this remote ce, we did our best to make your stay as enjoyable as we can."
"Did you not think of anything this whole while? Dont you have any sense of dignity?"
The leader of the delegation gave me a suspecting look.
I wondered then if I have overdone it a bit too much.
During their whole stay, these men did whatever they pleased. Normally, a citys ruler would have probably been furious if outsiders behave as these men did. In truth, I lost count of how many times I wanted to kill them. Even so, I put up with it as though I was even d of their continued stay.
"For us who seek to be under the protection of the empire and gain safety as soon as possible, we would not hesitate to do everything we can for you who would protect us in the future."
I calmly said things I didnt mean.
"Kuhahahaha, those are some good intentions! What a good dog you are. Youre the first one to say such an obedient reply to me. Well then, in order for you to receive the protection of the empire, pledge allegiance to our lord."
"I would in a heartbeat if I could but certain adjustments within our city will have to be done first and that will take time. Once its finished, we will send out a message so wont you graciously wait until then?"
"Hmm, I guess theres that too... very well, Procell, you miserable dog... no, you who has respect toward empire, we will wait. You probably wont do anything strange but dont make us wait too long, hurry it up!"
"Of course."
I replied so and then showed him a smile.
The delegation left with more luggage than when they arrived due to the gifts I sent their way. With that, they returned with a pleased expression on their face.
I was sure the delegation would report to their lord that I, the chief of this remote settlement, was a coward and would do anything I was told with little to no threats needed.
"Now then, just to be sure, I better ready a fighting force suited for a war against the humans."
A war against humans needed a different set of strategies and fighting force than when going against a Demon Lord in his dungeon.
Even if things dont, in the end,e to war, the preparations done would absolutely not go to waste.
With this earned time, Ill be able to prepare even more. Ill show those soldier who the real fool is.
I was the type to harbour a grudge. I would never forget the humiliation I endured this time.
Volume 4 5
The envoys from the neighboring city hade and gone. I had endured their visit without any major incident. With that over, I began my earnest preparation for a war.
Three days had passed since the envoys left but we still havent heard anything from the other party.
In war, what mattered most were intelligence and numbers, both of which I hadmitted myself to obtain.
Intelligence was the analysis of the opponents fighting force and their usage of it. Through the [Common Knowledge] given to me upon my birth, I understood that beings called heroes and champions could match or even defeat A rank monsters. However, I didnt know how many of those beings a human city could deploy. Ten? A hundred? Or maybe a thousand? My strategy couldpletely change depending on that information.
My inexperienced self was unable to make a clear judgement. Due to that, I had sent out a letter to Marcho, my parent, expressing my desire to talk with her about my present situation. I intended to go to her dungeon as soon as I hear back from her.
Next, numbers.
Certainly, my monsters were outrageously strong. However, they were only a few of them. If the enemy decided to simultaneously attack from all directions, there would no doubt be gaps in our defenses.
So for that reason, I wanted to increase our numbers no matter how little.
Our numbers was the main reason I wanted to buy time.
Due to the increase of the number of humans currently living in Avalon, the founding of the brothels, gambling houses, and other such facilities that intensified the swing of emotions, I was earning about 2,000 DP a day, give or take.
It was almost equivalent to being able to buy two B rank monsters daily. As for the kinds of B rank monsters I could buy, there was the Mythological Fox that was unlocked when I created Kuina the Celestial Fox, the Dwarf Smith when I made Rorono, and the High Elves when I synthesized Aura.
Additionally, when Wight was reborn to be a Siegwurm, I was able to buy the Graphross(ե), the darkness dragon.
Each and every one of these monsters was strong and had their own merits.
Moreover, Rorono could make a Mithril Golem that was as strong as a B rank monster once per day. Meanwhile, the four Dwarf Smiths could each make a C-rank-equivalent Silver or Gold Golem daily.
So, supposing I could earn a months time of peace, I would, in total, have 90 B-rank-equivalent units and 120 C-rank-equivalent units added to my fighting force. Also, if a month did pass, I would then have another [Creation] medal and be able to make a new S rank monster with that medal.
As time passes, the odds of victory in this potential war was leaning more and more in my favor. It was due to this that I was willing to endure the humiliation and bow my head to those soldiers.
"But just winning isnt enough. I have to winpletely."
The greatest worry I have next to having my crystal broken was having our citywhich would have to stay above grounddestroyed. Even if the buildings and infrastructures could be repaired, the same couldnt be said of the humans.
When that happens, its all over. I would no longer be able to feed on human emotions and thus also no longer able to acquire DP.
Considering that, I should take the fight outside of the city...
"But then that would be a waste"
I was in a dilemma.
Taking the fighting outside of the city was the optimal choice but I would not get any emotions or DP even if my monsters killed all of the humans. This was due to the fact that the only ways to obtain DP outside of ones dungeon was by killing an enemy yourself or being part of a party with a maximum of ten members.
That would render almost all of the potential DP to be wasted. And so, a war where I wouldnt be able take home the hard-earned DP and human emotions was something I wanted to avoid.
On the other hand, I couldnt simply relocate the city by swapping floors since unlike during wars with my fellow Demon Lords, time didnt stop for the humans. So if I did swap the dungeon floors, the city would certainly be exposed.
While thinking I have to think of some other way, I headed to Roronos workshop.
Recently, she hadpletely stopped her production of the Mithril Golems. Additionally, almost all of the golems she made previously had disappeared from the city and were reced by the Gold and Silver Golems made by the Dwarf Smiths.
The Mithril Golems were extremely valuable members of our fighting force even with their numbers reduced by thest [War].
"I dont think that girls the kind to skip on her duties though...."
I highly valued Roronos diligence. For her to disregard her duty, my orders, there must be a serious reason, I thought.
Moreover, she hadnt returned to our house recently. As her Demon LordFather, it was my duty to know about her situation.
"Its Procell. Iming in."
I announced myself so and entered her workshop.
The Dwarf Smiths were busy forging the mass-production type swords and repairing the equipment of the adventurers.
By Roronos request, I had increased the Dwarf Smiths count from two to four but even that seemedcking.
...I should add some more, huh.
They were an essential part of my fighting force. I saw no particr reason to hesitate in adding some more.
"Is Rorono here?"
In response to my question, a silver-haired, brown-skinned girl came to answer. It was Wights adjutant.
"Procell-sama, wee and thank you for gracing us. The mistress1 is inside theboratory. Ah, thats right. Ahm, Procell-sama, if you dont terribly mind, may I ask that you bring something to the mistress?"
Rorono was referred to by the Dwarf Smiths as their mistress since she thoroughly but also kindly imparted to them techniques regarding their craft. It certainly fitted her.
"Bread and apple?"
"Yes, its her meal. In the past five days, the mistress have shut herself in theboratory. Not once had shee out, not even for her meals. Weve been strictly instructed to not go in there which worries us even more. But if its Procell-sama, I thought she wouldnt mind being given this meal. So, please, Procell-sama, give it to her."
I wryly smiled.
As I expected, Rorono wasnt skipping on her duties. Rather, she was working hard on something. Something that she still haventpleted afterpletely secluding herself for the past five days.
I was looking forward to what that something was.
And so, I entered theboratory that was in the inner part of the workshop.
In there, I took notice of the running gasoline-fueled power generator. Meanwhile, Rorono was busy fiddling with six PCs one after another.
My [Creation] could only make things that were in my memory. Regarding supeputers, I knew of their existence, yes, but only that so [Creation] wasnt able to make them. Topensate for theck of processing power, Rorono tackled it with quantity like so.
"As I thought, the basic theory is spot on. All thats left now is to have two to match. Just a little bit more."
Rorono did a monologue as she bit on her nail.
Maybe it was because she was too focused but she didnt even notice I was there.
When I shifted my gazed on her foot, there was a magic tool that seemed to be able to hold two orbs. Also on the floor were dozens of golem cores.
"On adjusted values, A-17 and B-18 have the best wavelengthpatibility but their outputs dont match. Stressing stability, C-34 and A-8? No. They dont reach the control values."
She continued to restlessly move her eyes and hands on the keyboards of the PCs. But then she stood up, only to lose her bnce. So, I hastily caught her before she crashed into the ground.
"Are you ok?"
"F-father"
Maybe it was because she was surprised but she called me Father.
"I was worried about you so I came here."
"Mhm. Thank you foring here, master. I was just working overtime."
After saying so, she smiled, stood up, and took a deep breath.
"I know youre busy on your research but can you spare me a little time?"
"Yes of course, master, but let me first just finish with a few more sets of measurements and calctions. Lets talk while waiting for the process to finish."
She was tired enough to lose her bnce and yet... really now, this girl.
"Okay, I dont mind. Just tell me what youre up to once youre finished, okay?"
"Mhm. I will."
She said so and then ced a golem core into her seemingly self-made measuring apparatus that was connected to a PC. On the PC, she ran a self-made program and worked on it.
Over time, I had already grown ustomed to the sight of her perfectly using the PC.
"Done. I will exin everything now, master."
"Before that, lets take a little break."
I gathered the piles of ns on top of a table, moved it elsewhere, and, through [Creation], took out a set of choice honey cookies and cocoa.
"But the time"
"You have worked so hard that you almost fell down. A tired mind is an inefficient one. So, rest. This is amand. Settle down and enjoy your sweet snack and warm drink."
When she heard me say that, she was shocked for a moment but then nodded and began to eat a cookie.
As she nibbled on her food, I noticed her face had subtly ckened. It was a response of hers when she found her food to be delicious.
She looked so cute, just like a tiny animal. Looking at her like that filled my heart with joy.
"Master, its hard to eat when you look at me so keenly."
She protested as her face reddened.
"Sorry, you were just so cute. Ill be careful not to stare."
"Uuh, thats even more embarrassing."
I faintly smiled and refrained myself to just stealing nces of her every now and then.
Like so, we peacefully passed the time.
"So, just what were you working on?"
A little while after she finished the cookies and drank her cocoa, I spoke.
"A golem that would surpass a Mithril Golem."
Her words had a profound impact on me. After all, an A rank monster couldnt be easily obtained, not even by me. Sure, my [Creation] medal could guarantee it but that would mean the consumption of that medal along with at least one original medal of another Demon Lord.
If we could steadily produce golems as strong as an A rank monster, being the strongest Demon Lord was guaranteed.
"Is that kind of thing possible?"
"Its difficult but possible. But then again, I alone wouldnt have been enough; there were far too many calctions required in the design of it. However, thanks to the tools you gave me and thisboratory environment, I could realize it."
I looked in her eyes and saw her strong pride in her ability.
"So, how are you going to do it, exactly?"
"To begin with, the golem core is the one responsible for converting the surroundings mana into energy that is then made to resonate with a mineral. This process is how a golem is made. The reason why I could only make golems as strong as B rank monsters is due to the output of the golem cores being insufficient. The more magic power a mineral can hold, the greater the energy produced needed to be. The cores I make can resonate with mithril or something less while the ones made by the Dwarf Smiths cant resonate at all with minerals that can hold magic power."
"Then, why not just increase the output of the golem cores?"
"The cores cant be altered upon making them and even after that."
"How then?"
"If the output of the core itself isnt enough, we can just make use of two."
I unintentionally leaked out a chuckle. When she said it, I realized how awfully simple it was.
"That makes sense. But then, that seems like its something we can easily implement."
"......Its actually not as easy as it initially sounds. If two cores with differing wavelengths and outputs are used to resonate with a mineral at the same time, they will cancel each others power out; instead of increasing, the total output will fall down. Also, this process tend to break the cores and the lump of mineral involved."
"We cant have that. What method have you thought up, then?"
"The Twin Drive System."
She informed me so. There was a certain charm to her words.
"I stol... Ahem. I thought the idea up when I was watching the anime in the DVD master made to kill time."
It reminded me of that experiment I tried before. The said DVD was one of the interesting things I made using [Creation] after the Creator had informed me that my memory was a portion of thes memory. These things were greatly appreciated by Kuina and the others.
"The concept here is that if two cores cant directly resonate with the material for the golem, making the two act as one will. This basic theory has been proven to be correct. If this system is perfected, the total output wont just be the sum the two cores output but their product, effectively squaring either cores output. This system can also be applied to any metal. So, any golem made with this will surely be as strong as an average A rank monster, if not stronger."
I gulped down.
The Mithril Golems were powerful enough, what more of these new ones, I wondered. A squared output? And since it can be used on orihalcum, it will have much better durability, magical strength, lightness, and many other things.
If such a thing could be steadily mass-produced, we would be invincible.
"Can it be done?"
"Ive said it before but the basic theory for it is sound. I have also built a prototype. However, the cores have certainpatibility among them so I was doing apatibility test on them. I have gathered all of the golem cores I have made until now to see which paired best."
That exined to me why all of the golems she had made vanished from the city.
"Alright, this is an interesting research. Keep at it."
"Mhm. Ill absolutelyplete it. Even if only one could be built for the moment, lots of data would be gathered from it, advancing my research a giant leap forward. From those further studies, I expect I would also be able to make remedies to somewhat ipatible cores. When that happens, so long as there was orihalcum, I could make an Orihalcum Golem with a twin cores once every two days."
"Thats encouraging. By the way, I heard that your trump card, the [Mechanical Warmaiden], has troubles with its power supply but if you apply this twin drive system to that, wouldnt that solve those issues?"
"I have also thought about that. On top of course of using twin cores, I would also make use of the furs I had plucked from Kuinas tail to serve as a high capacity magic battery. The cores with the twin drive system would pour their extra energy into the tail so whether it be a short yet decisive battle or a prolonged one, the equipment would perform well. Also,pletely changing its materials to be orihalcum will make it considerably lighter."
As she talked, her tone became excited and her eyes shined brightly.
She was excited with all her heart. She seemed quite mad but if my daughter was having fun, I had no qualms about it.
"Ill be expecting much from this, Rorono. Once youve fully built the Orihalcum Golem, make sure to show it to me, okay?"
"Master will be the first one Ill show it to; no one else. I wont keep you waiting, I absolutely wont."
There were hints of impatience and of pain in her voice.
"Why did you try to make this in the first ce? Especially since it seems so difficult, its almost impossible."
She had trouble in speaking but after a while of resolving herself, she answered.
"Its because I saw you bowing down to the humans, ttering them, and enduring their unreasonableness."
"Im sorry you saw me being uncool like that. Im a failure as a Demon Lord."
"Not at all!"
She raised her voice and stood up.
"I know Father did it to buy some time. I know you endured that for us and the city. Theres no way such a Father is uncool to me!"
My chest grew hotter. For her to sympathize with me this much...
"And yet! And yet, the reason Father had to smile even after being slighted by those trash, the reason you had to endure those humiliations, the reason for that is that were weak. Its because we were weak, you had to stall for time. For making you do that, I cannot forgive myself!"
Anger and frustration were visible in her eyes. She was angry for my sake more than I was myself.
"I will never allow such a thing to happen ever again. To that end, we need a better fighting force. An overwhelming fighting force that no matter whoes, we can negotiate from a strong stand point. And so, I will build the strongest golems. Not just one of them but tens, hundreds! Ill absolutely make that happen!"
I was very grateful to her from the bottom of my heart. So much so that mere words couldnt have expressed it so I stood up and tightly embraced her.
"You have truly made me happy. Youve thought of my sake that you even forgone sleep for many days and have been tirelessly researching."
"Father,"
"I wont say dont overwork yourself but remember that if something were to happen to you, my heart will be crushed. Youre my beloved daughter, Rororno. I love you."
"Mhm. I wont let anything happen to me while also building the strongest golem as soon as possible for you, Father."
I smiled and parted from our embrace though it seemed Rorono was little unwilling to do the same.
"Ill head back now; I have disturbed you long enough."
"Understood. See youter, Father."
"Yeah, see you."
Just when I said so, a notification came from a PC.
"The matching tests had begun after the measurements were done. Ill take a look."
She said so and stared into the PCs screen.
After a short while, her face brightened with a wide smile.
"Father, Ive found the cores with the highest affinities. It will surely work with these cores. Just a little bit more and I can show you the results tomorrow!"
"Thats great. Do your best on thest remaining steps."
"Yes, of course. ...also, Father, if it all goes well, praise me a lot. ...and hug me like earlier."
"That goes without saying."
"Mhm!"
Like so, I left her workshop.
As the night breeze hit me, I reflected on some things.
"I failed to consider Roronos and the others feelings."
I had overlooked how my actions could affect those around me.
I resolved myself to do better next time. It was a thing I must do to be a good Demon LordFather.
If Roronos new golem could make it in time for the next war, our chances of victory would all the more be better. I felt guilty for letting her overwork herself but I couldnt help really looking forward to the new addition to our fighting force.
1The word used by the Dwarf Smith to refer to Rorono is (oshishou) which means a master or teacher. Just to distinguish titles, I chose mistress.
Volume 4 6
When I was enjoying breakfast together with Kuina and Aura the day after I checked up on Rorono, Rorono came bursting in.
"Its finished, the strongest golems finally finished!!"
She was visibly tired. Her hair was ruffled and her grooming was a little poor. Her eyes were heavy with bags and yet, it burned brightly.
She most probably spent all of the previous night working onpleting the strongest golem by installing the twin cores into the best body made of orichalcum.
She didnt even have to say a word; her excitement alone was enough for me to know her news.
"Well done, Rorono."
I praised her so, walked toward her, and then embraced her. Upon doing so, she hugged me back.
"Ah! Rorono-chans so sneaky."
"Now, now, Kuina-chan, calm down. The strongest golem that Rorono-chans speaking of seems like a really amazing thing. Its truly worthy of praise."
Kuina and Aura looked at Rorono and me as they conversed.
"Uhhhh. I understand. But Kuina too will do amazing things so that Oto-san will praise me as well."
Kuinas somewhat innocent remark worried me a little. She was skilled inbat but not so much in administrative affairs. I just hope her efforts wont be in vain...
"I wanted to say show it to me immediately but lets get to that after youve eaten a meal. You havent eaten anything after those cookies, correct?"
We didnt need to eat food to survive but we enjoyed doing it all the same. It brought us peace of mind which was something we did need.
"Mhm, alright, Ill show it to master as soon as the meal is over."
"Aura, if you dont mind."
"Already on it."
Before I had noticed, Aura was no longer where she was and had moved to the nearby kitchen.
The smell of butter then drifted in the air. Using butter and eggs procured from Avalon, she was expertly making some scrambled eggs. Concurrently, she was also grilling some crisp bacon.
Afterwards, she sandwiched both bacon and egg into a bread made by the Skeletons and then garnished it with her self-made vorings.
Based on this sandwich alone, one could tell Auras culinary skills were truly superb.
As for dessert, there were the golden apples from the First Tree. Its effects were simr to before, only stronger. Its effects were so strong, I suspected it could even extend a persons lifespan.
These golden apples were now part of our daily breakfast and thanks to that, we were in great health.
Rorono greedily munched on the food Aura served before her. The apple too was gone in an instant.
"These apples really have much greater effects than before. If I had these, I could research for at least year without ever needing to sleep."
Pfft, I almost spewed out the tea I was enjoying after our meal.
While it was indeed true that these golden apples could make one unaffected by fatigue...
"Dont do that, Rorono. Your body might remain fine but your mind wont."
"Sorry."
She apologized like that and then tasted the apple juice she held in her hand.
"Now that youve finished your meal and have also rested, wont you show us the might of the new golem you just made?"
"Ok, leave it to me."
Like that, we went out to see the new golem. It wasnt just me and Rorono; Kuina and Aura were also quite interested in seeing in it.
We relocated to the training area within the Mines.
In there, we didnt have to worry about being seen by the public so we could go as wild as we desired.
And so, Rorono activated the star of the show, the Orichalcum Golem.
"Its a very stylish golem, isnt it?"
"Its power will remain exceedingly high even with a slim design so I went with that, made it light-weight, and emphasized speed."
The golems she had made up to this point stood at around 3 meters high and had very broad bodies. Their bodies were so broad, they seemed short and stout despite their height.
This one was different though. It was two and a half meter tall with a rather slender build. It was close in appearance to a human, a very tall yet slender human.
It had the shine peculiar to orichalcum which was somewhere in-between gold and silver.
But most of all...
"It has such an amazing amount of magic power."
"Mhm. As Ive said before, with the twin drive system, the two golem cores resonate not only with the orichalcum but to each other as well. This results in the total output not being the sum of the two cores individual outputs but their product. In this case, since the cores are highly attuned to one another, the total output is effectively the square of either cores output. Their magic power rivals that of an average A rank monsters."
As expected they werent as strong as Kuina and the others but they were still plenty strong.
"And how does the prospect of the mass production of these golems stand?"
"I would say its possible but I cant guarantee when it can begin until I have analyzed this childs test results. I intend to make it practice in the [Crimson Cavern] while I conduct further research."
I see, thats good, I thought.
I still havent seen it move and yet I could already sense the countless possibilities that coulde from this golem.
"So, what kind is this child?"
Kuina asked Rorono so.
"This one is designed for general purposes. With the fact that it is tenacious enough to endure the output of the twin cores in mind, this little one is genuinely tough, fast, and strong. The range of movements it can perform is quite simr to humanoid beings. It can also make use of whatever weapon a humanoid can use. This one will serve as the fundamental design but as my study makes progress, I intend to also deploy golems that specialize in long-rangebat, in close-quartersbat, and in mobility."
When she became one of my [Monsters of the Covenant], Rorono obtained the ability to customize the golems. She had already made specialized golems before but considering this was the first one to make use of the twin drive system, a general purpose type was probably for the best.
"Try making it move now, Rorono."
"Alright. Lets start with basic movements."
Like that, Rorono gavemands to the golem.
It started with an all-out dash, suddenly changed its course and then jumped.
At that, Aura pped her hands.
Such speed, I thought. It was so fast it would make one forget that golems were known for their slowness.
"With the cores excessively high output, the improvements to the joints for improved movement, and its light orichalcum body, this much movement is within expectations."
Rorono somewhat triumphantly dered so.
"Next, weapons."
The new golem picked up a heavy-machinegun usually used by the Mithril Golems. After a few moments, the new golem then ran as it fired the long and weighty heavy-machinegun.
"Are you kidding me?"
This weapon was indeed strong but its weight and recoil were no joking matter. And yet, the heavy-machinegun often used on a fixed position was wielded much like one would an assault rifle.
Even the Mithril Golems with all their might wouldnt be able to handle the weapon as skillfully and would therefore take considerable amounts of time to adjust their aims from the recoil.
To top it off, the new golem jumped into the air and continued firing.
"Again, with this new golem, this much is expected. Now... to test its defense. Kuina, try firing your shotgun at it."
"Understood."
Kuina took out her favorite shotgun and fired it.
Bang.
Rorono has made various improvements to this shotgun which included: arger caliber; the use of mithril powder in the bullets so that one could insert their own magic power into it to further increase the damage; the [Explosion] enchantment which, after firing, makes the shell explode and scatters the shots more forcefully.
With all of these improvements, even an A rank monster would be shot through. If the target was an ordinary golem, it would most probably be turned into scrap metal. As for the new golem...
"Its almost unscathed?"
I let out a voice of surprise. There were a few scratches on its surface but that was pretty much it.
"Rorono-chan, what, its so tough. It kinda reminds me of that Orichalcum Gargoyle from before."
"This is tougher than that. In order to increase its defense and ward off impact, its outer armor is designed to be rounded. Moreover, magic power is also made to flow to its armor, further increasing its durability. Next, lets conduct tests for its magic defense. Kuina, try casting your mes into it."
"Are you sure?"
"Im sure."
"Alright!"
Kuina gathered her magic power and formed a lump of high-density me on the top of her palm. Shortly afterwards, it flew like an arrow.
Burning as hot as the sun itself, it made a direct hit. Should Rorono or Aura were to receive that hit, it might be fatal even for them.
The arrow of me hit the golem in its chest and then engulfed it whole.
After a while, the me disappeared.
While the golem... it remained unharmed.
"In order to move its limbs, magic power is made to circte throughout its body but due to the cores excessively high output, some of the magic power leaks. And so, this excess power, through the magic arrays already installed in the golem, is then used to act like a shield at all times against magical attacks. Additionally, its material itself, orichalcum, is immensely resistant to magic. With all these, the golem is nigh invulnerable against magic."
Overwhelming speed, offense, and defense... this golem had it all.
"Impressive, Rorono."
"Im proud of this golem. However, it does have a weakness. Its quick and resilient but thats pretty much it. Physical attacks are all it can do; against an opponent where physical attacks are ineffective, this golems powerless. Moreover, there are still enemies that can break through its defense. For example, it might have been able to withstand Kuinas shotshell just now but if she switches to using slug shells and keep shooting at the same spot over and over again, the golems defenses will crumble. Kuina is also fairly capable of dodging the hail of bulletsing from its heavy-machinegun. Moreover, even though I said its nigh invulnerable against magic, if Kuina were to use her future form, the golem will surely burn to ashes in the end."
"Naturally!"
Kuina puffed her chest as she confirmed.
"Aura and her anti-materiel rifle are also capable of defeating this child. Like Kuina, she can simrly target a point over and over again until it breaks, only this time from a much longer distance away. In the first ce, with her as the opponent, no matter how the golem tries, none of its attacks would reach her when shes up in the sky."
"Yeah, thats right. If I were to fight it, Ill do it like that, rapid-firing from high in the sky. That way, gravity will serve as my friend. All of its attacks will be weighed down by gravity, in which case, the power and range of the attack will be decreased. In the meantime, all of my attacks will improved by gravity. The whole thing cant even be called a fight anymore."
"The golem will also be near powerless to Wights miasma. No matter how high its magic resistance may be, it wouldnt be able to do anything against the miasma. The other way around, the golems bullets wouldnt affect Wight since before they even hit, they would be dissolved by the miasma. ......And then, it goes without saying that this child is also no match against me."
Yes, it was by no means invincible. Another way of looking at it though was that one had to be on a simr level as these girls first before he could reliably win against the golem.
"Its main draw isnt its strength. First of all, its the fact that it can be mass-produced. In the near future, we would have hundreds of A-rank-equivalent golems. Secondly, its versatile. Since they can wield any kind of weapon, they can respond to any situation with the right weapon in hand. Next is its adaptability in the sense that it can battle in whatever terrain, be it under the water, within a volcano, on an iceberg, on the ins, on the wastnds, or even in outer space where theres no air. Lastly, its ability to fight in a prolonged war. These children will never tire and will never need sleep. These children have everything one can look for in a soldier; these children are the [Perfect soldiers]."
The more I heard, the more fearsome the new golem sounded and I unintentionally gulped down.
If there was something I could add to what Rorono said, it was that this new golem could be disposable units. There was no need to worry their loss. I could nonchntly send them to suicidal missions, something I would never dare order to Kuina and the others.
"Rorono, advance their mass-production with all haste. These golems will be useful."
"Yes, thats the n. I will also include any improvements I have found into the final versions. Ill also make basic weapons with them in mind."
Geez, each and every one of my subordinates is so reliable.
I was so thankful for Rorono. I dreaded to imagine what it would be like if she was another Demon Lords subordinate.
"Rorono-chan, what will you call this child? Its using special cores so calling it an ordinary name like Orichalcum Golem is so boring!"
"Surely, yeah. Theyre this strong after all. Cant you give them a better name?"
After hearing Kuina and me, Rorono ced a hand on her chin.
"The twin cores can only be implemented by me and, by extension, only by Avalon... Also, this child will be Avalons guardian. Moreover, this child is already a being outside of the convention of golems and thus cant really be called one. So, for the golems equipped with a twin drive, I want to call them as Avalon-Ritter."
I smiled. Avalon-Ritter. Its pretty good.
"Ok, from now on, they shall be called Avalon-Ritter. Make more of them, Rorono."
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
With that, we concluded the days experimentation.
When we were about to return to our house, a blue birdnded on my shoulder.
It was the one given to me by [Wind] Demon Lord Sts so that we could exchange letters.
However, she wasnt the only one I have been corresponding with recently; it had alsomitted to its memory the magic power of Marcho as well as that of the [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian.
"Its from Marcho? She can make time for me tomorrow? Great."
I had sent her a letter which detailed my wish to meet with her and be advised on what I should do when the potential war against the humans do indeed happen. I didnt imagine she would reply this fast though.
I would soon be imposing myself on her. Of course, I wouldnte empty-handed. As was proper when visiting another Demon Lord, I was going to bring a gift aspensation for her time.
And so, I sent out the blue bird to Marchos dungeon to confirm our meeting.
Ritter means knight in German.
Volume 4 7
It has been a while since Ist came to Marchos dungeon.
I arrived here using the transfer array I had set up with her permission.
The only ones I brought along were my three [Monsters of the Covenant] and the crow monster that could use [Transfer].
It hasnt even been a year since I wasst here but I felt nostalgic.
I contemted on whether to bring Wight as well since he also lived here before. However, since he was my staff officer, he was to be the one in charge of Avalons administration and defense whenever Im not there and so, in the end, I decided to make him stay.
Anyway, we met with the Subus in the residential area and petitioned for an audience with Marcho. However, we were asked to wait for a while. So, instead of idling, we chose to visit the house we used to live in before.
"It hasnt changed, has it?"
"Its exactly as we left it!"
Kuina cheerfully responded to myment. The house we used to live in looked just like when we left it.
When Marcho inquired about what to do with the furniture, I asked her to keep it so them still being here didnt surprise me. What surprised me though was that it was almost exactly as we left it; almost no dust had umted anywhere which was contrary to what I predicted. Somebody must have been cleaning it, I thought. I might just have caught a glimpse of Marchos thoughtfulness.
Anyway, Kuina and Rorono each went to the private rooms they used before and acted freely.
"Im a little envious, actually. We moved to Avalon as soon as I was born so I dont have a lot of memories in this ce."
Aura said so as she watched the two.
What she said was true since I made her just before I made Avalon.
"You dont have to be envious. You just have to make a lot of memories in Avalon from now on to make up for it."
"Yes, master!"
Aura smiled and replied so.
After a while of rxing about, the Subus came to us. She was the one in charge of this residential area due in part to her ability to use [Transfer].
"Marchosias-sama is ready to receive you. It seems her previous audience dragged on; Im sorry for the dy."
"Dont worry about it. We passed the time in a meaningful manner. More than that, her previous audience?"
The idea of her having a meeting with somebody other than me piqued my interest quite a bit.
"......Ah, please forget about that. Im going to [Transfer] you now so please gather near me."
The Subus only openly changed the subject. She was most probably forbidden to talk about it so I decided to not push the matter any further and did as she advised.
"Yeah, take care of us then."
"Here, I go. [Transfer]."
Like so, our consciousness faded away.
Uponpletion of our Transfer, we surveyed our surroundings and confirmed that it was indeed Marchos room.
It was lined up with top-gradebut not gaudyfurnishings. And on the eye-catching throne that gave off an intimidating feeling was a white-haired, brown-skinned beautiful girl with a wolfs ears and tail.
She had a grim expression on her face and looked as though she was thinking deeply. However, as soon as she noticed us, she casted that expression off in exchange for a softer one.
Her previous guest must not have been the most agreeable fellow.
"Im d you came, Procell. Its been a while."
"Yes, it has."
"But it seems that while I wasnt looking, youve grown big, Procell-chan. Your big sisters moved to tears. Youre growing up so fast."
"What am I, a kid!?"
I inadvertently said that out loud.
As I did, she looked at me and smiled.
"Yeah, you are. As far as Im concerned, youre still a child. Youre much too green for a Demon Lord. You may have grown but you still have a long road ahead of you."
I had nothing to say back to her for I knew myself that, as a Demon Lord, I was still a novice.
"Geez, you really know how to mess with my rhythm. Anyway, let me say my thanks for finding the time for me today. Thank you."
"Its alright. I wanted to meet with you, anyways. Whenever I hear rumors about you, my heart would always skip a beat. Youre being absurd, I thought... But then, for your first actual war, you got yourself into a three versus one. Against enemies who have received three fully grown A rank monsters, no less. I thought my heart was going to give out back then."
"I also think that I made a blunder there. I was a tad too obstinate back then."
My chance of winning even against an alliance was rather high so I let myself get caught up in [Steel]s ns. However, had I wanted to avoid it altogether back then, I would have been perfectly able to; there was nothing stopping me aside from my overconfidence and my obstinacy.
But then again, that was before I knew their alliance had received powerful monsters from their parents. Had I known this fact from the start, not even my obstinacy would have prevented me from avoiding that three on one war at all cost.
The only reason I won that war was because all of my monsters performed much better than I had expected. There was a lot I needed to reflect on in order to not make that kind of mistake again.
"Even though you dont look it, youre quite a bullheaded man, arent you? I as your parent am beside myself with worry, you know?"
"Yeah, sorry. Ive been a bad kid."
"Tell me about it."
Macho and I looked at each other and smiled.
"Can we get to the main topic now?"
"Hmm, before that, I have noticed your greatest w, Procell."
"My w?"
"Yes, and as a Demon Lord, its a fatal one."
The shock given by those words was too much. Naturally, I recognized the w that I was still much too green but one that could be said to be fatal? I had not noticed such.
"Tell it to me please."
"Yeah, okay. Ill say it inly: you, as a Demon Lord,ck majesty!"
She pointed a finger at me and then dered so.
To which I unintentionally and also impolitely replied Haa!?
"Ah, what a weird face you have. Listen, this is important. Majesty, reverence, or any such dreadful aura is necessary to a Demon Lord. If you dont have any, you will be made light of by the humans and by your subordinate monsters. For that reason, practice drawing out your Demon Lord aura here and now. If you make use of this throne, even you will be able to bring it out. So, go ahead and sit."
She stood from her throne and told me to sit there. And so, I sat on it. Her throne, through its appearance, did make me feel a little bit stronger.
"Give me a bit more viinous smile."
"Li-like this?"
"More, give me more confidence! ...Yes, yes, Im feeling it a little. Now, alright, lets make use of those girls. Celestial Fox, Elder Dwarf, you two try standing beside your master and leaning on him."
Kuina and Rorono both wore strange expressions on their face. After a short while, Kuina spoke.
"Kuina is Oto-sans monster and will not listen to anyonesmand besides Oto-sans."
Rorono nodded in agreement.
Geez, these girls really are reliable.
"Oh, yeah, okay. This is a necessary lesson for you as a Demon Lord so, Procell, if you please."
"Alright. Lets just try this out once, okay?"
Although I was doubtful myself, Imanded the two toe closer.
"Hmm, act more spoiled? Ah, Celestial Fox, act sexier. Yes, yes."
Marcho directed the two on which pose to take until, finally, she nodded in satisfaction.
"How is it, Marcho? Do we look intimidating now?"
I asked so but no answer immediately came.
Marcho just looked at us. After a short while, she began trembling and soon after, she burst intoughter.
"Ahaha. This is so awful. Yeah, you sure look intimidating but, but more than that... Pfft. You really are Lolicell! Ahahaha!"
She very rudely said so and I was slightly hurt.
"Thats enough for today. I take it we have aplished being intimidating, at the very least."
"Ahaha, yeah, yeah... I guess for going along with that jest, Ill tell you your real weakness."
Marcho and I exchanged positions and she sat on her throne again. After a while of putting on airs, she spoke. I was now more on guard; I wasnt about to be made fun of again.
"Your monsters are strong, ridiculously so. Of that, there is no arguing. Any ordinary, inexperienced Demon Lord would be helplessly defeated when faced with a three on one fight. Your strength and growth speed is astonishing. ...but then, that is all you have going for you."
Those words rang true to my heart.
"You immenselyck intelligence gathering capabilities. Your monsters are great in battle as well as in production but thats pretty much it. Moreover, you yourself extremelyck political strength. You see, first-ss Demon Lords would have their monsters scatter everywhere to serve as their eyes and ears. They also have the cooperation of their fellow Demon Lords under their belt. And that cooperation isnt limited to just the sharing of information, mind you. ...thats not the end of it. Some Demon Lords would even go so far as to infiltrate human countries and take control of those ces governments. The scum I hate most is masquerading himself as the god of a religion that has a lot of believers in a certain country, effectively giving him reign over the ce."
My weaknesses were pointed out.
I had nothing to argue against her; she was right on the mark. It was only thanks to the blue bird I got from [Wind] Demon Lord Sts as well as the crow monster I got from the [Time] Demon Lord that I had a way tomunicate and travel, respectively. However, among the monsters that I myself created, there wasnt any that could fulfill those roles, much less for intelligence gathering.
There were a lot of cases where information became more important than having numbers. A blind army might as well be a dead one, after all. To neglect gathering information was indeed a fatal w.
"Let me tell you how fatal your w is. I currently have a certain monster hidden within your city. If I know that you can harvest golden apples in your city, you can bet I also know about the absurdly strong weapons that your Elder Dwarf is developing as well as your ns for the mass-production of those beyond-normal golems. What makes it worse is that you havent even realize your secrets are being leaked out. Now, imagine what would happen if I were a hostile Demon Lord."
I was shocked.
How can she know so much? Did she make use of a monsters ability to see through all of my secrets?
It then dawned on me that if Marcho was able to do so, the [Time] Demon Lord could have as well, given his interest in me. My caution around the crow monster would then be all for nothing.
In addition to them, some other Demon Lord may already have eyes and ears deployed somewhere in my city.
"Thats frightening. I have truly taken things too lightly. I may have relied on my Monsters of the Covenants presence sensing abilities."
"So long as youre aware of your weakness, you, in particr, can make a monster to cope with that weakness, wouldnt you agree? With your [Creation], you can choose the possibility you want from the countless others. Besides, youre smart; I trust youll make the most efficient choice."
Marcho, after saying so, pouted somewhat.
My [Creation] medals truly were enviable; they were just too convenient.
"Yeah, Ill do that. Ive decided on how to use my next [Creation] medal. Thanks."
I had vaguely thought of adding another fighting unit but have now decided to gear the next monster to have intelligence gathering capabilities and let the Avalon-Ritters be the increase in our fighting strength.
"That ends Professor Marchos lesson on being a Demon Lord. We are both pressed for time so lets end the idle chitchat now. Okay, Procell, I have the general understanding of your circumstances after reading your letter. It seems you are being targeted by the humans."
"Yeah. A notification came demanding pretty much to be under the control of the lord of a neighboring city, a city called Axera(). It is very likely that we wille to war with each other."
Since I was going to borrow her knowledge, I told her everything without holding anything back.
"So what you want to know is their fighting force for when it doese to war, is that right?"
"Yeah. I want to know how many soldiers will be deployed if all were talking about is the city of Axera."
"That city has a poption of 200,000, give or take. Generally, a city like that would have at least 10 that belong to the hero ss and about a hundred that belong to what is referred to as the highest rank for adventurers. After those, there should be about 3,000 in their army. These numbers are what they can gather internally without difficulty, mind you. When they begin calling for reinforcements from cities they are allied to, expect their numbers to increase even more."
"I see. That gives me relief; I wont be defeated with that amount."
In terms of monster ranks, the hero ss would be the A rank monsters.
So, if the strongest fighting force the enemy had were just 10 A ranks, I saw no problems; Kuina alone could wipe the floor with them.
The remaining 3000 small fries didnt pose a threat either.
"Again, those numbers are assuming you will go to war with that one city. If you, by some chance, go to war with the entire country, their numbers will at least be tenfold."
"I wont let ite to that."
I have been secretly preparing various arrangements with merchants to ensure the fighting would be limited with that one city.
"One other point, a warning really. Though heroes are regarded as equivalent to A rank monsters, that is on average. What I mean is that once in a while, a monstrously strong heroes along so dont lower your guard. ......Still, something has been bothering me. This uing war is a little strange. I feel like the humans are mobilizing far too quickly. Humans, you see, take an awful lot of time deciding on something, and even more time enacting it. If the citys lord is acting on his whim, yeah, maybe, but all things considered, that city isnt likely to be capable of doing so."
I had also thought that. And so, I decided it was safer to assume the enemy had twice the fighting force.
"Thanks to you, my course of action is decided."
"Im d to hear that. So, Procell, Ive given you this much information, what do you n on giving me in return? Fufu, Im your parent so I want to treat you as kindly as I can but then again, youve already left my nest, right? Plus, youve rejected me back then. Given all these, should you really be this dependent on me? It cant be that just because Im your parent, you think its only natural that I help without anything in return, now can it?"
She put on a rather sad face and looked at me.
Shes really shrewd... no, she might be saying all these to teach me something.
That thought came to me but it didnt bother me at all. It was my intention from the very start topensate her, anyway.
"Your many advice, this time and those before, have been greatly helpful. So to properly give my thanks, I want to propose something."
"...Oh, this is getting interesting. State your proposal."
"The end of your lifespan is within the year but do you have no intention to live even beyond your lifespan?"
A Demon Lord has a lifespan of 300 years and Marcho was at herst year. My intendedpensation for her was a life beyond those 300 years.
"Just what do you mean by that?"
"Exactly as I said. If youd recall, I was given a power called [Rebirth] by the Creator. I have already used that power on Wight and made him into a powerful monster. It was then that I confirmed it: that power isnt limited to just monsters. Whatever the being is, so long as they agree, they can be turned into a medal. Even Demon Lords, Id wager. So, after temporarily turning you into a medal via [Rebirth] and then using that medal in a [Synthesis], I can extend your lifespan."
I adored Marcho. As my guardian and as my friend.
And due to that, I felt that I didnt want to part with her.
I believed that with [Rebirth], I could save her.
It was also greatly advantageous for me; it would be reassuring to have her brains and brawn on my side.
For these reasons, I proposed this idea to her.
"Go home."
She hid her face and said so.
"Marcho?"
"You have said something you shouldnt have."
She continued with a calm and yet angry tone in her voice.
"Just what did I say to make you that angry??"
"Your proposal is an affront to me, no, to all Demon Lordsexcept that bastard. Within my limited life: Ive risked it all and got everything I wanted in return; and have made my mark upon the world. After my imminent death, I shall once more be a spirit. That is how its supposed to be, that is the golden path for us Demon Lords. I have no intention of throwing away my pride. You disappoint me, Procell. I never thought you would say something simr to what that bastard said. I dont wish for a longer life. I have no regret in my life; I lived as I saw fit. You sully me with your conceit."
I was greatly stunned. I couldntprehend all of what Marcho was saying.
Seeing me like that, Marcho seemed to have calmed down a little. After taking a breath, she hid her eyes with her hand and spoke.
"Sorry, Procell. I dont think I can calmly talk with you anymore; I might snap again. I guess the timing of your visits to me. My head knows I shouldnt involve you but I just cant hold back my irritation."
With that, I judged that any further talks would be for naught.
"Marcho, Im sorry for making you angry but just let me say this: I want to be with you for a longer time. To part with you within a years time breaks my heart. I want you to continue living and so I proposed this. It isnt my intention to make light of you or your pride. ......I thank you once again for your advice and information. Wont you at least please take this? Its my citys prized apple."
I passed the golden apple to Marcho. I wanted her to eat it so I brought some with me.
She didnt reply but she at least epted the apple.
"Well, Ill go now. My citys great, you know? We have delicious food, a hot spring, taverns to drink fine alcohol, even gambling houses. Recently, traveling minstrels have alsoe there and sing good songs for us. Itll have to be until the fighting is over but please consider visiting Avalon. ...Ill do my best to wee you."
Right when I finished my speech, by Marchosmand, the Subus used [Transfer].
A moment before the Transfer process wasplete, I thought I heard Marcho say in low, almost inaudible voice, Im sorry.
I contemted for a while. As Marcho had said, I might have wounded her pride as Demon Lord. However, I still thought her reaction was strange and excessive. It worried, to be honest.
Nevertheless, I had no time to spare and had to give all of my attention to the enemy before me.
I settled for the decision that if ever I had the time, I would go check up on Marcho. With my mind made up, I instructed the crow monster to use [Transfer] to return us back to Avalon.
Volume 4 8
After we came back home, I unconsciously spoke to myself out loud.
"I messed up; Ive made Marcho angry."
After I brought up the topic of [Rebirth], Marcho was enraged.
Even if I was being selfish, I had no ill intention; I just wanted her to live longer.
That said, her anger was understandable.
I half-expected herone of the strongest Demon Lordsto be insulted by my offer to be my monster through [Rebirth] so I had prepared to persuade her but it felt like what enraged her was the very idea of extending her life itself.
"Oto-san, youre making a sad face."
"Its because Marchos angry at me."
Based on her personality, it was extremely unlikely for Marcho to be hostile and harass me.
Nevertheless, she was an important friend. Being in a quarrel with her is painful.
"Does Oto-san like Marcho?"
"I do. Shes someone I respect. She has also taken good care of me."
"Then, make up with her! If you say youre sorry, itll probably make things ok, somehow!"
Kuina said so and I smiled. There were some truth to her words though. And so, I decided to visit Marcho again after she had calmed down a little and apologize with all sincerity.
"Youre right. Ill go properly apologize to her some timeter, with a gift while Im at it. ......say, Kuina, when I reach the end of my lifespan and die, will you mourn for me?"
Upon hearing my question, she looked as though she was about to cry. She then hugged my right arm tightly.
"Kuina will be devastated. I absolutely dont want that to happen. Oto-san has to always be together with Kuina!"
Looking at her react like that made me feel happy, somewhat.
"I also dont want to die, of course. But thats all the more reason why I cant understand Marcho. Id absolutely hate it to leave my adorable monsters behind and will therefore do whatever is necessary to be with you all longer, even if that means lowering myself to be another Demon Lords monster. I thought all other Demon Lords would think so as well but apparently, that is just my hubris speaking."
Maybe in the course of my long life, Ill have a change of mind. For the moment though, its a sentiment I just cantprehend.
I then recalled my conversation with Marcho.
She had said that somebody else had proposed something simr to my own proposal. That somebody probably was another Demon Lord and that Demon Lord was most probably [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian.
There was a chance that with his ability, hes able to stretch the 300 year lifespan of us Demon Lords.
"Kuina wont let Oto-san die. If its to keep you alive, Kuina will do anything. Foxes are symbols for longevity so maybe if Oto-san eats Kuina, Oto-san will live longer!"
"Master eating Kuina is totally out of the question but I agree that we cant let you die, master. With the power of science, we should be able to ovee anything, even lifespans. If we have as much time as 300 years, my research to ovee your lifespan will beplete by then... I will absolutely make it so."
"Its not just science either; dont make light of the power of nature. I will prepare the right food and environment that let you live a healthy and long life! If my powers increase further, Im confident I can make a real Tree of Life that will surpass even the current World Tree we have now!"
Kuina as well as Rorono and Aura all spoke encouraging words to me.
It made me happy. However, strangely, Iughed involuntarily.
"Geez, you all. Thank you. That really made me d. But dont worry cause Im not going to leave you all behind."
I then pet each of my beloved daughters head.
Every one of them is a long-lived monster. They would age only until they have reached the most suitable age and form forbat. Moreover, they would continue to live long after Im gone. Denying the fate of living on without me, they said they would do whatever it would take to prolong my life.
Im filled with joy but now is the time for actions.
"Kuina, take some low level monsters and go hunt in the [Crimson Cavern]. Take along the Avalon-Ritter too. Its level wont rise but I want some battle data collected. Ill also increase the number of Mythological Foxes by two. Theyre very useful monsters with their speed, agility, and presence sensing capabilities so make sure to train them well."
"Yeah! Kuina will raise her new little sisters properly!"
Kuina raised her hand and answered so. Her fox-ears were standing up too; an indication that she was motivated.
"Rorono, is it necessary for you to be there and directly control the Avalon-Ritter?"
"No. Battle protocols have been stored in its memory."
"Understood. Then, Kuina, Ill leave the data collection to you. As for you, Rorono, continue your research on their mass-production. That shall be our key to victory in the uing war. I expect much from you."
"Roger. I will not disappoint your expectations, master."
Rorono, with a serious expression on her face, nodded and immediately headed for her workshop.
"Aura, figure out a way to hasten Kohakus recovery. We cannot afford to let him be idle. He may not be as strong as you girls inbat but he has experience that we sorelyck. Hell definitely be helpful."
"Certainly, please leave it to me. Hell be in better physical condition than ever before!"
"Also, tell him Im going to borrow his wisdomter regarding intelligence gathering monsters. I just cant believe that we have an intruder even you cant detect. So, I want to know those kind of monsters nature, to understand them, and to know how they can scout without any problems."
"Okay, Ill ry that to Kohaku-san!"
Aura bowed and left.
With that, each of my Monsters of the Covenant began their work.
Not to be outdone by them, I went to work on my own set of duties as well.
I entrusted Kuina with the two newly born Mythological Foxes. I also made new Dwarf Smiths High Elvestwo of each to be exactand entrusted them to Kuina as well.
Avalons poption have grown recently and with that, so too did the work for Roronos smithing workshop as well as Auras orchard. Given that it was a necessary expense anyway and the fact that I had some DP to spare, I bought the new monsters.
Even after that, I still had 12,000 DP remaining.
I decided then to make the monster I was allowed to buy when I used Rebirth on Wightthe darkness dragon Graphross.
By the way, I didnt have any [Creation] medal at the moment to make an intelligence gathering monster of my own. Until then, I decided to expand fighting force.
There was no way I could summon a dangerous looking monster such as the darkness dragon within my city of Avalon without any questions being asked so I moved to the mining area.
"The aerial bombardment corps have proven their usefulness on thest war but the Hippogriffs, I really dont have much confidence in them."
The Hippogriffs were D rank monsters I was able to buy when I made the B rank Griffon.
When deployed as part of the aerial bombardment corps, their low attack power waspensated for but there still were many issues.
First was that they were slow. Although they could fly in the sky, their speed wasnt anything to write home about when talking about monsters.
Next was that they were weak. It wouldnt matter so much when they are one-sidedly attacking from the sky but against a strong enemy monster that could, in some capacity, fly in the sky as well, the Hippogriffs could hardlypete.
They were also at a disadvantage against monsters that had some form of anti-air attack.
All that said, in the end, they are only D rank monsters.
The darkness dragon Graphross on the other hand is a B rank monster. Furthermore, its a strong dragon monster capable of flight. Dragon monsters are usually stronger even against monsters of the same rank.
The darkness dragons fighting capabilities are the real deal. They can pretty much ignore arrowsing from the ground. And, as long as their enemies arent A rank flying monsters, theyre untouchable in the sky.
Furthermore, they can fight on their own even after dropping the bomb they carried.
I was of the thought that if I make an aerialbat unit featuring the darkness dragons, Avalons fighting strength would skyrocket.
Additionally, to further increase the Avalon-Ritters effectiveness, I was also thinking of making them cooperate with the air units. The Hippogriffs wouldnt be able to carry out this strategy due to their limited carry weight which in turn was brought by theirck of physical strength.
If this strategy were to be carried out, it may very well overhaul [War] as we know it.
However, it should be noted that I had another important task in mind for the Griffon and Hippogriffs. A task that the darkness dragons wouldnt be able to carry out.
"Anyway, Ill go try making two of them."
For the aerialbat unit that I was going to form, I wanted it to have at least 10 members but before that, I needed to urately confirm their usefulness.
"[I Shall Compose]"
I said those words of power and the Demon Lord book appeared in my hand.
When I thought about the darkness dragon Graphross, the pages turned by themselves, only to stop at the corresponding page.
The needed DP for one was 1,200 DP, the standard price for a B rank monster.
By no means was it cheap but as I was at the moment, I could easily afford it.
I then recalled my wish to someday have a [Maelstrom]. Maelstroms could be bought for a hundred times the amount of a particr monster but in exchange, it produces that particr monster once each day. Given three months and a few days, it would have recovered its initial cost and will continue to produce more monsters from then on, making the cost to performance ratio really great.
Basically, how many monsters a Demon Lord could steadily produce[Maelstroms] or otherwisedetermines how well off he is. For example, Marcho has tons of [Maelstroms] that can produce C rank monsters.
My n was to amass DP to buy [Maelstroms] once my fighting force could be said to be sufficient for most situations. The kind of monsters I could buy at the moment were limited but even among them, my options were excellent, especially the B rank monsters which only I could buy.
"Nowe, Darkness Dragon Graphross!"
I paid the required amount of DP and bought a Graphross.
ck particles gathered before me and assembled into the shape of a dragon.
It had four limbs, sharp ws and fangs, a long tail, and jet-ck dragon wings that measured 4 meters long.
It was a dragon of darkness that had the Undead attribute.
Uponpletion, with eyes filled with hostility, it looked down me, both literally and metaphorically.
"KYAAAAAAAON!"
It roared and the air shook.
Monsters are forbidden to harm their master as well as disobey that mastersmands. However, anything in-between was totally allowed.
In other words, a monster with a wild temperament is tough to handle.
Such was surely the case for this one. Itpletely made light of me.
When I wondered what to do, a man in the prime of his life appeared. He was a demi-human that had a dragons horns and tail. He was my trusted right-arm man. He was Wight.
"I was on my way to the bread factory but I sensed my lords presence nearby. But then, here I find an extremely cheeky and unruly youngster. A youngster that must be disciplined. Taking such an attitude toward my lord, uneptable."
"Ok, Ill leave his discipline to you, Wight."
Like that, he looked at the new dragon with cold eyes filled with silent anger.
Currently, Wight was a monster that had a rule over both Undead and dragons.
With him to take care of things, the disciplining of this youngster would probably be over in an instant.
And so, I smiled and silently watched.
Volume 4 9
In order to form the aerialbat corps, I bought a darkness dragon Graphross.
However, the one that I made had a rather unruly temperament and looked down on me.
"My lord, may I ask to be the one to discipline this youngster?"
When I was wondering how I should deal with the dragon, Wight unexpectedly passed by and then volunteered himself to rectify the darkness dragon.
Needless to say, I was grateful.
"Youre both dragons so you might understand each other better. In that case, sorry but please do take care of it."
"Certainly, my lord. I will make this one know its ce."
Wight then directed his gaze to the darkness dragon. That made the dragon feel something, made it shift its gaze between me and Wight.
"Now then, what are you trying to pull off by showing such disrespect to the supreme being that is our lord?"
Wight was angry.
His facial expression and tone didnt change but the atmosphere around him certainly did.
His calm demeanor made him scarier.
"KYUWAA!"
The Graphross roared as if to say it was the superior one.
It was an intimidation, a show of force.
Or at least it would have if not for thepleteck of vigor behind it. The dragon was visibly afraid of the power it instinctively sensed from Wight. It probably intended to push on regardless but it could not hide that deep in its heart, it had epted its defeat already and was just bluffing.
"Hush, brat."
Wight sinctly informed it so.
With just that, the Graphross took a few steps backward. With each step the Graphross took, Wight effortlessly took two to close in.
When Wight had closed in enough that he was almost face to face with the darkness dragon, it began to tremble.
"Now then, I suppose well begin with teaching you just whom youve challenged."
The next moment after Wight said that, overwhelming power swelled from within him.
Even I who was used to the girls power levels was shocked by his disy. Moreover, miasma that was death itself flowed out of him. He had released an aura that would freeze any onlookers soul.
With [Berserk] no longer being held back, Wight revealed his true form as a Siegwurm, the darker-than-ck dragon of death. He was a size smaller than the Graphross but his power far exceeded thetters.
He was the very embodiment of death; it felt like even the air surrounding him was dying.
At any rate, he locked on to the Graphross with his blood-red, malefic eyes.
In the next moment however, he ced a foreleg atop the newly born dragons head. Yes, ced, without any real forcewhether physical, magical or otherwisebehind the act. A simple pat in the head.
Normally, doing such a thing would produce nothing but...
"Kyuu, kyuu, Kyuuooon"
The darkness dragon turned itself over, made a pleading whimper, and showed its belly. It became fully submissive. It wasnt a proud dragon anymore, just a dog begging its master.
In the meantime, Wight reverted back to his demi-human form.
"My lord, its discipline isplete. This should be the veryst instance this young one would be so rude towards you."
He said so and smiled at me.
"Thanks for taming it. I really appreciate it since the darkness dragons are going to be the backbone of the aerialbat unit which in turn will be used in quite a few strategies."
It wasnt just to Wight, the Graphross became fully obedient to me as well. With that, I was able to count it among our forces.
"This is a rather good monster, my lord. Quite convenient."
"Im relieved that you, a strategist, say so."
"It might have been unruly until a while ago but it is highly intelligent. More so than a human, Id wager. Furthermore, while it is a dragon, it is also ssified as an undead which means that it will benefit from my special ability."
When Wight was reborn, one of the special abilities he gained was called [Ruler of Death] which had the effect of greatly strengthening undead monsters under Wightsmand.
"That sure is reassuring. With its high base stats and your special ability, itll probably beparable to a low-tier A rank in most circumstances."
Given that its race was a kind of dragon, it had high stats. Perhaps, among B rank monsters, they were one of the strongest.
Race: Darkness Dragon Graphross
B rank
Level: 58
Physical Strength: A
Endurance: A
Agility: A
Magic: B
Luck: B
Special: B
Skills:
Darkness Dragon
Miasma (Weak)
Deadly poison
Fear
Darkness Dragon: Able to use magic and breath attacks of the darkness attribute. Physical Strength and Endurance receive enhancements (small). Bonuses (medium) to the skill-holders flying capabilities.
Miasma (Weak): ds the user in miasma (weak) that adds damage to his attacks. Gives bonuses (medium) to Endurance as well as magical resistance.
Deadly poison: ds ws and fangs with a deadly poison.
Fear: Grants weakening effect (medium) against all enemies lower than A rank.
Both its stats and special abilities were great. It was an extremely excellent monster.
And then, I had an idea. Sometimeter, well extract poison from these dragons. Poison that are gonna be used in weapons and some products.
"Wight, I n on creating nine more darkness dragons. I was thinking of leaving themand of them to you but is that fine with you?"
"Of course, my lord. With 10 of this monster, we should be able to defeat most enemies with ease. My lord, how do you n to make use of them?"
"First is to make them take over the aerial bombardment which until now is being done by the Griffon and Hippogriffs. Unlike them though, the darkness dragons will not require the elves to clear a path for them; they can gain air superiority on their own and can drop powerful bombs on the enemy army right from the start."
To be able to speedily bombard the enemies on the ground after eliminating the ones in the sky by themselves, that is their greatest strength.
"Thats certainly true. If they use the napalm bombs right at the start of battle, our side would gain an overwhelming advantage. To be able to safely and reliably execute that is really reassuring."
"And thats not all. Im also intending for these dragons to transport the Avalon-Ritters."
It could be said that this would be their more important job.
"I intend to make them carry a container filled with about 10 Avalon-Ritters and drop that container down on the enemys base. I want this to be a new standard tactic of ours."
Upon hearing my words, Wight gasped. I took that as an indication that he fully understood me.
"As expected of my lord, to be able to think up of such an amazing thing. In essence, we would be able to rapidly send outrge amounts of fighting force of A-rank-equivalent units to any ce at any time. .........That is revolutionary. We will be able to pretty much ignore the enemys defenses andunch a surprise attack in the center of their formation."
The Avalon-Ritters were made of the light-weight metal orichalcum but due to their size, each one was heavy. Too heavy, in fact, that it was impossible for the Hippogriffs to transport many of them at a time.
Such was not the case for the Graphross, however.
If we could pull this off, the way wars were fought would most likely change; mobility would be the most important factor.
"Bombardment and transport, those will be darkness dragons duties. I leave theirmand and training to you, Wight. Use as much real explosives as you see fit for the training. As for the transportation training, you may make use of any golems other than those made of mithril and transport them outside of Avalon in a container I would have the Dwarf Smiths make. For anything else necessary, you have my every permission."
"Yes, my lord. I will definitely present to you the strongest aerialbat corps."
Wight said so and very elegantly bowed.
Originally, I nned to be the one to do the training but since he was conveniently there, I entrusted it to him. More than that, since he could strengthen the darkness dragons, I had decided that it would be better for him to be theirmander.
In reply to him I nodded to indicate my satisfaction. I then bought the other nine dragons with almost all of my remaining DP and entrusted all of them to Wight.
As a side note, one of newly born dragons immediately protested to which the very first one only looked at thetter with eyes filled with pity.
"Ill leave the rest to you then."
"Certainly, my lord."
I left the ce and headed toward Kohaku the Byakko.
Before I settled on any kind of defenses to prevent the leak of information or on what my intelligence-gathering monster is going to be, I first needed to know more about intelligence-gathering monsters themselves.
I was certain that in the middle of my talk with Byakko, I would be able to get some kind of insight.
Volume 4 10
After I entrusted Wight with the darkness dragons, I went to Auras orchard to talk with Kohaku on the topic of spy monsters.
Kohaku was a seasoned veteran so I thought there was a good chance he was well-informed about the topic.
After some walking, I finally reached where he was resting and that ce was somewhere near the First Tree in the innermost part of the orchard.
There, I found Aura holding her hands over Kohaku while beads of sweat formed in her forehead.
In the meanwhile, Kohaku had his eyes closed. It was almost as though he was dreaming. Even though he was big, he still had that soothing cuteness peculiar to cats.
As I neared, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Oh, master. Wee. Ive already heard of your request."
Kohaku informed me so with a somewhat drowsy voice. It seemed Aura had properly ryed my message.
"Thatll make things easier. But anyway, the reason Im here today is to ask you about intelligence gathering."
"Hmm, I dont really mind but can it wait for a little bit? Auras treatment feels so pleasant, it almost makes me want to sleep. Besides, stopping now will only mean doing it all over again. This girl wont look it and will justply without ever frowning but since I know how dedicated she is in healing me and how precise that process is, I just cant bring myself to ask her to do it all over again."
"I dont mind, really. We cant let master wait."
Aura seemed like she was about to stop her work.
"Its alright, Aura. Carry on with the treatment. Your top priority right now is to heal Kohaku. Dying it will not do."
"Yes, certainly, master!"
Aura cheerfully nodded and returned to her work which was the continuous transfer of both magic power and vital energy to Kohaku. It was a process that was done to counteract the miasma that had gotten inside him.
After about five minutes like that, she slowly withdrew her hands.
"Kohaku-san, that concludes our session for today. Well continue this tomorrow. Please dont forget to eat the golden apple."
"Even if you dont tell me to, those are apples are so delicious, Im still gonna. That said, I want some meat in my meal though. If I eat too much of the thieves and lessen their strength upon their resurrection, Wight surely wont let me hear the end of it. Its such a hassle."
Kakaka, Kohakuughed.
It seemed like apple thieves still kept oning despite the risks.
"You want some meat? Then, I guess as thanks for your valuable knowledge, Ill have some delivered to youter. Which do you prefer, raw or cooked meat?"
"Hmm, Ill go with a thick slice done rare. Dont forget to season an ample amount of salt, now. Thats simply the best."
I almostughed at his human-like request. It was a little surprising that even though hes a tiger, he still preferred to have cooked meals.
"Understood. Ill have it brought to youter."
"Mm, I look forward to it. Well then, you wanted to know about intelligence gathering but I wonder where I should begin."
He then began to think. To advance the conversation, I decided to speak up.
"I would like to first know how an intruder has gone unnoticed by my monsters, monsters like Kuina and Aura who have good sensing capabilities."
Aura is capable of gathering information of everything within a radius of a few kilometers that has wind. Due to that, I had regrly asked her to confirm whether or not a dangerous being had gotten into our city. Even if they were humans, so long as they had strong magic power, they were to be reported.
In addition, I had also asked Kuina who was often with me to tell me if she ever felt a suspicious presence. To be able to effectively gather information, the other party would have needed to be somewhere near to me, the central point of information. However, should they ever cast their focus toward me, Kuinawhose presence sensing capabilities isnt anything to scoff atwould immediately notice.
"Hmm, very well. First of all, when talking about first ss monsters, theyre able topletely prevent their magic power from leaking out. If theres no magic power leaking out, appearances aside, they will be indistinguishable from humans."
"Im aware of that. But even if thats the case, if they are often near, either Kuina or Aura would surely have noticed that there are humans acting strangely. Ive asked but the both of them said there was none."
All the more reason for me to be wary.
"Then, the answer is simple. There is a monster here that has an ability that lets him gather intelligence without even needing to be near."
Kohaku nonchntly said it like that.
"You dont seem to have understood so Ill give you an example: there are monsters that can synchronize their consciousness with the birds and insects. I knew someone that can even synch with a flea. You, Aura, and Kuina, wouldnt go so far as to be vignt against fleas, now would you? Anyway, a small amount of magic power leaks out when establishing a path to their target but once thats established, their magic power would bepletely undetected from thereon."
"......I have overlooked that."
I had been wary only of humans and monsters that got near. I couldnt afford to pay attention to each and every insect that had no magic power flowing within them, after all.
"Additionally, there are also monsters with incredibly good hearing. These guys will be able to pick up any sound within a kilometer in the same dungeon room. So if they conceal their magic power and themselves, they would go unnoticed. After all, they just strain their ears as they go on their daily routines to gain intelligence."
"There are even monsters like that, huh."
There was no way to recognize the enemy and its patterns since they would not behave suspiciously at all.
"There are still some more. There are monsters that can hide themselves in another dimension and from there, make a window which they can use to peep. In a sense these would be considered the strongest. With their ability, they can peep and listen in as much as they want from that other dimension. If their enemy didnt have any dimension maniption ability themselves, these monsters will not be discovered and that enemy is pretty much done for. Although, they do have their faults such as it is hard for them to make their peeping windows on a ce that has a magic barrier around it."
"...theyre the strongest kind, huh. Or rather, in terms of performing surprise attacks, theirs go way beyond fair, right?"
On ces they could construct their peeping window, they could observe from any which one and appear from there as well if needed.
I knew of only one such monster: Marchos [Monster of the Covenant].
To make me realize my naivety before heading out to the Demon Lord Pce, she made her Covenant Monsters attack me.
During that, one monster suddenly appeared from my shadow. He looked and felt like a ninja but it might be better to say his ability fell under the ssification of dimension maniption.
"Have I been staring at the answer all along?"
I cursed inwardly. Marcho had definitely showed that monsters ability to test me and yet, despite that, I only connected the dots thiste. So stupid, I thought as I pitied myself.
There was a high chance, I thought, that the monster she used to spy on me was either that one or the ones two ranks under it that she became able to buy when she made the former.
"Thank you. You have been greatly helpful. I guess what I should do now is to erect a barrier not only at my residence but also at Roronos workshop. Ill also ask Aura to periodically suck out all the air in the important ces so that all living creatures trapped in there will be killed. Additionally, Ill prohibit everyone from speaking about sensitive information except when theyre in apletely soundproof room. Thatll be enough for now, I guess."
"Hmm, thats a really pragmatic response. However, that will only deal with the monsters Ive mentioned. Moreover, if the barriers are too weak or if the enemy is too strong, they can just brute force the barrier and bring it down."
"For the first point, we can only do so much but we must do it nheless. For yourtter point, it doesnt really matter since if brute force was indeed used, we would know that there is something strange going on and be alerted to the presence of a monster that has a dimension maniption ability."
Kohaku nodded as though he was satisfied with my answer, much like a teacher would at his student.
"Ah, you really are smart. Really worthy of my service."
"Im happy that you say that. And, Ill be relying on you more from now on, Kohaku."
"Yeah, Im almost fully recovered too."
"Good, thats encouraging. Can I ask a question though? Have you ever thought of wanting to return by your former masters side? Your master before [Steel], I mean."
"I most certainly have. I have thought of my beloved former master, my importantrades, and my subordinates who look up to me."
Kohaku nonchntly said so.
"My former master has deemed it necessary that I be the one to be sent to test you. In the moment he gave me that order, I guess he had already predicted my defeat and death. No, he might have even foresaw that I woulde to serve you. ...that is perfectly usible for him. But if that is so, being here and serving you, I cant consider it other than my destiny."
He really had faith for his former master. For that reason, I hade to a decision.
"As we agreed upon, I will not ask you to tell me anything about your former master but if by chance I run into him and wee into a negotiation, I intend to trade you back, for favorable terms, of course."
"That, wouldnt that be unnecessary?"
"I think that it is necessary for I can see that your heart yearns for your former master. And if that really is so, I think it would be for your best interest that you be with him. I would lose you but as I said, it wont be for charity; I intend to get as much as is taken."
"Kakaka, you really are interesting. I might someday truly, from the bottom of my heart, admire you as my master. If that happens, Ill ask that those negotiations be stopped."
"Oh please do. If your heart truly belongs to me, I will absolutely never let you go. I value you not only for your abilities and knowledge but also for your character."
Kohaku and I bothughed.
With that, my task there wasplete.
"Kohaku, Aura, I have decided that for the next monster to be made with [Creation], it will one with the ability to manipte dimensions."
"Thats great! After all, even I cant deal with enemies that are in another dimension."
Auramented so.
Under the assumption that monster that can manipte dimensions can only be dealt with one that can do the same, we were truly in deadly situation. It was though an unseen dagger was being pressed against our throats.
With that decided, all that was left was to figure out how to make that monster.
What medals should I use, I wondered. ...dont I have one closely rted to other dimensions, I then suddenly thought. The identity of that medal was...
"Ill be going now. Thank you, Kohaku, Aura."
In order to not forget the thoughts in my head as well as to examine them further, I headed back home.
And so, I looked forward to monster that I was going to make next.
That then reminded me of the only [Creation] medal I traded away. I wonder how it was used, I thought.
The one I traded it to was the [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian, one of the strongest Demon Lords still alive.
I then wondered just how strong a monster could be when my [Creation] medal was used to its fullest potential by him.
That being said, it was still only one medal. Whereas I had four S rank monsters beginning with Kuina. I have nothing to fear, I thought.
Volume 4 11
Ten days had passed after I talked with Kohaku.
During that interval, we had erected a barrier around my house and Roronos workshop.
Constructing arrays for such barrier was a specialty of Aura. Unlike an obstruction that would vanish instantly, this barrier needed tost indefinitely. Because of that though, its performance were several levels lower.
If an A rank monster were to break this barrier, he would most likely seed. However, just the fact that we could we alerted to the presence of a being capable of breaking it alone was more than enough.
Furthermore, the materials of the buildings were changed to ones that had the highest soundproofing. These new materials were developed by Rorono, of course.
For the meantime, such was our counter-intelligence measures.
I had also prohibited any conversation regarding important matters outside of my residence and Roronos workshop.
By the way, I didnt bother to conceal the aerialbat corps because there was no real way topletely hide them anyway. Besides, they had to be trained to be of actual use.
"Weve somehow finished setting up the barriers as well as reconstructing the buildings."
"Yes, we did great!"
"The Dwarf Smiths have also grown a fair bit."
I looked at Aura and Rorono who both did improvements to my residence and gave them a satisfied nod. Aura built the barriers herself. As for Rorono, she had developed the materials that were used for the sound-proofing but entrusted the rest to the Dwarf Smiths, only toe by asionally to check up and give further instructions to the apprentices.
To Rorono, her most important job at the moment was the mass production of the Avalon-Ritters and that therefore took priority above all others.
For the moment though, that goal was still quite far away off from realization. It seemed that establishing a stable synchronization between the two cores involved was causing her difficulties. Nevertheless, it seemed like her progress on her continued research had lowered the bar enough for her to be able make a total of three Avalon-Ritters. To have been able to make three A-rank-equivalent units alone was worthy of praise.
"Im really grateful to the two of you. Thank you. With this, we have made gathering information from us much harder to do."
What we did was but the bare minimum in terms of counter-intelligence and was far from perfect.
To solve itpletely, we needed a monster specialized in intelligence-gathering and to have that, I needed a [Creation] medal.
Unfortunately, I wouldnt be able to produce another [Creation] medal until a few dayster. As soon as I could though, I n on making the new monster.
"Im d to be of help to master."
"Me too. If theres anything else you need me to do, please dont hesitate to ask."
Rorono and Aura proudly said so.
"Here are your rewards."
By using my [Creation] ability, I made sweets that were still notmon to this worldif they ever existed at alland handed it to the two. I also handed to Rorono the Dwarf Smiths shares.
"Woaaaahhh, a cake roll with lots of fluffy cream. Its also full of fruits I havent seen before."
"The Dwarf Smiths will be delighted. Thank you, master."
It isnt often that I gave them special rewards that could only be made through [Creation] so the two were greatly pleased.
But then, I suddenly felt as though someone was looking at us. I looked but saw nothing... or so I had thought until I noticed a tailand nothing moresticking out of the wall. It was a lovely and fluffy fox tail. It was definitely Kuinas.
Shes probably curious about us, I thought. I then remembered that she was troubled before over the fact that she wasnt able to contribute much outside ofbat. Taking that and the current scene, I worried she might feel some kind ofplex and decided that I should follow up on her sometimeter.
"Now, lets all go back to our jobs, okay?"
"Understood, master. Lets give it our all."
"Mhm. Im going to try my hardest to be able to present to you the mass-produced Avalon-Ritters."
The two nodded and then left.
The counter-intelligence measures werent the only ones we were able to aplish within thest ten days:
Aura had finally cured Kohakupletely.
The darkness dragons training, conducted by Wight, was going well.
Kuina had been leveling up the new Mythological Foxes, Dwarf Smiths, and High Elves.
Roronos research still wasntplete yet but her goal was now a few steps nearer.
I mustnt lose to my subordinates, I thought as I began my work as their leader.
Today, I was scheduled to meet with a top executive of apany.
For them to expressly ask for a meeting itself was a big issue.
I have to brace myself, I thought as I did my office work. And then, a visitor arrived.
One of the Mythological Foxes assigned to be a maid in my home had guided a gentleman of good build.
Even among thepanies that did business in our city, his was among the most prominent. He was Relic, the representative of the Relic Company.
I have to brace myself, I reminded myself again.
"Procell-san, sorry for expressly asking you to make time for me today."
"No, dont mind it. Knowing Relic-san, its most probably a matter that needs urgent attention. Even I would like to have more information as soon as possible."
Nobody knew the importance of time better than a merchant. They understood and valued it. So for him to ask for this meeting, there was no way I could have refused.
"Im relieved to hear you say so. The reason I imposed on you this time is because of the neighboring city. Frankly, they have been harassing us merchants who are going to Avalon."
I see, so they decided to be roundabout, I thought as I grimaced.
As of the moment, Avalon couldnt in any way stand on its own. Merchants buy a considerable amount of goods from the neighboring city and sell it here. If the taxes imposed on them were to increase, so too did the cost they had to shoulder and if their profits became so small they almost didnt profit at all, they would withdraw from Avalon. If that happens, the standard of living here in Avalon would decrease all at once.
"We merchants are obligated to pay tariffs and admission fees whenever we go into a city. And when we exit, we are only inspected to see if we have any goods that are prohibited from being exported among our stocks. If we are cleared, we are allowed to exit without paying for any kind of tax. That is the standard affair."
The tax system differed depending on the city but as for the neighboring city, only the tariff on the iing goods and the admission tax for entering the city were the only two fees.
Of course, living there would also incur other taxes but for merchants who didnt have any store, those were the only two fees that they needed to be concerned with.
"But now, theyve also imposed a fee whenever youre exiting the city, am I right?"
"Exactly. Our carriages that are heading out to Avalon are being asked to pay a fee equal to that of the tariff we pay when entering a city. That effectively doubles the tariff we have to pay."
"Thats not good."
"Yes, it isnt. Thankfully, theres no tariff in Avalon so that somehow offsets it but we as merchants cant help but feel a decrease in our enthusiasm. We are still in the ck at the momentalbeit just barelybut that will not always be the case. And so, I ask that something be done about it as soon as possible."
Such was the harassment of the neighboring city.
I was still continuing to stall for time regarding their offer of being under their rule. They kept sending several letters demanding my decision but instead, I only answered that I needed more time. However, this event would indicate that I was starting to run out of time that I could buy.
"Can you use another exit out of that city and then use an alternative route to go to Avalon? If I lend you some strong golems to pull your carriages, poor roads shouldnt be an issue."
"If its only a matter of whether we can or cant, we can. However, ourpanies are based on that city. If we were by chance found out to be evading tax, it will bring ruin to us. So although we physically can, wed rather not."
"I see your point."
He replied as I expected.
Now, how do I proceed, I asked myself. If I didnt do anything, the merchants would lose faith in me. My deteriorating rtionship with the neighboring city was already exposed to them. In fact, there were many of them that were already considering of pulling out of Avalon.
Immediately making up with the other city and stopping these harassments were the ideal solutions but such were not possible. Now, being the merchants that they are, they should have thought that such speedy resolutions were impossible as well. If so, their goal then would probably be to recover some of their losses.
"I understand that this discord with the neighboring city is my fault so I shall deal with it."
"Thats reassuring but how exactly are you going to deal with it?"
Merchants were very perceptive about the flow of money so they should have an idea of the amount of tax being collected in Avalon. Given that, they knew I had money and hence this meeting.
Besides, there were many reasons why they remained even though they could have left without any notice.
One such reason was that Avalon still remained a lucrative market.
The customers here were generous, the taxes cheap, the security great.
Since they were still gaining profits, they were reluctant on leaving.
So, if they could make me give as much money as the profits theyve lost, they would be perfectly happy to conduct business as normal.
"Avalon willpensate for these unwarranted taxes... is what I would have liked to say but that will not really help with anything; it would be like putting out arge fire with a ss of water. So instead, Im proposing a means to procure products from other cities without ever stopping at that one."
"It would be great if we could but that city is the southernmost city of the empire; we cant get to the other cities without going through that one. The mountain paths also have checkpoints in them, after all."
"Thats if were only talking aboutnd routes."
"Yes but you cant be suggesting we make use of water routes, can you? For one, there arent any."
"Youre not thinking grandly enough, high enough. What Im proposing is what if you can transport your goods using the sky which belongs to no one?"
Compensating them with same amount of additional tariff would only cause an increase in the tax collected.
Why do that when there was a better, more direct way to tackle the issue.
On the other hand, a more direct method might anger the merchants.
To begin with, I was of the thought that we were going to war with the neighboring city anyway so we shouldnt rely on them anymore. In whatever case though, our economy needed to be independent.
To that end, I proposed the use of the sky to transport goods collected from all other ces without ever going through the neighboring city.
Upon hearing me, the merchant was wide-eyed, ck-jawed, and desperately shaking his head.
"The sky? Is such a thing possible? But if ever it is..."
The delivery of goods through the air is, in a sense, the apex of all deliveries.
In this age, each time a caravan passes through a town or checkpoint, taxes are imposed on the goods. By the time the goods reach its intended market, their prices would have skyrocketed.
One of the major reasons port cities were so prosperous was that most goods thate into their city arrived by way of the sea and had therefore less chances of taxes being imposed on the goodspared to deliveries viand routes.
However, through air travel, merchants would be able to procure their goods directly from the source thus making their prices cheap. It was superior to sea transport. After all, one could easily procure goods even from cities and viges that didnt have any body of water near them. It also had the advantage of taking the shortest route to the source of the goods without minding the terrain.
Its disadvantage however was that against sea transport where buoyancy yed a part, one couldnt transport as much volume as before.
"Procell-san, if such a thing truly is possible, it would bring about a revolution. ...it will be more valuable than a ton of gold. The goods that until now we had to give up on getting due to the cost not being worth it, or the ones whose freshness we couldnt maintain... if what you say is possible, tens, hundreds of deals like that will bepleted easily."
"I assure you that as long as Avalon is involved, it is entirely possible to use the sky to travel. Im aware that some of you merchants already know about Avalons deteriorating rtionship with the neighboring city and that some of you are thinking of leaving this ce. I have no intentions of holding any of you back."
The merchant gasped.
I had no time for half-measures; I wanted a n for when our rtionship with the neighboring city turns into a hostile one.
"But I did prepare this to make your stay hereeven at the cost of leaving the other cityworthwhile. I dont expect you to take my word for it though so Ill just demonstrate it for you. Ill need time to prepare it but in the afternoon of two dayster, it will be ready. Please spread the word to as many merchants as you can. You guys are fortunate. Fortunate to be the very first merchants in the world to have conquered the skies."
He gasped once again.
"The first merchants in the world... to conquer the skies... that sounds marvelous."
"Yes, it does. And as you know, pioneers of any kind tend to gain the greatest profits."
"Thats certainly true. Very well then, Procell-san, I look forward to your demonstration two dayster."
It seemed like the Hippogriffs turn hade sooner than I had originally expected. Although they failed to satisfy the new requirement of transporting ten orichalcum golems to be part of our air force, they were more than strong enough for the merchants.
Ifbined with the implement made by Rorono, they should be able to transport via the sky half the amount a regr carriage could.
And so, I began to ready them to work the work that the Darkness Dragons wouldnt be able to do.
Volume 4 12
Two days after I had met with Relic, the representatives of all thepanies that had opened business here in Avalon had gathered in a meeting room within my residence.
The masters of thesepanies were normally not around and entrusted the operation of their businesses to their subordinates but for this meeting, even they were present.
The appeal of using the sky to travel was so great that I thought it wouldnt have been surprising if these merchants hurried here using the fastest horses they had as soon as they heard about my proposal.
I could sympathize with them though since aside from not being overly burdened with taxes, they would have ess to the fastest mode of transportation and thus gain as much profit as possible.
Even its downside which was the less volume per trip could be worked around so long as one transported light but highly valuable goods such as spiceswhich were considered valuable in this worldand jewelry.
When it neared the expected time and I saw that the number of people gathered neared the expected amount, I decided to begin and stood up.
"Hello everyone. I have exined it before to the master of the Relicpany but let me do so again: the delivery of goods through the sky is now made possible here in our city of Avalon. I would like to provide this service to all that had contributed greatly to Avalon. By that I mean only to those that have opened a store here in Avalon."
Their eyes all gathered on me. These were all influential people who managed their ownpanies and as to be expected of their stares, it held quite the force. It would be an exaggeration to say theirs wouldnt lose out to any lower nobles stare.
"I wouldnt dare to waste anyones time so let me demonstrate to you all how exactly you are going to conquer the skies. Please follow me."
The merchants agreed and followed me somewhere outside of Avalon.
The ce I guided the merchants to was an open field that wasnt a part of my dungeon anymore. Over there, we found some Dwarf Smiths and the Hippogriffs they were taking care of.
A Hippogriff was a monster that had the body of a horseonly a sizergerand a head that seemed like an eagles.
Seeing those monsters, the merchants were frozen in ce.
I then wondered how worse their reactions could have gotten if these were perhaps the Darkness Dragons. Considering that the dragons special ability, Fear, was constantly being released, I had guessed that there were two likely oues: if were lucky, the merchants would simply faint; if were not, their mental health would be severely affected.
"Please be at ease, everyone. These are all very well trained creatures. If you werent aware, Avalon is a city where demi-humans persecuted everywhere else havee to gather. Among those children, one girl was from a vige where the training of these Hippogriffs was popr. And so, I present to you the Hippogriffs expertly tamed and trained by that girl. Aside from being obedient, these creatures are capable of understanding human speech. I assure you they are far easier and safer to use than horses."
Upon hearing me, the merchants hesitantly approached the Hippogriffs.
And then, one of them dared to pat one of the creatures in the head. The said Hippogriff then reacted by narrowing its eyes and raising a voice that suggested that it was pleased.
The merchants that saw that then one after the other patted the Hippogriffs and smiled.
It seemed like they had ustomed themselves sooner than I had initially predicted.
Other than the Hippogriffs, we had also prepared what would appear like carriages but with no tires and that had some kind of implement attached to it.
That was a smaller version of what was to be used for the transportation of the Avalon-Ritters.
"Now then, everyone, you might have already guessed it but the means of transport that I am proposing is going to be achieved by letting these guys fly and pull these cargo carriers. Its as simple as that."
One of the merchants raised his hand and requested permission to ask a question.
I urged him to go on and then listened to him.
"How much is its maximum carry load?"
"Those cargo carriers can hold up to 500 Kg."
Considering horse-drawn carriages could carry a thousand kilograms, the 500Kg load capacity was small. Topensate for that, however, was the Hippogriffs and their ability to fly.
"Do those monsters have enough strength to carry that?"
"Yes, they are monsters, after all, so despite what their appearance might suggest, they are incredibly strong. No horse could ever hope topete with them."
That said, I myself was a little dissatisfied with them. To be a part of the aerialbat corps, they needed to be able to transport 10 Avalon-Ritters at a high speed. If they could only carry 500 kilograms, that would mean they could only carry up to two Avalon-Ritters at a time whereas the Darkness Dragons could carry ten and were still faster.
"How fast are they?"
"Under no load, they could fly somewhere around 300 kilometers in one hour. If under full load, somewhere around 200 kilometers in an hour. It can go on flying without rest for two hours and if a half-hour break is taken afterwards, it can do three two-hour trips. However, if you do try to maximize and make three two-hour trips, please let it rest for six hours afterwards."
The merchants were so astonished, they left their mouths hang open.
It was a perfectly natural response though considering that horses were far slower. Even on a well-paved road, they would still take an hour to cover 15 kilometers. On a poorly-paved road, they would be lucky to cover 10 kilometers. To add further insult to injury, if they were to gallop for an hour, they would have to take a rest after that. The most it could travel in a day was somewhere around 50 kilometers.
But whenpared to the Darkness Dragons, the Hippogriffs were the far slower ones: the dragons, while carrying 10 Avalon-Ritters, could travel at the speed of sound.
"Their maximum load capacity may be half of a horse-drawn carriage but to make up for it, these guys, under full load, can cover in an hour the distance that would take the horses four days to traverse. Or, put in a grander scale, they will be able to fly through a months worth of distance in a days time. Moreover, since they are using the sky, they follow shortest and most direct path possible which makes them all the more efficient. Up there, theres no need to worry about obstacles, poorly paved roads, or even bandits."
Upon hearing the details, they wracked their brains with their calctions. For all I know, they could have thought of more advantages to the Hippogriffs that even I failed to imagine.
"What?"
"Thats... amazing"
"Hiring adventurers to guard the horse-drawn carriages, taking days... these will soon be things of the past."
"I definitely want it! Oh, all the profit I can get!"
The eyes of all the merchants changed hue to reflect their fascination with the Hippogriffs.
And then, one of them spoke out.
"I have noints with all of those specifications, Im happy even, but are they truly andpletely safe? That is the only thing that concerns me. In the first ce, how can I make it listen to what I say?"
"That is a very valid concern. Then, why dont we actually procure a product? Is there anybody here who was nning to procure something from a ce within four days worth of travelling? Together with me, we can get to that ce within an hour if we use the Hippogriff."
As to be expected, there was no one readily epting of something that was quite unknown.
When I worried that I might have pushed too hard, one of the merchants raised his hand. He was Relic, the representative of the Relic Company whom I met with two days prior.
Of course its him, I thought. He was special even among the merchants. He was both decisive and courageous. He was also one of the very first ones to operate in Avalon as well as one of the highest grossing ones.
"Then, Ill go. I was thinking of wanting to be the very first one to experience this anyway. Ive got just the right ce too. In the mountains, there lies a vige that grows the cows that give the highest quality beef. But since its in the mountains and doesnt have any great roads that lead to it, buying the meat is troublesome, to say the least. Via the sky, however, things should get far easier."
"Understood. Lets go there, then."
And so, I had the merchant Relic seated into a Hippogriff. The harness he used was something that was made by the Dwarf Smiths. Their craftsmanship might be inferior to an Elder Dwarf but their works were still far superior to any humans work.
Metal snap hooks were also attached to prevent the rider from falling in the case he let go of his grip.
"To everyone staying behind, these girls will be discussing how to ride the Hippogriffs so please do give them your attention. If you have any questions or concerns, please dont hesitate to ask them. Once the discussion is over, feel free to head back. Im sure Relic-san will ry to you all his impressions on using the Hippogriffs as soon as he returns so please look forward to that."
The other merchants nodded and began to ask the Dwarf Smiths various questions.
I then turned toward Relic.
"Hoh, this feels quite pleasant to ride."
"Ill now attach the load carrier to the Hippogriff."
Upon saying so, I connected the snap hooks from the Hippogriffs harness to the carrier. After it made a clinking sound, it was done.
"Well then, lets go."
I then seated myself behind the merchant.
"How do I control it?"
"Your words will do. So long as the instructions are simple, they will understand and follow it. Firstly, please instruct it to fly."
"A-alright. Fly."
The Hippogriff issued a chirping sound and began to dash for a very short while to gain momentum and then jumped up. Its short dash pulled the cords attached to the carrier and, as it flew, so too did the carrier.
Hippogriffs were not creatures that flew through the use of wings. Rather, they flew through the use of magic power. That meant that wind was not as big as a factor to them.
Also, through special magic-power-conducting cords, magic ran through the carrier as well, causing them to be suspended in the air.
Like that, our air trip began.
"This... this is amazing! Haha! The wind feels good. The scenery looks great. Ahh. So this is the sky!"
The merchant was ecstatic and seemed to be enjoying our air trip.
The Hippogriffs ability pushed aside the iing wind so we didnt feel any coldness or strong wind pressure up there. It was an extremelyfortable ride.
That said, it was the merchants first time at a very high altitude so I thought he was going to be a little a little frightened.
I then waved my hand to the back.
The air shook as Aura flew and followed us using her wind magic. She also carried her anti-materiel rifle on her back.
Once again, the air shook but this time, it was for her to vanish from sight. She did so via her magic that allowed her to bend the visible light in her surroundings.
It was very rare for Demon Lords to send out their important fighting force outside of their dungeons. It was also extremely unlikely to be attacked up in the sky except under very special circumstances. At the moment though, I and my city were being targeted. So, just to be sure, I had Aura stealthily follow us to act us our guard.
"Relic-san, I dont know where our destination is so please instruct the Hippogriff about it. The basicmands you might want to say is for it to: gain or lose altitude; veer to the right or left; speed up or down; andnd. This child will still understand what you say so please dont hesitate issue itmands, even if they arent one of those Ive mentioned."
"What!? Its so easy to use then. This is the most enjoyable ride I have ever had. I dont think I can travel by horse ever again."
Still ecstatic, Relic instructed the Hippogriff. In return, it gave a clear response to his words and changed directions. Bemused by that, Relic kept giving it variousmands to which the Hippogriff honestly responded to.
And so, we reached the vige in the mountainswhich would have taken horses four days to travelin less than hour.
Relic then quickly traded with the vigers. He bought a cow; paid an additional fee for a quicker service; and loaded it along with dairy products into a cart he requested from the vigers.
"Hahaha! The shipping expenses used to always be many times higher than the cows themselves! I had to pay for the regr sries as well as the hazard pay of the coachmen and the guards for a roundtrip journey of ten days! All that however wont be need anymore! To be able to buy the highest quality beef for this low total price, its a miracle! Once we return, let my shop treat you to some of these for a price Im sure youll like. Ahh, what else should I use this miraculous transportation method on? Which should I buy? The jewels in the inds on other side of the sea? The spices in the south? Or maybe other specialty products from farawaynds that have too many checkpoints between here and there. My dreams have expanded!"
He truly was in a good mood as he watched the goods being loaded into the carrier.
If he was that ecstatic, I was sure his exnation to the other merchants about the charms of this method would be enthusiastic as well.
Once the loading was finished, we made our way back. Without even taking a total of three hours, we were able to return to Avalon with the carrier full of the highest quality beef.
As soon as we returned, the merchants flooded toward us.
It seemed like they were surprised that we returned in such a short time. Apparently, that vige was well-known among the merchants, so it would seem our record-breaking travel time conveyed just how amazing the Hippogriffs were.
Relic then talked to the other merchants and his excitement spread to them as well. When I noticed it, all the merchants before were there. When he finished talking, I took it as a good chance to give some goodst push.
"As you can see, the Hippogriffs have disyed immense potential in increasing the flow of goods. Currently, there are twenty Hippogriffs here in Avalon and that number is expected to increase in the future. The only requirement we seek is that you operate a shop here and that shops sales have surpassed a certain amount. We will be lending only one out to eachpany on a firste, first served basis."
I then informed them of the specific amount. Generally, the stores here could easily exceed that amount and thus clear my requirement but for stores that were more of a hobby, it might not be so easy.
This prevented fake stores from making use of the Hippogriffs.
"Also, the longest time you can rent a Hippogriff will be for four days. After four days have passed, wherever it may be, the Hippogriff will return to Avalon on its own so any attempts to steal it will be useless. No time extension will be given. The next reservation shall be the one prioritized so to use the service again, please queue up once more."
The merchants were allowed to do use the Hippogriffs in any transaction, even those that didnt involve Avalon, but only for a set amount of time. Even though the service is limited, they should still be able to gain more than enough profits.
It was important to force these merchants to periodically return to Avalon. After all, no merchant was stupid enough to return here with an empty load. That meant that upon their return, they would also bring back goods they were going to sell in Avalon.
And since I was basically requiring them to sell the products they returned with, those products they procured from all over the world would gather in Avalon.
Moreover, since our citys tariffs were so low it might as well have been free, it would drive the cost of their products to go lower than any other ce.
In summary, Avalon would be the best city in the world filled with the most number of fascinating products from all over the world that are offered at very cheap prices.
If all went well, the citys poption would grow many times over.
Such was my true purpose on introducing air travel via the Hippogriffs. ...that being said, there was still a lot to do before that is realized.
"Additionally, in the event you lose the carrier, you will be banned from using the Hippogriffs for a year. A fine of an amount depending on the severity of your fault will also be pressed on you."
To increase the load the Hippogriffs could carry even if only a little, the carriers were made of ultra-lightweight carbon developed by Rorono.
Even if it was purely a carrier and nothing more, it was still highly valuable. Unless I made it clear now, some would probably try to sell it elsewhere.
"And so, that concludes todays introduction to the Hippogriffs. From tomorrow onwards, we will begin lending out the Hippogriffs so, to all whose earnings forst month have already exceeded our required amount, please do give them a try. To those that didnt clear our requirement, note that this appraisal will be done each month so do aim to improve your sales to be able to make use of this service next month. Well then, if youll excuse me."
After that speech, I left the ce.
All that was left was to see what course of action the merchants were going to take. At the very least, I thought it unlikely that they were going to pull out of Avalon for the moment.
Nevertheless, the neighboring citys harassments had begun.
The day that theypletely get tired of waiting on us would soone, I suspected.
Once Iplete my needed pieces though, were rock solid.
"Finally, only three more days."
After three more days, I would have obtained the final piece I needed: a [Creation] medal.
Or more precisely, a spy monster made using my [Creation] medal.
I had made Kuina with Fire, Rorono with Earth, and Aura with Wind. For the next monster, I would havepleted the Four Great Elements by making a monster using the Water medal.
"Im so excited for it. Though I just hope the next monster would be a good kid like Kuina and the others."
I smiled as I made my way back.
Volume 4 13
"The final notice, huh."
As I ate breakfast, I read the letter that was sent early in the morning by the neighboring citys lord. I couldnt help but smile wryly at its content.
"Oto-san, whats wrong?"
Kuina the Celestial Fox tilted her head and asked me that question. There were some mayonnaise at the corner of mouth as she did so and it was so cute.
Aura took a liking to the handmade mayonnaise I prepared back then to kill some time and had since be a staple on our dining table.
I dont even know why I made the mayonnaise but it felt as though the world itself waspelling me to do so.
"Before that, Kuina, you have some mayonnaise on the corner of your mouth."
"Oto-san, wipe it off."
She then purposely stood up and walked over to me while merrily shaking her fox tail.
Even though it would have been much faster if she did it herself, I thought as I smiled a little.
"There."
"Thanks, Oto-san"
When I wiped the mayonnaise off of her with my hand and then licked it, Kuina smiled.
"Buu."
When I turned my eyes to the front, I caught sight of Rorono. I then noticed the thick patch of mayonnaise on her mouth and her unmoving gaze on me.
Yeah, I know what shes up to.
To tell the truth, the most spoiled kid wasnt Kuina but rather Rorono.
Add in that she was too shy to say anything and it was just too cute.
Nheless, it had to be done, I thought, as I decided to wipe the patch of mayonnaise. Before I could though...
"Rorono-chan, thats poor manners."
The blond and stylish Aura hugged Rorono from behind and then wiped off the mayonnaise with a piece of cloth.
At that, Rorono made aplicated face. When I looked at Auras facial expression, I was confident that was her desired result. She asionally did this sort of mischievous things to enjoy the various faces Rorono made in response.
"Rorono, theres still some left."
"Mhm, thanks, master."
I wiped off the mayonnaise that Aura left unwiped. I believed she did so on purpose to see both Roronos disappointed and delighted faces and thus have twice the fun.
As for Rorono, her cheeks slightly reddened as she gave a pleased nod.
With that carefree atmosphere, we continued with our breakfast. Demon Lords and monsters needed only to feed on the mana in the air and on the emotions of humans. We dont to eat food but it provided usfort and nourishment to the mind.
In a sense, not being troubled with the provisions is a strength of ours.
"Lets go back to our previous topic. If you remember, some time ago, soldiers came to Avalon. ording to the letter, to make sure we fall in line quickly, their leader is sending out another group of soldiers. If we seem like were stalling for more time, those soldiers will demonstrate force."
Todays toast was delicious and the cheese on top of it was great as well. Further on top of that were the pieces of tomato that, up until recently, couldnt at all be gotten fresh here in Avalon and they went really great with the cheese.
After the introduction of air transportation, more and more cheap and delicious products had begun to show up here in Avalon.
We were already popr with the adventurers before but now, even non-adventurers were beginning to flock to our city to buy and eat rare and great goods at a cheap price.
As the number of people increase, so too did the DP I earned. And as the quality of life increases, so too did quality of each individuals emotions.
I, a Demon Lord who fed on human emotions, felt so full of power.
"Do those humans want to challenge Oto-san and die? Or rather be killed by Kuina?"
"It wont be long until they run out of patience; just a bit more and we can show them their ce."
"Now, now, Kuina-chan, Rorono-chan, negligence is the greatest enemy. Their foolish heads have thought up various things and some of those just might bring us down if were not careful."
Aura reprimanded both Kuina and Rorono.
I smiled a little as I thought that my monsters, as ever, regarded the humans as the inferior beings, mocking them, even. Although given that they were monsters and overwhelmingly strong S rank monsters at that, such couldnt be helped, I thought.
In truth, Avalon is often visited by first-ss adventurers who are barely as powerful as B rank monsters and so we had an idea of just how strong humans could be. And if were talking about these three girls, it wouldnt even take them 3 seconds to kill one.
Given that, it was understandable they were overconfident a bit.
"Its as Aura says. Yes, humans are definitely weak but they have numbers and various tools at their disposal. More than those, they have wisdom. All thosepensate for theirck of power. Besides, they also have heroes who seem to be outside the norm. So, dont let your guard down, okay?"
Even though they were called heroes, they were only as strong as A rank monsters. Still, it wouldnt be so strange for there to be heroes much stronger than an A rank monster so we couldnt let our guards down regardless.
"Understood!"
"If you say so, master."
The two said so as they nodded.
"Moreover, while the humans truly are foolish and weak, they arent trash. These delicious cheese and tomato, the alcohol, the songs, the dances, the stories, all of these are made and developed by mankind. Things that we Demon Lords and monsters wouldnt even bother to think of making. Think of humans as sweet little creatures that entertain us. Avalon isnt just a farm where we can harvest human emotions; its a city where in exchange for giving them safety and peace of mind, they provide us with culture and entertainment. In a sense, they stand equal to us here. So, dont look down on them too much, alright?"
Kuina and Rorono looked down on the breakfast before them and nodded. I was happy to make them realize that although humans were weak, they were also useful.
"Master, what are you nning to do about that letter from the nearby city?"
"Of course, Im going to refuse their demand, Aura. Although I am still going to negotiate with them onest time and give them my adjusted set of conditions. It would probably end up in war nheless though."
"Oto-san, Kuina will do her very best!"
"For their crime of shaming master, I will make them pay with their lives."
When the soldiers came before, I debased myself in order earn some time. I would say that it was worth it for I had increased my fighting force significantly from then:
The Darkness Dragons and their skills which had risen enough to get Wights seal of approval; the much greater number of napalm bombs made out of materials that we could only procure through my [Creation]; and...
"How is the development of the Avalon-Ritters?"
"Its still impossible to use whichever pair of golem cores but the restrictions are now much morex. Of the golem cores made so far, 12 pairs have been found to bepatible. So, including the very first one and the three made after that, there are now a total of 16 Avalon-Ritters produced. I estimate that from now on, as much as 7 Avalon-Ritters can be produced in a month."
Yes, thest one was the sess of the mass production of the Avalon-Ritters.
My initial estimate of producing 15 Avalon-Ritters a month was found to be impossible but nevertheless, having 7 A rank equivalent units per month is phenomenal.
For other Demon Lords, an A rank was enough to be regarded as a trump card. After all, the odds of getting an A rank monster from the synthesis of two A rank medals were less than 70%. Additionally, the number of Demon Lords whose personal medals were of A rank were just around ten percent of the poption. That meant that to use two A rank medals in synthesis and thus to potentially create a single A rank monster, most Demon Lords would have to wait for two months.
Even the old Demon Lords could only make hundreds of A rank monsters in their lifetime.
And then, there was me who was able to create seven in one month. It was clearly cheating.
"Rorono, thanks to your efforts, I can be firm in the negotiations. Youve really worked hard, thank you."
"Mhm. Its because I promised to do better so that master never has to lower his head to those humans again. I will absolutely uphold that promise."
The Avalon-Ritters were going to be our main force in the uing fight and with 16 of them already made, they were more than enough.
I then hugged Rorono tightly. As for her, she triumphantly smiled and hugged me in return.
"Uuuu, Rorono-chans so sneaky. Kuinas envious but Rorono-chans done something amazing so I cant reallyin."
"Now, now, Kuina-chan, lets just do what we can; if its something awesome, master will surely praise us for it."
"I know. Mines in development already. Oto-san will surely be happy with it."
Kuina said so as she looked as though she was scheming something. I had a bad feeling about it but she wouldnt do something that would put me in bad situation so I decided to let her be.
After a short while, I parted from Roronos embrace. She looked as though she was reluctant to do so as well but in the end slowly parted away.
"Master, I am going to pause the research on mass production for now. Continuing might yield results that will improve the synchronization of the cores but it will take an awful lot of time regardless. So instead, its more fruitful to focus on developing our weapons as well as optional parts for the Avalon-Ritters."
What she said made sense. Its kind of like how its easier to improve your test results from 50 to 80 than it is from 80 to 100.
Its better to choose the project that would give more fruitful results for the same or even less amount of time and effort.
"Okay, Ill leave it up to you, Rorono. I expect much from your work. It will y an important role in my ns. Also, for that and your sesses, I shall give you a reward. Tell me whatever it is you wish and if its something I can grant, you shall have it."
"Anything, Father?"
I didnt know whether or not it was because she was startled but she referred to me as Father.
"Yes, anything."
"Anything..."
She began to turn bright red; I was almost expecting fumes toe from her head.
Just what can she be thinking?
"You dont have to say it right now."
"Mhm, Ill give it more thought."
She nodded repeatedly and then sat down to drink some tea. In that moment, Aura interjected.
"Rorono-chan, its your chance! Good luck to you; heres a little something from me."
Aura, for some reason, handed over to Rorono a bottle that contained a pink and highly viscous fluid. When Rorono saw it, even her ears turned bright red.
"I dont need it!"
She said so and handed back the bottle to Aura. When Aura looked disappointed, I whispered to her.
"Aura, whats that?"
"An aphrodisiac."
Devoid of any hesitation, she replied so. To which, I was almost at a loss for words.
"......howe you have such a thing?"
"I got it as the spoils of war from when we fought with the [Evil] Demon Lord. I analyzed it, extracted the toxins in materials such as mushrooms, herbs, and what not, readied all the other materials, and began the mass production of it. Its being sold in Avalon too. Its quite popr."
"No, what Im asking is why do you have something like that? Why even make it?"
"To earn some pocket money and to help the girls thatck the courage! Actually, the Dwarf S...mgmmgm."
Mid-speech, Rorono interrupted and covered Auras mouth.
"Dont talk about that."
Rorono stopped Aura but I already knew what she was talking about.
So, that Dwarf Smith gave this to Wight.
It being effective on him was amazing since he should have been immune to poisons. But then again, maybe this mixture wasnt regarded as poison but rather as medicine. Otherwise, if it did register as a poison, his resistances would have instantly activated and purged it out of his body.
Also, if it worked on even him, it should work on almost all monsters and naturally, on Demon Lords as well. What a frightening thing she has made.
"Well, whatever, just make sure it wont cause any dependency on it. If such a thing happens here in Avalon, I will punish you for it, Aura."
"Ive already made precautions so rest assured! The ones being sold are highly diluted ones so it would be extremely unlikely for those to cause addiction."
"Alright. But Aura, Roronos still a child; shes not yet ready for such things."
Aura bowed and apologized while Rorono made aplicated face.
"For the moment, give me some of those. The undiluted, more powerful ones. It mighte in handy in the uing fight."
"Will do! One dose of an almost undiluted variant is enough to render a human incapable."
"Yeah, thats what I want."
I had obtained a weapon in an unforeseen form. A chance to make use of it might not present itself but Ill keep it be sure.
"Now, lets talk about something for when weve finished breakfast. I will obtain a new [Creation] medal today and with that, I intend make a new monster. If youre interested, you cane along and watch."
"Yay, a new little sister! ?"
"Mhm, Im going to drill the new monster as her older sister."
"Ill be happy to watch. I have been the youngest all this time so I think I want to experience being the older one."
Even though I knew it was a bit ineffective and futile, I still decided to protest.
"We still dont know for sure that it will be a girl. It may be a man for all we know."
At that, the girls exchanged nces and then huddled up. After a short while, Kuina, their representative, spoke.
"That wont happen! Monster made with Oto-sans [Creation] will assuredly be a cute little girl!"
"No, what about when I used [Rebirth] on Wight and turned him into a ck Dragon of Death!? Hes a man, isnt he!?"
After that, while I felt somewhat crestfallen, we finished breakfast and then stealthily headed to the mining area.
In the mining area, as ever, the golems were busy digging up ores.
Thanks to the increased number of Dwarf Smiths that were faithfully making one golem a day, the number of golems here had increased substantially. Unlike Rorono though, they could only make up to a C rank golem which was more than enough for this task, to be honest.
"Now, everyone, let me exin the new monster Im going to be making."
The girls looked at me with eyes full of expectation.
"Avalons war potential, thanks to everyones contributions, have grown a lot. However, Avalon stillcks an intelligence and counter-intelligence monster. In other words, we are weak in that field. And so, I am going to make monsters that will remedy that."
I knew that after I made the S rank intelligence-gathering monster, I would be made eligible to buy the B rank monster under it. So, to be able to buy them as soon as possible, I hadnt used any DP since I bought the Darkness Dragons of the aerialbat corps.
"Kuina sure isnt good at those kind of things."
"I might know whether theres an enemy but not what they are saying."
Kuina and Aura who both were great at searching for enemies agreed to what I said.
After all, the most they could do would be to be prepared for any attempts at surprise attacks.
"The intelligence-gathering monster needs to be smart and be capable of understanding speech. So for that, Ill use the same medal as I used on all of you: [Person]. The second medal will be [Water]. Water is something that can be found just about everywhere. What I want is a monster that can enter water and then hide itself in a different dimension."
I had asked Kohaku in detail about monsters with dimension manipting capabilities. In his story, there seemed to be a restriction for those monsters to enter a different dimension. The restriction was that only some things could be used and those things have to be connected with the idea of other worlds.
For example, one of Marchos [Monsters of the Covenant] uses shadows and could only enter and leave another dimension through a shadow.
As for me, I would make the new monster use water given that its a popr thought that what lies beyond the surface of the water is a whole other world.
Besides that, its greatly helpful that the new monster could open an entrance to another dimension at any time and any ce it wishes.
Moreover, it would seem that the other world these monsters cross to was one and the same; a monster that entered through a shadow would be in the same world as a monster that entered through water. So, the quickest way to stop a dimension manipting monster would be to chase and challenge it in that other dimension.
For all those reasons then, to make my new monsterand its B rank subordinates that Im going to buy immediatelyhave an edge even if only a little, I believed that [Water], one of the four great elements, would truly be the optimal choice for me.
"So, [Person] and [Water]. After those, Ill add in my [Creation] medal. The one Ill make it change to is going to be... [Song]. Songs are the symbol of the mystical. Moreover, with it, they can use sound to transmit the intelligence they have gathered."
If the monsters going to cross another dimension, [Water] alone wouldnt be enough.
Surprisingly, sound and water had goodpatibility. After all, to transmit sound, it has to go through some medium and I had decided that water would be the medium the new monster is going to use.
With control over both sound and water, even if the sender and receiver were separated, so long as there was water in between, the gathered information could be transmitted. My n was to create an informationwork made up of the new monsters I was about to create. With the S rank monster to lead the B rank monsters, they would be dispatched everywhere to gather information that would be sent back reliably to Avalon.
"Now, lets begin. [Discharge]"
By saying the word of power, I felt a hot sensation in my palm. In the next instant, my [Creation] medal appeared. I then took out from my pocket the [Water] medal.
And then...
"[I Shall Compose]"
I summoned my Demon Lord Book and bought a [Person] imitation medal.
With that, all three medals were gathered in my hand.
"[Synthesis]"
Particles of light then vigorously flowed out from the palm of my hand.
I then chose for [Creation] to change into [Song]. The light grew more intense and it soon took the shape of the monster.
Originally, everything from this point on was random. However, thanks to my [Creation] medal, I could grasp the future I desired from the myriads of possibilities.
The possibilities for the new monster came and went.
After a while, I reached out my hand and took hold of the possibility that I wanted.
"Now,e, my new monster!"
The storm of light ceased and the new monster appeared.
It was a monster with a humans appearance. She was a beautiful girl that had a boyish charm. A little older in appearance than Kuina, by my reckoning.
She had shoulder-length hair the color of sea. The same hue also prevailed in her strong-willed eye. Her ears were slightly pointy. A clear light blue dress covered her entire body.
That monsters name was...
"I am a Rlyeh Diva, songstress of the deep blue sea and shrine maiden of an evil god."
Such a clear, delightful voice. Just her voice alone was enough to intoxicate me.
"Nice to meet you. I am your creator. I am the [Creation] Demon Lord Procell."
"So, youre my patron, huh. Nice to meet you."
She smiled and then gently extended out her hand.
I took it and with a tight grip, smiled back.
Note: Rlyeh refers to a city from The Call of Cthulhu.
Volume 4 14
I had finally made an intelligence monster with my [Creation] medal.
Made with [Water], [Person], and [Song], it was a monster that hid itself in another dimension by using water as its entry point.
It was a songstress of the deep sea, an Rlyeh Diva.
"Rlyeh Diva, the reason I made you is because none of my monsters are specialized in gathering information. And so, that will be you task as well as to guard our secrets from leaking to hostile entities."
"Yeah, sure, thats my specialty after all."
She was strangely frank. None of my monsters so far was like her so I was a little at a loss for how to interact with her.
"Theres one thing that has been bothering but is it alright to ask?"
"Ask away. You are my patron; I will obey whatever my benefactor says."
"You are a monster called an Rlyeh Diva....... But does Rlyeh truly exist?"
It was about the word Rlyeh that was nonchntly in her name. It was the name of an underwater city that sealed a malevolent god.
If its as her races name suggests, it would mean that she was indeed the songstress of that malevolent god.
"Yeah? Rlyeh does exist. If youre thinking of going there, I can take you anytime."
"Is it possible that the evil god is there too?"
"Yeah, its sealed there. I can release it though. Should I? Well, the positioning of the stars arent ideal right now so it might weaken the malevolent god quite a bit. Id rather wait for a more ominous time."
I gasped unintentionally. The malevolent god she was referring to, the one sealed with Rlyeh, was most probably Cthulhu. If that one is real and is released, it could easily destroy the world. Not just cities and countries, the world itself. It was such a being.
"Okay but will this malevolent god listen to whatever you say if released?"
"Ahaha, no way thats happening. Its better to say Im the one thats going to be ordered around, I guess."
Ahaha, sheughed.
Really, this girl, I thought inwardly.
"Then, lets not do that, lets not release the malevolent god for the time being."
I quite liked this world and would rather prefer for it to not get destroyed.
"Yeah, I understand. For the moment, again, nice to meet you, my patron."
She said so and then smiled.
"Ill now be taking a look at your abilities."
"Yes, yes, please do take a look at all of me. ?"
Using my authority as her Demon Lord, I confirmed her abilities.
If a monster was of a low rank, any Demon Lord could view even the most detailed information about the monster. However, if a monster was of a high rank, unless a Demon Lord had great power, they would only be able to see the monsters level. The exception of course being that if a monster was ones own, one could see everything regardless.
And so, I looked at Rlyeh Diva and saw her status in my mind.
Race: Rlyeh Diva
S rank
Level: 1
Physical Strength: C
Endurance: C
Agility: B
Magic: S
Luck: S
Special: S++
Skills:
Shrine Maiden of a malevolent god
Songstress of Destruction
Dimension Maniption [Water]
Ruler of Water
Beautiful Maiden of the Ocean Floor
Shrine Maiden of a Malevolent God: Provides a passive boost (Large) to magic power and magic power recovery. Also provides bonuses (Small) to all other stats. By wishing for even more power, it is possible to receive the malevolent gods blessingcurse. Upon activation, all stats are doubled. However, activation also pollutes the mind and beyond a certain amount of pollution to the mind, the user is transformed into a different monster.
Songstress of destruction: Grants bonus appeal (maximum) to songs. Makes it possible for the user to put emotions and magic power into songs. Doing so makes it then possible to interfere with a B rank or lower targets thoughts. The probability of working on an A rank or higher targets mind would be determined by its magical resistances as well as its mental fortitude. If the resistances were ovee, its effect would be weakened by the values of those resistances. Additionally, with this skill, the user is also able to lift a special seal.
Dimension Maniption [Water]: Allows the movement to another dimension through water. An S rank dimension maniption skill.
Ruler of Water: Grant bonuses (maximum) to all magic that makes use of water.
Beautiful Maiden of the Ocean Floor: Through the skill holders beautiful face and oozing charisma, captivate anyone that looks. Grants bonuses to intelligence rge). Also improves friendly aquatic monsters capabilities (medium) and the skill holdersmanding prowess rge).
"Yeah, you certainly have a dimension maniption ability."
"Yeah, right? You, my patron, wished for someone like me so here I am."
I smiled because she had the abilities I wished for her to have. Not just the dimension maniption ability but also herplete mastery of water magic and her ability to boost friendly aquatic monsters would make her ideal to take the lead of the intelligence unit I was going to form.
Her overall stats were low but that was alright since she had a special role to do anyway. And her stats being low was in terms of beingpared to Kuina and the other S ranks;pared to other mage-type monsters, her stats were ster.
The problem however was the ability connected to the malevolent god. It sounded dangerous just from its name alone. Especially the part that by continuing to receive the gods blessingcurse, she would change entirely.
Though I guess it would depend on how its used. After all, she would only transform if that power was used too much. It would probably be okay if she used it sparingly.
Other than that, an ability with another ominous name was her Songstress of Destruction. However, its effect of possibly being able to interfere with a targets thoughts was convenient. Moreover, it was just the perfect ability for an intelligence officer.
"......yeah. Im d such an excellent child is born."
"Yeah, right? Count on me, okay? Cos Im here to make you feel happy."
I didnt know if she was aware of my distress but she smiled at me nheless.
At that moment, Kuina came over.
"As we expected, its a cute little sister!"
As she her fox tail swung, she gave Rlyeh Diva a hug.
"Im Kuina. Kuinas also your older sister and next inmand to Oto-san! So if theres anything youd like to ask, feel free to ask Kuina."
Kuina immediately established her role as the older sister. She was basically a good kid so she most probably only wanted to be helpful and show her delight at the birth of the new monster.
"Hmm, so youre the patrons number one monster. You sure have amazing magic power and strength. Hmm, hmm, okay, I dont mind being under you. Onee-chan, nice to meet you. Lets support our patron together."
"Yeah ?! Lets do our best for Oto-san!"
Rlyeh Diva casually said an rming thing.
She must be the type to have high pride, I thought, oh well, as long as she properly recognizes Kuinas might, its probably better to say shes just frank.
"Youve made another amazing kid, master."
"Is something the matter, Aura?"
"Well, yes. Basically, Im a monster thats on the side of protecting the world and that child, on the other hand, is a monster thats on the side that seeks to destroy it. So yeah, were at odds."
Aura looked at Rlyeh Diva with such cautious eyes.
She was the keeper of a World Tree which governed over life so it really couldnt be helped for her to feel such for someone rted to a malevolent god who could bring the world to ruin.
"Well, more than whatever kind of being she is, Id rather you view her as one of my important daughters instead. Whatever the weapon is, isnt how its used the most important thing?"
"Understood but still, be careful, okay? Children like her often cause damage to her surroundings without knowing it. Instead of malice, its more often the case that they do so out of fear."
Her warning made a lot of sense so I decided to take the proper precautions.
"Rlyeh Diva, sorry to do this so soon after your birth but here is your firstmand."
"Very well, my impatient patron."
It seemed she was hearing various things about us from Kuina but, upon my interruption, they ceased their conversation and looked over my way.
"We have prepared your weing party. First off, enjoy it as much as you can. Gathered there would be all of my top monsters. Id like you to get to know one another for from hereon in, you too will be one of my top monsters."
"Fufuu. For me to be suddenly one of your top ranking monsters sure shows your appreciation for my talents and that makes me really happy. Very well, Illply without fail! Ill also y one of my prized songs."
"No brainwashing, okay?"
"Ahaha, theres no way Ill do that."
Like so, we returned to our residence.
At any rate, I had sessfully gained an intelligence monster. After testing her abilities out a bit, I intended to buy several monsters that were two ranks below her. By doing so, I would have made Avalon stronger once more.
Volume 4 15
Fire, Earth, Wind, and Water. The Four Great Elements.
These attributes were powerful and rare. And for Demon Lords, they were also a kind of status symbol for their monsters to have.
As for me, until recently, I had three: the Celestial Fox of Fire, the Elder Dwarf of Earth, and the Ancient Elf of Wind.
Now, however, I have made a monster with the power of Water, thest of the four.
That monster was Rlyeh Diva....
"Just what the heck are you nning by doing something like this?"
"Ahh. Youre angry? Did you think I was just being mischievous? No, no, you see, Im doing this for you, my patron."
I was at my wits end.
In the morning, when I went out to patrol the city, Avalon became submerged in water due to heavy rain.
Avalons weather was controlled dutifully by Aura and the High Elves so unexpected rainfall was almost out of the question, much less this heavy rain.
The culprit, of course, was Rlyeh Diva. She stood in front of my residence and sang.
"I mean, if theres water here, I cane to help at any time, right? If this citys my patrons main base of operations, wouldnt it then be better to cover every point with water?"
"Nope, permission denied. To begin with, Avalon is a city made to be fascinating to humans so that they may want to live here and so that we may harvest DP from them. If we are beset with this much flood, it would inconvenience them and what do you think would happen to the city when theyre inconvenienced here? Thats why weve set up all the waterways all over the city anyway, to prevent being troubled by floods."
"Aww, after Ive worked so hard. But I understand; Ill now let the water to escape to the atmosphere."
She silently protested and then began to sing with her eyes closed.
The heavy pouring of the rain ceased and was reced by the downpour of sunshine.
At that moment, Avalons usual scenery returned. Among all monsters, Rlyeh Diva who had a special ability called Ruler of Water had the highest proficiency to use water magic and this much was easy for her.
"This will do, right?"
She asked so as she slightly puffed her cheeks.
"Yeah, thanks. I got mad this time but I know you just wanted to do something for me and that makes me happy. So, thank you. Still, if you thought of something next time, can you please consult it with me first? Who knows, I might even give you some useful advice."
At that, she looked slightly surprised before she replied.
"Woah, I didnt know the patron was the capable kind of leader, the type that doesnt forget to follow up on his subordinates."
This girl...
Crestfallen, my shoulders dropped.
Oh well, she might act like this on the surface but I know that shes a good kid inside. Since she listens to what I say, I can still teach her various things little by little.
"Are the Ocean Singers dispatched outside faring well?"
"Yeah, they are. Theyve begun gathering information."
I had already made and sent out 10 of the B rank monsters of the same lineage as her, the Ocean Singers. I wished for them to have ready firepower so I had made all of them to have static levels.
They were dimension manipting monsters as well so they too were able to hide themselves in another dimension via a water entry point and thus were also able to gather information one-sidedly from anywhere that has water as they stayed in that other dimension. And since it was water they used as mediums to peep through, their coverage was exceptionally wide.
"Patron, it might be better to hurry. The prices of goods are beginning to increase. Iron, most of all, along with food have suddenly increased in value. Clear signs of war. Hmm."
Rlyeh Diva and the Ocean Singersmunicated with each other by periodically sending and receiving encrypted sound packets via bodies of water. Depending on the ce and situation, they might make use of rivers, underground streams, and many others. For them to have made such amunicationwork in such a short time, it was certain that they were excellent monsters.
"Thanks for the good information. So, they really are nning for a war. You and your subordinates have done well."
"Those kids are rather limited in their dimension maniption ability though so I often worry about them. Still, theyre adorable kids."
"Theres varying degrees to the dimension maniption ability?"
"Well yeah. As for me, Im mostly unhindered."
Their options varied greatly depending on the strength of their dimension maniption ability.
First off, for both Rlyeh Diva and the Ocean Singers, the entry point for going to another dimension needed to be a pool of water with a radius of more than 30 centimeters.
As for where they could exit... Rlyeh Diva could use any body of water from all over the world, provided that it had at least 30 centimeters in radius. The Ocean singers, however, could only exit from bodies of water that were within 200 meters of their entry point.
This would limit them greatly in terms ofunching surprise attacks but in terms of gathering information, they would be unaffected. Even though they could note out of the other dimension from anywhere they wished, they could still one-sidedly spy on any ce that has water.
Also, so long as the water was just for making a window to watch and listen from, theyboth Rlyeh Diva and the Ocean Singerscould make use of any amount.
Now as for how pure the water could be, it seemed like, again, it would vary depending on the restrictions of the ability. For someone with an ability as high ranked as Rlyeh Diva, even a humans body fluids could be used. In other words, this meant that it was possible to gain information from within the very source itself. However, if the target has powerful magic power, it would seem like the target would resist and the window couldnt be made.
Furthermore, if there was a defensive barrier in ce, it would be hard to make the window to peek through. Again, however, the strength of a barrier that one could surpass would depend on the rank of their ability.
"It looks like theyre going all-out for a cityposed only of hundreds."
"Well, theyre aware of the Mithril Golems stationed in this city, right? They really cant afford to get careless when each of those rival a B rank monster."
"I suppose. There were a lot of them shown to the public after all. But with just that, its hard to imagine they would gather supplies to the point that the prices for those goods would be driven way up. Which means theyve secured enough to seriously mobilize their troops and be ready for a prolonged battle. Maybe they, despite being humans, have sensed that we have something more hidden away."
I didnt say it out loud but I suspected that there was something beside the humans that we are facing in this conflict. I continued on instead.
"But then, thats rather half-assed. Theyre aware that we have more troops than we let on and yet theyre still pushing. Supposing that they do have urate information on Avalons true war potential, mobilizing would only be more of a suicidal move. Either way, its hard to imagine theyre going through with this; even if they win, their side is the one thats going to suffer more losses."
Avalon always has scores of golems present within it and those are but a small number of them for every day, Rorono and the Dwarf Smiths each make a new one. All in all, the golems that were in Avalon numbered over 300. From the ones working in the [Mine] to the ones made of orihalcum also called as the Avalon-Ritters.
Each of the 16 Avalon-Ritters were at least as strong as human heroes. Meanwhile, the other golems could be as strong as C rank monsters or in human terms, as strong as a veteran adventurer. In addition, the Avalon-Ritters were equipped with heavy-weapons developed by Rorono which further increases their overwhelming fighting strength.
With just the golems, we had enough war potential to surpass the war potential a standardrge city would have as stated by Marcho. ording to her, such a city would have a few adventurers of the very highest rank and about 10 heroes. After them, it should be expected for the city to have about 3000 soldiers it could deploy.
We outssed them and yet theyre still pushing and that was why I found it weird.
"Oh well, Ill try harder to find more about it."
"Take note of the ces with barriers that B rank monsters cant pass through. For humans to set up such a barrier, those ces got to have really important information that theyre trying real hard to hide."
"Were already on it; my subordinates are already gathering intelligence from those ces. It wont be long before we put together a report."
"Okay, Ill leave that to you."
Even if they had dimension manipting abilities, on ces that have certain barriers, they wouldnt be able to make windows to peep through. That said, a barrier that prevented even a B rank monster was quite grand. For them to go that far, I wanted to know whatever they might be hiding in there, by force if needed.
"Ill be going now, then. Please wait for our good news."
Rlyeh said so and then began to use her water magic to go through the water entrance she made underneath her feet. Before she could fully enter though, Kuina grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.
"Youre not going to escape that easily. Youre going to level up with Kuina today."
"Gyaa, Ive been caught. But I dont want to, its so boring, its such a waste of time"
"Noints. Unless you level up, you will be the weakest among us S rank monsters. Now,e with me quickly. If you dont listen to what Kuina says, Kuinall get Oto-san to give you amand."
"Uuu, alright. See youter, then, patron. Im going to train with Onee-chan for a while."
Rlyeh Diva left for real this time.
Although she replied like that, she and Kuina got along really well.
Now then, time to do some work, I thought, they should be here soon.
And so, I headed towards the entrance of the city. There, I visited a store and bought myself breakfast.
The meal I bought was a red soup withmb meat and spices. It was a soup that could only be eaten here in Avalon, in this area at least. After all, procuring these spices from far across sea was generally very expensive. How it could be made cheap was due to the Hippogriffs. Thanks to them, the variety of goods here in Avalon have increased.
I took a bite of themb meat and it crumbled within my mouth. I then took a sip of the spicy soup and it woke me right up. Its really spicy.
It was fairly expensive whenpared to the other dishes on the menu but still, it was a very popr meal among the adventurers.
At the moment, Avalon was really lively. The adventurers, the merchants, even the general guests, all were in a rush of happiness. They were overflowing with happiness now more than ever.
And that manifested in my DP ie and the surge of power within me. I fed not on despair and fear but rather on everyones happiness. This would prove that my n was not wrong.
And then, right when I was enjoying the bliss of the morning, those guys appeared and ruined it all.
"Bring out the leader of this city, bring out Procell! That rascal! How dare him to embarrass me! Im going to tear him apart!"
They were the soldiers that came from the neighboring city.
This time, they came with a wonderful looking carriage. My guess was that it probably carried a noble to oversee my signing of the official terms.
On their recent and final notice, the letter stated they would send out onest delegation but it failed to mention when it would arrive. I only knew through Rlyeh Diva and the Ocean Singers work.
"Wee. Now, lets begin the negotiations, shall we?"
I presented myself very differently fromst time and that disturbed the soldiers. I no longer humbled myself for I had earned enough time.
Everyone had worked so hard, especially Rorono, to buy us that extra time so that we could stand on better footing in the negotiations. Due to our weakness, I, her father, had lowered my head but never again. Never again shall I let there be a reason for Rorono to cry in my arms.
Rorono had fulfilled her promise by making the strongest golems, the Avalon-Ritters and I knew how hard she worked to do so.
I wouldnt dare waste those feelings.
I wasnt going to be subservient anymore. I was going to stand proud just like what my daughter wished for. My daughters had worked so hard and from this moment on, it was my turn.
Volume 4 16
The soldier before me was enraged. I remembered who he was; he was the same soldier that led the delegation before.
In the beginning, Avalon had received demands from the neighboring city to be under its control. When they had dispatched their first group of delegates, I pretended to be subservient and asked that they return while I thought about it, effectively buying us some time. Afterwards, they kept on sending demands for a definite answer but I only gave vague replies, further buying us more time.
However, I could only stall for so long; the other day, I had received their final notice. ording to it, they would send out onest delegation. If I were to notply, we were under the threat of being on the receiving end of a show of force.
"You, whats with that mouth of yours!?"
The soldier yelled so and ced a hand on his sword.
It would seem that by being obedientst time, he was under a misunderstanding. The misunderstanding being that he was the superior one between us.
The responsibility then falls to me to clear this misunderstanding of his.
"Right back at you. What are you, a mere soldier, trying to pull? Mind your tone!"
"Youuuuuuuuuu!"
He then finally drew his sword. As it was, he was going to swing his sword my way and yet, I only smiled.
I would say that this soldier was about as strong as a veteran adventurer or in monster terms, a C rank one. I, on the other hand, had 3 S ranked Covenant Monsters and thus had overwhelming power within me. Even if I didnt do anything, I knew I would still be unharmed. However, for the sake of this show, I opted for a different response.
And so, something as fast as the wind got in between me and the soldier.
The soldier tried to stop his swing but it was already toote. The sword was drawn into the shadow and then made a loud sound as it made impact. The soldier dropped the sword and then held his wrist as pain coursed through it. The soldier who was the one that attacked was the only one that got hurt.
If it was perhaps a sword not made by Rorono, the sword would most likely have shattered. However, that was his misfortune. Had it broke, the impact would certainly have been less.
"W-what,"
The soldier looked up and saw the orichalcum-bodied giant that stood a little over two meters. Compared to other golems, it had a smaller and more curvilinear form. Yes, it was an Avalon-Ritter.
The golems were programmed to automatically defend the citizens of Avalon if ever they are exposed to violence. Additionally, at the moment, the golems werent forbidden from attacking the soldiers. And thus, as response to the soldiers act of violence toward me, the golems top priority target to protect, the Avalon-Ritter that appearedunched its fist toward the soldier.
However, its fist, like its body, was made of orichalcum. Moreover, an Avalon-Ritter had the power of an above-average A rank monster. If it were to punch a human that was only as strong as a C rank monster, that humans corpse would scatter all over the ce.
"Stop."
On the moment I judged fit, I gave thatmand. In ordance to it, the Avalon-Ritters fist stopped at about 10 cm from the soldiers face.
The soldier looked scared beyond help before he was blown away. The fist stopped the exact moment I gave themand but the force from it alone was enough to send the man away as though he was but a leaf.
The other soldiers behind him then began to tremble. Even if it was done half in jest, they were still good enough as soldiers to be picked as part of this delegation. Thus, they should have had enough ability within them to have at least an inkling of just how much of a beast the Avalon-Ritters were.
Unfortunately for the soldiers though, their terror had to go on a little bit longer for in the next moment, Avalon-Ritters began to appear one after the other until a totalincluding the first oneof 10 had gathered.
One Avalon-Ritter was enough to easily murder them all but now, there were ten before them. In their fear, their teeth rattled and their bodies trembled.
"Avalon-Ritters, show them your power."
Upon mymand, the Avalon-Ritters unleashed the magic power from their twin-drives at full-throttle and howled menacingly.
At that, some of the soldiers wetted and shat themselves.
This had to be done so that they would stop taking us lightly. I had to make them realize the precarious situation their lives were in so that we could finally have a proper negotiation.
"I want to negotiate but as we can all see, that man whom I dealt withst time is unavable at the moment. Isnt there anybody who is going to rece him?"
I informed each member of the delegation so. I waited a while but there was no response. When I began to grow impatient, a man from the carriage at the back presented himself. He was a tall man that wore slim sses.
"I will be the one in charge of the negotiations for today. Procell-sama, I am Telroma Roctinne. It is a pleasure to have met the leader of Avalon."
His voice trembled as he spoke. He looked feeble as well.
Nheless, he had the courage to try to continue the negotiations under such circumstances. Not to mention, he mentioned Avalons name. Those, to me, made him quite the interesting fellow.
"So, Telroma-dono will be the one Ill be dealing with? Alright. It seems well be able to do some proper diplomacy."
"......I look forward to working with you."
We shook hands and then moved to my residence.
I wont hold anything back anymore; Ill make them know of our demands.
"Have some tea."
"Thank you. Much appreciated."
For our negotiations, we came to my residences reception room. In there, a Mythological Fox served tea. Telroma was captivated by the Mythological Foxs beauty but then, in the very next moment, he was shocked by her fox ears and tail.
"Ive heard the rumors but there truly are many demi-humans here in Avalon."
"Yes. Its a city built for demi-humans that are oppressed everywhere else after all."
"......So you have no intention of driving those girls out of the city, then?"
"None at all."
The previous delegation that arrived presented to us their sides terms and among them, some were impossible for me to ept. One of those terms were the prohibition of granting the demi-humans the same rights granted to humans. It pretty much obligated us to either to exile the demi-humans or let them be treated as the humans ves. There was no way I would let either of those happen to my cute little monsters.
"Procell-dono, if the demi-humans were perhaps to be treated better, to an extent, will you then agree to our terms?"
I was a little surprised.
I initially thought they were going to force me ept all of their terms. I did threaten them with the Avalon-Ritters and all but even so, this timidity was surprising.
"We of Avalon could never condone any discrimination toward the demi-humans in our city. This city stands because of them. In fact, this citys main attractionsthe fruits called apples, the high-performance swords and armors, and the golems protecting this whole ceall are because of them and their skills. One other feature of our cityand it might have already be part of gossipsis that the training of the monsters used for air transportation is taken care of by them. This city will not be here now or at any point of time without these demi-humans."
Such was our official statement. It was alreadymon knowledge that there were elves and dwarves here in Avalon but instead of saying they were monsters, we had dered that they were demi-humans.
"I see. Then, is there anything else we could discuss?"
"Im a little surprised to have a more proper negotiation. Well then, here."
I handed to him the documents I prepared just in case. It detailed my response to the terms initially given to me. If all my counterproposals were approved, even bing a city of the empire was fine by me.
"We have closely examined the terms given to us by the previous delegation and concluded that those are realistic halfway points. In other words, Avalon can only concede that far."
"Ill take a look then...... t-this is impossible! Theres no way we canpromise this much!"
Telroma spoke so with a gruff voice. Those points might be beyond his authority, I thought.
"We can easily say the same. We havepromised a lot already with those points and anything more will be impossible."
Telroma the civil official trembled.
"Lets start with the taxes to be paid. This amount is still within eptable values."
What I had written there was that we were to pay in gold coins the same kind of poll tax implemented by the neighboring city as well as 30% of the total harvested wheat. Originally, we were demanded to pay 50% of the total amount harvested and that was with the actual wheat.
Avalons wheat was worth more than its market price. Moreover, paying with the gold which we could get as much as we want of from the [Mine] was more convenient. The materials mainly used for the golems were orichalcum, mithril, and silver. We didnt have much use for gold so we solely used it for money. Even at that moment, we had mountains of gold coins lying idle in storages.
"Then tell me, Telroma-san, which do you find uneptable?"
"First of all, we cannot agree to you notplying to send out any personnel to provide us with your technology."
What he was referring to was the demand for us to send out experts to the neighboring city so that those experts could then share their knowledge on our advanced technology regarding the waterways, the preparation of the soil, and the production of the weapons and equipment. Moreover, it was a long-term kind of deal. Dont screw with me, was the only response that I could initially think of.
"If you want to gain Avalons technology, you can just send out you experts here and have them learn from observing. I have no intention whatsoever of refusing that. If its the weapons and equipment, they can buy one and examine that. Theyre not children, are they?"
"However-"
"If you want to steal our technology, fine but steal it by yourselves. We cannot and will notpromise more than that."
I strongly dered so. At that, Telroma was quite conflicted. It might have been the most important condition for them so that they themselves may have all of the things that made Avalon fascinating.
The natural response then was to not allow it to happen but since stealing itpletely would be impossible for them, I allowed them to send out their experts.
"......to the next point then, Procell-sama. Wont you consider adopting the same set ofws being followed by my city and others all over the empire? After all, the empire has prospered for many years using thesews. Our tested and provenws are much better than your unrefinedws."
"I refuse. Our city will operate with our own rules. That being said, as stated in those documents, we will permit you to establish your own conste here and everything within that territory can be under the jurisdiction of yourws if you so choose. However, even one step outside of that territory will remain to be under the jurisdiction of Avalonsws."
This was absolutely necessary.
If I allowed them this, troublesome fellows woulde here from the neighboring city and do whatever they pleased. Extremely speaking, it was possible for those guy to rob and rape but be judged and punished only by that citysws.
"Procell-sama, do you even intendpromise!?"
"But I already am and hence, that suggestion."
How dare he use me of such when I have beenpromising so much already!
"Then,stly, will you alsopletely reject the implementation of tariffs and tolls to those going to this city and the handing over to us the 30% of the collected total?"
"Yes, we will. After all, Avalon is best known as a free city. Not being one anymore would mean the death of our city."
We were being pressured to do this as well.
Our citys charm lied with its cheap taxes. If we allowed the other city to apply more and more pressure on us, Avalon would also have to adopt high taxes. If that happens though, we would also have to burden our citizens with the taxes and thus, our charm would be halved at the very least. Though that might just be what they had in mind.
"Uneptable, Procell-sama! Do you even understand the state your city is in!? If our city was to put an embargo on your city, you would wither away even before the fighting begins. Avalon is dependent on our city after all."
"Feel free to do so. Your city is no longer our only source of business."
Undeniably, they were our source until a few days ago. However, now, that was nothing but a tale of past. Now, we had air transportation via the Hippogriffs. Thanks to them, we had rapidly gatheredmodities from all over the world.
Applying pressure and prohibiting their ally cities from selling to us might work if not for the fact that the Hippogriffs could fly 600 kilometers in a day even with some load. Influencing their way through every settlement and city within that range simply wasnt possible.
On the other hand, merchants from the neighboring city were even choosing to pay for fines just so they coulde to Avalon and buy the goods gathered here.
"Wh- Th-then, what if we prohibit the very travel to this city?"
"Feel free to do so as well. Rather, please do so. As things are, if you were to do that, the number of people that will leave your city and settle on ours will be quite significant, wont they?"
Currently, Avalon was overflowing with supplies and even entertainment.
Our tax was low and the cost of living here was already lower than in the other city.
We were constantly building houses and yet we could still not keep up with the increase of people. That inflow of people would increase all the more should they prohibit the travel to our city and for that, we would truly be grateful.
"I-it wille to war then. This little city will be erased in instant. Before even that happens, with war on the horizon, your residents will dessert your city."
"That is certainly worrying."
At Avalons heart was its immigrants.
If they were made aware that staying here would put their lives in danger, they would probably return to their home city.
"Yes, right?"
"I think most of them will remain though. Even supposing a war does happen, we wille out as the victors after all."
"How can you even believe that?"
"Youve seen them, havent you? The golems, I mean."
Telroma was at a loss for words.
He knew I wasnt spouting nonsense.
"Avalon is not afraid of engaging in war...... that said, its pretty much inevitable to lose the lives of civilians , isnt it?"
To my rather reserved words, the civil official smiled broadly.
"Yeah! So,promise more"
"Quit screwing around!"
I purposefully showed my anger and mmed the desk. The desk creaked and then broke.
"Hii!"
"Im only going topromise as much as I said I would. I dont have to but I have conceded to those things and youre asking for more!? No, I absolutely refuse! ......Follow me, Ill show you something good."
After my outburst, I suddenlyughed.
"Ye-yes"
The civil official stood up and nervously followed behind me.
Our destination was a [in].
Avalon was bound to get cramped for space so I purchased another dungeon room. In the future, I would also be making this a part of the city but for the moment, I intended it to be the battleground for the uing war. I could only earn DP by killing if my party was the one that killed an enemy or if the death happened within my dungeon. There was no way I was going to waste the tremendous DP the war was going to give and hence this dungeon room. If the fighting took ce here, I could earn all those DP.
Anyway, in there, I had a little surprise prepared for Telroma.
We had arrived in the [in] that was in the backend of Avalon.
Upon seeing the spectacle I had prepared, the delegation, beginning with the civil official, froze in ce.
"T-This is"
What they saw was the gathering of all our golems, even the ones not assigned to guard Avalon.
All in all they numbered 332 golems.
It was bizarre spectacle, indeed.
Upon mymand, the golems all at once unleashed their magic power.
At that moment, the delegation was convinced. Convinced that should there be a war, they would be on the losing side.
"These are the golems made by this citys dwarves. Each and every one of them holds at least the same power as a veteran adventurer. You are free to wage war on us but in the event that you do, even assuming that you win, expect your side to suffer enormous casualties."
"This is impossible. Even if youre a sage of the country, it should still take you months and years to build this many golems that are this powerful."
It was a natural response. For the humans, it would probably take at least someone with the capabilities of an A rank to build even the C rank golems that the Dwarf Smiths could make.
"Do we have an understanding? If you want to go to war with Avalon, do so with the resolve to fight against them. Well then, this negotiation is hereby concluded. I shall guide you to your carriage."
And so, I guided the frozen-in-ce delegation toward the entrance of the city.
Showing them the golems served both to threaten as well as to misdirect them. As far as Avalon was concerned, the golems were but foot soldiers ced in the front lines. If the enemy was to focus on thinking up of counter-measures against them, it would be easy to surprise them with our other troops.
For this warshould they foolishly choose to proceedour forces would beposed of the sniper corps led by Aura, the golems, the dragons, and the intelligence unit led by Rlyeh Diva. The other monsters would be kept in reserve. After all, we still had to appear like a city of demi-humans.
As the delegation that turned ghastly pale returned home, I wondered whether the other city would still choose to go to war with us even after all these threats. Im looking forward to see the humans response.
Several dayster, a letter arrived.
It was a promation of war from the neighboring city. The war was scheduled to begin three weekster.
There was also a rmendation for our surrender. It seemed like that if we were to surrender, aside from being forgiven, we would also receive slightly better terms than what we were originally given.
Of course, I hastily threw away the paper that contained the rmendation for our surrender.
"Are they stupid?"
From the deration of war to giving us three weeks, it was stupid.
Oh well, now that its like this, it cant be helped; Ill now have to show them their ce. And then, I guess I must do some adjustment within Avalon so that I can lessen the humans that will want to leave our city.
Volume 4 17
Ten days had passed since we received the promation of war. We were steadily readying for it but there were two other things that we needed to do alongside it.
The first was to exin the situation to the citizens and adventurers staying in Avalon. If we didnt do so properly, it would bite uster for if anyone was to suffer, it would be them. It was because these citizens trusted in me and Avalon that they chose to live here and even invite others to do so as well. To not take care of them meant the end of Avalons growth.
I had already exined the situation to the heads of the merchant and adventurer guilds but they and their guilds were not the only ones I was beholden to; I, as the citys leader, was also obligated to exin it to the citys other citizens.
The second we needed to do was to determine the rules of this war.
"I didnt expect them to listen to my suggestions."
After we received the neighboring citys promation of war against us, I sent out a letter to them. The letters content suggested that both sides refrain from indiscriminately harming the civilians. It also suggested that both sides forces meet in a vast in near Avalon at an agreed upon time to do clean and straight-forward battle.
This was greatly advantageous to both sides. If both sides did whatever we pleased, we might end up dealing great damage not only to our troops but to our citizens as well, perhaps to the point of annihtion.
"Im really grateful for this; I dont want to ughter so many."
The Avalon-Ritters I had shown might have been a great factor for them to agree to those suggestions, in that they were afraid we were going to let loose these golems within their city. If we did so, even if they managed to defeat the golems, the damage they would have sustained would be tremendous.
If they, for some reason, refused these suggestions, I nned to bombed them and finish it all at once. To the Darkness Dragons who could fly high in the air at the speed of sound, their citys high walls of a few dozen meters meant nothing. The dragons could easily fly over the walls and drop countless napalm bombs, turning the enemys city into a sea of mes.
There were two reasons I didnt want to go down this route.
The first was that doing so was a waste of DP. I would rather have the enemy soldiers be killed within my dungeon so that I could earn their DP.
The second reason was so that I could lessen the number of Avalon citizen casualties ever so slightly. Golems would be posted within Avalon even during the fighting but reducing the casualties to zero was pretty much impossible.
For those two reasons, I proposed that we do battle on the [in] I just made. The enemy agreed but to make certain they didnt have any schemes as to why they easily agreed, I ordered the Ocean Singers to get to the bottom of things.
Through a certain method, the intelligence corps were now able to spy even the inside of the buildings that were protected by barriers. This world was very wary against magic but not so much against science so for someone like me who could use [Creation] to make things, taking advantage of suchck in security was easy.
So, through that method, we had determined something that the neighboring city was hiding. Through their connections, they had been able to gather thirty hero-ss adventurers and that fact was most likely the source of their confidence.
However, for them to think they could defeat Avalon with just those 30 A-rank-equivalent soldiers, they were really making light of us. Rather than seeing those 30 individuals as threats, we viewed them as incentives to fight. After we have killed them, Wight could easily turn them into undead units. With his ability, those 30 would be much stronger than when they were alive. When ced under hismand, they would be reinforced even more. I imagined the chance to obtain 30 undead units that were as strong as A rank monsters wouldnte very often.
Anyway, I nned on keeping the Ocean Singers posted on those buildings with high-quality barriers. Hopefully, theyll be able to figure whatever else is happening behind the scenes...
"Thats one less thing to worry about. After that is to exin to the residents of Avalon the situation."
I had already spread that I had something important to announceter on the day at the citysrgest open space. I intended to tell the ones gathered there the details of the war.
It was almost the scheduled time so I moved to the designated ce and saw that quite a few people had already gathered. Like that, I climbed up to the stage.
Acting as my guards were Kuina who was at my side and Aura who turned herself transparent with her magic as she flew in sky. There was also Rlyeh Diva who hid herself in another dimension; her duty was to look out for other dimension-manipting monsters.
"Ladies and gentlemen of Avalon, I am Procell, this citys leader. Today, there is something important I must tell you all."
Everybodys attention was all on me.
And then, in the next moment, a song could be heard from somewhere. Of course, it was Rlyeh Divas song. Using the water around us as the medium, she had made dimensional windows that allowed only sound to escape from her side to ours.
Like so, as she watched out for any enemy monsters, she also continued to sing her soothing song. Of course, her song wasnt for brainwashing the humans; it was for bringing them into a state of light intoxication and euphoria.
"Some of you might have already heard of it but days ago, Avalon had been advised toe under the rule of the empire! At first, I found no issue with it but the terms given to us were far too unfavorable. Its the same as the neighboring city saying they will be turning this city and the ones that live here into their ves!"
Due to their state of light intoxication, the citizens listened to me without a hitch; not one of them whispered a word.
"I was convinced of that after I saw the arrogant attitude of the delegation their city had dispatched. To think that even the very delegation thats supposed to build ties with our two cities would act like that! If Avalon ever falls under themand of that city, everybody in this city would be miserable!!"
Avalons citizens nodded in agreement.
Me acting subservient to the delegation also served as preparation for this.
The delegation acting as they pleased obviously didnt sit well with Avalons citizens and they directed that ill will toward the neighboring city.
"And so, I have decided. I have decided that I will fight for the happiness of everyone in this city!!"
I strongly dered so.
That said, that didnt mean it was received with apuses.
"Does that mean that were going to fight as well? Against the neighboring city?"
A man asked so and was followed with agreeingments from the others.
That was probably what they were concerned with the most: killing and being killed.
"Not at all. Aside from those that were first with me when this city was founded, I have no ns of letting anyone of you fight in this war. Furthermore, it has been agreed upon that the battlefield will be the vast in outside the city. I would like for everyone to remain here where the citys walls could protect them."
As I said so, Avalons first citizensthe Mythological Foxes, Dwarf Smiths, and High Elvesstepped up to the stage as well.
We had exined to everyone else in this city that these girls were demi-humans instead of monsters.
As they saw the girls climb up, the citys citizens made a bitter face. These children were all beautiful girls; had excellent skills that they used to continuously help out the citizens; and had built up bonds with the citizens from talking with each other a number of times. For those reasons, the citizens made those agonized faces at letting only those girls fight.
Another man then spoke up.
"I dont want to let only those girls fight. Cant we just surrender?"
"If we surrender, people like those soldiers from the other day would begin toe here every day and act as though they owned the ce. Also, the taxes will increase five times more than what it is now. Many of you have probably moved here after experiencing a tough life from wherever you lived before but if we surrender, I guarantee you, itll only get worse. ...worst of all, they advocate the discrimination against demi-humans. Theyre going to turn these children into ves! As the leader of this city, that is something I absolutely cant let happen!"
I appealed to their emotions and it worked well thanks in part to the euphoria Rlyeh Diva induced. Thus, I pushed more.
"Nevertheless, I understand that some of you dont want to be involved at all in this war. For those that want to leave before the fighting begins, we will set-up a help desk so please direct your application there. We will provide the applicants withpensation money and a ride on one of our golem-pulled carriages. We will be transporting you up to the neighboring city. We expect many to apply for this service so do keep your luggage light."
Commotion rose from the crowd. They probably couldnt believe that the leader of the city himself was offering to help people escape from the city.
In my opinion, if they wanted to leave, they were free to do so. If I didnt prepare such an option for them, they would justinter on that I forced them to stay in this city.
Plus, it affirmed my image that I prioritized the citizens of this city first and foremost.
After a while, a man raised his voice. I recognized him; he was the head of the adventurer guild.
"This city is an important location to us adventurers. The charge at the inn and the taxes, theyre all so cheap. We can also sell here the materials we got from the dungeon for a good, good price. Losing this ce will be a blow to us. So, we have decided that we are willing to cooperate with you in this war. We will use our connections as much as we can and gather war potential... can we expect Procell-san to take care of their remuneration?"
At that, I smiled. For someone to have said as much, it made me quite happy.
"Thank you. We wont ask you to fight for us but we do ask that you protect this city until the wars end. As Ive said, we have agreed that the battlefield will be the vast in outside the city but that doesnt necessarily mean that they will stand by it and note here to pige. If that happens, I want to count on you. We will pay everyones asking price."
"Are you really sure? We dont mind fighting the enemy troops. We adventurers are stronger than the soldiers, you know."
The representative of the adventurer guild looked slightly angered. Perhaps he mistook my response for me not believing in their strength.
"Adventurers are professionals on fighting monsters but arent as well-versed in killing people. However, those that woulde to pige arent people, theyre beasts. And beasts are fair game to you, right?"
The man from the adventurers guild nodded.
The next to speak up was a male merchant. It was Relic of his Relic Company. He was this citys most sessful merchant.
"We, the merchant guild of this city, would like to offer our financial support in this war. There is no need to hesitate on taking it. This city is like a tree that bears money for us so losing it is out of the question. Moreover, this citys taxes are low. We would like to think of this financial aid as just the tax we havent paid."
"Should a merchant really say it like that? Shouldnt this financial aid be offered as a loan that will gain interest over time?"
"Fufu, that is indeed the case if the other party has been trying to lessen our profits. You are not like that though. You have always found ways for both of us toe out satisfied in a deal. Thanks to you, instead of a loss, we are gaining even more. For that, we would like to support you with all that we could."
He said such a delightful thing.
"Thank you. Although it is only slight, there is still a chance that the war will be prolonged and that transportation through the air will be harder. Through the merchants here, I want to stock up on food and, when the war begins, provide it for free to the ones still within the city. Also, right when the war has ended, I wish to hold a celebration party. I shall take care of all those expenses."
"Are you sure!?"
"Yes. Though the taxes here are cheap, we have gathered more than enough from everyones huge earnings."
Our scale of collection differed greatly from other cities. Even with low taxes, we had collected a lot.
That being said, the heads of the adventurer and merchant guilds didnt understand the source of our confidence. It would be natural for them to wonder that if we werent going to make use of adventurers, conscript the citizens of the city, and take the financial aid to pay for our soldiers, how then were we going to gather enough war potential.
"Now, you might be wondering how were going to fight without any of those offered help. To exin so, an introduction is in order. This will be Avalons war potential."
One after another, the golems that the citizens had grown familiar with appeared. The ones that appeared numbered more than 300. The absurdity of it all left the citizens speechless.
"Everyone here is familiar with the golems but, in truth, the ones dispatched in the city are but a small fraction of their total number. Also, look above."
I pointed my finger to the sky. Circling there were the huge-winged Darkness Dragons. I let them stay there because if they got close to the humans, their special ability, [Fear], might cause the humans to panic. The humans already didnt know what to do as it was after seeing the huge ck dragons that appeared only in fairy tales.
"I think youre familiar with Hippogriffs that do the air transportation for us but they arent the only beings that Avalon has sessfully tamed and trained; we have seeded at these dragons as well. So, the golems, the dragons, and these children are going to fight for us. Even with just them, I am confident in winning. Avalon still has other fighting force aside from them but in order for it to not be revealed to the enemy city, itll have to remain a secret for now"
I forcefully dered so. Seeing the over 300 golems and frightening dragons, the citizens were relieved.
...at the same time, some would surely be too scared to remain here knowing that such frightening creatures were here. It cant be helped, not like I can hide them when the fighting begins, I told myself.
"As you see, we can definitely win this war. Even if we lose, we have been promised that no civilians will be harmed. However, if we do lose and are forced to be under theirmand, life of all of us will definitely be harsher. To prevent that, I and these children will do our best and fight. I might be repeating myself here, but for those that want to leave this city, we have preparedpensation money and transportation. Thats all I have to say."
With that, our forum was over and I descended the stage with Kuina and the others.
As I did, I wondered how many would remain. It would be great if more than 70% of the poption stayed, I thought.
It took about three days to process the applications of those that wanted to leave the city.
The percentage that wanted to leave was less than 10% of the whole poption. It was even better than what I expected and that put a smile on my face. It would seem Avalon was far more charming than I had thought.
"We have to absolutely win."
To protect all those that remained;
To protect the ce that the ones that left would someday return to;
And most of all, to live up to the trust that everyone has given to me.
Now, its time to show them what weve got.
Volume 4 18
Finally, the day of the war arrived. Unfortunately, up until this point, we still werent able to ascertain who the being behind the actions of the neighboring city was.
We did, however, manage to find out about the other sides war potential and strategy.
The high-quality barriers on certain buildings had prevented our intelligence corps from knowing whatever was within those buildings but thanks to the many eavesdropping device I made using [Creation], such wasnt the case anymore. Even though they couldnt stealthily enter into the building themselves, they could easily get close to humans that would go into those buildings. By doing so, the Ocean Singers were able to ce an eavesdropping device and camera as small as a pea onto those humans, thus enabling them to spy as much as they wanted. Even if the existence of those devices were found out, it wouldnt be an issue. After all, the other party wouldnt be able to figure whatever functions the unfamiliar devices had just by its appearance alone.
At this moment, almost all of the neighboring citys top secret information was flowing freely to Avalon.
I moved to the [in] I made together with my monsters and the golems.
ording to our agreement, the fighting wouldmence here, the ce I nominated, once the signal was given.
This in was bought with DP and was part of my dungeon and would thus earn DP for me. I had designed it to be as big as possible.
As we were arranging our formations, the neighboring citys army also began doing their preparations. And when both sides finished, the golem corps and enemy army were lined up to face one another. The enemy army had well over 3000 soldiers. The golems, even though they had increased in the three weeks that passed since the deration of war, only numbered a little less than 400. In terms of numbers, we were at a disadvantage but in terms of performance, I estimated that it was going to be an even match.
There was an agreed upon time limit for this war. That said, if one side surrendered regardless of the time, the war would end. Lastly, the victor would be determined by the number of casualties and prisoners of war.
It sounded like a game but this was the typical way wars were done in this age.
After all, both sides wouldnt want to suffer too much damage. In a war devoid of such rules andws, both sides would end up harming each others most vital resource: the citizens. Win or lose, both sides would end up scarred deeply. For those reasons, it became popr to decide upon a ce to do battle and sh there. Doing it like so, aside from theck of civilian casualties, the territories would also be able to function normally as soon as the war has ended. For sure, rules were important in wars.
"Patron, as expected, they seem to be greatly on guard against the golems. As for their strategy, it seems theyre going ahead with holding back our forces with their heavily-equipped infantry while the magic users in the back focus on castingrge-scale magic to wipe out our troops. Additionally, their elites are gathered as their mobile force. That seems to be the source of the enemies confidence. Woah, those humans smug faces are kinda disgusting, like they think theyre the strongest in world, yeah, they make me so mad."
Rlyeh Divas voice came from the cup I held in my hand.
The previous day, I ordered her to make it rain in this in, thus forming countless puddles of water. Like so, the gathering of information would continue as she hid herself in another dimension. Everything wasid bare to us.
"Thanks, Ruru. Do you know where the enemymander is?"
I only knew for certain recently but in order for a name to be properly given and thus take effect, I would have to put in strong intent and magic power into saying it first. In other words, referring to my monsters with nicknames wasnt an issue. Rlyeh Diva was a little troublesome to say so I recently opted to calling her Ruru instead.
"Yeah, ahm, just a sec."
As soon as she said so, she appeared from behind me. I then took out a pair of binocrs I previously made with [Creation] and looked into it while Ruru pointed to the enemysmander.
After I confirmed so, I said out loud his characteristics. I was certain that she would pick up the sound carried by the wind.
"Then, as nned, continue gathering intelligence."
"Okay. Good luck then, patron."
Ruru said so and dived back into the puddle of water.
So far, things have been ying out almost ording to what we predicted based on the information we gathered beforehand. The source of their confidence despite seeing the extraordinary Avalon-Ritters and the over 300 golems was the existence of the 30 heroes that were provided by whoever was hiding behind the neighboring city.
On top of being able to match and possibly defeat A rank monsters even in singlebat, the heroes were humans and thus excelled at cooperating in battle. They could exhibit more prowess fighting together than when fighting alone. Because of that, it was no wonder they thought they could win even against the Avalon-Ritters.
For one city to gather this much people was generally thought to be impossible. Probably so even for some countries. Therefore, the existence of the one pulling the strings truly was ominous.
However, they were being too na?ve.
Did they think that the Avalon-Ritters were my trump card? Moreover, did they really think I would reveal my true card before the battle has even begun? Theyre looking down on me too much. And for that, they will pay.
Moments before the start of the war, a lone knight rode out in his gant horse from the center of their formation. As much as I could ascertain from his appearance, he was quite the high-ranking knight.
He rode out not to lead the charge but rather to discuss terms onest time before the fighting begins.
That meant I must also set out to meet with him. That said, doing so on foot wasnt so appealing. As I thought so, Kohaku whose body was much bigger than any horse roared. He then approached and showed his back to me, as though saying I should hop on.
"Is it alright?"
"You are heading to war, my master, and I just cant allow you to do so on foot. Furthermore, as its me, I can also act as your guard."
"Ill be relying on you, then."
Kohaku, now fully recovered, looked even more imposing. Coupled with the air of tension around him that was born from years of experience, he was the exact image of a veteran soldier. His presence alone motivated his allies.
And so, I got on his back and headed to the center of the battlefield. When Kohaku got close, the knights warhorse neighed and acted wildly. After some struggle, it threw the knight to the ground.
Except for the warhorse, silence enveloped the area. Despite all of its strict training and its experience in the battlefield, even that warhorse sumbed to Kohakus imposing presence.
The horse ran off as fast and far away as it could. That left the knight dumbfounded as he knelt on the ground. I pitied the knight but proceeded as was normal.
And then, the knightnow on footand Istill on Kohakufaced one another.
The knight had somehow regained his calm and acted appropriately during war time. He then read out the wars rules.
Those rules were just as we originally agreed on: limiting the battlefield to only this in, the procedure regarding prisoners of war, and so on.
We agreed once again on the rules and returned to each others army. After a while, horns were blown loudly, signaling the start of the war.
Immediately following the signal, the enemys heavy-infantry roared their battle cries and proceeded to rush forward.
Originally, they would only rush after firing arrows at their enemies but they judged that the arrows would have had little to no effect to the golems. Not bad, I thought.
However, that seemed to be the only counter-measure they had against the golems. They were still far too rxed. For that, again, I intended to make them pay.
The heads of the enemymander as well as the head of the high-ranking knight exploded in the next moment. A few moments after their heads were blown apart, the dyed sounds of the attacks were heard.
"Master, taskpleted."
The sky distorted and revealed Aura as she wielded her anti-materiel rifle that had smoke rising up from its barrel.
Her rifle was upgraded to be fully made of orichalcum. It was now dubbed as the ED-03AM Durandal?Avalon.
Looking closely, two people beside the knight died due only to the shockwaves produced by the bullets overwhelming power. Of course, the bullet also pierced and killed those behind the knight.
"Thanks for your work."
"I havent tired myself enough yet though."
Aura smiled and then spun around her anti-materiel rifle.
The distance between my forces and the enemy forces was just 2 kilometers.
Whereas Aura, supposing she stayed immobile, could hit up to 5 kilometers.
This entire in was her kill zone. Coupling that with Ruru pointing out the enemymander to her, such things as sniping them right at the start of the war were trivial.
Moreover, she could fly in the sky so gaining line of fire was easy as well.
"Well, if things end with this, we wouldnt have to kill needlessly."
The ideal would be for the war to end after taking out their leader. However, if their chain ofmand was set up properly so that they could recover instantly after losing their leaders, it would literally mean that we had topletely annihte their whole army.
A voice then came out from the water.
"s, patron, they have splendidly recovered. Theres still chaos on the vicinity but they are going to continue the war, good luck."
"No choice then. Aura, sorry to push you to work harder but cooperate with Ruru and snipe the enemy from the back."
"Oui, oui, patron. Then, lets do our best Aura-nee."
"Yes, Ruru-chan, lets kill lots of them."
Ruru once again slipped into another dimension while Aura became invisible again.
Anti-materiel rifles were originally meant to shoot through monstrously armored tanks but thanks to Roronos remodeling skills which allowed her to freely incorporate orichalcum, the gun was now more than four times as powerful as it had originally been.
Thistest model had been installed with a pair of twin-drive golem cores. Using those in conjunction with Roronos Enchantments, [Hardening] magic could be used on the gun to reinforce it without taxing the user. Also, all the excess magic power would be used to activate [eleration] to further increase the destructiveness of the bullets.
It had so much power in fact that without the durability granted by its orichalcum body and Hardening magic, it would break apart as soon as a shot was taken.
Naturally, the recoil was absurd as well. As Rorono would put it, it was an insane gun. Unless the user could negate the immense recoil like Aura with her use of wind magic, the user himself would be killed as soon as he pulled the trigger.
And then, there were Auras skills. The [Shooter of Magical Projectiles] which improved the attack power and uracy of her long-range attacks; her [Jade Eyes] which was the strongest magic eye; and her mastery over the wind which she used in this case to get rid of air resistance the bullet would experience once fired.
With all of these things together, one needed to be at least an A rank monster with defensive skills and magic in order to survive. Even heroes would find it hard to escape instant death against her.
Her current tactic was to bombard the enemy as the invisible, immobile marksman in the sky. The chances of her presence being discovered were exceedingly low but even if she was somehow discovered, she could just easily switch to a highly mobile tactic.
As it stood, she was the indomitable god of death of the battlefield. And acting as her eyes was Rlyeh Diva. By agreeing to fight in this in devoid of cover, they signed their own death warrant.
For some time, the sounds of gunfire reverberated in the air. Alongside it was the explosion of the heads of the enemys trump cards: the heroes. Just like earlier, the unfortunate soldiers beside and behind those targets were killed as well.
It was one perfect headshot after another.
They were being ughtered and yet, they had no idea where the attack was evening from. Even the so-called heroes were screaming, panicking, and dying without knowing how.
Needless to say, the enemys morale was plummeting down.
"At this rate, it might not even take ten minutes for her to annihte the enemies. But then again, we might not have ten minutes."
The sole weak point of her sniping was that itcked the ability to wipe out all of the enemies in a short time. The heavily armored vanguard of the more than 3000 enemy army was drawing considerably close. No matter how hard she tried, she would be able to take out only a few hundreds by herself before the enemy army arrived.
ording to Rurus report, the enemy predicted that I was going to order the golems to attack. They would then counter it by sending the heavily armored vanguard to stall the golems while their magic users in the rear preparedrge-scale magic.
It was a good strategy if only we reacted as they expected. I didnt need to send out my golems at all because I had another way of disposing their vanguard and magic users.
"Wight, show us the might of the aerialbat corps youve trained."
"Yes, as you will my lord."
Wight whistled and 10 Darkness Dragons from Avalons direction came flying to the battlefield.
The enemy soldiers that looked up to the sky and noticed them. Their reaction at the sight of the ominous dragons was the obvious one: they screamed and panicked.
Each of the Darkness Dragon carried a container. There was two kinds of containers though. One that carriedrge amounts of napalm bombs and one that...
Now, lets teach them what it means to rule the skies.
Rlyeh is written as 륤/Ruruie and hence Ruru. It can be argued that Lulu is better but, well, its from Rlyeh after all.
Volume 4 19
Through the cup of water I held in my hand, I listened in on the voices and sounds that Rlyeh Diva had deemed worthy of attention. To be able to listen to the live voices of the enemy soldiers andmanders while remaining where I stood, I could only describe it as a very useful and advantageous ability.
It wasnt just Rlyeh Diva that hid in a separate dimension but also the Ocean Singers.
If there was any third party in this battle whose goal was to see my war potential, I was sure that they would act provided enough bait was set.
To be able to catch them when they do act, I formed a group of High Elves to work with the intelligence corps. Instead of them sniping out the enemies like the other elves, their mission was to stay concealed and search for any suspicious presence.
Now then, time to set a grand bait.
"Then, my lord, please look over there as we disy the might of the aerialbat corps."
In response to Wights finger-whistle, the Darkness Dragons came flying high in the sky.
They carried along with them the containers made by the Dwarf Smiths.
The sight of the 10 Darkness Dragons in perfect formation was indeed a spectacle. They flew at the height of 400 meters above the ground, well beyond the reach of bows and magic.
The enemy soldiers looked up and, upon seeing the dragons majesty, cowered and trembled. The soldiers didnt know what else to do other than to keep looking up. Their strategy against the golems was for the heavy-infantry to hold the golems off while the magic users at the back casted strong magic to wipe the golems out. It was a simple yet good enough n. However, against the dragons flying in the sky, it was worthless.
"Well, we did misdirect them into thinking like that."
We had purposely shown them the golems to trick them into believing that the golems were our main force, after all.
"Now, show them hell."
Originally, just as the enemies couldnt reach the Darkness Dragons while they were in the sky, the dragons alsocked the means to attack the enemies in the ground without dropping their altitude.
Their breath attacks could reach, at most, only a distance of 100 meters.
That was true though only until had I provided them their means.
When the enemy vanguard resumed rushing in, nine out of the ten containers were opened to drop down the vast amounts of napalm bombs contained within. Considering the Darkness Dragons strength, they could carry more than two tons at a time but since we didnt have that much supply of napalm bombs anyway, it was decided that each were to only carry almost two tons of the stuff.
The dragons targets were the heavy-infantry rushing forward.
And the result was...
"GYAAAAAAAAA!!!"
"HELPPPPPPP!!!"
"SO HOT SO HOT SO HOT SO HOT SO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!"
Each member of the vanguard burned in hellfire.
Nearly all of them were killed. The stronger ones managed to live momentarily longer which was the worse fate in this scenario for the longer they lived, the longer they felt the fire and thus writhed in agony.
The power of this bombing was iparable to the previous one conducted by the Hippogriffs.
After all, in this world, part of the users stats affected the power of the weapon. Darkness Dragons were B rank monsters with an A for their Physical Strength stat. They also had the skill [Miasma] which increased their offensive capabilities even more.
That wasnt all. They also benefitted from Wights special ability, the [Ruler of Death] which he gained upon bing a Siegwurm. This ability allowed him to drastically strengthen the undead units under hismand.
Given all these, there was no way humans of just these strength could survive. And so, with none of them being able to do anything, several hundreds of lives perished.
"Amazing. Power, power is welling up within me! Ahahahahahaha!"
I unconsciouslyughed out loud.
This entire in was part of my dungeon and thus, all the lives lost here became my sustenance; the souls of the entire enemy army, no matter who they were, were soon to be my power.
If I were topare it, in Avalon, a gentle power flowed calmly into me. In this moment, however, the power that into me brought me a different kind of pleasant feeling. The soldiers fear, despair, and their very lives flowed into me as violently and as incessantly as a river during a raging storm.
With each passing second, the taste of their fear developed; the taste of their despair became even more pronounced; and their lives even more vivid as it disappeared.
Oh... I just might go mad from this, this, this sensation, oooohh. More, I want more of it, quickly.
"Kill, more, kill more of them!"
More, I want more! Yes, thats it, lets burn their city down. That way, those whose homes we burned will retaliate and deliver more, a lot more, of these... food. No, thats still not enough; one citys not enough. Ill burn many, many, more cities! And more and more food wille! And then, Ill burn them all! More, I want to feel more of this sensation!
"More! This not enough, not at all!"
Once theyre all gone, well move on to the next! Well fight another country! More! Kill more, feel good more, kill, feel good, I, I...
"Oto-san"
I then sensed something small and soft touch my hand. Thanks to that touch, my heart didnt fall "somewhere".
"Ku... i... na..."
"Oto-san, youre making such a scary face."
Kuina was looking up at me with a frightened expression on her face.
Seeing that, my head quickly cooled. I wondered just what kind of face I was making or just what the heck I was saying, for that matter, since that wasnt like me at all.
"My bad, I got a little drunk."
"Thank goodness, its the usual Oto-san!"
Kuina then hugged me tightly.
My, my, what a shameful father I have been.
With that thought, I took big, deep breaths and gradually returned to my usual self.
This wasnt my first genocide; I had done so before when I fought with [Evil] and yet, nothing like this had happened at that time. I was in a party with the Hippogriffs back then so I did feed on the enemys souls but then precisely because I was in a party, the effects had weakened. Moreover, it was just their souls that I fed on instead of their emotions as well.
Even after considering all that, it seemed to me that the most prominent factor was that feeding on humans just more delicious than doing so on monsters.
It wouldnt have been weird if a Demon Lord who knew of such a fine taste became a warmonger. Thankfully, I didnt end up bing one. Stay strong, my heart.
"Oto-san, on your back"
Kuina said so as she pointed to my back where I had, since earlier, felt a strange, hot sensation.
"It looks like something has grown."
What was there was a pair of jet-ck wings and soon to follow it, I felt, were horns. By dining on thousands of humans, it felt as though my status as a Demon Lord had risen.
Nevertheless, I was posing as a human so this form was inconvenient, to say the least. As soon as I thought so, the wings vanished. It seemed like I could make it appear and disappear at will.
"So cool! Can Kuina touch?"
"Later. The wars still not over."
"Thats a promise!"
"Yeah butter, ok?"
And so, I turned my attention back to the battlefield.
Nine out of the ten containers the Darkness Dragons carried contained napalm bombs which they already dropped down on the enemies.
As for the activities of thest one, it had leisurely flew pass the vanguard to drop not just the contents of its container like what the other dragons had done but the container itself.
It made a deafening sound as it crashed right in the middle of the enemy rearguard formation. A few unfortunate soldiers were squashed by the container. Of course, squashing wasnt the end goal here...
"What, are those people in that box?"
"Those arent people; theyre golems!"
"Gyaaaaaa! These guys are strong and fast!"
"Magic doesnt work!? Help, somebody heeeeeelp!"
What were loaded into that container were ten Avalon-Ritters.
There were only a few of them since the rest were enhanced via special remodeling and were thus hidden to be one of my trump cards.
Anyway, as mentioned earlier, the enemys strategy was for their vanguard to hold off the golems while their magic users at the back castedrge-scale magic. So for that reason, the enemies near where the Avalon-Ritters were dropped off were mostly magic users. Of course, there were some knights around to serve as guards but they were rtively few in number.
The question then was what would happen now that the Avalon-Ritters were there. There was but one answer: a massacre.
To start things off, the Avalon-Ritters activated their twin-drive golem cores to be at full-throttle. Strong magic power condensed into particles of light began to rise up. Just with those vast amounts of magic power, the enemies were plunged into a state of panic.
Each Avalon-Ritter was equipped with a gigantic greatsword that no human could wield. Each sword was made by Rorono to be the Avalon-Ritters basic equipment.
It was made with orichalcum alloy so despite the swords size, each was rtively light-weight and durable. Needless to say, the swords were superbly sharp. Each also had two enchantments applied to it. One of it was the improvement to shing attacks. This improvement alone by Rorono was enough to ssify it as a first-ss magic sword. To add to that, by injecting magic power into the sword, it could propel the user to whichever direction he so desired.
All of the excess magic power produced by the twin-drives were transformed into kic energy thus giving birthfrom the enemies perspectiveto catastrophe.
And so, the greatswords made of orichalcum were wielded at a speed faster than sound.
Due to the Avalon-Ritters excellent non-human brain, it could performplex movements while maintaining great bnce even at that speed. And then, due to it being a golem, it could not get tired at all. What those meant was that the Avalon-Ritters would not stop until there were no more enemies before them.
It was as though they were whirlwinds.
The Avalon-Ritters cut and chopped up the enemies as though they were only pieces of paper,pletely unable to offer any decent resistance to their killers.
To use magic, it must first be channeled but the Avalon-Ritters didnt have any intention of giving the enemy magic users that time.
The most the magic users could do was hide behind a wall made out of their fallen allies corpses and cast close-range magic despite the high likelihood of friendly fire. However, Avalon-Ritters were made of orichalcum and were thus highly resistant to magic. The only harm the enemy magic users were doing was to their allies.
The few knights as well were chopped up whenever they came near the Avalon-Ritters.
It was impossible for them to stop the Avalon-Ritters with so few. To do so, they would have needed dozens, no, hundreds.
"Theyre amazing, Rorono."
"Developing the artificial brain so that it could masterfully wield that sword was more troublesome than making the sword itself. But, Im satisfied with these results. They would serve as good data for improving the Avalon-Ritters further."
Rorono the developer was in great joy.
And she should be for her work was truly amazing.
"As for the improved variants, it seems like we can keep them on reserve just as nned."
"Mhm. We can win even if those ones arent used. After all, those are genuinely worthy of being called trump cards."
It had been only a little over ten minutes since the war had begun and yet the victors and losers of this fight had already been determined.
The enemy army had already lost 80% of their total and any structure ofmand was gone.
As for our sides damage, it was limited to only those that were in our vanguard. The loss of a few Silver Golems was nothing major.
"Aura, have you been properly holding back?"
"Totally, master."
I did not see her form but her voice was carried over by the wind.
The enemy armysst ray of hope, their elite forces, were systematically being killed by Aura and Rlyeh Diva.
After we had secured a fair amount of advantage, I had instructed Aura to do as little damage as was possible to the would-be corpses. In response, instead of direct hits, she only grazed her targets enough to kill them. This was needed because Wights [Enhanced Resurrection] might not work if the corpses were too damaged.
"Anytime now."
My guess was that even if the enemy wanted to surrender, they were either already dying or just couldnt dere so given the present situation. After all, their frontlines were being burned by the sea of ominous ck mesdue to the dragons [Miasma]while their rear was being ughtered by the hurricanes that were the Avalon-Ritters.
I then decided to just wait and watch until the napalm-born mes ran out of things to burn and thus vanished.
But then again, if I wait that long, the Avalon-Ritters might have killed everyone already.
As I decided to wait regardless, the water in the cup I held trembled and I heard Rlyeh Divas voice.
It was a warning.
I signaled so to Kuina and she nodded.
A minuteter, a man very silently appeared behind me.
The one that erased his presence and came to take my head was a hero-ss adventurer that slipped past Auras search-and-destroy unit.
The only hope their side had to win was if they could somehow kill me, our sides topmander. But even if this individual managed to do so, he must have known there was no way he could escape. It was an attack made knowing full well he would never return. I could see the valor in it but, such a shame...
"So, you believe youvepletely erased your presence?"
Kuina turned towards him and pulled the trigger of the shotgun Rorono had customized.
It might have been due to the anger she felt toward him who aimed for me but regardless, she used her shotguns full-auto mode when even one shot would have been enough to deal a fatal blow.
The man, after receiving four shots in less than a second, couldnt be recognized anymore from his previous form.
"Kuina will protect Oto-san."
The man died without being able to do anything.
In the first ce, with Kuina, Aura, and Rlyeh Diva, there was no way tounch a surprise attack against me.
After a while, the mes caused by the napalm bombs had subsided enough.
The Darkness Dragons thennded. Just by being close to the dragons, the few remaining survivors were driven into madness by the dragons special ability [Fear] and then died.
By this point, I could finally see beyond the wall of mes. As soon as their vision cleared and saw us as well, some from the enemy army desperately waved white gs. There isnt even ten percent of them left.
At that, I hurriedly told Rorono to make the Avalon-Ritters stop.
"Rlyeh Diva"
"There are less than two hundred that have survived. Woah. There were more than 3000 of them before though- how pitiful-"
"Its a war so it cant be helped. Then, Wight, go ride with Kohaku and ascertain whether they truly wish to surrender."
"Yes, my lord. Kohaku-dono, lets go."
"Hmm, finally, something for me to do."
And so, the two headed to the survivors that continued to wave their gs.
The enemy should know by now just how horrible an experience it was to go against Avalon. I suspected they would be obedient for a while.
Regardless, the war was over.
I drank the water in the cup since I no longer needed to receive intelligence from Rlyeh Diva for the time being.
After Wight had ascertained the will to surrender, he began the post-war negotiations. After thats over, it was time for the celebration party. Lets all go all-out today, I thought in regards to the celebration.
It was a good thing the war had concluded without the need to show the trump cards I had decided to hide like Kuinas new weapon, Roronos improved [Mechanical Warmaiden], the enhanced Avalon-Ritters, the Darkness Dragons new equipment, Rlyeh Diva and the intelligence corpsbat capabilities, and more. That being said, regardless of how many remained hidden, the fact that I had exposed quite a lot of my war potential remained true.
I was certain that the one pulling the enemys strings must have made an action. I have to talk in detail with Rlyeh Diva and the High Elves that stood guardter.
Anyway, before I left the ce, I ordered that the corpses that were still in good condition and could be reused as undead monsters to be gathered and to be preserved by freezing. By my reckoning, we had obtained at least ten hero-ss adventurers corpses and at least several hundreds of the other soldiers. They would definitely be great additions to our undead forces.
At any rate...
"Everyone, thanks for all your hard work. You all did great."
I decided to reward my monsters since it was due to them and their persistence that we won this time.
Volume 3 of the light novel has been announced toe out on the 15th of September!
Heres the cover art
Volume 4 epilogue
"Procell-sama, are you really sure this is good enough for you?"
"Avalon doesnt want for there to be further bad blood between us. So yes, we do not have any ns to seek for rpense."
In the reception room of my residence, we dealt with the post-war processing.
On the other side of this conversation was the one that raised and waved the white g in the battlefield while being scared of the Avalon-Ritters murderous storm.
He was the neighboring citys lord.
The reason he had for being in the battlefield sounded something like he wanted to personally see Avalon being trampled upon.
I only heard this indirectly but he seemed to have thought that their victory was definitely for certain. For him, their side going toe to toe with us was impossible enough, never mind their side losing.
It seemed he used his soldiers as a shield to survive but nevertheless, he survived through the war. He had terrific survival ability.
"Thank you very much. I-I promise you, from now on, we will not be a problem for Avalon anymore. I swear so please, I beg you, spare our city."
With much force, the other citys lord bowed his head enough that it touched the table. What he feared most at the moment was that Avalon would chose to retaliate and invade their city.
"Avalon has no intention of doing so."
The only reason we fought in this war was because it was forced on us. Even so, if we took it a step further and conquered the neighboring city instead of settling things here, the empire itself would be against us. We might win but Id rather not deal with that trouble especially since we didnt wish for any to begin with.
"However, if ever we find out that youve been conspiring with other cities against us, we will mercilessly raze your city to the ground. What youve seen was but a demonstration of our true might. Bear that in mind. Even if you have assembled an army capable of defeating us, remember that we can turn your city into ashes before the fighting even begins."
If we didnt care for the method and only at the result, things would be over instantly.
In the case that they gathered a force we couldnt hope to win against, my move would be to first bombard their city from the sky. After that, we wouldpletely hole up and defend the city. Like so, the enemy would soon wither away.
"I-I understand. We will not, never again, to this city, stand in opposition, even if we gain support from our country........."
At that, I smiled.
"Then, let us confirm the terms for the armistice, shall we? First, about the pass that Avalon will issue. Anyone that has this pass will be exempt from tariffs and admission taxes. Also, all undeserved taxes to those going toward Avalons direction will no longer be imposed."
"Understood. Those can be arranged right away."
"Next, to watch over you and your city, you shall take on a subordinate of mine as your secretary."
"I consent on that too."
"Then,e."
A blue-haired beautiful girl in a dress then appeared.
She was one of the Ocean Singers of the intelligence corps.
"Grant her ess to everything and let her do whatever she wants. If we ever lose contact with her, we will take it as a sign of your hostility toward us and thus act ordingly."
"I-I understand. She shall be treated as we would a guest of honor."
With her there to observe in an official capacity, any disturbing activity the other party was up to would be reported immediately.
".........but are you really sure youre fine with only these two conditions?"
He still doubted me and I really couldnt me him. To him, I might have sounded too optimistic.
"Yes. As Ive said in the beginning, what we wish for is the mutual prosperity of both our cities. If a city we traded with underwent a recession, the businessing from there will also lessen. So, we have no intention of burdening you further than what is necessary."
A fair number of our valuable guests resided in the neighboring city so it would actually impact us negatively if that citys economy failed to prosper.
Humans were a very important resource for us. We mustnt, if possible, carelessly decrease their numbers. Rather, it would be better for us to set up an environment where their poption would increase.
"Be that as it may, Avalon will only be lenient this one time. The opportunities to take advantage of this leniency are there and are plentiful. Perhaps you might even decide to attack us again. Should you do so, however, dont expect us to hold back again."
In response to my threat, the other citys lord went ghastly pale and shivered.
With both sides in agreement, we signed the documents relevant to this armistice and concluded the meeting.
"Oh, thats right, were going to hold a celebration party but would you like to join us?"
"Tha-Thank you for your consideration b-but as I have, ahm, things to attend to, I would have to respectfully d-decline."
"Thats a shame. But all of your horses have ran away during the war, right? Let me arrange for you a golem-drawn carriage. I wish you a safe journey home."
I said so with a smiling face. The other citys lord on the other hand repeatedly nodded.
He had already forgotten but just a while back, I had made him drink a truth serum concocted by Aura. Through that, I had made him spill all that he knew. I had also ced within his body a listening device and transmitter.
I had done all that without him remembering a thing. It was such a drug.
After he left, I contemted on what he had ryed to me.
"This is a surprise. Someone from the Rigdolg Faith had instigated them into this war. And a high-ranking priest at that."
The Rigdolg Faith was a religion with vast influence over many countries. Considering it was the Rigdolg Faith, it was entirely usible that they could easily gather those hero-ss adventurers from various countries.
One thing that the lord confessed to me got my attention though.
"These Hero-ss adventurers are cultured so dont worry."
Said the priest of the Rigdolg Faith to the neighboring citys lord.
What I heard made things have more sense. Originally, to be a hero-ss adventurer, one needed to have earned a vast amount of experience. Gaining rawbat strength alone wasnt enough, the real threat lied with the heroes instincts born from their umted experience. Clearly though, our opponents this time didnt possess such instincts.
A theory came to mind: If a Demon Lord was indeed behind the Rigdolg Faith, wouldnt they then be able to mass-produce hero-ss adventurers within a short time by letting those would-be heroes efficiently kill the said Demon Lords monsters? And if so, it made sense that these heroes instincts were not as developed.
Nheless, these were all in the realm of conjecture at the moment. Our first step was to let the lord go roam free and then gather intelligence from his activities.
I had instructed the Ocean Singer I had appointed as his secretary to deliberately give him space. I suspected that when that chance presented itself to him, he would make direct contact with whomever can lead us to the real enemy.
In other news, the High Elves and Ocean Singers I had made to survey the battlefield had apprehended some suspicious monsters. They were currently being confined in the dungeon proper underground and would be properly pried for intelligence at ater date. For now...
After seeing off the golem-drawn carriage that the neighboring citys lord rode in, I returned to Avalon.
Upon doing so, a man cheerily greeted me.
"Procell-san, I heard it was yourplete victory."
He was the merchant Relic. His face was already red when we met, a clear indication that the celebration partyand the drinking for that matterhad already begun.
Given that Avalon was a city surrounded by high walls and that entry and exit were prohibited during the war, the citizens within the city had no knowledge of how the war unfolded. All they knew was that we won.
"Yes, its thanks to everyones support."
"What are you talking about? In the end, you almost didnt let us help you, remember? And yet, you trashed your opponent of 3000 strong in less than an hour! This city is the best. Hahaha! Avalon is the most profitable and safest city in the world!"
He praised Avalon without reserve but his eyes were serious. I was sure he smelt the scent of gold. Geez, hes a person I really cant drop my guard to.
I stayed a while for some idle chat and then parted with him to walk around the city.
With the threat of the war gone, everyone was in a state of great revelry.
Because of the celebration party, a considerable number of merchants could be seen here and there, offering luxurious food and alcohol. Everyone was smiling.
It was as though a genocide didnt happen just a little while earlier.
"Ah! Oto-san, these kebabs are delicious!"
"Master, this soup is tastier."
"This dried fish too is superb."
Kuina, Rorono, and Aura each brought along a cuisine in their hands.
I had made them go ahead of me and enjoy the festivity. And it seemed like they did enjoy it.
"Oto-san, say a-h"
"Kuinas so sneaky."
"Now, now, Rorono-chan, we can just simply do it too, right?"
The girls each fed me the food that they brought.
Aside from eaching from a different faraway city or vige, each cuisine was also delicious.
Avalon, as it was currently, was a melting pot of very diverse cultures. Although it was but one city, it enjoyed the culture of various nations.
The ability to enjoy such things was one of Avalons greatest strong points.
"By the way, wheres Rlyeh Diva?"
"It seemed like she had something else she wanted to do so she separated from us."
"Ohh, thats a little worrisome."
As soon as I said so, I heard a tremendous cheering from somewhere north. When I came to see themotion, I discovered that it was because Rlyeh Diva was singing.
The citizens were in a trance as they waved their hands and stamped their feet. They were in an amazing rave.
"Master, its a good song, isnt it?"
"Yeah, Aura, to the point that its kinda scary."
Rlyeh Diva didnt make use of any special ability. It was purely her charming song that put the people in such a frenzied state. It seemed to me that that song could be turned into a good weapon which would unite the hearts of Avalons citizens into one.
"Theres some unfamiliar food over there; lets go eat them."
"Yay ?"
"Mhm"
"Yes!"
Together with the three, I enjoyed the festivity to the fullest.
As we headed toward the next ce to eat, we passed by Wight who was arm in arm with a Dwarf Smith. Next to them was Kohaku with an extrarge piece of meat attached to a bone in his mouth.
......the citizens of Avalon are amazing. A Byakko walks among them and yet theyre not minding it. The human beings ability to adapt is amazing.
"Oto-san, youre so slow."
"Ah, sorry."
I then quickened my pace.
What I felt at the moment was the desire to forget all my worries and immerse myself instead in this festive mood.
The party continued on untilte into the night.
Sometime in between, the citizens had found me and made me do a speech.
I got caught up in the mood and said some fairly embarrassing things like Avalon is invincible or that it will prosper even more.
Perhaps due to my strong conviction during the speech, the girls became strangely motivated.
"We should be getting home now, dont you think?"
I asked so and they nodded in return.
The citizens seemed to have intended to continue all night but, as expected, we couldnt party with them that long.
"Oto-san, Avalons a great city!"
"Yes, it indeed is."
If I listened carefully, the citizens cheers were still audible.
Even during that moment, their gentle emotions continuously flowed into me and became my power.
It was happiness. By making the people happy, I became happy.
I want to make Avalon an even more fantastic city, I thought.
"Kuina, Rorono, Aura, this is just the start for Avalon. I ask you to help me make it the happiest city in the world."
"Yay ?"
"Mhm. If that is masters wish."
"Yes, I will also do my best. Not only with the newest fruits but also with various medicinal herbs."
Theyre all so reliable.
These pleasant replies would be my luby tonight.
"Its been a while so why dont we all sleep in a single bed tonight?"
In response to my question, each of them replied with a smile in their face.
Great. Tonights turning out to be a great night. I really wanted to share this happiness I felt with these girls.
Volume 5 prologue
My city of Avalon was challenged into a war by the neighboring city.
The enemy had prepared an army of over 3000 soldiers. They had also gathered as part of their fighting force more than 30 hero-ss adventurers.
Meanwhile, the monsters of Avalon didnt even number a hundred. Clearly, there was vast difference with our fighting forces in terms of numbers.
During that seemingly desperate situation however, my monsters gave their all and won the war for me.
After Avalon had secured victory, we held a celebration party thatsted until the next morning.
Together with Kuina, Rorono, and Aura, I slipped out early from the celebration party and made use of the festive bustle as my luby for a peaceful sleep.
Having reached a point I could put a pause on my worries, I had enjoyed, after a long while, a rather fresh awakening.
"Mmnya, Oto-san"
"Master... Orichalcum... Not enough..."
"Mufufu. Kuina-chan and Rorono-chans sleeping faces are the best. If they dont wake up soon, Im afraid Ill end up doing some mischief."
While they peacefully sleep-talked, Kuina the Celestial Fox and Rorono the Dwarf Smith each held to an arm of mine.
On the other hand, Aura the Ancient Elf who was already awake enjoyed the sight of their sleeping faces.
These three were my very important [Monsters of the Covenant]. They were my dear daughters.
"Ah, master, good morning."
"Youre up quite early."
"Yes. Its because I have to go attend to the orchard soon."
Aura who had already risen up greeted me so.
Appearing as though she was a girl in the middle of her teens, she looked quite older and more developed than the rest of the monsters I had made.
She wore as her nightwear a ck negligee she had liked and then procured from another city. I would never think of doing anything indecent to her, my daughter, but in her current attire, it was proving rather difficult to keep my eyes from wandering.
Objectively speaking though, the ck negligee suited Auras blond hair and jade-green eyes.
"Mornin, Oto-san!"
Kuina woke up to the sound of our conversation and got up as well.
Her fox ears and tail were already so spry so early in the morning.
Kuina also wore a new pajama. Hers looked like some kind of penguin costume.
It suited the innocent and cute Kuina who appeared to be in the first half of her teens but for a fox to wear a penguin costume, I couldnt help but ask whats up with that.
"Oto-san, whats wrong?"
"Nothing; its just that Kuinas so cute"
"Yay ? I love you, Oto-san!"
Kuina then energetically embraced me and pressed her cheek against my chest, all while swinging her fox tail. Yeah, what does that matter when shes this adorable?
"Kuina, youre so noisy this early in the morning"
Rorono too awoke from the noise and got up.
As for her pajama, she prioritized practicality over appearance. Hers was an easy-to-breath-in pajama with soft materials. It looked like something she would really pick.
Nheless, it had drawn out the fairy-like charm of her slender body. Her being t-chested wasnt so bad.
"Master, its embarrassing if you stare at me like that."
Rorono, the shy person that she was, blushed slightly.
"Sorry, its just that I thought your new pajama suited you and that you looked cute in it."
"...thank you."
She then reached her limit and bowed down to hide her face. Seeing her act like that almost made me want to tease her.
"By the way Oto-san, you still havent fulfilled your promise."
"My promise?"
"Geez, your promise with Kuina! You said youll let Kuina touch your wings."
"Oh yeah, I did promise that, didnt I?"
By feeding on the souls of the thousands of soldiers who experienced utmost despair during the previous war, my power had increased tremendously.
Along with that was also the growth of my wings.
Ominous, jet-ck wings that were covered by some kind of demonic coating.
As of this moment, the wings were nowhere to be seen.
When I had thought they were a hindrance, they disappeared. The tremendous power I gained however remained within me; I could feel it swirling within.
"Oto-san, let Kuina touch the wings now!"
"Master, Im also interested in it."
"Me too!"
The three looked at me with sparkling eyes. Cant be helped.
"Alright, you can touch the wings as much as you want."
For some reason, I instinctively knew just how to call out the wings.
And so, I focused my power into my back. The power locked within me then began to grow wild, heading to the back of my body. It felt as though it was going to burn me.
My senses then entered a heightened state, as though I was about to do battle.
"Woaaaahhhh, so cool!"
"Its so imposing."
"It suits you well, master."
The wings grew out.
On that moment, my heart swelled and my power grew.
But then, my emotions were dyed ck.
As though I was stirred up by something, I looked at my adorable girls.
I want to eat them up.
I want to mess them up.
I want to know how theyll cry.
"Oto-san, youre making a scary face."
"...oh yeah?"
It was strange. These girls were my daughters and I never had such desires toward them.
I then wondered if it was an effect of the wings.
Regardless, I frantically tried to calm myself.
"Masters power and magic power have jumped up quite a bit, yeah? I dont know if even we can beat you in singlebat anymore."
"Mhm. Itll be impossible without weapons. Such amazing power. Im relieved though. Master bing stronger also means hes harder to kill."
Aura and Rorono calmly analyzed my transformation.
"If youre gonna touch the wings, do so quickly. This forms a little bothersome."
I myself didnt know what I might do. It was dangerous.
"I see, so in exchange for the power you gain in that form, you experience pain? Is that right master?"
I just smiled in response to Auras query.
She was mistaken. Rather than being in pain, I was in ecstasy. However, I also became lustful, violent, and sadistic. Those kinds of negative emotions grew within me. The rotten, dark parts of me raged, wanting toe to the surface.
"Woah, the wings are so tough."
"It is indeed strong. And cool"
"Yes, its quite sturdy and alluring."
Like so, the girls touched and patted the wings.
"Okay, thats enough. I cant take it anymore."
I wasnt confident I could hold the negative emotions down anymore so I decided to end the transformation.
The most terrifying thing about this form was that I felt good in it. I feared that once I lost to this pleasant feeling and recognized this as my real self, I wouldnt ever be able return back.
This isnt who I am, I thought as I dreaded it might really be me.
"Okay, thank you, Oto-san!"
"Mhm, Im satisfied."
"I want to touch the wings again but if it brings master pain then, yes, that was enough."
With all my efforts, I casted aside all these foul desires and made the wings vanish.
Okay, Im back to normal. I am loving these girls as I should: as my precious daughters. Geez, what a dangerous power.
"Everyone, there are some things Ive learned with that disy just now. First, upon the emergence of those wings, my own fighting strength and magic power rise to absurd heights."
There was no doubt about that.
At present, due to my connection with my three S rank [Monsters of the Covenant], my normal power levels were on par with the three. However, upon the emergence of those wings, my power levels exceeded even that of S rank monsters; even that of my daughters.
"Thats so amazing."
"Theres more. I have also obtained an advanced form of [Creation] I can use if I make those wingse forth."
[Creation] was my ability to materialize objects that were in my memory. It was very powerful by all rights but now, I had gained a power that was even stronger.
"Thats even more amazing, Oto-san. What does it do?"
"I have no idea; all I know right now is that it has awakened within me. I might know for sure once I try it out but... Im afraid. Im afraid that once I use it, I cant change back ever again."
All of my instincts warned me not to use it, that the very thing itself was a [Taboo]. Probably more than that, it felt to me that by using that power, my present self would cease to exist.
"If thats the case, then I would say its better to just not use it. My master, no, Avalons master, you are strong even without that! So lets not get involved with such dangerous things!"
I nodded to Auras statement.
I had made it this far with just the current [Creation] and the might of my reliable monsters. I shouldnt rely on such a double-edged power.
"Okay, I have decided that I will only use those wings when the situation greatly calls for them. Situations that I hope would nevere."
The three girls agreed.
More than losing myself, I was afraid of my daughters getting hurt.
To avoid that, I decided to keep this power as my final trump card.
"You dont have to look so apologetic, Oto-san! Kuina and the others are strong so itll be alright!"
"Especially after leveling up a lot in this war."
"Yes, were invincible already."
The three each gave a reliable reply.
They had leveled up a lot in thest war by being assigned to their own party. In a party where ten members were the maximum, experience points could be equally distributed among those members.
The first party wasposed of five Darkness Dragons and Kuina.
The second party wasposed of the other five Darkness Dragons and Wight.
The third party wasposed of Aura and Rlyeh Diva.
The fourth group meanwhile wasnt technically a party. It wasposed of Rorono and the Avalon-Ritters she controlled. Avalon-Ritters then gave all the experience points gained to Rorono.
In other words, the experience points gained by the bombardment of the Darkness Dragons went to Kuina and Wight.
The experience points gained from the hero-ss adventurers went to Aura and Rlyeh Diva.
And then, the experience points gained from the massacre of the magicians in the rear by the Avalon-Ritters went solely to Rorono.
Kuina and the others had leveled up in the [Crimson Cavern] to the point that they almost couldnt level up anymore by the experience points avable there. However, with this war, they had been able to level up tremendously.
At present, their levels could be mistaken even for the levels of an A rank monster who could grow.
"Ill be relying on all of you, then."
The three nodded and replied that I should leave it to them. Truly reliable children.
"We should get out of bed soon. We still have work to do after breakfast."
"Sounds fun, Oto-san."
"We have gained a lot in this war. We also have a treaty that prohibits the imposing of tariffs by the neighboring city. Of course theres therge amount of experience points you all gained, making you all more powerful. And then, there are the corpses of the powerful humans."
After we had breakfast, I nned on going to meet with Wight to see another spoil of war. Wight who had be a ck Dragon of Death, an S rank monster who ruled over death, had a very powerful ability: his [Enhanced Resurrection].
It was the strongest resurrection skill which allowed him to revive and control the dead. It also made the revived units have more strength than when they were alive.
Through this ability of his, Avalon would get arge amount of A rank monsters which, through normally means, we wouldnt have been able to gather in such a short amount of time.
After all, to get an A rank monster, a Demon Lord had to use two A rank medals. They were beings even high-ranking Demon Lords would have trouble obtaining.
And so, we looked forward to seeing the undead with the flexibility and diversity of the hero-ss humans in action.
Volume 5 1
~???s point of view~
"This is surprising. Truly surprising."
He, one of the great and ancient Demon Lords, pleasantly said so after hearing the report of his subordinate monster.
He was the type of Demon Lord to utilize human beings.
By making use of a certain religion, he had amassed and fed on human emotions.
His dungeon was the smallest country in the world and also the head temple of the Rigdold Faith which was the worlds most practiced religion.
Many zealous believers would visit and gather in his dungeon everyday believing it was a holy site. The emotions of these believers were of an awfully powerful quality. Furthermore, by wagingrge-scale wars disguised as holy wars, they could gather even more humans.
"Why are you so pleased? The war with [Creation] was an utter failure. The n was to use the humans to nip a problem in the bud but with this defeat, hasnt it only made [Creation] even stronger?"
A human soldier who participated in the war with the [Creation] Demon Lord candidly protested so to the Demon Lord that was his master.
"Hmm, I dont think I ever said anything about nipping a problem in the bud. What I said was about ascertaining the might of [Creation]."
The Demon Lord then drank from the ss he held in his hand.
What he drank was a first-ss alcohol. Since offerings were made to him as that religions god, all that he owned was exclusively of the highest quality.
"Master, just what are you thinking?"
"Ill answer but before that, how about peeling off that skin? Isnt it awkward?"
Upon hearing those words, the soldier opened his mouth wide. After doing so, a ck shadow then came out. Except for being a ck shadow, it was almost featureless.
Meanwhile, all that remained of the soldiers body was his skin.
That monster was a Doppel Eater.
It had the ability to enter the bodies of humans and act as them.
Because they wore not only a humans skin but even their soul, they were able to deceive detecting abilities, no matter how powerful, that they were not monsters.
As vital members of this ancient Demon Lords surveince unit, many Doppel Eaters were made to participate in the war.
Originally, they hid themselves within Avalon but ever since [Creation] Demon Lord Procell had made Rlyeh Diva, a monster who could read emotions and that had far too sharp a wit, the Doppel Eaters were afraid that hiding for a longer period time would only lead to them being revealed and thus decided to withdraw.
"Is this good enough?"
"Yeah. Then, to answer you, what I intended for from the start was to test him out. If he was crushed with only this much, he wasnt worth the bother of even killing. If he did survive though, I wanted him to be strong enough for when he joins our side. And so, I have forced on him the necessary conditions for him to awaken as a Demon Lord. .........in short, no matter how it went, it was a sess. Weve seen [Creation]s ying hand, havent we?"
By aplishing certain fixed conditions, Demon Lords could awaken.
The Demon Lords that knew of these conditions could be counted with one hand. It was an absolute secret not taught to even the children they looked after.
"Master, why would you do that?"
"Its because that ones a lot like me, no? He had the idea to have a city for a dungeon. Both of us were also able to awaken without being consumed by the darkness it brings despite our greenness. I dont know of any other Demon Lord like that besides us."
The Doppel Eater was surprised to see his masterugh so happily, a sight it hadnt seen in more than a hundred years.
"Now then, shall we proceed to the final test to gauge not his might but his caliber as a Demon Lord? To know whether he haspletely be cold-hearted or not. If he has gotten conceited by his new-found power and does something unseemly, it will show that we have no need for him."
"Wait, are you suggesting on doing that?"
The Doppel Eater gasped.
It felt anticipation and anxiety to its masters overly brazen and dangerous behavior.
"I have been preparing for this past several decades and now is the time to act. Almost. Oh how it annoyed me that the others disregarded me and yet praised those three to be the strongest Demon Lords. [Beast], [Time], and [Dragon], soon, your generation and the problems youve caused us will be made to vanish. Ill start with the weakest of you three. Now, will he be a proper Demon Lord and be able to discard his parent or will he be a fool that doesnt know his ce and wage war against an old Demon Lord, only to end up being crushed? Which one shall he be?"
Behind him appeared his strongest monsters and the sessfully mass-produced heroes.
It was said that the Demon Lords at the top were [Beast], [Time], and [Dragon] but for the Doppel Eater, he couldnt ever imagine his master to be too far behind those three.
~Back to Procells point of view~
I had reached the bread factory underground. I went here to meet with Wight about the important task I had entrusted to him.
There, as always, the Skeletons were industriously making bread. As the poption of Avalon had increased, so too did their workload.
"Oh, its you, my lord. Thank you for us gracing again with your presence."
The moment he saw me, Wight gleefully rushed to my direction. When he was near, he gracefully bowed.
"Its about the task I gave to you."
"Does it concern the corpses of the human beings?"
"Exactly that. Have you checked which can be part of our fighting force?"
In the recent war, the neighboring city had hero-ss soldiers fighting for them. In monster terms, they would be the powerful beings known as A ranks.
We had killed those heroes and obtained their corpses. Afterwards, I hadmanded Wight to repurpose them.
"Then, to report. Of the hero-ss corpses we have recovered, I have seeded in using [Enhanced Resurrection] on 16 of them. On top of being on par with an average A rank monster, they also possessed an abundance of special abilities. They will be quite reliable. Plus, even if they are on the weaker side of A rank, with my power to strengthen them, they will be able to perform as an above average A rank monster."
"Ohh, thats good to hear."
I was delighted by Wights report.
Wight had an ability called [Enhanced Resurrection]. It could only be used once for each target but in exchange for its limited use, it would revive the targets, turn them into undead, and make them stronger than when they were alive.
The reinforced hero-ss adventurers who would be his subordinates were a great addition to our war potential.
"However, Im sorry to report that 14 of the hero-ss corpses were too badly damaged to be used for [Enhanced Resurrection]."
"Theres no helping it. I did instruct Aura to prioritize their annihtion."
Regardless of how easy it was for us, the enemies still had hero-ss soldiers. I ordered her to think only of killing the enemies until we could gain the definite advantage.
"How about the non-hero corpses?"
In this war, we had faced more than 3000 soldiers and we had killed the majority of that number.
I expected there to be a mountain of corpses where at least a few sustained only light damage.
"I have only been able to resurrect four so far since my [Enhanced Resurrection] has a limit of 20 targets per day. The weaker ones have been identified by Rlyeh Diva-dono and then sent to a storehouse where they could be frozen for preservation purposes. I expect to finish the task little by little every day."
"Thats promising. Among those corpses are soldiers that can be turned into B and C rank monsters. With all of your status boosting abilities, theyll be a fine boost to our war potential. Keep at it."
"As you will."
Wight said so as he did another elegant bow.
"What about that other thing I asked you?"
"I have done it but I do notprehend it fully. Those people are strange. The ones I have used my [Enhanced Resurrection] on still retain their experiences, knowledge, and memories but as for their emotions and personalities, their dark side are mostly whats left. Be that as it may, therell generally be lingering traces of their self. These heroes however, I can only think of them as being nk tes from the start."
"nk tes? Even though theyre humans who have risen up to be hero-ss soldiers?"
"Yes. As my lord has ordered I have tried to extract information out of them but so far, all Ive found out is that: theyve lived in a white room; something they referred to as Papa will regrly perform some unknown kind of magic; some kind of medicine is given to them; and that each time theyremanded to, they destroy something. Aside from those, they have no other memories so those are all the information I have managed to gain."
I then connected what Wight had said with what the information that these heroes were cultured as leaked by the other citys lord.
"No, thats enough. That information alone has value. Continue the extraction of information on the other soldiers though."
"As you will."
Wight then gave a deep, respectful bow.
After that, I had ascertained the hero-ss undead units abilities.
As was expected, they were superb. There were some who possessed master level sword skills, some who were bow specialists, and some who could use all sorts of offensive magic and healing magic.
Their strength was far from Kuinas and the others but the range of tactics we could do with them was vast indeed.
If used skillfully, they might just be the greatest part of my fighting force.
After I had confirmed with Wight the newest addition to our fighting force, I returned home.
The work needed for the administration of the city was as plentiful as ever. And so, I had decided that I was going to hire one exceptional human to help with the work. My wish was that I would soon be free of most of the administrative tasks for the city.
Kuina and the others were on standby in their rooms, something unusual for an afternoon.
Perhaps it was an effect of the celebration party yesterday but the city and most of its facilities were in a state of stupor.
As I thought so, I sipped some ck tea. But then, I felt a swell of magic power within my residence.
Is this [Transfer] magic?
It seemed to me as though somebody had used the Transfer array within my home from either the array at a nearby city or at Marchos dungeon.
The one that used the array rushed over to my direction. I recognized who she was.
Her blood was dripping to the ground. I didnt see any wound on her front so I deducted her injuries must have been on her back.
Kuina and the others also felt the presence of her magic power.
"Subus, why did youe here? Why do you have those wounds?"
Yes, it was the Subus that was in Marchos dungeon.
It made more sense if the Transfer array she used was the one installed in Marchos dungeon. There were disadvantages to installing Transfer arrays. One such disadvantage was that other monsters besides my own could use them. However, I didnt have to be on guard against Marchos monsters.
She looked like she was about to fall down so I came to support her.
"Procell-sama, Marchosias-samas dungeon is under the attack of several Demon Lords. On top of it being aplete surprise attack, it is conducted by many strong Demon Lords. Its a considerably dire situation. By Marchosias-samas order, I havee to your dungeon."
"I understand the situation. I wille to support her immediately. So be at ease and get some rest. I shall arrange for you to be treated."
Marchos in a pinch? As I was before, I wouldnt have been able to do anything but as I am now, I can provide plenty of assistance to her.
"No, thats exactly not it!"
The Subus desperately grabbed me by the neck. She then brought her face close to mine and squeezed out a voice.
"Marchosias-sama has sent me to tell you to note to her aid, no matter what! Youre the most talented Demon Lord there is and in the future, you just might be the strongest Demon Lord ever! But right now, youre just a pup!"
"I understand that but still, I can be of help."
Hearing that, the Subus visibly red up in anger.
"You understand nothing! Think about what it means toe to Marchosias-samas help! The rule preventing the old Demon Lords from attacking the new ones is based on the condition that a new Demon Lord doesnt attack an old one first. If you go back her up, the Demon Lords attacking her will be free to crush you. Theyll be more than happy to be able to crush a potentially powerful rival."
It then finally dawned on me what Marchos intention was in sending Subus and it wasnt because she wanted my help.
She knew that if she was attacked and I were to learn that she was outnumbered, I woulde to her aid but then she also knew that that would only give the old Demon Lords an excuse to attack me.
And so, this warning was given. A warning at the cost of sending the Subus who could be very useful in her fight against the other Demon Lords.
She did so much to help me who had angered her just a few days prior.
I couldnt help but make a fist.
The light of the Transfer array then vanished. It must have been some kind of trick done by Marchos side to prevent her enemies from using it.
"Kuina, Rorono, Aura, I am a fool. A foolish Demon Lord. And I am about to do an extraordinarily foolish thing. Please forgive me. I wont even listen to your opinions. I have already made up my mind: Im going to help Marcho."
I dered so with force.
This was my decision as a Demon Lord and mine alone.
"Yay ?! Thats our Oto-san!"
"Mhm. [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias is masters mother. We cant let her die."
"Old Demon Lords or whatever, we can beat it!"
As expected of my [Monsters of the Covenant]. So reassuring.
"Wait, do you n on trampling over Marchosias-samas wishes!?"
"No child knows how much his parents care for him, or so they say. I have already left her nest, I am free to do whatever I want. Moreover..."
I searched my brain for the best possible help. I knew that alone, I was not going to be of much help to her. I knew I had to talk to our mutual acquaintances.
My first step was to ask Sts to set up a meeting with the [Dragon] Demon Lord who was close friends with Marcho. I was fairly certain he would cooperate.
Next was to have an audience with the [Time] Demon Lord. He was in love with Marcho so I was sure he would help as well.
"Subus, if I left her to fight on her own, we might be separated by her death and Im not willing to risk that. And even if we part forever, I still wish to see her on herst moments."
It was then time to act to help Marcho. I was sure that this event wasnt aimed at just Marcho. There must be some kind of trap, I was sure.
Even so, for my own sake, I decided I would act with pride. No matter what trap, we will face it with our strength.
Trantors notes:
The name of the religion used here is different from the one mentioned before. I did a search and found that this new name and the Rigdolg name has been used one each. Meanwhile, Rigdold was used for every future chapter (that I know of). And so, whichever it is, Im going to use Rigdold from now on.
Also, the 3rd volume of the light novel is avable now! It has a newly written chapter featuring Sts! Please buy it and support Tsukiyo Rui-sensei.
Volume 5 2
Marchos dungeon was under attack by several Demon Lords, thus putting her in a dire situation.
Under those circumstances, she had sent her Subus to warn me to note help her no matter what. For if I did, it would give the old Demon Lords waging war against her an excuse to attack me, a new Demon Lord, despite the rule prohibiting them from doing so.
I was aware of all that but nevertheless, I decided to help her.
"Subus, give me some information. Who are the Demon Lords that are attacking Marcho?"
"Why would I even tell you that? Marchosias-sama has sent me here to tell you to remain here. I will not be helping you go against her wishes."
"Its fine even if you dont say anything. Information is vital to increase our chances of winning even if only by a little but even without any, I will go anyway."
Subus grimaced but then began to talk little by little. It seemed that saying I would go regardless of what she would say had made her want to increase my chances of survival.
"The ones attacking Marchosias-sama, theyre her, theyreposed purely of her own faction. ......there is no doubt that theres someone pulling the strings from behind the scenes but for who that someone is, I dont know. Normally, when attacked and driven into a corner, the allies on the same faction are the ones to rely on but since the allies themselves are the ones attacking us, our options are limited."
Thats troublesome.
Like so, Marcho was forced to fight all on her own.
Even if she was one of the three strongest Demon Lords, this situation was intense.
"The [Time] and [Dragon] Demon Lords arent included in Marchos faction, right? Are they aware of the situation?"
"They are. But then again, the three of them have a non-interference agreement. No matter what happens, [Time] and [Dragon] will not help."
"Okay but Im still going to meet with them."
I understood that there was something in between those three but if I wanted to change anything, I had to act.
I wasnt conceited enough to think that I alone could turn the tide of this battle. If I was ever going to help her, I would need the full might of Avalon. All of it. Including the trump card I had been trying to keep secret all this time. This was no time to think of holding back.
I was acting with the intention of using that right from the start. Doing so, however, would leave Avalon defenseless.
For that reason, I wished for [Time] and [Dragon]s help. If they couldnt help Marcho directly, then perhaps they could help me so that I could help her with all my might. That was the minimum expectation anyway.
"First are the letters."
I could show up uninvited but I thought it was perhaps better to schedule it.
I summoned the blue bird I got from [Wind] Demon Lord Sts and the crow I got from [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian. I made each of them carry a letter and then released them to the sky.
Since [Dragon] was Stss parent, I asked her to arrange a meeting between us.
"Subus, tell me frankly, for how long do you think Marcho can hold out?"
"......currently, our sides elites, including the [Monsters of the Covenants], are putting up a good fight. Marchosias-samas one of the strongest Demon Lords so her ability to hold out a siege is far different than others. She could hold out, at the very least, for seven days."
"Then, Im going to assume I have five to deal with the unexpected betrayal of her allies and other unexpected turn of events."
By my calctions, I had the rest of the next day to finish all negotiations and then only one day for the rest of the preparations. On the third day, we should be heading out to Marchos dungeon.
"Geez, what a tight schedule."
In the unfortunate case that no reply arrived, I nned on intruding on [Dragon] and [Time]s dungeons even without an appointment.
The image of Sts then crossed my mind.
I wanted to rely on her [Omnipresence] ability. It could only be used once a day but for a fixed amount of time, it could replicate, albeit at a rank lower, the monsters on the same floor she was in. It was a genuine cheat ability.
If that was used on my forces, some of whom were S rank monsters, I would instantly have arge increase in war potential.
......however, that wasnt a possibility since I didnt want to make her a target of the old Demon Lords as well. It waspletely outside of my principles as a Demon LordPerson.
"Aura, Ill leave Subuss treatment to you."
"Are you going to do something, master?"
"Yeah, some preparations."
Since there no longer was a Transfer array, we needed to secure a way to get to her dungeon. Ill start from there.
"Rorono, ready that so that it can be used at any time. Were going to take it with us outside so prepare it for travel too."
"Mhm. Understood. The use of that thing is frightening. That thing is beyond any weapon. Its a weapon of mass murder; something that mustnt exist. ......and yet, I just cant contain my excitement as an alchemist; I want to see that in action."
In reaction, I smiled wryly.
Rorono had not once expressed something like fear for the incredible weapons she had actively worked on and she had worked on truly incredible weapons like the napalm bombs, the Avalon-Ritters, and the custom-made ones for Kuina and the others.
In truth, I didnt want to use it but as we were against old Demon Lords, I could not afford to hesitate. For if I did, even for a moment, it could prove to be fatal.
These are opponents I have to challenge with all my might... no, these are opponents I couldnt defeat even with all my might so I have no choice but to rely on that.
For the second time that day, I came to the bread factory to meet with Wight.
Wight was surprised to see me who was here just a while ago.
"What can I help you with, my lord? Did you forget something?"
"No, its not that. Ill exin it to you in detailter but tomorrow, or perhaps as soon as today if possible, I am going with Kuina to meet with the [Dragon] Demon Lord. I want you toe with us. The [Dragon] medal I used for your Rebirth was from him so I want him to see you."
I had decided that I would rather meet and secure an agreement with [Dragon] first before I negotiate with [Time]. [Time] was in love with Marcho but for that reason, there was that possibility that he viewed me as a threat.
Also, I had decided that I was going to bring two of my monsters. The first was Kuina who had always been acting as my guard. The second one was going to be Wight.
I had two reasons for this.
The first was that I wanted the [Dragon] Demon Lord to feel some sort of familiarity with Wight who was made using his medal.
The other reason was simply that Wight was a strong individual. In the unlikely event that the enemies who had attacked Marcho had already positioned themselves in our destinations, there was a need to breakthrough their formation. I was confident there was no monster in this world capable of stopping the instantaneous power of Wight while under the effects of [Berserk].
"Certainly."
"Thank you. The issue now is what to do about the defense here when you and I are out."
There was still a risk in bringing Wight.
Originally, Wight was my staff officer and was supposed to be in charge in my absence. However, if the both us were away, it would mean a drastic decrease in our defensive capabilities.
"Then there is nothing to worry about. I have an excellent adjutant to fill in for me. Pochi, Koro, and Tarou like her and will listen to whatever she says so its alright."
"Pochi, Koro, and Tarou? Who are those?"
"Oh, excuse me, they are Darkness Dragons. It was a little inconvenient to give them orders with nothing to distinguish them with so I gave them nicknames."
For a moment there, I choked.
The symbols of fear that were the Darkness Dragons were given names that were pretty much for dogs.
But then again, in front of Wight who became a ck Dragon of Death, one the strongest dragons, the Darkness Dragons did act like dogs.
"Im relieved then. Ill notify you quickly once our time of departure has been determined. Until then, take care of the handing over of the chain ofmand for our defense."
"Yes, my lord. I will act swiftly."
"Sorry to bring you nothing but trouble, Wight. Also, I cant afford to lose my magic power right now so it would seem we would have to dy your naming."
If a Demon Lord wished to name a monster after they had named their first threeor in other words, after they hadpleted their [Monsters of the Covenant]it would mean that they would have to endure the after-effects of the naming which were the loss of all of their magic power and the inability to recover any of it for about half a month.
In this situation though, that was dangerous to the point of being lethal.
I had already thought up the best name for Wight but...
"Dont mind me, my lord. This body of mine is immortal; I will wait forever if I must."
"It ddens me to you say that."
After that and telling him to ready the Darkness Dragons, Avalons fastest mode of transportation, for the impending battle, the initial preparations were underway. All thats left for now was to wait for the replies of the letters I had sent.
I had decided that in event that no reply came by the end of the day, I would go with the impolite course of action and show up uninvited.
I had been invited to visit [Wind] Demon Lord Stss dungeon before but that trip had always been postponed. Now that I had to go, I wondered if shell be surprised to see me arrive on top of a Darkness Dragon. Despite the circumstances, I thought that and a smile escaped.
Volume 5 3
I hurriedly did the preparations for helping Marcho.
Meeting with [Time] and [Dragon would mean I was going to be absent from Avalon so I also needed to prepare for that. The most important thing for that was the instructions I was going to give to my monsters. We only had a few days to prepare so it was necessary that our preparations still progressed while I was away.
In rtion to that, I came to the design room within Roronos workshop. I had something I wanted Rorono to make.
"Rorono, theres another task I want you to do alongside maintaining that. I want you to follow my instructions here. The time limit will be three days from now which is the day of our departure. Prioritize these two tasks over everything else."
The battlefield this time would be within Marchos dungeon.
It would be different from thebat we had somewhat grown ustomed to so far and so, we must prepare as much as we could.
One such preparation included the improvement of the Avalon-Ritters. For this uing battle, I intended to make use of the special Avalon-Ritters we had managed to reserve before.
Rorono looked at the pages of instruction I had made and given to her. As she read it, her facial expression became stiff. I understood how she felt. The workload needed to pull it off was absurd. I understood that even with her knowledge and ability, it was a difficult task. Even so, I asked her to do it.
"This is in three days?"
"Yes, somehow.
"...Understood. Ill try to do it in time. No, I promise itll be done in time. As long as its for master, Ill aplish whichever impossible task."
"Sorry for making you do the impossible, Rorono."
I said so and then hugged Rorono. I had always burdened this child with the impossible and I feared I might be relying on her too much. However, I had no other choice; it was truly necessary.
"Master, I will do my best. My absolute best. So, after all of this is finished, praise me a lot, okay?"
As she leaned her body on me, she spoke to me in a very pampered way.
"Of course. Ill spoil you as much as you want."
When I patted her on the head, she smiled from ear to ear.
If she wanted to be praised, Ill praise her, I thought, how can I be so cold-hearted to Rorono who has served me so well.
"Also, dont forget to give me a reward. These are extraordinary requests, after all."
"Yeah, dont hold back and ask me for anything."
Her embrace grew tighter as she buried her face more into my chest.
If it was for her, I believed I was willing to do anything.
"Mhm. Then, Ill begin working on it immediately. Itll be beyond expectations! I swear it on my pride as an Elder Dwarf, the worlds best cksmiths... No, I swear it on my pride as Fathers daughter!"
Rorono said so, reluctantly parted from our embrace, and then vanished into her work area.
In her hands were a basketful of golden apples from the [First Tree].
Aside from being able to heal ones wounds and restore ones magic power, the golden apples were also able to relieve one of their fatigue. So with that many golden apples, she would be able to work without any need for rest for several days.
Shes so dedicated that shes prepared to give up sleep for several days.
"Im counting on you, Rorono."
Bymon standards, the task I had given to her would have been considered impossible.
However, I believed that so long as it was Rorono, the impossible could be made possible.
Having aplished my goal, I left her workshop.
Aside from her, there were other monsters I had tasks for which needed to be done as soon as possible.
For this campaign, my own forces wouldnt be enough so I knew I must seek for easy and reliable ways to double the friendly forces.
After I had left Roronos workshop, I headed to Auras orchard. As soon as I was in the orchard, I caught sight of Aura and called out to her.
In response, she rushed to my side, her golden hair swinging in the air and her jade green eyes shining brighter than usual.
"Wee, master"
"Aura, theres something I want you to do right away. Its about the Potions you have made before. I would like them to be used in the uing war. Can you do it?"
"Yes, leave it to me. I have seeded in cultivating the necessary materials. In fact, I havepleted trials just this morning. All thats left is the mass production."
Recently, various medicinal nts were also grown in her orchard. These werent just for her enjoyment; these were grown as part of my order for her to make Potions.
"This campaign will be a drawn-out one. Many will be severely wounded, gravely tired, or out of magic power. Maybe even all at once. We have to deal with those kinds of exhaustion. Hence, the need for a great amount of curative items. The quality is important but for this war, quantity is even more so."
"I concur. I will prepare as much Potions as can be with the time left to us."
So far, Avalons means of healing relied heavily on the golden apples from the [First Tree]. The effects of eating the apples as the fruits that they werewithout them undergoing any process whatsoeverwere greater than an average potions healing effects. To add to that, the golden apples also had other effects other than healing ones wounds.
Given all that, I was convinced that if the golden apples were used inbination with other medicinal nts to make a potion, the effects would be even greater.
"Whether we can count on Marchos exhausted and wounded monsters will depend on those potions and on you, Aura."
"Leave it to me! With the potions made out of the apples I raised, we can resurrect even the dead!"
The potions were of course going to be vital to my monsters but they had another purpose: to bring Marchos monsters back to the frontlines.
I predicted that by the time we reach Marcho and her monsters, her monsters would have already been exposed to a prolonged war and thus have sustained injuries, ran out of magic power, and were nearing their physical limits. In other words, they wouldnt have been able to fight anymore by the time we got there.
If that was so, the very first thing I must do was to heal her monsters so that they could be fit for battle as soon as possible. For that purpose, we needed to have arge amount of high-quality potions.
Just by being able to do that, the situation would all at once improve. After all, we could once again count the wounded monstersmonsters who were supposedly out of the fight alreadyas part of the fighting force.
That was indeed huge. So much so that it might even have more effect on the war than my reinforcement troops.
"But we have grown the medicinal nts just barely in time, havent we?"
Aura had already researched which medicinal nts worked well with the golden apples. Finding and procuring the seeds for them so that she could grow them herself proved troublesome however. It was only recently that we cooperated with the merchants and even with that, we only found those that were barely of the right quality.
Had the attack on Marcho happened a little bit sooner, this whole n wouldnt even be an option for there wouldnt be any potions to begin with.
"Surely, this isnt just good luck but the inevitable caused by you, master."
"What makes you say that? Is that some kind of intuition of yours?"
"No, not just intuition. I know these kinds of things. After all, I am a personification of the and as such, have received gods divine blessing."
Aura stated so and then smiled.
She was an adult, in more ways than one, or so I felt.
"Alright Ill believe what the personification of the says. Ill leave the rest to you. Make as much as possible in three days."
"Yes, Ill do all I can together with the High Elves! ...Ah, wait a moment, I forgot something. I still havent shown you the trial products, have I?"
"Oh yeah, I know about them only from the reports of your research."
"Then, take these."
Aura took out three small bottles from the pocket near her chest.
I was surprised to see three. I guessed the first one was the one specialized in healing wounds while the second one was specialized in restoring magic power. As for the third one, I was drawing nks. While thinking of such, Aura began to exin.
"The first is a potion for healing wounds and restoring physical strength. Upon consuming this, ones fatigue will all at once disappear. Afterwards, it will also make it harder for one to feel tired. As for injuries, this potion will heal most except the gravely serious injuries in a matter of a few minutes. However, note that how this works is that it strengthens ones own immunities and self-healing. What that means is that this potion can only heal what will naturally heal. Injuries likeplicated fractures or the loss of a body part will not be healed by this."
"Hmm. Okay. The second?"
"The second one is a potion for recovering ones magic power. This increases the amount of magic power recovered up to four times than what is naturally recovered. But since it only increases the amount of magic power recovered by the body, dont expect it to recover a lot of magic power the moment it is drank."
I nodded to her words.
The potions were truly like medicines in the sense that they helped humans and monsters to recover. They werent some miracle mixture that could instantly heal all wounds or recover all of ones magic power. Drinking more than necessary wouldnt increase its effects either. That said, it couldnt be denied that they were very useful.
"How about thest one?"
"Rather than calling this a potion, its more suitable to call it a drug for forcing someone into battle. This will remove the limits imposed by the brain to the body, giving the one who used it strength and magic power beyond those limits."
I gasped at the realization that it was an extremely dangerous thing. Seeing me like that, Aura smiled while she continued speaking.
"The user will no longer feel fatigue and pain. Instead, theyll feel an extreme sense of exaltation for the duration of the potions effects. Even monsters on the brink of death will be able to disy power greater than when theyre in perfect condition. That being said, the user must also be prepared to suffer the potions after-effects. Using it in such a dire state may put the users life at risk. ......this should be used as ones finalst-ditch effort. At least, thats how Ill use it; if Im gonna die anyway, rather than doing so without being able to aplish anything, Id prefer to give it my all in onest all-out attack for the benefit of thepanions I have left."
In my mind, I dubbed thest potion the Berserk Potion. It was dangerous but equally necessary.
In the uing war, there most likely would be monsters who thought like Aura.
I received the three potions from her and put it in my breast pocket.
There mighte a time that Ill have a need for these.
"These are great medicines. Make as much of the first and second potions as you could within 3 days. For the third potion, twenty of them will do."
"Certainly. Then, I together with the High Elves will be mass-producing the potions right away. Were gonna use up all our stocks of golden apples!"
With this, Rorono and Aura could advance their preparations for the uing battle even at the time of my absence. I expect a lot from you all.
"Aura, Im saying this just in case but absolutely dont let the potions that used the apples from the First Tree circte to the public, ok?"
"Yeah, I know. Theres no telling what the humans will do once they know of these, after all."
After she agreed with me, she carried out a container from the storehouse. This container contained some golden apples that were submerged and preserved in the Water of Life she had made.
Shortly afterwards, shemanded the High Elves to harvest various kinds of medicinal nts.
And thus began thepounding of the nts.
I guess I can leave it to Aura now.
To summarize:
Rorono was in charge of preparing our military force while Aura was in charge of our logistics.
Rlyeh Diva meanwhile was in charge of collecting information.
Kuina and Wight were then to escort me with my meeting with [Dragon] and [Time].
This was Avalons all-out war. Unless we gave it our absolute all, we didnt stand a chance of winning.
"Now then, I guess I should head back home."
On my way back, the blue bird I sent out to deliver a letter had returned and perched itself on my shoulder.
"That was surprisingly quick."
Unlike with [Time] whom I was able to send a direct message to using the crow monster I got from him, I had no way to directly deliver a letter to [Dragon]. Because of that, I had used the blue bird to deliver a letter to his daughter, [Wind] Demon Lord Sts, instead.
What surprised me was that it was only a few hours after I had sent the letter and already a reply from her hade back.
I immediately read the reply and it stated that the [Dragon] Demon Lord would receive me at any time.
"Then, I must go right now."
There wasnt any time; we had to do everything we could as soon as possible. If the [Dragon] Demon Lord said any time was fine, I figured going right away wouldnt be an issue.
It also meant that the meeting with [Time] will have to be scheduled after this.
Truth be told, I still had no idea on how to persuade the [Dragon] Demon Lord. But then, I knew I must not dilly-dally.
I should just think on it as we fly in the sky. Maybe the change of pace can bring about the answer.
As I thought such, I had hurriedly summoned Kuina and Wight. And so, together with the two, I rode a Darkness Dragon and flew toward Stss dungeon.
Volume 5 4
We had pleasantlypleted our air travel.
Stss dungeon was an orthodox dungeon, the kind where adventurerse and go. It would not do for us to arrive anywhere near her dungeon atop a Darkness Dragon so we chose a ce a little bit away andnded there. Afterwards, I used a power of mine as a Demon Lord and put the Darkness Dragon into my [Storage].
It was just in case but other monsters, the ones made from imitation medals to be specific, were in my storage too. I was prepared for the worst case scenario.
Using her [Transform], Kuina had hidden her fox ears and tail.
Wight, on the other hand, wore a rather loose robe to hide the fact that he was a dragonewt.
Like so, we walked toward Stss dungeon for a little while.
"As expected from Sts, she has good taste."
The outside appeared to be a [Tower], a veryrge, snow-white, beautiful tower. It wasnt gaudy at all. Rather, it was elegant.
"Oto-sans city is more splendid."
"I agree. It is an impressive dungeon but it fails inparison with Avalon."
"Kuina, Wight, no, a city and a conventional dungeon shouldnt bepared. Theyre just too different."
It seemed my monsters felt morepetitive with Sts than even I did.
Oh well, as long as theyre motivated.
"Now, I wonder how do were going to meet up with Sts."
As I thought of ways on how we were going to let Sts know that we had arrived, the voice of a woman called out to us.
She appeared to be a human who wore a robe that seemed to be for magicians but I knew otherwise.
I knew that she was a monster and that she had disguised herself to appear like a human so that she wouldnt draw any unwanted attention while outside of the dungeon.
"We have been expecting you, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell-sama. I shall be your guide until we reach the Transfer array so please follow me this way."
I was so grateful that Sts arranged this for us.
"Thank you. Youre a great help. I take it you can also use [Transfer]?"
"Yes but because my rank isnt that high, I can only carry a maximum of three targets per Transfer."
She smiled as she replied so.
I too wanted to make a monster that could use [Transfer].
If the chance presented itselfter on, I wanted to ask Sts to tell me which medals she used for this monster and if possible, trade those or even the imitations medals of those to me as well.
Using the same medals wouldnt guarantee that the monster born out of it would have [Transfer] but if my [Creation] medal was thrown in the mixand provided that there was at least one other original medalthe chances of getting such a monster would increase tremendously.
At the moment, Avalon waspletely dependent for our Transfer needs on the crow monster that I got from the [Time] Demon Lord.
Aside from not knowing when it would betray us, having only one such monster was very inconvenient. Especially so since Transfer was an immensely useful ability. So much so, in fact, that if possible, I would like to make an S rank monster that had [Transfer].
"Is there something wrong with my face?"
"Oh sorry, how rude of me to stare at a womans face. Its just that I was curious about you."
"Fufu, you tter me. Well then, this way please. I have prepared a Transfer array in a hidden room within the dungeon."
After our conversation ended with that, I walked a few steps behind her until we reached the hidden room she spoke of. When we were there, the monster who disguised herself as a human took off her robe.
Her hair which was green darkened while her ear grew longer.
She somehow felt like Aura and the other elves. Is she some kind of elf subspecies?
And then, she led me by the hand and did the Transfer.
When I opened my eyes, I was in a white-themed room. Much like the dungeons outside appearance, it was elegant looking and not gaudy at all.
I had no doubt that this was...
"Wee Procell. Its been a while."
Yeah, this was Stss room.
She was in a dress as she smiled and greeted me so.
To her back was an angel-type female monster waiting on her. I recognized who this monster was: she was a Rathgrith, a monster that had a cheat skill that could improve the performance of everyone in the same force she was in. Other than that, she was also able tomunicate via telepathy to her teammates. It goes without saying that I wanted someone like her.
"Yeah, it has been a while. Thank you for your warm wee despite our sudden visit."
"Think nothing of it. We, well, were friends after all."
Sts said so and then slightly turned her head away in an effort to hide her reddened face, seeming to suggest she felt a little shy to say out loud that we were friends. At that, I unconsciously smiled wryly.
"Your dungeons amazing. I was only able to see the early levels but from the outside up to the hidden room we used, your dungeons so elegant and teeming with humans."
"Just what Id expect from you, Procell, you have a good eye. Its amazing, right? [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth-sama had taught me a lot of things as I built this, you know. My dungeons adventurer return rates very high and yet its still very cost-effective DP-wise. I was in the red at first but in time, I was actually earning. Recently, Im earning about a thousand DP per day. I have managed to make some Maelstroms as well and as I continue to increase them, the more DP Ill earn!"
"That really is amazing."
Sts gleefully told me so.
For a new Demon Lord that had a traditional dungeon, earning as much as 1,000 DP per day was incredibly hard.
Firstly, she needed to advertise her dungeon so that she could entice adventurers as visitors. After all, if no one knew her dungeon existed, no one woulde.
It didnt end there though. Once her dungeon was known, she also needed to prepare baits that would make adventurers want toe. These baits came in the form of her monsters and some treasures. And to further increase the number of her monsters, she had made some Maelstroms which could produce a monster each day at no cost except the initial investment for them.
It should be noted though that if the adventurers kill too much of her monsters and take too much of the treasure, it would have put her in financial trouble. Knowing the right bnce to things took a certain kind of sense so earning as much as she had, Sts was certainly a genius. I, myself, wasnt confident I could have earned 1,000DP a day with a traditional dungeon in such a short amount of time.
"Well, Ive been a little underhanded: I realized that if I used my [Omnipresence], its possible to lose less of my monsters."
"No, making use of ones special abilities is part of a Demon Lords dungeon management. You did a good job."
"Thanks... for that."
Sts said so with a smile.
"How much does your city earn, Procell?"
"As ofte, Id say Im usually earning between 2,500 and 3,000 DP. Though at times, I can earn a little more than 3000 DP."
The poption of Avalon was on the rise. Along with that growth, the DP I earned each day was also increasing.
Avalons strongest point was its citizens. The quality of the citizens emotions was weaker whenpared to a normal dungeon but since I could consume the humans emotions non-stop for 24 hours, I could say that the humans made living much better and stimting.
Actually, the humans made, on their own volition, casinos and brothels which then led to much stronger and better tasting emotions. I wonder which facility that could make their emotions even better would they next build if left alone?
The only others that I knew of were the theater and coliseum, and the construction for those were both under way.
"That much!? As ever, youre absurd, arent you?"
The moment she heard I made more that 3000DP, her smile grew stiff.
"Why dont you try running a city as well?"
"No, thats alright. Building a citys your shtick; I have my own ways of doing things and Ill show you I can overtake you with that!"
I didnt feel any jealousy or self-pity in her voice, only the desire to improve herself.
As expected of my friend.
"Sts, your Demon Lord clothes today look different than usual, arent they? They suit you though."
She usually wore a cute, gothic lolita dress as her Demon Lord clothes but today, she wore a sexy dress that entuated her body line. It even had a slit that showed off her white leg.
"Th-thank you. But its not like I wore this because you wereing here."
"I understand. Its because youre going to the [Dragon] Demon Lords dungeon that you must dress up, right?"
Sts made a ratherplicated expression on her face.
I understood what she felt and that she must have dressed up to impress me. It was so obvious, it was harder not to notice but Id rather avoid such things. I wished, instead, for us to remain both as rivals and friends.
"Yeah, thats right and thats why I have to dress properly, okay?"
Her mood was somewhat turning sour so I decided to leave it untilter.
"Id like to offer you some tea while you take a break but now seems hardly best time for it so lets go right away, shall we?"
"Do you have a Transfer array that goes to the [Dragon] Demon Lords dungeon?"
"Of course, hes my parent, after all."
I was relieved to hear that. With a Transfer array, we could be there immediately.
"Procell, Im going to say this just in case but do be careful with your words, okay? Astaroth-sama is an awfully strict person, you see."
"Of course. He is regarded as one of the strongest Demon Lords, after all. I have no intention whatsoever to be discourteous to him."
Someone such as me wasnt any match for him. Negotiating with him scared me but I looked forward to it nheless since I just might be able to gain a lot of things from it.
Also, after this meeting, I would be someone who, through some twist of fate, have been able to talk with all of the three strongest Demon Lords.
"Im d you understand... something feels a little bit different about you, Procell."
"Really?"
"You seem more reliable. If we can find the time, tell me about the things that have happened to you."
"Yeah, lets do that. Id like to leisurely talk with you too while we enjoy some tea."
When I agreed to her proposal, the monster that could use Transfer entered her room. The most she could Transfer was three people. With Stsing with us, we obviously exceeded that limit.
Sts seemed to be going alone but I surmised that she had some of her followers in her [Storage].
I also decided to put Wight into my [Storage] since Kuina, as usual, didnt like to be put there. She even pleaded with her eyes. Well, it worked out this time so I didnt pursue it but in the future, she should get used to be put in the Storage.
And so, we Transferred. When I next opened my eyes, we were most probably in the [Dragon] Demon Lords dungeon.
Im worried. I hope the [Dragon] Demon Lord will willingly help Marcho.
Volume 5 5
Thanks to Stss monster who had Transfer, we arrived in the [Dragon] Demon Lords dungeon.
The Transfer array we arrived at wasnt within the [Dragon] Demon Lords dungeon but instead in a ruined stone temple a little bit away from the dungeon itself.
"Sts, you dont have a Transfer array installed directly in his dungeon?"
"Isnt this themon practice? If, for example, an enemy gains ess to a Transfer array that leads to somewhere within my dungeon, itll put me in mortal danger, wouldnt it? So if I must install a Transfer array within my dungeon, itll have to be in a hidden and heavily-guarded room."
When she told me like that, I had to agree. After all, it didnt matter who installed the array, any monster that had Transfer could use it.
But then again, it wasnt such a danger to me since my Transfer arrays were located in the city part of my dungeon which was always readily essible from the real world anyways. Still, I should avoid risks whenever possible.
It might be a little troublesome but I decided that it was better to move the Transfer arrays somewhere outside of Avalons walls.
"As I thought, monsters that can use Transfer are really useful, arent they? Which medals did youbine to make one?"
While we were walking toward the [Dragon] Demon Lords dungeon, I asked the question that was in my mind.
"Do you expect me to tell you that for free?"
"How about in exchange for that information and the imitation of the medal you used, Ill provide you with two imitation medals of your choosing? The imitation medals I can make are [me], [Water], [Earth], [Person], ], [Song], [Alchemy], and [Hero]. How does that sound?"
I didnt mention [Beast], [Wind], and [Dragon] to her since I knew that at one point in time, she had possession of the original medals for those and thus could simply spend DP to make an imitation of her own.
"Thats a charming offer but unfortunately, the original medal I used so that I can make a monster with Transfer was just a B rank medal I got from trading my [Wind]. Making an imitation medal out of it will further drop its rank to C. The chances of making a monster with Transfer is doubtful, at best."
"That is really unfortunate."
Even whenbined with an A rank medal, a C rank imitation medal could only rarely produce a B rank monster since most of the time, the result would be a C rank monster.
On the other hand, Transfer was such a high-ranking ability that to be able to use it, a monster had to be at least B rank.
Probably the greatest deal breaker was that even if I used my [Creation] medal to guarantee the resultant monster had Transfer, the strongest it could be was an A rank monster.
This, to me, felt like an awful waste of my [Creation] medal; if I was going to make use of it anyway, I wanted the result to be an S rank monster.
"So what is it going to be, Procell? If the deals still good to you, I dont mind going forward with it."
"Yeah, its still good to me. Which imitation medals do you want?"
When I asked her that, she looked slightly worried.
I agreed to the deal because an idea came to me. Rather than using the imitation medal I was going to receive, I would just make [Creation] change into that medal. This way, I could get an S rank monster.
Giving out two imitation medals for this information was by no means a waste to me.
"Okay. Then, I guess Ill take ] and [Song]. They seem to have good affinity with my [Wind]."
"Alright. Ill make them right away. [I Shall Compose]"
I took out my Demon Lord Book, paid the necessary DP, produced the two imitation medals, and then handed those to Sts.
"Thank you. As for my side of the deal, here, take this."
It was her turn this time to purchase an imitation medal and hand it over to me.
"So this is the medal you used when you created that monster, huh?"
{{[Phase] medal: B rank. Grants the ability to control space to the monster. Grants small bonuses to magic power and agility.}}
The one I got from her was a [Phase] medal.
Its rank and its bonuses were low but I was very grateful for the ability to control space.
The only original medal I had on hand was [Time]. The cooldown period would be over soon though and I could make another of my [Creation] medal.
A monster thatmanded both time and space seemed like an awfully powerful one but it was highly risky to not have any original medal on hand. It was especially so at this moment since if I did use the original medals, there wouldnt be enough time to raise the newly-born monsters level and a low-level monster wasnt really a great addition to my fighting force even if it was an S rank.
For the meantime, it was better to wait and see; to always be prepared and have original medals for an effective use of [Rebirth] in the off chance that Kuina or any of the girls were in mortal danger.
"Thank you, Procell. Even though theyre only imitation medals, Im very grateful to be able to obtain such rare medals."
"I should be the one saying that. This [Phase] medal is just the kind of medal I wanted."
It was a very fruitful deal for the both of us. If possible, I would like to continue having a favorable rtionship with Sts.
"Sts, have you already cleared your [War] quota?"
"No, not yet but Ill be doing my first one in a months time. Actually, I already received the deration of war for it."
"Well, Im confident that you will have no trouble in winning."
I couldnt imagine her losing to any Demon Lord in our generation other than me.
"I absolutely will win. I cant fall behind you, after all. Ill also break a crystal and be able to make another original medal. ......its a shame though; as we break crystals, we only get more options on which original medal to make for that month. Wouldnt it be better if it instead allowed us to create multiple medals each a month?"
"Yeah, it sure would."
I smiled wryly to her littleint. I also thought the same, after all.
If each crystal we broke not only increased the variety of medals we could make but also increased the total number we could produce in a month, I would have been able to obtain 4 original medals per month. And if that was so, I wouldnt have to worry so much about myck of original medals.
"Also, Im sorry for asking but when will I bepensated for thest time?"
For a moment there, I was at a loss for words.
I just remembered I still havent properlypensated her for helping me out during my [War] with three other Demon Lords. In return for her help, I had promised her two things.
The first was that if ever she was the one in trouble, I woulde to her help as well. The second was that I would wee her in my city and entertain her to the best of my ability.
Truth be told, I had other forms ofpensation in mind but those were what she requested.
"After I help out Marcho, Ill send word to you as soon as possible. I might be repeating myself but my city truly is wonderful. Im sure youll be enjoy it."
"Im looking forward to it, then. For that reason, you have to rescue Marchosias-sama right away!"
Sts said so with tightly clenched fist.
She and Marcho had only met once but it seemed that she really had greatly respected Marcho.
Maybe it has something to do with the both of them being female Demon Lords.
Like so, we hastened our pace toward the [Dragon] Demon Lords dungeon.
The [Dragon] Demon Lords dungeon was a gigantic and rustic ruined castle.
It was ruined and yet it would still frighten whoever saw it.
Before even entering, the heavy atmosphere lingering outside would make one know that whatever was within that castle was powerful.
Many adventurers wereing and going. What was astonishing was that each of those adventurers was of a high level. By the sight of the many strong people from all over the world, I was convinced that this dungeon indeed sold itself as a high difficulty dungeon. It prioritized quality over quantity.
Anyway, we entered the dungeon, walked some more, and then found a hidden room. In there was a female monster that greatly resembled Stss monster who had Transfer.
As I had guessed, the female monster in the room transported Sts and me. Not directly to Astaroths room, of course, but to the guest area just before it.
It seemed like we werent going to be called in right until their preparations were in order. In the meantime, I brought Wight out from my [Storage].
"My lord, is it my turn soon?"
"Yeah. Were about to meet with the leader of the dragons so lets proceed with caution."
"I who have the body of the lowest of dragons am feeling a little nervous to meet the one that stood at the top of us dragons."
Despite saying so, he somehow seemed looking forward to meeting Astaroth.
"Oto-san, there are many strong monsters around here. This ce is kinda dangerous."
Kuina who was silent for some time warned me so. The furs on her tail stood on end, further telling me she was on guard.
In truth, I felt the same.
There were a number of individuals with strong magic power in the vicinity.
Shit. I expected things to be this way but at this rate, even if we try our hardest to escape using Wights [Berserk], Kuinas [Transform], and the other aces I have up on my sleeve, it will be damn hard. I have to be more than cautious in the uing negotiations.
As I thought such, the monster that transported us returned.
"[Creation] Demon Lord Procell-sama, [Wind] Demon Lord Sts-sama, my lord is ready to receive you now. Please follow me this way."
We followed after her and was brought to the next room.
Now, I wonder how [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth will react.
The room that we entered was an endlessly vast desert. Somewhere in the bleak ground was a throne and sitting atop it was the [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth.
His appearance was that of a middle-aged man with a dragons wings and tail.
And around him were four gigantic, kneeling dragons.
When I came near enough, the majesty around him stretched out and reached me in greeting.
"Wee, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell. I have been meaning to have a leisurely talk with you."
He smiled lightly and talked to me so.
"I should be the one to say so. It is an honor to have been able to meet you. I am deeply grateful to you for setting aside time to meet with an inexperienced person such as myself."
Almost unconsciously, I went down on my knees and bowed. My instincts loudly screamed I had to do so.
"Be at ease. You are neither my child nor my subordinate. We are equals here."
His words contained the opposite of kindness.
It was though I was told that no ounce of leniency shall be given for any mistakes; and that never shall I be allowed to act like a brat just because I was a new Demon Lord.
Being confronted with those facts, even though I felt tense, I also felt excited.
"Before we go to the main topic, I would like to express my gratitude to you. Thanks to the [Dragon] medal I got, I was able to make such a wonderful monster."
In rhythm to my words, Wight did an elegant bow.
"Ohh, a monster with such tremendous power. Created monsters usually arent this strong. This surprised me. To return the favor, Ill show you a monster I am truly proud of."
He then raised a jeweled staff that was set in his throne. Upon doing so, a gigantic shadow descended from the dark sky.
It was a reddish-brown, winged dragon that measured twenty meters long. The four dragons that surrounded Astaroth were terribly strong monsters but even they paled inparison to the one that just arrived.
"This one here is my trump card. His name is Caesar. As for his race, that will be secret for now."
Depending on ones level, a Demon Lord could see certain information about a monster.
If even I, who at this point of time had considerable power, couldnt even view this monsters race name, then it surely was a monster with out-of-this-world power.
Wight, in the meantime, was wide-eyed and trembling.
He had obtained, during the fight against the humans, a skill called [Dragon Emperor] which gave him dominion over those of the dragon race. So for him to still feel fear...
"I see, it has [Dragon Emperor] too? And a higher ranking one, at that, it seems."
"Kah, kah, kah. Splendid. I didnt expect you to see through it at first sight. Caesar, as my trump card, is the cornerstone of my strongest unit. As long as I have Caesar, my dragon unit is unrivaled."
I thought on the meaning of his words.
What kind of use can [Dragon Emperor] be applied in?
The answer to that came to me immediately.
I see, that will indeed make them unrivaled. Being broken will be an understatement.
Getting on his good side was now even more encouraging.
"So it means that it can draw out the full potential of the [Dragon] medal, right?"
"Correct. You truly are smart, enough so that I want you as my subordinate."
He and I thenughed together.
With that, the opening act was finished and it was about time to get to the main topic at hand.
Right when I thought so, Astaroth cleared his throat and then faced Sts.
The look he gave her waspletely different from the one he gave me.
"Wee to you too, Sts. Have you lost some weight? You can back here from time to time, you know? Are you being bullied by anyone? You can talk to me about anything, okay? You dont have to yourself back."
The voice he used to speak with Sts was one full of worry.
A lot of things were suddenly out of ce. From a majestic, powerful Demon Lord, he suddenly became a grandfather that was greeting his visiting grandchild.
"Im doing fine. Ill do just that. But today, lets hear out Procells story."
"Hmm, okay, okay. Now then, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, let us discuss the reason you came here."
From being the doting grandfather, he switched back to being the majestic and powerful Demon Lord. Even though the change was too fast that it was perplexing, the original tension in the air was somehow also brought back.
"Yes. Right now, my parent, Marchosias-sama who is a friend to you, Astaroth-sama, is being attacked by several Demon Lords. I came here today to ask you to join me in lending her some aid."
Getting him to help was my reason foring here. And after seeing Caesar who had [Dragon Emperor], I wanted his help even more.
"About that, I already know of the circumstances that Marchosias is in even before you told me. I hope you didnt really think I had no knowledge of it."
"Yes, of course, I expected you to know about it."
First-ss Demon Lords all possessed their ownwork of information. It was weirder not to know of a great incident like this.
"Hmm, then, my answer should be obvious: I have no intention whatsoever to help Marchosias. [Creation] Demon Lord Procell,ing here was a waste of your time."
Of course I already expected that but my purpose ining here wasnt to confirm whether or not he would help; it was to persuade him into helping.
I was well aware that one wrong step and I might enrage him and yet, changing of one the strongest Demon Lords mind still had to be done, regardless of the difficulty, in order to save Marcho.
Now, let the negotiations begin. Ive already thought up of my bargaining chips. All that remains now is to act with courage.
Volume 5 6
In order to help Marcho, I came to [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroths dungeon and asked for his cooperation but was refused.
"I have expected that youre nning on helping Marcho at the moment."
Being a first-ss Demon Lord, there was no way he didnt know of Marchos situation.
"Hmm, then, why did youe here?"
"So that I can persuade you into doing it."
The expression on his face grew stern.
"So, you think you can convince me? Thats a mighty big statement but very well, Id like to see you try."
His voice was merry but his eyes were not.
Even if my statement was taken as arrogance, there was nothing to be done. After all, a newly born chick of a Demon Lord just said he was going to change the mind of one of the strongest Demon Lords.
"First of all, why would you not lend Marchosias-sama any aid? The two of you are friends, correct? I even saw the two of you speaking on friendly terms during the [Evening Party]."
I only saw them together for a short time but even then, it was enough for me to feel the trust and closeness between them. He should want to help her, at the very least.
"Certainly, we are close friends and we have been so for a considerably long time. She is someone I consider important to me. However, a Demon Lord does not act based on his emotions alone. Just how many do you think rely on me? I have thousands of monsters and several ally Demon Lords to think of. The better question is, why are you going to help her? You are going so far as to endanger your subordinate monsters but have no prospect to gain anything from it."
What he said was true.
I myself worried if it was alright to put Avalon and my monsters in danger. After some deliberation though, I had decided, by my own will, that I would help her.
And to answer his question:
"I owe a great deal to Marchosias-sama. My conscience will not allow me to let her die before I even have the chance to repay that debt. Furthermore, what kind of Demon Lord will I be if I chose to suppress my emotions!? I love her and I cannot forgive myself if ourst moments were in disagreement."
"Are you resolved for whatever follows?"
"Yes. I have this decided this on my own and will follow it through with the best of my abilities."
Astaroth narrowed his eyes and then, after a short while, spoke in a gentle manner.
"Marchosias is fortunate to have a good child. However, those are your reasons for choosing to help her. Im afraid those cant be applied to me."
"Yes, I understand that these are just a young mans reasons. Thats why, Im willing to give you rpense for your help, [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth. I hope your judgement as an adult will see what you stand to gain and think about it."
Sts who was beside me was breathless for a moment and then looked at me with a somewhat lonely expression on her face.
"So youre going to go that far? Very well then, what are you offering me?"
"My medal... but then there is the possibility that for this fight, I may use the only remaining medal I have at the moment so the payment will have to be dyed until next month."
"What makes you think Ill act for the sake of one medal?"
"If a Demon Lord as great as you examine these two with me, Im sure youll agree to the value of my medal."
Astaroth, being one of the strongest Demon Lords, was strong enough to see the information about Kuina and Wights capabilities. Certainly, he knew that the two of them were S rank monsters and from there, he must have also concluded that my [Creation] medal was worth the consideration.
Originally, to have an S rank monster meant you had receive one or at least the ability to make one from the Creator. There just wasnt any Demon Lord who could make S rank monsters on their own before.
In truth, I had only fully realized the value of my medal during my negotiation with the [Time] Demon Lord.
"Hmm. That is interesting but Im afraid that it isnt enough. I would like to add another condition to this deal."
Astaroth said so and then looked at Sts and me.
"[Creation] Demon Lord Procell, after I have reached the end of my life, I would like you to protect my daughter, Sts. Swear this to me now and I shall lend you my power just this once."
I looked at Sts, saw the bewildered expression on her face, and made my decision.
"It will be done. I swear to you now that I will protect Sts after youre gone."
He looked at me and gave out a satisfied smile.
"Astaroth-sama, you cant just decide everything on your own"
Sts, in a state of panic, protested so. In response, Astaroth spoke.
"Sts, listen, a Demon Lord cant fight, much less win, alone. Remember that. And, as unyielding as you are, you will not be able to rely on anyone other than him who has already bested you. This is thest thing I can do for you. So hate me if you must but please ept this proposition."
"Thats so unfair."
"Yes but this is this old mansst selfish request so please grant it. If this man is willing to go this far for Marchosias, then I can rest easy and entrust you to him. Now, Procell, I will be cooperating with you to save Marchosias but I will not be fighting alongside with you. Theres only one Demon Lord in my mind that can manipte Marchosiass own faction against her and I intend to crush that fellow. Certainly, that fulfills my end of the deal in regards to helping both you and Marchosias."
"It does. Thank you very much."
I bowed and thanked him.
What he said probably was the best way to approach things. If so, then I should just do the things I must do.
"Id like to thank you as well. We, the three strongest Demon Lords, have exchanged a non-interference agreement with one another and had done so in the name of the Creator. And for that reason, I was not able to move to help Marchosias. Thanks to our agreement though, I can now act."
He said so and smile.
I was relieved to hear that he did indeed wanted to help Marcho from start but was just unable to. During this feeling of relief, there was something I really wanted to know.
"But why did whoever is behind all this choose to attack Marchosias-sama now? If they let her be, she will be gone in half a years time anyway."
That had always been on my mind. It didnt make sense to me why anyone would endanger themselves and fight her when it wasnt needed in the first ce.
"Its simple, really: pride as a Demon Lord. Unless that person defeats her while shes still living, no one will recognize him as one of the strongest. It is a position that must be taken by force; you dont win it by default. Furthermore, Marchosiass [Beast] is a good and easy to use medal. Trying to break her crystal now while shes still alive to defend it is actually easier rather thanter when all Demon Lords are going topete for it."
It bewildered me at first that they were going that far for such a reason but then, I realized that for a Demon Lord that had obtained everything already, satisfying their sense of pride was reason enough.
"Thank you. There isnt much time left so excuse me, I shall be going."
"I shallmence my attack in three days. How about you? Do you n to move out by then too?"
"Yes, thats right."
He had also thought that three days was time limit to save Marcho.
"Before you go, listen to an old mans ramblings, will you? Have you ever wondered why the Creator refers to us Demon Lords as the [Children of the]? Or why our well-being and survival is so tied to us making use of humans, or rather, why it is so tied to us providing for them? Have you?"
"......yes, I have. I have thought on what exactly we Demon Lords are."
"Your guess will most likely be the correct one. Do keep in mind though that not everyone will agree. Now then, to once again go wild with the power of the strongest Demon Lord. It has been a while since myst fight! Fuhaha! My blood is boiling!!"
Astaroth thenughed so maniacally that it didnt suit his appearance as an old man.
Anyway, we ended our conversation there.
Next was the persuasion of the [Time] Demon Lord.
My [Creation] medal might not be as lucrative to him anymore but that wasnt a cause for worry because I already foresaw the means to convince him.
Volume 5 7
After finishing my persuasion of [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth, I had decided to return, for the moment, back to Avalon.
After talking to him, I felt that the reason he agreed so easily to help Marcho was because he really wanted to in the first ce and just wanted an excuse. Of course, it also greatly helped that Sts was beside me. I ended up making use of Astaroths parental love and his wish of doing onest thing for her.
I had decided that I would wait only one day after returning to Avalon for a reply from the [Time] Demon Lord. If no such letter came by then, I would go to his ce for a direct reply. There isnt enough time.
"Procell, Im also going to help."
Sts and I had left Astaroths dungeon and had just used the Transfer array that led to her dungeon when she suddenly said so.
"Sts, do you realize what exactly it is you just said?"
I reflexively replied so.
Stss abilities were extremely strong and her assistance would surely be appreciated but that wasnt reason enough to include her in this fight. After all, doing so would just give the old Demon Lords an excuse to attack her as well.
"Marchosias-sama is a Demon Lord I admire so I want to help too but besides that..."
Sts said so and then looked at my direction.
She was surely worrying about me.
It seemed that just like how I wanted to help Marcho, Sts wanted to help me. Upon such realization, I ced a hand on her head.
"Thank you. Your sentiment alone is enough. Sts, you should just focus on your own [War]."
"But, Procell, I can fight too!"
"I know that but for this campaign of helping Marcho, I will have to fight with all my might. I cant afford to worry about you too."
"Are you saying Im going to be a burden?"
She asked so with a sulky expression on her face.
"Yes. The enemies will be veteran Demon Lords and although you are excellent as a new Demon Lord, you will not be able to match them. Moreover... I dont want to see you getting hurt."
The moment I said yes, Sts trembled with anger. However, upon hearing my exnation and perhaps realization that my words were true, she immediately changed her expression into that of frustration.
"...I understand. Its surely as you say: the way I am right now, I dont have enough power to keep up with you. But remember, I worry about you too."
I was d that she gave the idea up. If harm ever came her way because I let her lend me a hand, I could never forgive myself.
"Im going to give up on fighting alongside you but at least let me help."
She then summoned a monster that was in her [Storage] and it was one of her Covenant monsters.
This particr one had a beyond-normal special ability that could strengthen the entire army it was in. Plus, it also had the ability to instantly build amunicationwork via telepathy. A monster making use of those two together made one of the strongestmanders.
Such was the angel of wind Rozelitte the Rathgrith who appeared like a beautiful woman with snow-white wings.
"Rozelitte, you are to pretend to be [Creation] Demon Lord Procells subordinate and gather intelligence as a spy. At all cost, gather information that will lead to my army growing stronger. To avoid being suspected by him, you are to faithfully obey whatever he says."
"Definitely, Sts-sama. I, Rozelite, shall pretend to be [Creation] Demon Lord Procells loyal subordinate."
Right in front of me, Sts grandly gave such orders to Rozelitte who was supposed to be her trump card.
"Thank you, Sts."
"What are you talking about? I only sent out a spy for my own benefit."
While saying so, Sts did the handing over procedures and then extended her hand toward me. When I took and shook it, her Rozelitte then became my monster.
By giving me this monster, she was able to help me without the danger of being in war with the old Demon Lords. In fact, in this situation, this was the only way she could help me.
However, because the monster was now mine, if I felt like it after the war, I could choose not to return it.
As a Demon Lord, this action of hers was a very na?ve one but as a friend, it was the greatest support.
"Then I who have fallen for your scheme shall ept this poisonous gift."
I smiled and epted her Rozelitte.
This monster who had the ability to strengthen her army as well as the ability to transmit information was surely going to be helpful in this uing war.
Sts then turned her back on me as if to say she wouldnt talk anymore so I decided to just speak while she was like that.
"Sts, someday, when youre older, you will surely be a fine woman."
For some reason, those were the words that naturally came out of my mouth. In reaction, her shoulders trembled but only for a moment. She then silently walked to another Transfer array and used it. the moment she was about to disappear, she shouted something:
"Procell, you mothercon!"
Ipletely had no idea what she meant but strangely, I smiled.
After parting with Sts, I returned to Avalon, checked up on Rorono regarding her tasks, and then returned to my residence.
There, I had decided to talk with Rozelitte while sipping some ck tea.
In order to make full use of her capabilities, I needed to get to know her well enough.
I have looked at her status but knowing that alone wouldnt do; I needed to talk with the person herself.
Race: Rathgrith
A rank
Level: 69
Physical Strength: C
Endurance: C+
Agility: A
Magic: A
Luck: B
Special: S
Skills:
Wide-range Empathy
Angelic Halo of Light
Overseer of Wind
Advanced Support Magic
Overseer of Light
Her physical strength and endurance were low but overall, her stats were high-level.
Unlike my S rank monsters, she didnt have any Ruler skills but she did have skills of the next rank. More specifically, she had the Overseer of Wind and Light skills which were highly versatile skills.
Furthermore, her Wide-range Empathy which was a telepathic ability that wasnt restricted by her distance to her target but rather by the condition that both needed to be on the same army, was an ability that all Demon Lords would kill for. After all, one could, through her, gather their monsters intelligence about events unfolding in real time over a very wide area. It could be argued that this was one of the strongest of abilities.
Also, one other ability of hersthe Angelic Halo of Lightwas strong as well. Its effect was the bonus (small) to all of her ally monsters abilities.
It was a no-brainer to want her in ones army.
For Sts, this monster was absolutely essential in her fighting force perhaps to the point that if ever she got into a [War] without this monster, it could spell trouble for her. Sts knew this risk and yet still lent it to me. I must repay her thoughtfulness, I wholeheartedly thought.
After a short while, my conversation with Rozelitte was over. Devoid of any peculiar abilities, I came to the conclusion that she was easy to make use of.
"Procell-sama."
Breaking the silence, Rozelitte said so.
"What is it, Rozelitte?"
Even though she was a monster, her being an angel-type made me strangely tense. Maybe this difort she brings can prove beneficial.
"There is one thing I would very much like to ask. It isnt rted in any way to the uing fight and so I would like to have your permission to ask it."
"I dont see any particr problem with that. Go ahead and ask."
When I answered her so, she gave me a smile.
"I would like to know your reason for choosing to pretend not to notice Sts-samas feelings."
Upon hearing her, I identally sprayed the ck tea I had just sipped.
She was right on the mark so it was a little hard to reply. So even the monsters have noticed?
"Whats the matter, Procell-sama? Are you going to say that you havent noticed Sts-samas affection for you? Sts-sama, in this regard of conveying her feelings, is quite obvious. Perhaps as obvious as you purposely ignoring that affection."
For her to say that much, it didnt seem like she was trying to trick me. And so, I resigned myself and decided to answer her query honestly.
"Its because I want the two of us to remain friends. I cannot reciprocate her feelings but if I said that to her, I fear that our friendship will be over. Does this answer satisfy you? Also, this is just in case but I am forbidding you to tell Sts any of this. I dont mind forcing you into agreeing by way of my authority as your Demon Lord."
When I said so, the expression on her face somewhat softened.
"Certainly, Procell-sama. At the very least, I am relieved to know that you hold some feelings toward Sts-sama. As soon as I return to her side, I will tell her to push harder."
"Did you not hear anything that I said?"
"Of course, I did. Its just that so long as there are some affection, no matter what kind, things will work itself out. And as long as thats true, I, Rozelitte, will cheer-"
Mid-sentence, she felt my cold stare and decided to clear her throat.
What the, rather than calling this girl Stss subordinate, its totally better to say that this girls her friend.
Then again, that was what I thought Demon Lords and monsters should be like. At that, I couldnt help but smile wryly.
I just couldnt picture myself being like that with Sts. But if it indeed unfolded like she said, I might want to see a flustered Sts a little.
It was only a little but the tense atmosphere between Rozelitte and me had somewhat ckened. Perhaps, I thought, this is the reason she brought the subject up.
And then, when I casually looked at the window, I saw that the crow monster I had dispatched to send a message to the [Time] Demon Lord had been impatiently waiting there after its return.
The crow monster had brought back [Time]s reply and i proceeded to read it. What was sinctly written there was:
In the hopes of making the uing negotiations easier, The letter I had sent him contained things that would anger him. It seemed like it worked. But then again, maybe he had realized my n but still decided to y along.
Either way, I was convinced the negotiations this time would far easier than the one with the [Dragon] Demon Lord. As for why, it was because I had in my hand the strongest card that the [Time] Demon Lord could absolutely not ignore.
Notes: Changed Roronos skill from Bearer of All Things to Overseer of All Things. All Things here is in the sense of All Creation.
Volume 5 8
After checking on the progress of our ordnance development, led by Rorono, and our potion production, led by Aura, I left Avalon together with Kuina and Wight. Just as before, they were the strongest two I could bring in case of emergencies.
Our destination was the [Time] Demon Lords dungeon. His strength was going to be absolutely necessary in helping Marcho and for that reason, I took a gamble. I had sent him a letter whose purpose was to provoke him. Due to that, I had received a reply that only stated: .
I had already set up a Transfer array that led to his dungeon during my previous visit so heading over there wouldnt take much time by using the crow monster that had delivered letters to and fro.
"Weve been expecting you. [Creation] Demon Lord Procell-sama, Dantalian-sama is waiting for you."
The moment we arrived in a room within [Time]s dungeon, a male monster with crow wings growing out of his back lowered his head and said so.
My guess was that it was the next rank variant of the crow monster that was given to me.
Kuina had her guards up toward this monster and for Kuina to do so, it meant that this monster was unmistakably strong.
For such a monster to be posted near the Transfer array, it seemed like [Time] was greatly anticipating my arrival. It seems hes dismayed that I hit his sore spot.
With things going as it was, I predicted that the negotiations would go smoothly. However, I knew I still couldnt let my guard down. Since I did provoke one of the three strongest Demon Lords, even if he thought Im prepared to receive any punishment for attacking a new Demon Lord, I really couldntin.
It was a situation where even my life was at risk so I knew I must brace myself.
The monster with the crow wings guided me into an audience area prepared for the [Time] Demon Lords throne room.
This was my second time in this ce.
Marcho, [Dragon], and [Time] all had these really impressive rooms. Perhaps its the Demon Lord look?
Avalon didnt have such a ce nor did it really need one since only a few ever go to my crystal room and the city above the ground was where most activities happened.
But then again, if it is really part of the whole Demon Lord look, I guess its better to prepare one once this ordeal is finished.
When I neared the throne, my freedom to think about such things vanished in an instant.
The [Time] Demon Lord, the master of this room, had his back resting on his throne, his face somewhat hidden but not enough to mask his quiet anger.
Standing beside him was a lone girl who was in the first half of her teens.
Her appearance greatly resembled Kuinas except this girl had white hair and ears and tails that belonged to a wolf rather than a fox. Also, her tail was a size smaller than Kuinas.
She might look like Kuina but the expression on her face and the atmosphere around her were cold and calm. If Kuina was fire, this girl was ice.
With my current power, I wasnt able to see the status of a high-ranking monster but with the amount of her magic power and with her presence, I had doubt that she was a being that exceeded A rank. Shes an S rank monster thats probably made using my [Creation] medal.
"So, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, you dared send to me, the [Time] Demon Lord, such a ludicrous letter, have you? I wonder, are you prepared to die?"
Concealing his anger, the [Time] Demon Lord calmly asked so.
He was calm and yet the intimidation I felt was tremendous enough to shake my soul. Still, drawing away was not an option. Thinking that, I put on as resolute as a face I could and spoke.
"Ludicrous? I only stated the truth. And Ill verbally state so here again. Do you intend to be quiet and be just a spectator while the woman that you love is in danger!? That sort of ipetence is why Marcho has rejected you. I am giving you this chance at redemption so help me, [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian."
I spoke out loud the contents of the letter I had sent him. He was in love with Marcho and he probably thought I was too so I decided to challenge him using the sense of rivalry that he felt. Will he let his rival keep looking down on him?
I thought he was going tosh out but his reaction was actually quite the opposite. He took a deep breath and exhaled it grandly. Rather thanshing out, he ced his right hand on his face and revealed a light smile.
"Dont talk to my master like that!"
The wolf-eared girl that looked like Kuina angrily shouted so. The furs on her white fluffy tail stood on end as she looked down on me with a cold yet furious expression on her face.
A cold wind then blew as though it was gathering around her.
Kuina sensed something and went closer to the girl to sniff at the air until she was right in front of the wolf-girl.
"Oto-san, this girls smells just like Kuina does!"
Kuinas innocent voice diffused the tension in the air.
After she dered so, perhaps because of her curiosity about that girl, Kuina got closer still and alternated between sniffing and staring at the girl.
"Stop, stop it!"
The wolf-eared girl swung her hand as she protested but...
"Calm down. Celestial Wolf, do not embarrass me. And, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, keep your subordinate under control."
"Uuuu, alright, Father."
[Time] reprimanded the girl that looked like Kuina, or rather, the Celestial Wolf. I was a little surprised that it called him Father. A rather good preference, I thought.
"Kuina, get back here. Dont be rude to the [Time] Demon Lords monster."
"Alright, Oto-san. But, that girl, shes definitely Kuinas little sister!"
I resisted giving a wry smile for that remark of hers. It amused me that Kuina intuitively recognized the true nature of the Celestial Wolf which was a monster born out of my [Creation] and undoubtedly Marchos [Beast] medal.
Up until this point, the medals used were same as the ones I used for Kuina. Thest medal, the point they differed, was surely [Time]. Although Kuina called the girl her little sister, it was a being that was almost like Kuina.
That said, I was sure that the existence of the Celestial Wolf was more due to his wish of having a daughter that was made using his and Marchos medals rather than an aim to make the strongest monster possible.
"Now, [Creation] Demon Procell, lets return to our conversation, shall we? I believe you were in the middle of provoking me. I have seen through your ns. Youre first going to provoke me and make lose myposure by inciting my sense of rivalry, followed by making me understand something. Enough with the act already; tell me your real objective."
I see, so the reason why he became strangely calm after hearing me was because he has indeed seen through everything already.
As expected of a veteran Demon Lord, it was a simple thing to see through my acting, such as it was.
But if so, I realized that there wasnt much of a problem and thus decided to proceed as nned.
"If things go on as they are now, Marchosias-sama will be defeated. In order to help her-"
"Hmm. You might not be aware of this but we, the three strongest Demon Lords-"
"Have a non-interference agreement, correct? And you have sworn so to the Creator, making it absolute."
It was only for a moment but he definitely was surprised.
"So that stubborn old man has told you, huh? Not that it matters. If you know about that agreement, you should also know that there is nothing I can do for you."
"I know and thats why my request to you is not to defeat the enemies that are attacking Marchos dungeon."
The moment the [Dragon] Demon Lord exined to me about their agreement, I had given up on fighting alongside them.
"Ohh. Then, what is it that you request of me?"
"My request is for you to protect my dungeon, my Avalon, until the fighting ends. Thats all. If you protect Avalon for me, I can give my all in helping Marchosias-sama."
I chose to not worry about the consequences of this in the future and requested it of him.
The n I had thought up was that while the [Dragon] Demon Lord dealt with the one pulling the strings thus causing the enemies offense to slow down, the [Time] Demon Lord was to guarantee the safety of my dungeon.
All that was left for me was to focus all my power into defeating the ones directly assaulting Marchos dungeon.
Plus, this way, both Demon Lords didnt have to vite their non-interference agreement.
"Wait, are you nning to attack the many Demon Lords attacking Marchosias by your own?"
"Yes. I can do it on my own."
"With conceit like yours, Im astonished youve made it this far."
He said so as he smiled slightly.
"Be that as it may, what do I stand to gain from all this?"
"The peace of mind that the woman you love is alive and well."
"Even if I helped, she will still only have less than half of a year left to live. So, for that half year, tell me why I should cooperate with a rival."
I had expected such a response so I had an answer prepared.
"If you truly love someone, I believe you will want them to live longer, even if for only half a year more. I truly do believe that and thats why Im willing to risk my life as well as bow my head to you. If someone thinks that the half a year left to Marcho is meaningless, then I think that fellow doesnt have the right to even say he loves her. I will never approve of him."
I stopped bothering with polite speech and chose to be frank with my feelings in order to convey the truth.
Half a year might be short for someone who had a long life of three hundred years but I refused to believe that that span of time was meaningless.
I had only known Marcho for less than a year and yet even I thought so. There was no way that he who had loved her for centuries wouldnt think that.
"Youre such a romantic Demon Lord, arent you?"
"I dont want to be hear that from a Demon Lord that made a daughter using abination their own and Marchos medals."
From a while now, the Celestial Wolf that looked like Kuina was fuming as she sent menacing looks at me. It might have seemed to her that I was harassing her father.
"Really now, whenever I look at you, I am reminded of that fellow that isnt here anymore. A man who is pointlessly confident and always collected on the outside but hot-blooded on the inside. Yeah, insufferable. But just the kind of man that Marcho is weak to. ... Ohh, I see. Is that why that stubborn old man has expectations of you?"
He spoke so in a strangely nostalgic and somewhat lonely voice.
"[Creation] Demon Lord Procell, youre on the right trackprovoking me, riling up my emotions, and telling me of your resolve but Im afraid its not enough to change my refusal of helping you. "
This stubborn man.
I gulped down such words before they got out of my mouth.
So finally its time to y the best hand I have.
"I see. Then, how about if I added another condition? If you cooperate with me, I can make Marcho live longer than that half a year left to her and therefore give you more time with her. I know that youve been extending your own lifespan and that youve been persuading her to do the same."
On the day Ist met with Marcho, I had offered her my [Rebirth] but her reply to me was: Ill tell you what I told that guy. I have no desire for an immortal life.
Even back then, I was convinced that the other guy Marcho was referring to was none other than the [Time] Demon Lord.
"I see but I have always been turned down whenever I propose it. Are you saying you can somehow persuade her to ept my power when I have failed many times before?"
That was another way to go but one that I couldnt really choose since Marcho had been adamant on turning down his offers.
"Not exactly but I am going to prolong her life. Just that its going to be through my own powers. After all, whats important is the shes alive and as long as she lives, youll have the chance to impress her. That chance is the best I have to offer to you. Now, choose, [Time] Demon Lord: will you cooperate with me or not??"
Ever since I got here, this was the first time the [Time] Demon Lord showed dismay.
He knew about my [Rebirth].
There was also no doubt in my mind that he had gathered enough intelligence to know that it was the ability I used on my [War] against the three Demon Lords.
"Are you sure you can make her say yes even though each time I asked she had said no?"
"If its me, Im sure shell agree."
I looked him straight in the eye and dered so.
This was a vow between men.
Marcho herself might not have wished to live longer but I did.
"Fuu, good grief. If maybe I was as pushy as you, she probably would have changed her mind already. I guess I should change in that regard. Anyway, if you can do it, I would indeed have more time with her. Very well, I will cooperate with you."
"Thank you, Dantalian."
"However, are you sure about letting me, a rival, into your dungeon while youre away? You do realize I can do whatever I want, should I choose to."
I smiled slightly at the scenario I knew he wouldnt do.
"What Im sure of is that you wouldnt stand in the way of my attempt to help Marcho. Besides, Im not really a rival. I love Marcho but not in a romantic way."
We were simr but also different. Unlike him, my feelings were not of the romantic nature.
That being said, what I was offering to him wasnt Marcho herself, only the chance to court her. I had no right on the former.
"I see. Well, whatever. Here are two gifts for you."
He said so and handed a medal to me. Upon receiving it, I checked the details on the said medal.
{[King] medal: A Rank. Boosts (Medium) all abilities except for Special. Grants charisma and leadership qualities to the monster.}
"Whats this for?"
"That medal will work well with Marcho. Im giving this to you to prevent you from using any strange medal on her. Now, the other one,"
He said so and then gave the back of the Celestial Wolf standing beside him a push.
"Im going to entrust you with this Celestial Wolf. This child will surely be of help to you."
"Wait, what about the previously imposed rule?"
"Ill probably receive a penalty for this but no matter, this child is undoubtedly born for a situation such as this."
In my previous [War] with other Demon Lords, because there were new Demon Lords that had been given monsters solely for them to gain advantage in the said [War], a new rule was put into effect.
Due to this, old Demon Lords were prohibited from giving monsters to new Demon Lords even if those new Demon Lords werent their ward. Viting this rule had corresponding penalties.
Even so, the [Time] Demon Lord was choosing to hand over his Celestial Wolf.
"Father, Ce-celestial Wolf is"
"Go, Celestial Wolf. Go and help your mother."
"Understood! And after helping mother, Celestial Wolf is going to return to Fathers side right away!"
With reluctance on her face, she looked at the [Time] Demon Lord while she was heading my way.
"Ill be in your care, [Creation] Demon Lord."
After she said so, she pouted and turned away.
It seems itll be a little hard to handle this girl.
However...
"Yay ?! Kuinas little sister!"
"Uu-, get away, get away from me!"
The moment the Celestial Wolf became my monster, Kuina came to hug her. It seemed Kuina waspletely pleased with the Celestial Wolf.
"[Creation] Demon Lord Procell, I have tolerated you thus far but in the event that you fail to save Marcho and in the event that you break your promise, know that I will absolutely not forgive you. No matter the means, no matter the penalties, I will make you pay."
"Of course. Ill show you I can definitely help her."
The [Time] Demon Lord and I bothughed. With this, I could focus with all of my might on helping Marcho.
After three days, I was set to head to Marchos dungeon with all of my forces. Im definitely going to help her.
Note: Much like Kuina, the Celestial Wolf refers to herself using her name, or in this case, her race name. I might use Tenrou (which means the same) for simplicity starting next chapter.
Also, a reminder: No spoilers! At least make them sound like youre guessing.
Volume 5 9
After leaving [Time] Demon Lord Dantalians dungeon, we immediately returned to Avalon via the crow monsters Transfer.
I was able to safely persuade him into helping in the form of protecting my city of Avalon during my absence.
I also got two other things from him.
The first was the [King] medal which was a powerful A rank medal.
The second was the monster that Dantalian had made using my [Creation] medal. It was the S rank Celestial Wolf.
"Why does Celestial Wolf have to be separated from Father and follow such an unreliable Demon Lord? This is the worst. I wanna go home."
For some time now, the Celestial Wolf was twitching her white wolf-ears as she spouted off suchints.
Her appearance might be almost the same as Kuinas but since her facial expressions and aura were cold and tough, the two of them were worlds apart.
"Well, please be patient until this campaign is over. Once weve helped out Marcho, you can go back. But for the meantime, youre my monster and that means you must obey mymands."
"It cant be helped. But if youmand Celestial Wolf to do anything lewd, Im going to tell Father about itter!"
"Command you to what!?"
Her appearance was that of a 13 year olds. I wasnt a lolicon so of course I wouldnt do such a thing to her.
At any rate, what surprised me was the intimacy between her and the [Time] Demon Lord. I had thought that he had a business-like rtionship with his subordinates but looking at the Celestial Wolf, it seemed like they had built a close and good connection.
Race: Celestial Wolf
S rank
Name: Felsias (ե륷)
Level: 72
Physical Strength: A+
Endurance: A
Agility: S
Magic: A
Luck: A
Special: S+
Skills:
Wolf King
Time Control
Atomic Motion Control
Ultra-rapid Reaction
Beast Transformation
Bing a subordinate of mine made it possible for me to check her status.
Simply put, she was amazing.
She was born as an S rank with a progressive level and had already reached the 70s mark which even Kuina hadnt done yet. Reaching level 70 meant that she was already on par with a static-level S rank.
With none of her stats dropping below the grade of A, she was the ultimate all-rounder. Not to mention, each of her skills was outside of the norm.
Wolf King: Physical Strength, Endurance, and Agility are all improved by one grade.
Time Control: Grants the ability to control the time of oneself or those within 1 meter of the user.
Atomic Motion Control: Grants the ability to control the amount of heat via the maniption of the movement of atoms.
Ultra-rapid Reaction: Grants the utmost of reflexes. There isnt any dy between thought and movement.
Beast Transformation: Transforms the user into an ice-attributed wolf. Upon activation, all stats except for Luck and Special are improved by one grade.
Time Control and Atomic Motion Control were tremendously versatile.
Furthermore, if Wolf King and Beast Transformation were used at the same time, she would gain absurd stats. Using Ultra-rapid Reaction with those absurd stats made her broken, if she wasnt already.
There were probably only a few monsters that could match her. The ones that could from my own monsters were probably only Kuina, Wight, and Aura.
Besides those, one other thing surprised me.
"You have been given a name?"
The Celestial Wolf was given the name Felsias.
The [Time] Demon Lord only referred to her as Celestial Wolf so it wasnt until I viewed her status that I was made aware of such.
The Celestial Wolf, a monster that had a name and this much power, could very well be table-turner for this war, I thought.
"Youre the worst for peeping at the secret between Celestial Wolf and Father; its a name he uses only when its just the two of us."
Celestial Wolf, or rather, Fel, proudly and somewhat gleefully told me so.
It was likely that the reason why [Time] didnt say her name in public was that he was embarrassed.
For him to base Celestial Wolfs name after Marcho, it immediately humanized him to me.
"Woaaahhhh! What a cute name! Kuina will also call you Fel-chan now."
"Did you even listen to what I said? Only Father gets to call me Fel."
"Dont be so stiff, Fel-chan! Kuina is Fel-chans older sister so Kuinas special. Theres problem in calling you Fel-chan!"
"Sto-stop it"
Their fluffy tails swayed while being intertwined with one another.
The sight of the two who were unmistakably sisters was a very pleasant thing.
Even though Celestial Wolf was saying such things, she didnt seem to hate what Kuina was doing.
Surely, its because she wants a friend of the same age, I thought.
If it was the friendly and helpful Kuina, making friends with Celestial Wolf was more than possible.
"Id like to ask Rorono to make a weapon for Celestial Wolf too but right now, shes just too busy."
I wanted to give Celestial Wolf a weapon of her own to make better use of her strengths. After all, the total attack power was the sum of the attack power of ones weapon and their own attack power.
Moreover, a weapon that could deal great damage from afar was greatly better.
"Ah, Oto-san, I have a good idea. Instead of a gun, how about that experimental weapon Rorono has been working on for the Avalon-Ritters?"
"Ahh, that, huh. But can anybody even handle it?"
The disappointing weapon that even the absurdly strong Avalon-Ritters couldnt wield came to mind. The results were so disappointing that the development for the weapon was cancelled.
"Uh-huh. If Kuina tries, Kuina can use that. So, if its Fel-chan, theres no problem too."
For reasons unclear to me, Kuina gave her seal of approval.
Given that, I thought about it for a while.
Considering Celestial Wolfs Magic, Physical Strength, and Ultra-rapid Reaction...
"Yeah, itll probably be alright. Ok, Kuina, hand over that weapon to Fel and teach her how to use it. And then, the two of you do some practice together. Im entrusting her to you."
"Ah! [Creation] Demon Lord, did you just call me Fel!?"
"Understood, Oto-san!"
Kuina then pulled Celestial Wolf, or rather, Fel by the scruff of her neck until they were gone.
What I could do for the moment was to figure out how to make use of the monsters that werent in my initial ns. Namely, Rozelitte who I got from [Wind] Demon Lord Sts and Fel who I got from [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian.
Not making use of such powerful monsters was something I could not afford.
Time to n a strategy that will better my chances, then. Looks like Ill be busy for a while.
Finally, the day of our departure arrived.
While my monsters were busy preparing for the said departure, I was speaking with themanding officer of Avalons intelligence corps.
"Fuu, youre really a ve worker, patron. I thought I was gonna die. Somehow though, I was able to make it back."
The blue-haired, androgynous-looking girl I was talking to was Rlyeh Diva.
She informed me so with a tired voice while waiting for the Aura-made potion she drank to take effect and heal her tattered body.
"Im d you made it back."
"Uh-huh. The other dimension was crawling with enemies. The most dangerous of them all was this ninja-like person. Oh man, that ninja, he just suddenly tried kill me. If it was somebody else, they would have died! Later on though, I found out he was a monster of the [Beast] Demon Lord so I gave him the medicines."
I had made my monsters who could hide in another dimensionwhich were Rlyeh Diva and her subordinates, the Ocean Singersgo first and gather some intelligence for us.
Aside from reconnaissance so that we could improve our strategy, I had given them another task which was the delivery of a letter and a few of the potions we had already made to Marchos side.
Rlyeh Diva had safely aplished that task and returned albeit at a muchter time than expected. Not only that, she also received a written letter from ninja monster which contained additional information about the enemies.
"That ninja is actually of one Marchos Covenant monsters. You did well; thats quite the feat."
I had fought with Marchos Monsters of the Covenant before our departure for the [Evening Party].
It was done in order to drill into me a sense of fear for old Demon Lords.
During that lesson, there was a monster that hid itself within my shadow and then grabbed me from the back. That was probably the same monster that Rlyeh Diva had encountered.
For not dying on the first murderous blow of that monster, Rlyeh Diva was truly worthy of praise.
"Im happy for your words of praise, patron, but a show of appreciation would be better."
Really, this girl...
"Ill think about it. If we survive this ordeal, Ill give you an astonishing reward."
"Ill be looking forward to it. Well then, my wounds have healed so Ill venture forth once more. After all, regarding other-dimension business, Im the only one you can rely on!"
I smiled wryly at her words but what she said was indeed true. The only monsters I had that could control dimensions were her and her Ocean Singers.
Their contribution was extremely great.
Now then, its about time.
I thought so and went out of my residence together with Rlyeh Diva.
Lined up in the ground were all of the Darkness Dragons. And attached to each ones head was a container.
These containers were packed full with golems, monsters, weapons, ammunitions, and healing items.
Marcho had destroyed the Transfer array that led to her dungeon in order to prevent her enemies from using it against me. Due to that however, transportation via the sky became the fastest mode of travel.
Of course, I had intended to construct a new Transfer array once we got there. I also nned on posting monsters to guard the array.
All of my other monsters were in their corresponding positions while the leaders were gathered around me.
"You did well, Rorono."
"Master, the servicing of the trump card isplete. Its already loaded into the containers. We have also prepared the required amount of customized Avalon-Ritters as well as the new weapons thought up by master."
"Thank you. I can now see the prospect of victory thanks to your efforts. For this campaign, I ask you to takemand of the golems including the Avalon-Ritters."
Rorono, the Elder Dwarf, had been working without sleep for three consecutive days, probably even more, all so that she could meet my expectations.
"Master, we have also managed to secure all of the required number of potions. With this, no matter the injury, it will be fine! Weve used up all our stock of the golden apples though!"
"Splendid, Aura. Thanks to you, we can now expect Marchos wounded monsters to be able to fight again. For this war, I task you to lead the High Elves and dedicate yourselves to sniping troublesome monsters from afar."
Rlyeh Diva and her subordinates had managed to deliver only but a few potions. However, upon the arrival of our full army, we would be able to bring and distribute as much potions as needed.
And then, there were Aura and the High Elves long-range attacks from outside of their enemies perception range. For us, the side with the inferior fighting force, such attacks were extremely vital.
"Oto-san, Ive finished teaching Fel-chan how to use that experimental weapon!"
"Kuina! Like! I! Said! Dont call me Fel-chan!"
The fox-eared Kuina and the wolf-eared Fel seemed energetic on this day as well.
"As for you two, because of your overwhelming fighting strengths, I will entrust you the task of leading the shock troops and trample over the enemys aces. Rampage more than anyone, more than any army."
The two stopped their messing around and then nodded to me with earnest looks on their face.
On ount of them being made using three A rank medals, they were two of the most powerful S rank monsters.
And so, how many enemy aces they could defeat would prove to be very crucial in this war.
"Wight, you will be in charge ofmanding everyone. Also, as my final ace, remain close to me at all times. I know this burden is great but Im relying on you."
"Yes, my lord. So long as my lord wills it, I will ovee no matter what ordeal."
By unleashing his [Berserk], Wight was a genuine beast that is stronger than even Kuina. He was the staff officer I could rely on more than anybody.
"Rlyeh Diva, continue gathering information from that other dimension and ry it to us. If you lose control of the other dimension, our circumstances for this war will quickly turn sour. In a sense, you are our lifeline."
"Ill do my best for that reward. Well, being impressed by my talents is good too."
As confident as ever, the blue-haired Rlyeh Diva replied so.
"Now, everyone, to your positions and move out!"
"""Yes!"""
My monsters nodded and then dispersed.
After a few minutes, 10 Darkness Dragons that carried containers pped their wings.
Now, lets go! To Marchos dungeon!
Volume 5 10
With the Darkness Dragons carrying the containers that were full of monsters, weapons, ammunitions, and potions, we left Avalon.
In the case of a [War] that was treated more like a game, the entrances between participating dungeons were linked by the Creator. Due to this, a Demon Lord didnt have to worry on how to get their monsters to another dungeon. However, for wars that didnt apply to this, a mode of travel for the monsters and their weapons was necessary.
The number of ways to transport arge amount of fighting force was surprisingly limited.
The first one was through [Transfer].
In terms of speed and potential for ambushes, it was unquestionably strong.
However, there were difficulties with it.
Transfer could be freely used within ones own dungeon but when at least one end was located outside of the dungeon, it could only be used if Transfer arrays had been set up beforehand on both ends.
Additionally, even a B rank monster could only Transfer, at most, three monsters at once for probably a total of only ten times. An S rank monster could perform better but given the circumstances, I could not afford to make one at the moment.
The second mode of travel was through a Demon Lords [Storage].
This one involved cing up to ten monsters into a Demon Lords Storage, thus enabling the said Demon Lord to transport those monsters.
Doing this meant the Demon Lord had to expose himself to the dangers of the battlefield but in return, by using it in conjunction with Transfer, the efficiency goes way up.
That being said, only monsters could be ced into the Storage. This meant that golems, weapons, and other such things could not be transported.
Thest mode of transport was simply for the monsters themselves to go to the target location.
Of course, this was full of problems too like the travel speed of the monsters being too different; some were going too fast while some were going too slow.
It was also too conspicuous. If arge amount of monsters were marching on and route, it would surely rm the humans and then cause too much unnecessary problems that one would rather avoid.
Considering all that, I had decided that the best way for me was thest one but via the air. Like so, worries such as travel speed, volume to be transported, and privacy were all minor.
"Oto-san, are our enemies this time strong?"
Kuina who was in the same container as me asked so while shaking her fox tail.
By the way, also present in the same container was Fel and Rozelitte.
"Yeah, they are. This is going to be the toughest fight weve had so far."
After all, these Demon Lords have already lived for several years and have umted so much over those years.
Challenging them directly was a sure way to fail.
Only after making full use of the advantages that I had could I see a glimmer of hope.
As for what these advantages were, it included:
The weapons that were made by my [Creation] and were further improved by Rorono.
Being the only one out of all Demon Lords who could naturally make S rank monsters.
The wind angel Rozelitte who could strengthen all of my army and also build an ultra-widemunicationwork.
Each of the Avalon-Ritters which were stronger than the average A rank monster.
How I would make use of these advantages would determine the oue of this campaign. Fortunately, we were on attacking side and could therefore choose which weapons and methods we were going to employ.
"Okay. Then, Kuina will work harder than usual. If Kuina is Oto-sans best monster and if Oto-san is the strongest Demon Lord, then it means that Kuina is the strongest monster ever. And because of that, Kuina wont lose to anyone."
After hearing so, I beckoned to Kuina. In response, she got close, sat on myp, and leaned on me. Like so, I brushed her head.
I started this war due to my own selfishness and that was all the more reason why I didnt want to lose any of these children. I will not allow it.
Despite nning as much as I could in order to prevent my monsters from dying, I was uncharacteristically tensed. In an effort to calm myself down, I tried hugging Kuina and brushing her fluffy tail.
And yet, while doing that, I still wracked by brain for ideas.
Several hourster, we were almost at [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosiass dungeon. By using high-performance binocrs, I surveyed the surrounding from up in the sky.
"As I thought, its surrounded."
Her dungeon was an orthodox castle dungeon. But even more relevant for the moment, it was surrounded by several monsters. More than hundreds of them.
By doing so, they were able to prevent enemy reinforcements going into the dungeon as well as provide reinforcements of their own to those already sieging within.
What a bother. Just going inside Marchos dungeon is this bothersome already.
Her dungeon wasnt surrounded only on the ground, on the sky too.
As we neared the dungeon, the closer we got to the flying dragons and gigantic bird monsters circling in the sky.
Humans couldnt reach us in the sky but the same couldnt be said about Demon Lords and monsters. Just because we were flying, it didnt mean we were safe.
"Aura, its as we assumed. Are you ready?"
Aura wasnt in the same container that I was in. Normally, my voice wouldnt be able to reach her ears but since it was her, she could, through the wind, pick up the sound in my vicinity.
Aura sent her reply to me via the wind. She sounded more excited than usual. Full of joy even.
"I grant you permission to fire as you see fit. Take your prized sniping corps and work together with the Darkness Dragons to take control of the sky. Let the High Elves focus on the small fries while you focus on the ones with great amounts of magic power."
Like that, the sound of gunfire began.
Even though the Darkness Dragons were superior among B rank monsters, carrying a heavy load would cause their unarmed fighting prowess to fall down. So, topensate for that was the sniping corps.
The sniping corps wasposed of the elves including Aura. Each member wasnt inside any of the containers but on the back of the Darkness Dragons. Each one also carried their own anti-materiel rifle which could pierce even tanks.
With the elves special eyes and with wind on their sideinstead of the enemieseven fast flying monsters were dealt with in one shot.
That wasnt all. Since they had leveled up a lot, they could now use wind magic aggressively.
For example, as a group, they could control the weather. For the flying enemy monsters, this was the worst obstruction. Due to this, the enemys flying dragons and gigantic bird monsters movement got worse.
As expected of Aura, shes very skillful in using her powers.
"Rozelitte, contact Wight. Tell him to immediately strengthen the Darkness Dragons. Also tell him that as soon as we haveplete control of the sky, quicklymence the eradication of the monsters on the ground."
"Certainly, Procell-sama."
The reason I ced Rozelitte in the same container as me was so that she could ry my orders to everyone via telepathy. Her Wide-range Empathy skill was truly amazing.
As long as she was here, my voice could reach anywhere.
A few momentster, the Darkness Dragons were covered by a ck aura.
It was the effect of Wights special ability, the [Ruler of Death], which provided army-wide strengthening to undead units.
Because it continuously consumed magic power while active, I had chosen to preserve it until this moment.
And so, the speed of the Darkness Dragons rose and the elves of the sniping corps got into better positions. As for the enemy aerial defense force who were already in a bad state due to the weather, they just got into an even worse state of affairs.
With the Darkness Dragons taking care of those in the front with their breath attacks and with the elves shooting those in the rear with their anti-materiel rifles, the enemywho byparison could only attack those in front of themstood no chance in this aerial dogfight.
A few minutester, the elves and dragons had managed to easily annihte the enemy monsters and thus take control of the sky.
The sky now calm and devoid of enemies, the Darkness Dragons then turned around and got themselves into the best possible positions. When they were ready, they then began to drop therge amounts of napalm bombs from the containers.
By activating their [Miasma (Weak)] skill, the Darkness Dragons who were already superior B rank monsters in terms of offense, further increased their offensive capabilities.
Moreover, Wight had also activated his [Ruler of Death] skill while Rozelitte had activated her [Angelic Halo of Light]. With all of these three strengthening skills working at the same time, everything on the ground was being turned into ash by the mes that were dyed ck by the miasma.
It was dark hell made real.
Only monsters with extreme resistance to fire could survive such a hell but that didnt really matter since the sniping corps led by Aura were executing such survivors.
The cursing of countless burning and dying monsters could be heard from the ground. Try as they might though, we were so high up that no attack of theirs could ever hope to reach us. Before long, their cursing died down.
"They were intended to be their defense but for us, theyre just food."
By this point, we had sessfully destroyed the enemy encirclement. However, that wasnt much cause for celebration.
We had consumed a considerable amount of napalm bombs in our previous war and even though the undead monsters were working full time in the undead factory to make more, there were only so much they could make. And now, with this attack, our inventory of it was nearly gone.
We had two reasons as to why we chose to use the powerful napalm bombs instead of preserving them.
The first was that eliminating the monsters near Marchos dungeons entrance was absolutely necessary so that we could get inside. Choosing to charge our way in wasnt wise as we could easily be surrounded by the enemies. On the other hand, annihting the enemy monsters with napalm instead of charging in meant that Marchos monsters and my own would be able to surround the enemies that had already entered her dungeon.
The other reason was to level up my S rank monsters. We had predicted that the outside of Marchos dungeon would be surrounded and thus nned to bomb those enemies. Since we knew that this was going to happen, we partied the Darkness Dragons with the S rank monsters. In other words, the several hundreds of monsters we killed just now were going to be nourishment for my S rank monsters.
I then looked at Kuinas direction.
Her face was red and she was embracing her own body.
Something was weird. While it was quite normal for Kuina to be drunk on the ecstatic feeling she gets from leveling up, something was different this time.
Her eyes were drowsy, her tail was trembling, and her breathing was heavy.
"Oto-san, Kuina, Kuinas body feels so hot."
And then, her deep red eyes shined obscenely.
Following that, Kuina grew up. At first she looked like 12 or maybe 13 years old but then she looked 14 or even 15. Her tail became fluffier and the fur on it became softer.
"Oto-san, Kuina has reached it. Finally, Kuinas a proper Celestial Fox."
While leaning on me and breathing heavily, she looked up at me.
"I see, I see"
What bing a proper Celestial Fox meant was that she had finally reached level 70 which was the standard level for fixed-level S rank monsters to be born in.
By nature, Celestial Foxes were thete-blooming type of powerful monsters.
Because I had made Kuina with a progressive level instead of a fixed one, she was unable to make the best use of her original powers. Her stats were dampened and a portion of her special abilities were sealed.
She had always been strong but as an S rank monster, she was just at the starting line.
As her trump card, she had been using her [Transform] to temporarily borrow power from her future self. However, put in another way, this borrowed power was just the power she should already have anyway. It wasnt a power up, it was only the removal of a negative effect.
I decided to look at her status but upon seeing it, my face twitched.
So this is the true power of a Celestial Fox, I thought, Kuinas power until now was just a small fraction of this.
"Can I count on Kuina who has grown so strong?"
"Yup, Oto-san. Kuina has grown much, much stronger than ever so rest assured. I wont lose to anyone. Also, now that Ive grown, I have be able to do various things!"
This was a happy miscalction.
Lets use that power to the utmost.
When the napalm-born fire died out, the Darkness Dragons dropped down to the ground to secure a position, crushing the few remaining survivors in the process.
The containers then opened and let out my monsters and golems.
Just as instructed to them beforehand, they didnt forget to bring ammo with them.
Also, the crow monster proceeded to set up a Transfer array here. Just in case.
I too went out of the container and walked to the front of my adorable monsters. Once there, I turned around, looked at each of them, and then spoke.
"The one to takemand of the defense force shall be that Dwarf Smith. Kohaku the Byakko will be her counselor. Defend this entrance to the best of your ability so that the assault force going inside the dungeon wont be attacked from the rear. That must not happen. You all are their lifelines."
The defense force included half of the Darkness Dragons and High Elves pairs to protect the sky. To guard the ground were five normal-type Avalon-Ritters, many Mithril Golems equipped with improved heavy-machineguns, and the ones to control them both, the Dwarf Smiths.
Wight who I considered to be a trump card wasnt part of the defense force. Because of that, the one to takemand was the monster next in line to him. In other words, his very skillful adjutant, the Dwarf Smith. Also, Kohaku was there to aid her as well as to serve as backup for when things get too dangerous.
"To the assault force, from here on out, we will be going into enemy lines. I have just onemand to all of you: rampage. You all are my monsters and are therefore part of the strongest army there is. There is no way you are going to lose to these moldy old timers. Now, lets go. Follow me!!"
"Yay ?! Understood!"
"Master, lets show them the power of the new weapon."
"I still have lots of ammo. The potion stocks are also a-ok."
My monsters each gave a strong reply and then followed me.
The first step in our strategy was a sess.
Now, with this vigor, lets crush them all.
Like so, we walked toward Marchos dungeon.
From here on out was the real war.
Volume 5 11
We had just burned the monsters surrounding Marchos dungeon. By doing so, we had secured the entrance to her dungeon.
Before going in though, I had made the High Elves, who had excellent magic perception, search for any Transfer array the enemy might have set up.
I wanted to prevent enemy reinforcements from appearing as much as possible.
In the lead were me, Rorono, Rozelitte, and the Avalon-Ritters. The other members of the assault force entered the dungeon a littleter than we did.
To prevent any attacks from the back of the assault force, the defense force were stationed right before the entrance to the dungeon.
Rozelitte, dont forget tomunicate with the defense force every five minutes, okay?
Rest assured, Procell-sama.
If the old Demon Lords got serious, it was possible that the defense force outside could be wiped out.
Rozelittes Wide-range Empathy allowed us to have constantmunication with the defense force. If in case there was no reply from them, it would mean that their defensive line have been broken through and that we must go forward while keeping an eye on our back.
Technically, we were not the ones in the lead.
Rather, it was the intelligence corps in the other dimension.
Rlyeh Diva, who headed the intelligence corps, was sending me reports while fighting in that other dimension. Along withints of being overworked.
The first dungeon room was abyrinth made of stone. After walking a while, we came upon an open area. In that moment, we saw the enemy army. In their anticipation of us, they had arranged themselves into a semi-circle formation.
Their count exceeded more than a hundred. There were many humanoid monsters and at that, most seemed to be magic users.
Frustratingly, they had already finished their chants for their magic spells and were ready to fire wide-range destructive magic at any time.
From the overwhelming amount of magic power, I surmised that there were several A rank monsters among them. If we were to be directly hit by their spells, it was more than likely that we would be annihted in an instant.
Defense-wise, it was understandable for them to do so. After all, the most efficient way to eliminate us, the intruders, was to gather us in one ceCpreferably right after a direct, straightforward path we had to go throughCand then use ranged magic.
Fortunately for me, there was nothing I could not respond to so long as I had Rlyeh Diva to provide me with intelligence reports.
She was capable of sending such reports through bodies of water. For this campaign, I wore a gemmed earing. The gem of which was a crystal with water in it. And so, through the earring, I heard Rlyeh Divas voice.
I will not waste the information Ruru has sent me while fighting in that other dimension.
Rorono, make the Avalon-Ritters use that.
Mhm, understood, master.
Rorono, who controlled the Avalon-Ritters, instructed them to activate the new weapon they had.
Rorono had perfected a fundamental theory for what was originally an equipment for the Mithril Golems but its consumption of magic power proved to be too much for them.
This equipment seemed impractical but it was exceedingly powerful. And so, three days ago, thinking whether it could be equipped on the Avalon-Ritters who had twin-drives, I instructed Rorono to put it into actual use.
And Rorono delivered.
Watch them, master. From the first unit up to the fifth, activate anti-magic shell.
Five of the fifteen Avalon-Ritters here began operating their twin-drives at full-throttle.
An overwhelmingCand perhaps excessiveCamount of magic power was generated. All of which were then supplied to the unit attached on their backs.
At almost the same time, the enemy offensive spells were fired. The enemies beingprised of many A rank monsters, a barrage of fire, lightning, water, darkness, light, and many other wide-area spells flew.
It was enough to make one tremble. The number and might of the spells had made me realize the true might of monsters under an old Demon Lord. As I was currently, I couldnt match such number of powerful spells.
That didnt mean I was afraid for my safety, though.
Even though we couldnt win through brute force, my monsters were still the best in the world. I believed in the might of the equipment Rorono made.
A force field then began to form in the center of the Avalon-Ritters. That force field took on the form of a dome and spread as wide as a few hundred meters. As a result, the magic spells fired off by the enemies were all erased.
As expected of you, Rorono.
This much is natural. After all, magic is the changing of thews of the world through the application of ones magic power. In theory then, if we userge amounts of magic power to tell the world to not do anything in a specified area, no magic spells can be produced.
Rorono exined the principle behind the anti-magic shell.
Having shown the overwhelming might of the new equipment, she looked triumphant.
I decided to brush her soft, silver hair and in response, she smiled with squinted eyes.
Anyway, that was the fundamental theory but she had dedicated herself into finding ways to improve the anti-magic shell. For example, it could be used with sonar weapons so that enemies would lose focus.
Furthermore, the Avalon-Ritters had another ace up in their sleeves.
First unit until the fifth, maintain the anti-magic shell. Sixth until fifteenth, activate [Burst Drive]
The ten remaining Avalon-Riiters made their twin-drives run even fiercer.
The twin-drives thus exhibited a tremendous amount of magic power. That wasnt all. The particles of light it produced also shined even fiercer and even more dazzling.
This performance was beyond what the twin-drive system was capable of.
Avalon-Ritters, burn yourselves and eliminate the enemies.
By Roronos instruction, the ten Avalon-Ritters who werent using the anti-magic shell rushed forward.
The Avalon-Ritters power source was like a generator without a battery in the sense that the cores continually produced magic power but was unable to store any excess and unused power.
This inefficiency was a weak point.
To fix it then, Rorono added a battery in the form of the fur in Kuinas tail. The reason why the fur on Kuinas tail was chosen was because it boasted the capability to store an absurd amount of magic power.
As a result, the Avalon-Ritters were then able to make use simultaneously of the magic power continuously generated by their cores and also of the magic power charged within the fur, essentially creating another core. This quasi-triple drive set up was the basis for why it was called the [Burst Drive].
Even though it was only for a short whileCfor as long as the fur had magic power remaining in it, to be exactCthese golems wereparable to even S rank monsters.
Master, please look at the might of the ultimate golems I have made.
Just when I thought the particles of magic power were building up too much on the thrusters located on the back of the Avalon-Ritters, they vanished. Converting their magic power into kic energy allowed them to move at such abnormal speeds.
In their hands were very durable orichalcumnces.
Naturally, the durability and length of thences were not its only features. It was a weapon that caused molecr destruction; anything it touched would be destroyed.
GYAAAA
GAAAAA
No, no, no way
The screams of the enemy monsters could be heard.
The Avalon-Ritters prated the enemy lines like a bullet and rampaged as they pleased.
They traveled at over three times the speed of sound. The moment the enemies came into contact with the Avalon-Ritters, who became these unreasonably massive weapons, the said enemies were simply blown away.
There was a reason why the Avalon-Ritters didnt use swords and that was because swords were hard to wield properly at such speeds. There was even the chance that swinging a sword while going that fast could rip off the golems arms.
So, for that reason, we had decided it was best for them to ram into the enemies with ance facing forward.
The ten Avalon-Ritters used three magic.
1. The conversion of their magic power into kic energy.
2. Thence of molecr destruction.
3. And the one for increasing their durability.
They needed only those three and nothing else. They were fast, strong, and durable.
The first five Avalon-Ritters were still keeping the anti-magic shell active but since it only interfered with magic that affected the physical world, the Avalon-Ritters three magic, which only affected themselves, worked unhindered.
In short, this was a fight between enemies geared for wide-area attacks but were no longer able to use magic and the ultra-fast, ultra-durable, and ultra-strong Avalon-Ritters.
Given that, the result was obvious.
Each time the thrusters on the back of the golems shined, at least one enemy monster was turned into minced meat.
So this is [Burst Drive], huh.
Mhm. However, it still has many weak points. Theyre fast but they only move in a straight path. A first ss monster like Kuina will be able deal with them. Even if the golems move fast enough that the naked eye cant keep up, Kuina, with her Precognition and Ultra-rapid Reflexes, is something else. Furthermore, the golems are also weak to enemies that fly.
Rorono calmly analyzed the performance of the Avalon-Ritters.
As she did so, the massacre went on.
When the Avalon-Ritters stopped moving, not one enemy monster was left.
A certain number of enemies escaped but there was no real need to chase after them.
Alright, lets go further in. Thank the Avalon-Ritters for me.
They did aplish their task but...
I know and thats what I meant. Just their presence is enough of a weapon. The enemies will be none the wiser.
The golems still need to improve.
The anti-magic shell generating equipment were already burnt out.
Meanwhile, for the 6th to 15th golems, their thrusters were damaged from the excessive amount of magic power poured into it. Also, their battery unit were no longer usable.
In just a few minutes of operation, all the Avalon-Ritters neared their limits.
The bodies of the first five, the ones that had anti-magic shell equipment, were still functional but the ten that used [Burst Drive] were beyond repair; all that could be done was to remove their twin-drives in order to salvage them.
I knew that this would happen. Their power was just too much to the point that even their bodies made of orichalcum could not withstand it.
By treating them as disposable fighting force, we could bump their performance from being upper A rank units to S rank equivalent ones. A luxury weapon, so to speak.
However, I didnt regret deploying them here.
There were a lot of enemy A rank monsters here and fighting them head on would cause my main force to be exhausted or worse. That was something I wouldnt allow.
There was one other purpose for using them now and that was to show off the might of the Avalon-Ritters. By doing so, the enemy would make counter-measures out of fear despite the fact that the Avalon-Ritters could not use [Burst Drive] again.
Okay, lets go further in, shall we?
We still had a long way ahead of us.
Despite the hardships, we will absolutely advance forward. Our primary goal right now is to meet up with Marchos monsters as soon as possible.
Volume 5 12
~~~??? Point of view~~~
"Ohh, so the [Creation] Demon Lord appeared, huh?"
Said one Demon Lord after receiving the report from the Lilith, a high-ranking female demon, by his side.
This Demon Lord was the ringleader of the ones aiming for the [Beast] Demon Lords downfall. He held a ss of wine in one hand as he spoke so in a seemingly surprised tone.
After all, to this Demon Lords eyes, it turned out that [Creation] was just another boring Demon Lord that gave in to his impulses. Much like that idiot [me], he thought.
"Well then, whats the situation?"
"Yes, the [Creation] Demon Lord has attacked and has annihted the forces guarding the entrance using ck dragons. He then broke through the lines of the intercepting force without much resistance from thetter and is proceeding to go further in."
He smiled.
He thought that for a Demon Lord less than a year old to be able to do this much, it was astonishing.
An ordinary or even a genius Demon Lord would have failed without even being able to enter the [Beast] Demon Lords dungeon. And so, such a feat wasmendable. [Creation] was a genius born once every few century.
However, [Creation] could only rejoice for the meantime while the Demon Lords attacking Marchosiass dungeon were not yet fully serious.
Those Demon Lords were pouring most of their fighting force into defeating [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias and had left their defense to their secondary troops.
Despite being regarded as secondary troops, they were still powerful monsters and defeating them would surely trigger the old Demon Lords pride to not allow some new Demon Lord do as he pleased.
Moreover...
"Tell me about the ones left to guard [Creation] Demon Lords dungeon."
"Yes, about that, the [Creation] Demon Lord has taken almost all of his fighting force to help in the [Beast] Demon Lords dungeon. Attacking forces have already been formed and sent to his dungeon."
"Hmp, what a stupid fellow. That guy just started a fight with us old Demon Lords and yet left his dungeon defenseless. It almost seems like he desperately wants to die."
Old Demon Lords were forbidden from attacking the newly born Demon Lords but that was under the condition that the new Demon Lords didnt attack first. Given that [Creation] had fought thebined troops of six Demon Lords, those six Demon Lords were then made perfectly eligible to attack [Creation] in return.
In other words...
"Its only a matter of time before [Creation]s dungeon falls."
"The first group sent,posed of quick moving monsters, are expected to arrive soon at his dungeon. It most probably wont take long for them to take down an almost empty dungeon of a young Demon Lord."
What a stupid fellow, the ringleader thought.
All of [Creation]s actions were being monitored at all times so the ringleader knew that [Creation] went to [Dragon] and [Time] to ask for help. In the end though, [Creation] went to attack by himself.
There was no way [Dragon] and [Time] woulde to help [Beast] considering that the gap between the three strongest Demon Lords will never be closed. They might have achieved bnce when there were four of them, the fourth being [me], but once that friendship failed, it was irreparable.
If [Creation] just gave up on the outrageous notion of helping the [Beast] Demon Lord after his requests for cooperation were rejected, he might still have remained safe. All alone, he was utterly helpless and was essentially headed for the ce of his death.
"Fufu, soon [Beast]s monsters will reach the peak of their fatigue. Their physical strength and magic powers will both soon be spent, with only their willpower to allow them to go on. Their stocks of recovery items are probably gone already. Considering this, the main forces of the six Demon Lords attacking her dungeon will be freed up but where shall I designate them: to deal the final blow on her or to crush that impertinent [Creation]? Oh, its so hard to decide."
The [Beast] Demon Lord truly lived up to being one of the strongest Demon Lords alive: she was able to endure the fierce attacks of six Demon Lords by herself. However, no matter how powerful her monsters were, they still had limits to their endurance, both physically and magically. There were also wounds to consider.
Moreover, unlike the six Demon Lord who had secured the entrance to her dungeon, she had no way of procuring supplies of materials from outside her dungeon.
She didnt have any time to rest.
Her esteemed army was tired and wounded.
Many named monsters were confirmed to have not yet returned to the battlefront after being heavily wounded and forced to retreat. Considering that, the remaining monsters were pressed even harder.
No matter how it was put, her defeat was imminent.
Actually, her monsters were tantly beginning to conserve their magic power and physical strength.
"About that, I have a worrying report."
The demon Lilith spoke so in an apologetic manner. Hearing that, the ringleader scowled.
"What!? Her monsters have be so bold that it seems like their fatigue havepletely vanished? And theyre continuously using magic that consumes high amounts of magic power too!? Moreover, named monsters that have been made ineligible for battle are now returning to the battlefield!?"
After hearing the impossible report, the ringleaders face became distorted.
If what the report said was true, it was quite displeasing. After all, the six Demon Lords attacking the [Beast] Demon Lord were losing fighting forces themselves. So if Marchosiass monsters truly did make a recovery, the ones in a disadvantage would be...
"There are no mistakes about it. There have been indications of it since yesterday but it has be more pronounced today. No matter how I think about it, the [Beast] Demon Lords army are somehow receiving supplies. Furthermore, thoserge quantities of items are in the same league as legendary ss recovery items made from a World Tree."
"Impossible. There are only a handful of Demon Lords that could make such legendary ss recovery items. Are you suggesting theyre lending [Beast] a hand!? And we have not noticed it too!?"
The ringleader didnt know that [Creation] Demon Lord Procells subordinate, the avatar of the Ancient Elf, had grown the [First Tree], which was a sacred treeparable to the original World Trees, and had made legendary ss potions out of the golden apples borne by the said First Tree.
The ringleader also didnt know that Procell had dispatched his intelligence corps ahead of his main force and they had already delivered as much of the potions made from the apples as they could. Those potions were primarily for Marchos named monsters so that their forces could be reorganized.
The ringleader also didnt know that as soon as Procell annihted the monsters in the first dungeon room, he made the Subus, a monster of Marcho, use Transfer and deliver the rest of the potions.
Since the Subus was Marchos monster, it was able to move anywhere within Marchos dungeon even without Transfer arrays set up at both ends beforehand.
If Procell wanted to, he could have rejoined with Marcho this way.
However, in order for the recovery of Marchos forces and the existence of the Subus to remain a secret, a letter was first sent to Marcho, notifying her of the potions and of Procells ns.
Overall, it was done to ensnare the ringleader who was doing as he pleased.
"......what the, what the hell is going on? Regardless, even if she got hold of some provisions, it would onlyst for a moment. We only have to continue attacking her as we have been doing. But damn, now that those six Demon Lords main forces are busy once again on taking care of [Beast]s monsters, they cant be used to deal with [Creation]. Oh well, its of no matter since as long as we break his undefended crystal, his monsters will all vanish."
It was a disappointment for the ringleader that he couldnt trample on [Creation] and his monsters but he didnt have much choice. Fighting a recovered [Beast] army while being assaulted from the rear wasnt amusing.
And so, crushing [Creation]s crystal quickly became even more vital.
The ringleader knew that if he waited for just a tiny bit more, good news was sure toe.
"A report. The first group that went toward [Creation] Demon Lords dungeon..."
See, here it is, the ringleader thought. With this, that stupid brat is done for.
"Theyre all annihted. As of the moment, the second and third groups are on their way there."
The Lilith trembled as she read out loud the reports sent to her.
"What? Wasnt [Creation]s dungeon supposed to be empty!?"
"There is no mistake that the [Creation] took with him all of his fighting force but the ones that defeated the first group werent his monsters. It was the monsters of the [Time] Demon Lords army."
Upon hearing those words, the ringleader finally realized that the [Creation] Demon Lord didnt ask [Dragon] and [Time] to fight alongside him but instead asked each of them for a different task. But if [Time] was entrusted to defend [Creation]s dungeon, then what was [Dragon]s part in all this, the ringleader asked. What the hell could it be!?
"Continuing with the report. Demon Lords belonging to the [Dragon] Demon Lords faction areunching attacks against the dungeons of the ones attacking the [Beast] Demon Lord. With their main forces out of their dungeon, they are overwhelmingly outnumbered by the [Dragon] Demon Lords faction. Another report says some Demon Lords are hastily calling back their forces."
"That, that bastard! So this is what hes aiming for."
The ringleader was furious.
The ringleader was aiming to take advantage of [Creation] and his main forces absence from his dungeon. Unfortunately, however, the same trick was used against the ringleaders side.
After all, the Demon Lords belonging to [Dragon]s faction couldnt help but jump at the tasty treats dangled before them. Those treats being the chance to easily obtain a new original medal as well as the opportunity to take out a rival.
Given that, the Demon Lords attacking [Beast] were understandably forced to recall their forces in order to defend their dungeons.
"What is [Dragon] himself doing!?"
The [Dragon] Demon Lord was known to always lead the charge.
Since his faction was now involved, it was inconceivable that the person himself was not. Moreover, he was also known to be cunning and brave; he undoubtedly was aiming for a vital spot.
In other words, he was bound to strike at the least desirable ce for the ringleader and that ce was...
"A report! The [Dragon] Demon Lord has appeared. He has brought twenty gigantic dragons and theyre going toward the Holy Citys Cultivation area where the still-not-yet ready imitation heroes are."
"Damn it!! That lizard bastard! Is he insane!? If he attacks the Holy City, hell make himself an enemy of the world!"
Shit.
The ringleader hadpletely neglected the defense of his dungeon, thinking that it was absolutely safe just by being a Holy City. After all, anyone that would attack the Holy City was essentially dering themselves the enemy of mankind. The [Dragon] Demon Lord must have known so and yet here he was.
Are they mocking me? [Dragon] and [Time], who both have such high pride and wont listen to anything I say, are following that stupid brat [Creation]!? Theyre actingpletely like with [me].
"Come out. Theres no way Im going to lose that ce. That ce isnt made just to increase my war potential."
While containing his rage, the ringleader summoned forth his monsters.
In that moment, the Lilith spoke.
"Ahm, weve received a letter from the [Dragon] Demon Lord. It was delivered by a fast-flying dragon monster."
"Read it."
The Lilith read out loud the message she received with a pale face.
"You, a coward pretending to be a tactician, must be feeling ecstatic after setting up shrewd traps against a real Demon Lord. Your outrageous ambitions shall be your downfall. And I am here just to teach you that."
The ringleader struck the face of the Lilith with the back of his hand.
That hand then trembled with anger.
Bring it, you relic of the past, he thought. All of you dont belong in this age anymore and I am going to make you realize that.
And so, the ringleader, who had always been acting from the shadows like a bystander, had entered the stage.
Volume 5 13
~ From the [Time] Demon Lords perspective ~
"Hmp, I cant believe I am being used freely by a new-born chick."
The [Time] Demon Lord, unapanied, had just finished using a Transfer array in order to go to the [Creation] Demon Lords dungeon.
The ce he Transferred to was the in previously used in Procells war against a human city.
This in was set up to be the entrance to [Creation]s dungeon.
Unless one had a Transfer array prepared beforehand, it was impossible to go into the city of Avalon without passing through this in.
The Transfer array that [Time] used was prepared by the crow monster he had given [Creation]. Despite handing over the said monster, it was still under themand of the [Time] Demon Lord.
It was a so-called spy.
Furthermore, it had prepared the array through a method that would prevent any new Demon Lord from noticing.
"[Storage]"
He called forth the monsters that were stored in his [Storage].
The total number of monsters that awaited his instructions was fifty.
Normally, a Demon Lord could only store up to ten monsters in their [Storage] but the [Time] Demon Lord, and he alone, was sessful in understanding and then improving his [Storage].
He was able to do so easily since half of the workings of [Storage] had something to do with time maniption magic.
Hence,pared to other Demon Lords, he was able to move his forces at a much faster rate.
Among the monsters that were summoned, a dragon with a remarkably huge body had sent its thoughts to the [Time] Demon Lord.
It was an old dragon with a long and slender body, simr to an oriental dragons.
The lightning that crackled around its body further suggested it was a monster far above the others.
"I use whomever I could use and right now, I can use him to gain more time with Marchosias."
His agreement with the [Creation] Demon Lord was that in exchange for lending a hand, [Creation] would prolong [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosiass lifespan.
Demon Lords were beings that were limited to a lifespan of three hundred years. Such was also true for Marchosias whom the [Time] Demon Lord loved.
As for the [Time] Demon Lord himself though, he had been continuously controlling his own flow of time to be about half of normal.
Of course, there were times he couldnt do it so his lifespan wasnt exactly doubled.
Even so, he had seeded in prolonging his life by, at least, a century.
He had offered several times to do the same to Marchosias but each time he asked, she said no.
"Thats enough for me. Whether I make her fall for me or not will depend on me and me alone. [Creation] says hes not in love with her but I know he is. Considering even that, Im satisfied with this deal."
The [Time] Demon Lords deal with [Creation] was strictly limited to thetter prolonging the [Beast] Demon Lords life. Beyond that, it all depended on [Time]. And that was plenty enough for him.
Just by himself, there was nothing he could do about Marchosiass impending death. And so, he pinned his hopes of having enough time with Marchosias onto [Creation].
"...Ragna. You seem to sometimes forget the fact that you are my monster. But, yes, you are indeed correct. I realize that. I know that Im being na?ve, too na?ve in fact. But... seeing that guy, it just brings me back to the time when [me] was still alive. Along with that dreames the many regrets."
It was a golden age. It was the first time in the long history of Demon Lords that four with A rank medals were born in the same generation.
[Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias.
[Time] Demon Lord Dantalian.
[Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth.
......and [me] Demon Lord Amon.
Theypeted with one another until, gradually, the buds of friendship was born. Eventually, the four swore to bring happiness to each other for as long as they lived.
The [Time] Demon Lord yearned for those happy days.
Marchosias would propose something unreasonable;
Amon would get carried away;
Dantalian would point out the absurdity of it all;
And Astaroth would propose a n to solve it;
And in the end, Amon would rise up unify the four of them into one.
With all four of them, they could do anything. With all four of them, they were invincible.
However, they stood out too much and caught the attention of the old Demon Lords of that time.
If the four of them stood as one, they wouldnt have been defeated.
However, there was a crack between the four of them and it revolved around the rivalry between Dantalian and Amon over Marchosias.
In the midst of battle, Dantalian tried to tried to one up Amon and show off to Marchosias.
Even now, Dantalian was regretting having done so. It was his youth and stupidity that had gotten his friend Amon killed. Ever since then, the friendship of the remaining three was ruined.
"If ever there is a next time, if ever a friend is exposed to danger once more, I will not waver. I will not lose another important person. That is what I have promised to myself on that day and I intend to keep it above all else."
If [Time] willed it during his negotiation with [Creation], he could have snatched away several things that Avalon had a monopoly of. Those were after all treasures even from the perspective of one of the strongest Demon Lords.
Better yet, he could have demanded for [Creation] to reject Marchosias and thus not ever be a rival in love. [Time] knew, by looking at [Creation]s eyes, that thetter would ept even such conditions. In fact, if demanded for, [Creation] would even offer everything he could without hesitation. All so that Marchosias could be saved.
Seeing such determination in [Creation]s eyes, [Time] decided to cooperate and even entrusted his daughter, the Celestial Wolf Fel, over to [Creation].
[Creation] hasntmitted the same mistakes my former self had, thought [Time]. For me to take advantage of such a guy would just make me look so unappealing and how can I ever hope to win over the best girl out there if Im such an unappealing person?
Despite being [Time]s subordinate, Ragna spoke as he wished. And upon hearing Ragnasment, [Time] smiled.
The Time Dragon Ragnaritte named Ragna was an A rank monster born using the [Time] and [Dragon] medals.
Excluding Fel, he was the strongest and most trusted monster of [Time].
When the four Demon Lords first swore to each other that they would walk through life together, they exchanged medals. Ragna was a monster made using those medals.
Ragna greatly like [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth, albeit a drunk one.
"The enemies will be here soon. Lets save the idle reminiscing forter, chief."
"Yeah, sorry Tefrail."
Before [Time] noticed, the Qilin with ming red mane was beside him.
This Qilin was a product of [Time] and [me]. A keepsake of a deceased friend, so to say.
It wasnt a Covenant monster like Ragna but after him, it was one of the most trusted monsters of [Time].
At any rate, [Time]s trusted and well-trained subordinate monsters were all already lined up and ready for battle.
The ones with excellent perception abilities had noticed the arrival of the enemies and notified everyone. Additionally, some monsters were also deployed in another dimension to keep an observant eye.
[Time]s forces were always fully ready for battle.
"The ones to deal with the enemy vanguard will only be the [Chronos Knights]. All the others will observe the battle and be thest line of defense."
[Time] Demon Lords monsters nodded.
The [Chronos Knights] were twenty of [Time]s most elite forces. Each and every one of them, starting with the Time Dragon Ragnaritte, possessed the ability to control time as well as another attribute;bining time and their other attribute together, they could create dreadfully powerful effects.
Each of them possessed the power topete against at least a dozen of average A rank monsters.
Perhaps the most terrifying of all was the Chronos Knights synergy of their abilities with one another. With all of them together, they could produce an output ten times more powerful than normal.
Any Demon Lord that knew of this would unanimously surrender upon the sortie of the [Chronos Knights]; fighting with such monsters head-on was suicidal.
"The enemys attack will most probably consist of about several hundred to a few thousand forces. We on the other hand are fifty strong. In other words, we can easily do this. Not letting any enemyy a finger on [Creation] Demon Lord Procells dungeon, that much is a given for my monsters, correct?"
These well-trained monsters were all calm andposed. A thousand monstersor even twoof a second-rate Demon Lord was not enough to elicit fear from them.
"Chief, youre awfully passionate about this. Did something good happen?"
"Its just that I wont let anyone hinder [Creation]s efforts in trying to save Marcho. ...moreover, right now, Fel is under hismand so if his crystal breaks, she will disappear alongside it."
For the first time, [Time]s subordinate monsters showed signs of being agitated. Before they knew it, the Celestial Wolf Fel became the [Chronos Knights] idol. While they were teaching her battle techniques as well as helping her level up, they became enamored with her cuteness and innocence.
The Time Dragon Ragna was first among the list of monsterspletely charmed by Fel. He would often assume the form of a dragon-newt and give her sweets.
That being said, Fel herself wasnt as fond of him because he was calling her Fel, a special name reserved only for her father. Undeterred by this though, Ragna the Grandpa kept on giving her sweets.
"Since when did Fel be your grandchild?"
[Time] said so as he pressed his fingers against his temples.
"Trying toy their hands on our princess... those bastards. Well burn them to ash."
Expressing a simr thought was the ming Qilin Tere. He hade to love Felpletely like a little sister.
All of the other [Chronos Knights], the monsters feared by all Demon Lords, then followed suit. To each of them, Fel had be their beloved granddaughter, daughter, or little sister. In other words, she had be an important family member.
This was the first time even for the [Time] Demon Lord himself to see his [Chronos Knights] this passionate.
"You all... geez, before I knew you it, youve all turned into this. No, I guess I also have."
While smiling wryly, he noted to himself not to let other Demon Lords know of this, lest their cool image of him be tarnished.
And so, the first group aiming for the [Creation] Demon Lords city finally arrived within the battle area.
Their numbers were presumed to be about three hundred.
They wereposed of gigantic birds and wind-using monsters. In other words, it was a force primarilyposed of fast-flying troops.
Conspicuously on top of an especially gigantic and gaudily colored bird was a Demon Lord. He was the [Bird] Demon Lord Andras. He was a male Demon Lord that had a rather lose body and, perhaps more noticeably, a birds head.
"[Time] Demon Lord Dantalian, its surprising that youre willing to lend a hand to the [Creation] Demon Lord! But look, this is thebined forces of six great Demon Lords, a battalion of over three hundred! No matter how strong a Demon Lords monsters are, with this much-"
The [Bird] Demon Lords words were cut off there.
And then, his head separated from his body.
He should have been far enough that even his loud voice could only be barely heard and yet, there were [Time]s monsters, already within their ranks.
It wasnt as ordinary as [Time]s monsters taking their enemies by surprise or moving too fast; it was a mysterious phenomenon that was just like stopping the flow of time.
"I guess you dont know. Youre only but a young Demon Lord of a hundred years after all. And around the time you were born was coincidentally thest time that someone dared to oppose me. So let me teach you the might of my army that rules over time."
A Demon Lord was supposed to stay in the back. Disregarding that rather sound strategy however, [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian stood atop the same gigantic bird that the [Bird] Demon Lord was on and held up thetters head.
No sound could reach the [Bird] Demon Lords ears anymore; he was done for. Though to be exact, he was done for the moment he showed his faced to the [Time] Demon Lords forces.
The only ones to fall were the supposed-to-be attackers.
Not even a scream was heard.
Thebined forces of six Demon Lords were trashed.
The gigantic Time Dragon would now and again appear and disappear without warning.
Some of the supposed-to-be attackers would run into invisible walls, some found as much as half of their bodies unmovable, and some would have their bodies simply torn apart. And then, there were some whose bodies would suddenly be on fire or be struck with lightning.
Without knowing how their enemies were attacking them or even from which direction, they began to draw friendly fire.
For as long as they couldntprehend their enemies attacks, the 300 monsters were out of time.
This was what it meant to go against the one who ruled over [Time].
"Now, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, Ive done what you wished of me. If you fail to deliver on your part, Ill kill you as promised."
[Time] said so and smiled.
The one-sided trampling continued. A second and third group came but no matter how many groups, the [Time] Demon Lord took care of it without losing a single monster. If ever he needed proving that he was one of the three strongest Demon Lords, this was it.
"So, Astaroths going make his move, huh?"
Upon receiving a message from his subordinate, the [Time] Demon Lord remarked so and raised an eyebrow.
For getting not only me but also that [Dragon] to act... no, its not surprising at all. If its that guy, hes very much capable of this.
He then looked up and stared at the sky.
How long has it been, I wonder, since Ist looked at the blue sky like this? If ever that guy delivers on his promise, I guess Ill have to stop calling him a brat and recognize him as a man.
Tl note: Im not sure Ragnaritte is part of the race name. For now, Im going to treat it as though it is.
Volume 5 14
~From the [Dragon] Demon Lords perspective~
The [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth was dashing through the sky atop a dragon.
He had entrusted his faction of Demon Lords with the task of attacking the dungeons of the ones that attacked the [Beast] Demon Lord. As for Astaroth himself, he was going to take care of the one behind it all.
Leading the charge were twenty selected dragons. All except one of the twenty were fully-trained and fully-leveled A rank monsters. A certain dragon was d in darkness while another was d in electricity. Each was different but all, without exception, was extremely powerful.
The Dragon medal was extraordinarily powerful even among A rank medals. The dragons born out of it crushed everything in their path. There wasnt a Demon Lord foolish enough to fight head-on against [Dragon].
The ce that the [Dragon] Demon Lord was aiming for was the enemys stronghold, the Holy Capital.
There was only one person [Dragon] could think of that was behind all of this: [ck] Demon Lord Bm.
Who was the next most powerful after the three current strongest Demon Lords? [ck] Demon Lord Bms name would unquestioningly appear in the minds of most when asked such a question.
He was the only Demon Lord whose title was the name of a color. His Unique Skill allowed him to do various things so long as it was associated with the color ck. It was an extremely versatile ability but aspensation, each of its effects were exceedingly weak even though their consumption of magic power was terribly high.
His medal offered great versatility too since it had the ability to change during Synthesis into any random medal associated with [ck]. It was very much like gambling each time.
To lure humans, he used religion. Furthermore, by turning his dungeon into a holy site for his religion, he was able to efficiently gather the human beings emotions.
There were other Demon Lords that tried to mimic him but he was the only to seed.
Controlling humans freely was hard. And even if the other Demon Lords could eventually do so, they were going to be crushed out of the race by the [ck] Demon Lord first. He was the kind of Demon Lord that didnt permitpetition and wanted to monopolize it all.
Such was [ck] Demon Lord Bm.
[Dragon]s forces had arrived at the Holy Capital. As soon as they reached the city, its citizens panicked while the soldiers and adventurers readied to intercept the invaders.
There hadnt been a single Demon Lord that dared to attack the Holy Capital.
After all, for the bishops from various countries, the [ck] Demon Lord was their god. So, attacking this city was tantamount to dering to the whole of mankind that you were their enemy.
An ordinary Demon Lord would at first hesitate and thenpletely abandon the idea of attacking the Holy Capital. However, for the [Dragon] Demon Lord, the feelings in his chest were not of hesitation but rather confidence to the point of arrogance in his own abilities.
To him, mere humans, no matter how many of them stood together, would never be able threaten his dungeon. Rather, it would actually be a good promotion for his dungeon. Heaps of humans woulde to dungeon without the usual need to entice them.
As he thought of such, a ferocious smile floated on his aged face. Normally, it would seem that his was a face of calmness but in truth, it was one of unforgiving fury and cruelty. Anybody that knew him would warn that if ever there was one that shouldnt ever be angered, it was him.
"Now, lets enter the Holy Capital."
To the dragons flying in the sky, such things as the walls made by the humans to hinder their attackers were nothing. But then, when they flew over the walls, the dragons collided with an invisible barrier.
This defensive barrier wasnt a product of a monsters special ability; it was made by the desperate efforts of the humans within the Holy Capital.
Humans shouldnt have been able to use a barrier strong enough that it could hinder even [Dragon]s elites but if numerous priests were willingly sacrificing their lives, it was a different story.
They sacrificed their lives not because they were being threatened or manipted, but purely because of their faith on their god.
Seeing such humans, [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth pitied them.
He knew that the [ck] Demon Lord didnt feel anypassion towards the humans. Worse, they were viewed as nothing but cattle.
[Dragon] knew the least he could was to make them suffer as little as possible.
"Go run wild, my kin."
By hismand, 19 of the twenty dragons activated [Berserk] and were d in a ck haze.
[Berserk].
It was the fiendish ability that the monsters made with the [Dragon] medal could have. In exchange for losing their intelligence and reason, it increased all of the monsters stats except for luck. If an A rank monster with a progressive level was made with [Berserk], it would allow the said monster topete even against an S rank monster.
Originally though, save for some special monsters, this ability couldnt be conveniently turned on or off, making the monsters steeped in madness impossible to control.
However, 19 of the twenty elites of the [Dragon] Demon Lord, the [Raging Dragon Division], were able to suppress Berserk during normal times and when it was activated, they were able to remain in control for about fifteen minutes.
As for what made this possible...
"Caesar, how is it? It has been long since you and I have seen battle, hasnt it? Have you grown dull?"
<......>
The Emperor Dragon Tupon gave its master a quiet look.
Among all dragons, this silver one was the most sublime, beautiful, and powerful.
It was the third of [Dragon]s Covenant monsters. It was also his only S rank.
With the exception of the [Creation] Demon Lord, S rank monsters werent normally made. They weremonly obtained through rewards given by the Creator. The Dragon Emperor Tupon was such a monster.
It had an ability called [Dragon Emperor] which allowed it to rule over all dragon-kind.
Even if a dragon was under the influence of Berserk, it would still obey the skill bearersmands. That wasnt all; the forces led by the Dragon Emperor Tupon also experienced the utmost increase in their power.
The ck Dragon of Death Siegwurm made by [Creation] Demon Lord Procell also possessed [Dragon Emperor] but it just couldntpare to the other dragon.
After all, the [Dragon Emperor] Skill was a skill that could grow stronger by having the skill bearer devour the soul and power of other dragons. One could only be a king of dragons, in the truest sense, when this skill had bloomed.
The Dragon Emperor Tupon, who had fought in countless battles, had obviously fulfilled such condition over and over again, and had thus be a true monarch of dragons.
"Bow down to our rule. My [Raging Dragon Division] shall crush anyone that stands in our way."
At the moment, the [Dragon] Demon Lords elite forces were all equivalent to S rank monsters... actually, they were stronger than even average S rank monsters.
Against such nightmarish creatures, the defensive barrier built on the sacrifice of human lives was shattered like sswork.
The dragons entered the Holy Capital and rampaged as they wished. The humans defending the city tried to resist but it was all futile. Countless arrows and magic spells were flung against the dragons but most didnt hit and even if they did, it did nothing.
Conversely, just one attack from a dragon took dozens of human lives.
Each member of the [Raging Dragon Division] was a nightmarish monster straight out of a childs bedtime story. Each was a monster that would take hundreds of knights and dozens of heroes to barely defeat and yet now, there were twenty of such monsters. The humans had no chance of winning.
And so, the elite forces led by the Dragon Emperor Tupon arrived at their destination which on the outside seemed like a school. Entry to this ce was restricted to a select few in order to keep what was within a secret. As for what it truly was, it was a cultivation facility with the purpose of artificially making heroes.
Before its entrance was a lone Demon Lord.
It was the [ck] Demon Lord Bm.
He was a beautiful, young man that wore ck aristocratic clothes.
Whether it was to keep up appearances, he was apanied only by humans and angel-type monsters.
The surrounding humans were kneeling and praying dear founder, save us!
"[Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth, how dare you do as you wish in my garden!? Anything more and I will not forgive me. I will make you pay."
"Hmm, not forgive me, huh? Tell me, how exactly are you going to make me pay?"
At the exact moment that question was raised, the dragons opened their jaws and performed their special attack: a breath.
Breath attacks of lightning, fire, water, darkness, light, wind, and all possible attribute, came flying at the same time.
The breath attacks that were beyond human understanding collided with the barrier setup beforehand by the angel monsters. This barrier however was torn through as though it was paper.
Like so, the cultivation facility that the [ck] Demon Lord tried to protect then vanished.
Due to the excessive strength of the breath attacks, not a trace of the facility was left.
"Now, its gone. What will you do now? Tell me, how exactly will you make me pay!!?"
[Dragon] Demon Lord Astarothughed loudly, distorting his wrinkled face.
His cruel side within wasing out to the surface.
The dragons behind him began tough as well.
In reaction to this, the [ck] Demon Lords face got cramped and full of anger.
"For you, a toy of the Creator, to do this to my dream. You, without thought, foolishly do things like this as though youre a cog in a machine."
The said words were full of contempt but the [Dragon] Demon Lord only continued tough.
After a while, the two Demon Lords locked eyes. As they did so, the dragons acted wildly and the humans and angels died soon after.
"...You really know nothing, dont you? We Demon Lords exist purely for the benefit of the humans, forced to make them stronger. We are beings bound to that rule. Despite our godlike strengths, we are forced to be ves to these humans!"
What the [ck] Demon Lord said waspletely correct.
For a Demon Lord to feed on the emotions of the humans, they had to give some form of benefits to thetter. Even if their actions were to cause harm to the humans, it would still, in the end, serve as an ordeal to make the species grow stronger.
Like so, Demon Lords truly were beings bound to make humans and their civilizations prosper. They truly were Children of the, cogs designed to lead this onto the next stage.
Even the [ck] Demon Lord, who viewed himself as using the humans through religion, was not exempt from this. Just by giving the humans the concept of religion, he had contributed to their growth.
As long as a Demon Lord was a Demon Lord, they were bound this rule and fate.
"What of it? I have no qualms with that rule. Even with that, I am free to choose which path I may take."
"I beg to differ. Im sure even you know of Demon Lords abused to death by humans, right!? Or of Demon Lords who dont want to use monsters to entice humans so they abstain from feeding on emotions but eventually just die. Or of Demon Lords who dreamed of coexisting with humans but are taken advantage of instead. I was acting for a great cause: to free all Demon Lords from such a rule. To that end, this facility was necessary!"
For all Demon Lords, the [ck] Demon Lord cried and he really meant those words. However, it did not affect the [Dragon] Demon Lord and it wasnt for ack of understanding.
The [Dragon] Demon Lord also had questions about their existence as Demon Lords. Perhaps he was even the one with the most correct understanding of the situation. That said, he wasntpletely sympathetic with the [ck] Demon Lord.
"You say such weird things. You dislike having your monsters be bait for the humans? Then you can just do something like what [Creation] is doing. And Demon Lords that are taken advantage of? Only fools fall victim like that. Besides, you and I both have taken advantage of countless humans ourselves. You know that the weak get eaten, whether they be human or Demon Lord. In the first ce, would the other Demon Lords wish to be freed from such a rule?"
Even though he had questions about their fate, the [Dragon] Demon Lord didnt find it to be so bad to be stuck in such a fate. And for this reason, the two Demon Lords would never agree on the subject.
"[Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth, you who have always followed the correct path will never understand."
The [ck] Demon Lord gave up on trying to persuade the [Dragon] Demon Lord. For him, thetter was an old man not only in appearance but in the mind as well and was thus too obstinate to ever change.
The reason [ck] came to this ce was not because he thought he could stop [Dragon], no, it was to earn some time. And even though he still hadnt earned enough, it would have to do.
"Yeah, I dont understand. What I do understand though is the fact that you did as you pleased and started this whole fight. No matter how great your case may be is irrelevant; you will have to die."
As soon as [Dragon] finished that statement, his dragons once again did their breath attacks.
However, in that same moment, the [ck] Demon Lord vanished.
This was an effect of his ability. By activating it, he was able to hide himself in a different dimension through a shadow.
"Dont be too full of yourself. We havent lost yet. Were going to kill the [Beast] Demon Lord and you will be next. Only you I will never forgive! I will make you pay!"
[ck]s skill was versatile but not strong. It was within reason to believe he had not gone far.
And yet, the [Dragon] Demon Lord did not give chase.
Giving chase would be beyond his task. Everything else after this was in [Creation]s realm of responsibility.
Wouldnt want to pamper him too much, [Dragon] thought as he climbed onto a dragon and set forth to return to his dungeon.
He also thought of why the enemy aimed for [Beast].
Was it truly to show off his power by defeating the current three strongest Demon Lords and thus usher in a new age, or rather his new age?
After a while, the dragon by his side telepathically told the [Dragon] Demon Lord that the [Time] Demon Lord had arrived in [Creation]s dungeon.
In reaction, a soft smile appeared on [Dragon]s face.
"Hm, so Dan has moved, huh? That [Creation] sure is interesting. With him in the center of all this, Marcho, Dan, and I are taking part as well. I missed this. But then again, I dont intend to be an old fart who reminisces on days gone. If that [Creation] lives to return, then I guess I wouldnt mind have him as Stss groom. I better arrange for her wedding dress."
With that thought, all traces of his cruelty was gone from his face. His face was that of gentle old man now.
Tl note: Changed [Darkness] to [ck]. In other words, this was the same Demon Lord mentioned in . The WN chapter still uses Darkness but the LN has changed this.
Volume 5 15
~From [Creation] Demon Lord Procells point of view~
"Everyone, we will be taking a break soon. Aura and the High Elves, set up a barrier. Mythological Foxes, patrol in turns, please."
We had just reached a ce where it was likely we could take a break so I issued out the necessarymands. We still had a lot of ground to cover so it was better to take breaks whenever we could.
Half a day had passed since we entered Marchos dungeon.
This whole while, our focus was on getting as deep into the dungeon as we could.
More than half of the Avalon-Ritters were destroyed after using [Burst Drive] and [Anti-magic Shell].
The Mithril Golems too had suffer casualties and only three of them were left.
Thanks to the golems acting as shields though, there havent been any casualties to my monsters. That said, many were wounded.
Despite having many S rank monsters, my opponents this time were veteran Demon Lords and attacks from such opponents were truly severe.
Those that had quickly recovered from their injuries by consuming a potion were made to return to the frontlines immediately while those that would take some time to recover were made to retreat via the crow monsters Transfer.
"Master, the barriers ready!"
"Thank you, Aura. You guys take a rest now."
Aura and the High Elves had finished setting up a barrier in our surroundings. With that, we were dly able to take a rest without worry.
Potions for magic power and fatigue had been distributed to my monsters in the hopes it would enable them to return to the frontlines again.
I then closed my eyes and analyzed the current situation.
At a certain point, the enemy assaults had clearly weakened. I had thought that perhaps it was due to Marchos monsters receiving the potions and then returning to action.
After all, with Marchos monsters being capable of battle once again, the enemies would have less resources to send to intercept us.
However, it was still too much of a change even with that exnation. My next guess then was that this situation was also an effect of [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth performing more than what I had expected.
Also...
"It seems [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian has sessfully defended Avalon."
I had entrusted my empty dungeon to [Time].
Half a day had passed and if he, for some reason, had broken our agreement, Avalon would have been destroyed already... along with my precious monsters.
As I was thinking of such things, the monster that the [Time] Demon Lord lent to me, the Celestial Wolf Felsias or Fel for short, slowly walked to where I was.
She was a young girl that looked exactly like Kuina except for her wolf ears and tail.
"[Creation] Demon Lord, why did you trust my father? After all, no sane Demon Lord would trust another to guard his empty dungeon."
What an interesting question. I wonder what kind of intention she has in asking such a question.
"Why I trusted him? ...well, when I personally met him, I got the feeling that he seriously loved Marcho. And because of that, I dont think hell do something thatll sabotage my efforts to help her."
"Youre na?ve, [Creation] Demon Lord. Protecting your dungeon from enemies and not doing anything untoward it are different. Have you never considered that my father might do something outrageous to your empty dungeon?"
I would be lying if I said I hadnt thought of such.
For example, he could steal the apples borne by the [First Tree] raised by Aura. Or he could push his way in into Roronos workshop and then steal the weapons and blueprints stored there.
By doing any of that, he would have been able to snatch away the predominance that Avalon had.
However...
"He is not such a petty Demon Lord to do that. Besides, he has given me proof that I could trust him and that is plenty enough of a reason for me to entrust my back to him without worry."
"A proof that you could trust him?"
"Yeah, you. He has entrusted me with you, his precious Fel. Anyone that sees you would know how much love he has for you. So theres no way he could do anything strange while you are by my side."
Fel was a monster made with Marchos [Beast] medal, Dantalians [Time], and my [Creation].
Because three A rank medals were used for her, she was stronger than even most S rank monsters.
What her being under my care meant was that, for the moment at least, [Time] and I were allies working toward the same goal.
"Hmm, youve realized how my father felt. Imend you for that."
She had turned her head away but upon the mention of how much her father loved her, perhaps due to great happiness, her wolf tail energetically swung back and forth.
It was so cute.
So much so that I unconsciously grabbed her tail. The smooth and soft fur on her tail offered a different kind of sensation from Kuinas fluffy tail.
It feels great.
"Higyaa"
After her whole bodyfrom the tip of ears to the tip of her tailtrembled, Fel jumped away. She then red at me with obvious vignce.
"W-what do you think youre doing!? You cant just grab a girls tail without warning, you pervert! As I thought, you really are a lolicon Demon Lord! I was a fool to think for a second that you were otherwise!"
Just like that, she vanished immediately.
I didnt know what she was talking about; grabbing her tail made me a perverted lolicon?
Is it just my imagination or are my subordinate monsters looking at me with cold eyes?
Kuina the Celestial Fox then came into my view. She was humming unconcernedly while eating an apple. All of the golden apples were turned into potions so what she was eating was just a regr apple. Perhaps just something to snack on.
This is perfect, Ill try it.
"Kuina,e here for a moment."
"Yay ?! Coming over right away."
Kuina rushed over to my direction with a smile on her face.
Upon arrival, she gave me a tight hug.
When I patted her head, she squinted her eyes. As always, she was a pampered child.
I then firmly grasped Kuinas fluffy tail.
The soft fur wrapped gently around my hand and when I grasped tighter, I felt the flesh of her tail as it gave a pleasing reaction. My hand felt the warmth of her tail.
Ahh, it feels so good. So soft, oh, so soft.
Caressing her tail gave me so much satisfaction.
"Kuina, do you dislike it when I hold your tail like this?"
I asked to confirm.
Kuina, with a blushing face and intoxicated eyes, leaned onto my body. Her breathing was rough.
"Oto-san, it feels good when you hold my tail like that. More, hold on to it more tightly."
As she requested, I tightened my grip and it resulted to Kuina liking it more. It didnt seem she could stand so I supported her for the time being.
"Oto-san, like that, its amazing, Kuinas tail, feels so hot"
Hmm, it seems that, as I thought, grabbing the tail itself wasnt the issue. Maybe its because that for Celestial Wolves, grabbing the tail is considered a taboo?
Just in case though, I decided to apologizeter on and say that I didnt mean to give offense.
But then, suddenly, I felt a stare fixed on me. I turned around and saw that Fel was hiding as she watched Kuina and me.
Her face was bright red and her eyes were wide open. Furthermore, she was holding her own tail while it was between her legs.
She was moving her mouth so I decided to use wind magic to hear her voice. I became able to use wind magic when Aura became my Covenant Monster.
"Hawawa, for parent and child to do such perverted things. But Kuina looks like she feels really good. I wonder, if Father... Uuu, my tail feels so itchy."
Yup, as I thought, I should properly apologizeter.
I was certainly a good-for-nothing.
Even so, Fels tail felt quite nice. If they would permit it, I would someday like to hold Fels tail with my right hand while I held Kuinas tail with my left. Im sure, that will feel the best.
A short while after, our break ended.
My forces assembled and then, after the barrier was cancelled, moved out.
Thanks to the break and the potions, my monsters were in tiptop form.
Like so, we pushed forward to meet with Marcho.
Nevertheless, we couldnt afford to be careless.
Each of the three strongest Demon Lords[Beast], [Time], and [Dragon]could crush me easily no matter how ingenious I tried to be or how many traps I prepared. So for Marcho to be cornered like thiseven though it was by multiple Demon Lordscarelessness was fatal.
I then nced at two of the remaining Mithril Golems. The golems carried the thing as it was covered by a white cloth.
Yeah, we are definitely going to need to use that.
As I thought of such, I wondered whether Rlyeh Diva and her troops were alright. It was about time she sent a scheduled report. Just then, I heard her voice from the water within the earrings I wore.
Despite herughter, she properly conveyed the trouble she was in.
"I give you permission to retreat. Prioritize your and your subordinates lives. Were just going to have to advance from hereon under the assumption that the enemies know of our every action."
Monsters that could control dimensions were able to peek into this world from another dimension. Moreover, depending on the circumstances, higher ranking monsters of such type could alsounch sneak attacks from that other dimension.
Not having any control of the other dimension was truly undesirable, to say the least.
That being said, unlike my regr troops, I didnt have a trump card for Rlyeh Diva and her subordinates so I couldnt push them needlessly.
It cant be, is this girl...
"Dont push yourself too hard. Come back at all cost."
Either way, Imanded her to make sure she coulde back.
Like that, ourmunication was cut off.
Aside from praying for her sake, there was nothing I could do. And so, I moved forward and did my part.
Besides, I believed that as long as it was Rlyeh Diva, she could ovee whatever trouble that came her way.
Volume 5 16
~Rlyeh Divas point of view~
In the other dimension, a fierce fight was also unfolding.
"Geez, the patron sure is working us too hard. Everyone, take turns in reloading. Be mindful of running out of bullets. If our barrage lets up... we die."
"""Yes, captain"""
While changing the magazine of her assault rifle, Rlyeh Diva confirmed the status of her subordinates.
She could tell that some were tired but could still somehow fight.
Including the neers that were purchased to have static levels before the war began, there were a total of 30 Ocean Singers under hermand and not one had died yet.
However, their stock of potions and bullets were running low and that was a legitimate cause of concern.
Just by looking in front of her, she could tell that there were close to a hundred monsters here. Because these were thebined forces of six Demon Lords, the variety was high. There were many that were of the fish-type, lizard-type, and so on.
"What the heck, theres all kinds of them."
Sheined so in a voice so low, her subordinates couldnt hear.
The enemies before her, that numbered more than a hundred, were increasing in number still.
The other dimension was like the pitch-dark cosmos and was thereforepletely open and devoid of any ce to take cover or to hide in.
For someone that used a gun, such was a greatly advantageous situation.
And so, Rlyeh Diva and her subordinates continuously and one-sidedly barraged their enemies from long-range using their assault rifles. She knew though that once their enemies closed the distance, their demise was all but certain.
Their weapon of choice was the EDAR-04 Laevatein. It was an ED series assault rifle designed by Rorono the Elder Dwarf.
The other ED series weapons were top of the line, custom-made weapons for monsters like Kuina and Aura. Conversely put though, they were also weapons that were unusable to anyone but their intended users.
Meanwhile, the EDAR-04 was made with the concept of ultimate versatility in mind.
Since it was meant for mass production, instead of orichalcum, it designed to be made of Mithril. It was also designed to hold only two usable enchantments, namely [eleration] and [Rotation].
Because the [eleration] enchantment would activate only after the bullet had exited the barrel, it improved the power output without worsening the recoil of the weapon. Meanwhile, [Rotation] allowed the bullet to follow a straight and stable trajectory, resulting in a more urate shot.
Moreover, a golem core was also installed to act as a power source and thus make the user be able to activate [eleration] and [Rotation] without expending their own magic power.
The EDAR-04 was a masterpiece that would exhibit satisfactory results no matter who used it.
Rlyeh Diva believed without a doubt that this was the best in the ED series. If asked, she would even say that Kuinas favorite Curtana and Auras Durandal were disqualified as weapons and were nothing but toys.
In fact, thanks to the guns, her subordinates, the B rank Ocean Singers, were able to fight the enemy forces, even the A rank ones.
"Geez, if you have enough time to make those golems and other things, why cant you make more of these??"
Unfortunately, however, there werent enough of the EDAR-04.
After the design phase for the weapon waspleted, it was set to be mass produced. At the same time though, development for the Avalon-Ritters had also begun.
Because of that, only a total of 15 Laevateins were produced. Even though all were given to the intelligence corps led by Rlyeh Diva, it still wasnt enough for everyone.
First off, the reason they were able to get all of the guns was because unlike the normal troops that had Kuina the Celestial Fox, Rorono the Elder Dwarf, Aura the Ancient Elf, Wight the ck Dragon of Death Siegwurm, Felsias the Celestial Wolf, and the many Avalon-Ritters, the intelligence corps didnt have any high-ranking fighting force aside from Rlyeh Diva.
It was only natural then that the weapon of their choice were given to them.
Dimension-type monsters tended to have low fighting capabilities. Even though this was true for Rlyeh Diva and her subordinates, the good thing was that it also applied to their current enemies.
"Alright, thats it, patrons next [Creation] medal has to be for monster that can work here in the other dimension. Doing this all alone is just too much."
Even whileining, she did her work and looked after her subordinates.
Rlyeh Diva was an extremely capable monster. Nevertheless, there was only so much an individual could do.
Three of her subordinates were then hit by wide-range magic. They didnt die but they were wounded enough to have lost their ability to wield their weapons. They were then instructed to fall back and drink some potions.
Up until this point, it had been a one-sided battle where the intelligence corps had been outranging their enemies with their guns. However, the enemies had hardened their defenses and pushed on enough that their magic attacks could reach Rlyeh Diva and her subordinates.
Due to the injured, the barrage became lighter. They started to fall back while still maintaining the barrage but the enemys advance was quicker than their retreat. More and more, the enemys magic attacks werending ever closer.
This is bad.
Rlyeh Diva said so inwardly.
They had encounter many hardships but each time, they were able to do something and survive. This time though, things were looking too grim.
Moreover, when she looked carefully, she could tell that there were now even more A rank monsters in the enemy side. ording to her simple investigation, there were about 20 A rank monsters.
Even if Rlyeh Diva was an S rank monster, there was nothing she could do against so many.
And then, another of her subordinate was injured.
Should I escape? This is a losing battle.
Try as they might, they could not win.
And if that was so, then instead of staying there and fighting, she thought it would be better to use her subordinates as shields and escape.
If the enemies were to takeplete control of the other dimension, Procells normal troops would be exposed to unopposed attacks from the other dimension and leakage of information couldnt be helped.
Losing Rlyeh Diva, an S rank monster, should bein her opinionthe worst possible oue of this fight for Procell and should therefore be avoided at all cost.
Ocean Singers could be bought again with DP and the guns could simply be remade but not her.
"But that just doesnt make sense so Ill just keep on fighting!"
She gritted her teeth and continued firing to make up for her injured subordinates.
While she fired her assault rifle wildly, she sang. The enemies had gotten close enough to use their magic but conversely, they had also gotten close enough to be affected by Rlyeh Divas song.
The otherworld songstresss songs were songs that affected ones heart.
The enemy monsters turned mad and began to rampage, unable to distinguish friend from foe.
Due to that chaos, the enemy frontline was pushed back. However, it came at a great cost.
Rlyeh Diva received numerous magic attacks and was left wounded all over.
Despite her tattered state, she nevertheless continued firing her gun so that her injured subordinates could gain some time to recover.
Her singing had left her throat sore, making singing anything more hurt.
Geez, this isnt like me at all. Yeah, geez, its because of what I heard from Wight.
While enduring the pain to sing and while also pulling the trigger of her assault rifle, she remembered something from a little while ago.
She had once asked Wight to do something about [Creation] Demon Lord Procells softness and naivety. As she remembered, she then for the first time understood [Creation] Demon Lord Procell.
Volume 5 17
Amidst the staggering difference in fighting strength, Rlyeh Diva fought a solitary battle.
Even though she had already used up her magic power, hurt her throat from singing her magical songs, and bled too much to the point her consciousness was fading, she continued to fight.
By this point, even pulling the trigger of her assault rifle took effort.
As she was like that, she remembered something from a while ago. It was so vivid, it was like her life shing before her.
When they were departing to head toward the [Beast] Demon Lords dungeon, Procell said to his monsters that they would alleback alive.
He said it not just to bolster the morale of his monsters but because he truly believed it could be done.
Rlyeh Diva was a neer and had not been in a war against Demon Lords before. However, in the stories she heard, it seemed like Procell had been able to do something simr before.
For her, that attitude was fine and all but not for a Demon Lord.
To her, asionally bing heartless and sacrificing their subordinates was an important disposition for a Demon Lord to have.
On that point, Procell was just too na?ve.
Rlyeh Divained such to Wight. A Demon Lord should be more pragmatic, she said. Right when it matters most, he would end up exposing all of his monsters to danger for the sake of a few.
Afterining so, she immediately regretted it.
After all, Wight was one of Procells most devout followers. Moreover, he was essentially Avalons number 2; if a monster wanted to have afortable life in Procells dungeon, Wights ire should be avoided as much as possible.
However, to her surprise, after hearing her idleints, Wight didnt get angry.
"Certainly, my lord is na?ve. Rlyeh Diva, as you say, as a Demon Lord, he is not perfect. Our battles would have gone smoother if he approved to sacrifice some monsters. And it is because of my lords naivety that we have fallen to certain predicaments."
"As to be expected of you Wight, you understand it well! So say something to the patron so that hell be a more proper Demon Lord, alright? Im just a neer so my standing is pretty weak but if its you that talks to him, Im sure the patron will listen!"
At that, Wight smiled.
"No, my lord is fine as he is. It is because he is na?ve and imperfect that he is beyond perfection."
"I dont understand what you mean."
"What do you find charming in the perfect Demon Lord you speak of? I quite like my lords naivety. It is because of that naivety that I can look up to him as my master from the bottom of my heart. It is because of that that I can go beyond my limits."
"Thats just some dull idealism, isnt it?"
"Is it though? Back when I was just a B rank monster, I was able to hold back a top-tier A rank monster. Kuina-sama, when she was still low in levels and was still inexperienced, had defeated a raging wind dragon that was beyond strong. The weapons and golems made by Rorono-sama have only reached such excellence because of her strong affection for my lord. Even Aura-samas [First Tree] was born due to her affection for my lord and the girls."
Such wasnt an excuse, it was the absolute truth for Wight.
"You still arent well acquainted with my lord so you might not understand but we love him and it is because we do that we can perform beyond our limits. If he was the kind of perfect Demon Lord as you say, monster will dispassionately do as he says, only when he says it. However, it is precisely because my lord is the kind of Demon Lord that loves his monsters that we always think and do, by our own will, whatever we could for him."
Rlyeh Diva then remembered that all of Procells other monsters loved him and that they kept on doing things for him.
"And so, I have this to say: his naivety might not make him perfect, but it makes us do more than we could. No matter what happens, we would not want to make him change. He might not be perfect, but for me, he is the best Demon Lord."
Wight then showed a serene smiling face.
Upon seeing that smile, Rlyeh Diva thought it was nice to smile like that. Her envy at wanting to feel the same then made her heart tighten a little.
Nevertheless, Rlyeh Diva didnt fully understand what Wight said back then. Or even now, for that matter.
She considered herself a realist.
Nevertheless...
"Yeah, I dont want to abandon anyone, after all."
If she used her subordinates as shield and escaped, she would be the only one to survive.
Screw that. Yeah, I guess Im na?ve too.
She was about to do exactly what the na?ve Procell would do. But then, in order for all of them to survive, they had to do some disadvantageous, risky, and, ironically, suicidal things.
Im fine with that, she thought, at least, in this moment, Ill die with no regret.
It was then time for her scheduled report.
"Patron, heres my scheduled report. Right now, were in the middle of a fight. Its getting a bit too dangerous. Half of my troops are in grave condition and cant fight. Im covering for them for the moment but things arent looking good. The enemies number more than a hundred. Plus, I see that about twenty of them are A rank monsters. Were probably gonna die."
In response to her report, Procell told her to prioritize their lives and escape despite knowing the disadvantageous situation his normal troops would be put in.
As I thought, hes na?ve. But will it really be so bad if I embraced his brand of naivety?Oh. So thats what Wight meant that day.
As Wight had said, Procells naivety had made her draw out more power than a perfect Demon Lord could. If it was just a pragmatic Demon Lord, she would do as what was ordered which would be, in this scenario, to abandon everythingand everyoneand escape.
I cant do that. I dont want to do that.
To put it simply, she too was pleased with Procell.
She liked the city he made. She also liked the subordinates she had as well as all the other monsters serving under Procell.
And for that reason...
"I... Even if I stop being me, I still want to protect everyone"
She had decided to use the skill she had forbade herself from using. The skill that she kept hidden despite all the troubles she had encountered thus far.
She was then directly hit by a high-ranking enemy fire magic attack. She was blown away by the attack and as she clumsily tumbled she began concentrating.
Power welled up within her.
A foreign, darker-than-ck power, then entered her soul. Upon the entry of the malevolent gods power, she felt herself being corrupted. In exchange for that, she felt strength beyond reason pulsate within her body.
The most that skills could increase an individuals one or more stats was by a rank. Such was true even for powerful skills like Wights risky [Berserk].
However, the skill Shrine Maiden of the Malevolent God went as far as doubling the users stats.
Given that she was an S rank to begin with, for her stats to be doubled, there probably wouldnt be anyone that could oppose her once the skill was activated.
That being said, it was impossible for such power to note at a price.
If she continually used this skill and the pollution to her mind had reached a certain amount, she would turn into a different monster. Into a sinister and abominable monster.
At that time, her current self would cease to exist. And that frightened her.
To make matters worse, the pollution to her mind would not vanish over time. It was there for life. That meant that the more she used the skill, the more the chances of herself vanishing.
Nevertheless, she chose to use it in this asion.
She wanted to protect her subordinates and at the same time not be a hindrance to everyone fighting on the normal ne. ...also, she wanted to be that persons strength.
For those reasons, she decided to cover herself in impurity and sing.
To her allies, it would be a song of blessing.
To her enemies, it would be a song of ruin.
She then came near a subordinate that was recovering from its wounds.
"Give me that."
"Captain, those wounds, that form... that voice"
"Its alright. Im still myself."
She smiled to that subordinate and took away the assault rifle it could no longer wield.
ck lines then traveled to the assault rifles on each hand and it thumped as though the lines were blood vessels. The foreign power within her passed through those lines and an ominous silhouette was made.
The guns, that were supposed to be inorganic things, took on an unsightly organic form.
Im pretty sure Rorono will faint if she sees her guns like this. But if these guns look like this, I dont wanna know how I look like right now.
"Now, while Im still myself, here I go."
Rlyeh Diva rushed forward to the center of the enemy formation with unprecedented speed.
Unable to expect covering fire anymore, she thrusted straight into the rain of magic attacks.
Something ck wrapped around her whole body and it negated the spells fired off by the enemy monsters. Her new overwhelming defense made breath attacks and arrows just bounce off of her as well.
Her throat, that was damaged so bad that it would make her spit out blood just a while ago, was now in good condition. It seemed to her that she could now perform the greatest songs.
As she advanced to the center of the enemy formation, all of the monsters that tried to hinder her were blown away. With her current stats, it was more than possible.
Once in position, she began her singing. In the position she was currently at, her songs would not reach beloved subordinates.
All of the monsters that heard her song, without exception, turned mad and rampaged. It was iparable to the song she sang before.
Even the minds of those that had resistances against it were snatched away in an instant.
The enemies gave themselves to the music and attacked indiscriminately just for the joy it brought them.
They werent even enemies anymore, just audiences dancing to her songs.
It depended on the monster but some of the enemiespletely lost their selves and transformed into another monster.
Seeing that, her potential fate, Rlyeh Diva gave a little smile.
Among the enemies, there were some monsters that didnt have the ability to hear to begin with. And for those monsters, the effect of the magical songs could be suppressed.
However...
"Children that chose to doze off during my concert, you can just go die."
She fired off the transformed assault rifles at the enemy monsters.
The assault rifles, even under normal circumstances, had powerful bullets. But upon transforming, its power had elevated to new heights.
What came out of the muzzle was ck light. The fired off bullets had been wrapped with the ck thing of the foreign power.
The moment the bullets made impact, the enemy monsters took on a grotesque, balloon-like form and started attacking their allies.
Her songs and the sound of her gunfire resounded all over the battlefield.
So much so that, much like the enemy monsters could only be called audiences to her performance, the battlefield could now only be described as her stage.
The songstress sang and her audience answered with frenzied screams.
Instead of the dance of neon lights, she had a rain of blood.
It was a concert filled with madness, destruction, and lovely fresh blood.
Amidst the never-ending pleasure and the never-ending frenzy, everybody forgot about the flow of time. However, as all things, it too had toe to an end.
The songs, the screams, the sounds of gunfire, they all vanished.
And the only one to remain standing was Rlyeh Diva.
The ck thing vanished from her body but not entirely. A crest that repeated itself multiple times had been engraved onto the left part of her body.
Somehow, she felt that once her whole body was covered by the crest, she would be gone.
"Geez, Ive only used it once and its already like this. Im doubtful about the next use but if that doesnt do it, Im sure the third will."
She said so as she wrapped her arms around her body.
Upon her realization by intuition, she decided to not use that skill again.
And then, guests appeared on the stage that becameposed of only one.
It was her subordinates.
They looked worried but then immediately relieved to confirm that she was still herself. They then embraced her and wept. They also gave her potions and asked her to drink it right away.
"Everyone, were you scared? Well, I guess you will be after seeing that."
Even from a monsters perspective, her fight just a while ago should be more than extraordinary.
Moreover, there was the issue of the strange ck crest engraved on her body.
In consideration of those things, she readied herself to the possibility of her subordinates disliking her and distancing themselves from her.
"No, were not scared. After all, its for our sake that you risked your life and fought like that. More than that, are you alright? Were sorry for making you go to such extreme for us. Were still ipetent but well support to the best of our abilities."
At that, she smiled from the bottom of her heart.
"Thank you, everyone. Because of all of you, it was worth it. Now, just a little bit more. Lets do our best. After this war has ended, were gonna party! Well sponge off of the patron as much as we can for working us to death."
"""YES!"""
But no matter how I look at it, the patron sure is asking too much out of us. Once we return, Im definitely gonna demand for some extra incentives and for everyone to get some break. ...but if the patron wants to join in, I guess Ill let him. If he tells me he has to hear it at cost, I also dont mind singing my songs for him.
While thinking of such, the songstress smiled and moved forward.
Now, lets go. Theres still work to be done. It shouldnt be long before we meet up with the [Beast] Demon Lords monsters that are fighting in this dimension.
Volume 5 18
~Procells point of view~
I had received a report from Rlyeh Diva.
It seemed like that they had somehow won the fight in the other dimension. I was also relieved to hear that they had not suffered any casualties.
It also seemed like that after taking a short rest so that the potion they drank could take effect and have their injured allies recover, they were going to keep moving forward.
For them to win against the allied forces of several old Demon Lords with such a small number of people, it was a windfall.
However, things didnt go off without a hitch. ording to her story, she had used [Shrine Maiden of the Malevolent God], the skill she had sealed.
It was an ability that doubled her stats by having her receive the malevolent gods blessingcurse.
But the price for such power was great.
Each time she used it, the more the malevolent gods power took hold of her it turns her into another monster.
ording to her, the next use was probably still be safe but on the third use, she was definitely going to lose herself. In response, I told her to never use it again.
"...I have to apologizeter for sending her into a battlefield that she had no choice but to use that. And, after she returns, Im gonna have Aura take a look at her to know if some kind of treatment can be done."
I decided that it was imperative to strengthen the forces fighting in the other dimension to improve their chances of winning without any trump cards besides Rlyeh Diva.
Also, I thought it was possible for Aura to treat the corruption that had stayed with Rlyeh Diva. After all, she was able to treat even Kohaku the Byakko after thetter was affected with the ck Dragon of Deaths miasma. There is hope.
"Oto-san, are you properly watching Kuinas fight?"
"AH, hey! Kuina, dont look away!"
"Fel-chan, when you be an adult like Kuina, everything will be fine even while youre looking away for a moment."
Right now, my regr forces, the ones in this dimension, was in the middle of a battle.
Up until this point, we had avoided risks and injuries by using the golems as shields and firing from behind them.
However, save for the ones transporting our trump card, all golems were now out ofmission.
For that reason, Kuina the Celestial Fox and Fel the Celestial Wolf, who both had excellent capabilities to break through the enemy lines, were delegated to be our front-most vanguard.
When Kuina was finally able to rampage to her hearts content, she was ecstatic.
Each time she pulled the trigger of her shotgun, a number of enemy monsters were blown to pieces.
Speaking of, her shotgun had gottenrger by one size. It was a new model made from the orichalcum alloy developed by Rorono. Its performance had greatly improvedpared to when it was made of mithril.
It was named the EDS-05 Curtana-Avalon
Auras new anti-materiel rifle was equipped with twin golem cores but doing the same for Kuinas shotgun would make it too heavy for optimal use in close rangebat.
Because of that, it was instead outfitted to have Kuinas tail fur to be used as a lightweight battery. The gun was also designed so that a whole lot more magic power could be put in into an attack, thus increasing the damage it could deal.
Additionally, itsrge caliber shells that made use of mithril powder had undergone technological innovations and as such, its performance had been also increased.
If the offense was increased though, then naturally, the recoil would also be increased. However, thanks to the excellence of the material used, the orichalcum alloy, and the new mechanism for absorbing the recoil, the shotguns muzzle could handle it.
Furthermore, it had the [Explosion] enchantment which the previous model also had. In the moment the shots within the shell was going to scatter, [Explosion] would activate and thus result in in an increase in attack power without worsening the recoil.
In addition, due to the growth Rorono had experienced, she became able to add another enchantment to the shotgun.
The new one was called [Softening].
Normally, whether a bullet had been deflected or it was able to pierce through, upon impact on its target, its kic energy would be dispersed. Such wasnt the case for [Softening] though. The shots within a shell would be able to transfer all of their kic energy to their target without shattering or being deflected.
As a result, its destructiveness went up at least twice. Moreover, like [Explosion], it did so without worsening the recoil.
With the EDS-05 Curtana-Avalon, each simple attack was deathblow that could take down even A rank monsters.
"Master, the present Kuina is amazing. The amount of magic power and her movements; everything is on a whole other levelpared to before."
Rorono, who was beside me, uttered so.
She had already put on her trump card: the [Mechanical Warmaiden].
It was an equipment that was made thanks to her [Materialization] which awakened when she became one of my Monsters of the Covenant.
As for what [Materialization] was: by expending half of her total magic power, she was able to create a material that contained any one of the magic spell she could use.
It was an ability she got through the influence of my [Creation].
To eliminate its weakness of each material containing being only capable of containing a single spell, Rorono had assembled together scores of parts to form the strongest and most versatile equipment she could think of: the [Mechanical Warmaiden].
Equipped with the [Mechanical Warmaiden], she could disy excellent fighting prowess despite the fact that her status wasnt particrly geared toward battle. As she was, she could match up to even against Kuina or Aura.
The [Mechanical Warmaiden]s primary weapon, an ultrarge caliber coilgun, was then fired.
Its ultra-fast bullet pierced through every enemy in its path and made them vanish.
Its power was so absurd, rather than calling it a soldiers weapon, it was more fitting to call it a tanks gun.
Rorono wouldnt use her trump card unless things were getting dire so her using it now only proved how deep in trouble we were.
After all, just by looking, I was able to tell that the enemy forces wereposed of more than 200 units, with a lot of them being A rank monster. Worse yet, many of those were A rank monsters with progressive levels.
It was a situation where we absolutely could not afford to be negligent.
Presently, Rorono was standing by here and guarding me while providing support via bombardment.
We were currently dominating the battlefield so apparently she could afford to give priority to protecting me.
"Yeah, she sure is. ...Im not so confident I can win against the present Kuina-chan."
Aura the Ancient Elf said so as she tirelessly fired her anti-materiel rifle from the sky. Thetest revision of her rifle was dubbed the Durandal-Avalon. Because it was equipped twin golem cores, it was able to spit out high-powered bullets that didnt consume the users magic power.
An anti-materiel rifle, to begin with, was powerful enough to pierce through armored vehicles but this model surpassed that power many times over. Combining it then with Auras stats and her [Shooter of Magical Projectiles]the skill that gave the strongest bonus for long range attacksany A rank monster would be taken out by just a blow, if not ughtered outright.
Moreover, with her [Jade Eyes]the best magical eyeand her ability to freely control the wind, missing was impossible.
One would absolutely not want Aura to be their enemy. There was nothing more terrifying as an opponent in the battlefield than a sniper that had extreme firepower.
And yet, she herself hadmented that even she wasnt confident she could win against Kuina.
"Oto-san, this is amazing. Ever since Kuina became an adult, Kuina became even stronger"
With dance-like movements, Kuina easily rampaged in the center of the enemy formation.
She narrowly avoided every attacking her way by a few millimeters and relentlessly fired attacks of her own.
By nature, as a Celestial Fox, she had the skill [Precognition] which allowed her to glimpse a few moments into the future. To make full advantage of that skill, she used it in conjunction with [Ultra-rapid Reaction] which made her reflexes the fastest it could be. Furthermore, for those hard-to-avoid magic attacks, she had [All Magic Nullification].
All together, she definitely had overwhelming fighting prowess.
Nevertheless, she also had clear weaknesses. After all, there was a limit to how much she could see into the future. Plus, no matter how much she saw ahead or how fast she reacted to it, there were just some attacks that couldnt be avoided.
Moreover, using [Precognition] was awfully taxing on her powers of concentration and could therefore only be used for a few minutes.
However, that was before. Presently, even though the battle had been going on for an hour already, [Precognition] was still in use.
The secret to that and the way Kuina was fighting currentlywhich was unimaginable for her former selfwas her finally reaching level 70, the standard level for any S rank monster born with a static level.
Upon reaching that level, Kuina had grown up. If before she looked like a young girl of age 12-13, currently, she looked like a beautiful maiden of age 16-17.
It wasnt just her appearance that changed. All her capabilities had drastically improved and she had gained new special abilities as well.
That power was just like when she used [Transform] to defeat [Wind] Demon Lord Stss trump card, the A rank Emarald Dragon that was under the effect of [Berserk].
Originally, Celestial Foxes werete-blooming monsters so this change wasnt really a power up; it was more fitting to say she was only wielding the power that was supposedly hers from the start.
As she was, no simple A rank monster could ever hope topete.
She was now truly an S rank monster.
"Rorono, it isnt just Kuina thats amazing, Fel who is with her is as well."
"Mhm, Kuina has [All Magic Nullification] but even without that, that girl is guarding Kuinas back amidst the melee."
Kuina and Fel were both leading the charge in this battle. If Fel wasnt here, Kuina probably wouldnt had been able to rampage as much as she had. It was because Fel guarded Kuinas back that Kuina could fight as freely as she wanted.
But then, a rain of magic attacks was poured toward the two. Kuina, who was safe thanks to her ability to nullify magic attacks, aside, Fel reacted to such by raising her hand. Upon doing so, the rain of magic spells encountered an invisible wall.
Even Aura and Rorono couldnt make a barrier that could defend against the carpet bombing that was done by even A rank monsters.
The secret behind it was Fels ability to manipte time. With it, she stopped the flow of time within the space that was a few millimeters around her, thus bing the barrier.
Because she had stopped time only within such a small area, its magic power consumption was at minimum. And hence, it was a barrier ridiculous both in its strength and efficiency.
"Ha, enough. Youre all annoying! Donte near me!"
Fel shouted so and then swung the sword in her hand.
Inconspicuously, the sword had no de. However, the moment she swung the swordand only thena de of light that was several meters long was formed.
Its ability to mow down enemies was spectacr. An attack that was supposed to be for close range was turned into a far-reaching one.
"Rorono, that, can it not really be used by the Avalon-Ritters, after all? It seems awfully useful."
The sword without a de was originally a weapon made for the Avalon-Ritters. However, with none of them being capable of using it, the development for it was put on hold and eventually canceled.
"Its impossible. The formation of the de is a function of the weapon itself but for the de to have the desired shape, have the desired output, it would dependpletely on the users control of magic. It is a task that is immensely difficult and time-consuming. Moreover, while the de is given form, it has a fault wherein it continuously drains the users magic power. To counter that, the de should be formed only when it is about to cut something. But doing it so instantly and so perfectly is not something the Avalon-Ritters can do. Its precisely because its her that it is being done effortlessly. Shes got amazing senses, to the point Im somewhat jealous, actually."
Fel didnt fall behind Kuina in battle.
Even though she was a monster made using three high-level A rank medals, her martial arts and precision in magic was still far too great.
I had conjectured that perhaps it was more because of the [Time] Demon Lords rigorous training.
After all, for all the feats she had shown, talent alone wasnt enough of an exnation.
Her use of her time maniption abilities wasnt limited to just defense. asionally, I could notice that she was moving in such speed that she was faster than even Kuina who had [Godspeed]. It was perhaps her using her ability to elerate her own time.
She was quite literally living on a different time.
Kuina the Celestial Fox and Fel the Celestial Wolf, the worlds strongest sisters, were dominating the battle.
But that didnt mean that we could rest easy.
Our magic power and ammunition was limited. Our stock of potions too was beginning to run out.
Still... we had to press on.
"Oto-san, the enemies are running away"
"Hmp, if youre going to run away anyway, dont even try to fight from the very start"
The two shouted so as they gave pursuit.
The enemy had resisted heavily thus far but upon bing numerically inferior, they understandably withdrew.
The current ce we were in was the penultimate floor in Marchos dungeon.
That meant that the enemies stronghold was not far now.
Given all that, it was then feasible that the reason the enemy monsters here werent fighting until the end was because they intended to link up with their main force.
From their viewpoint, from here on out, it was probably a do or die situation since it was pretty clear that they were going to be trapped on both ends by my and Marchos forces. Presumably, they were going to go all out, sending even Covenant monsters.
In the case of a pincer attack, a logical solution was to attack with ones all the weaker of the two enemy forces. In this scenario, ours was undoubtedly the weaker end.
"Everyone, this will be ourst break. Feel free to use up all the remaining potions. I want you all in perfect condition."
I then issued a battlecry.
As things were, it was truly possible to help Marcho without losing anyone.
And, upon Rlyeh Divas confirmation on where the enemy stronghold was, we could finally unleash that trump card.
We had managed to continuously win so far but an assault on the enemys full force was on a whole other level.
Should we dare to confront them head on, there was no question that my forces, even Kuina and Fel, were going to be ttened.
It was great news.
From this point on, due to us now having full control of the other dimension, we would be able to guarantee at all the times the acquisition of intelligence. Moreover, we could nowmunicate with Marchos monsters.
"Well done, Rlyeh Diva. Id like you to do two more things. First is to know where the enemys main force is. Next is to ask Marchos monsters to deliver a message to her..."
Like so, there was no need to fight directly anymore. The trump card will surely be of great use now.
My n might not be honorable but I will go will go with it nheless. I didnte here for honor after all, I came here to save Marcho.
Volume 5 19
Finally, the next floor was going to be thest floor of Marchos dungeon.
I thought this might be ourst breather so I made my monsters make a barrier and then do all the necessary preparations like drinking the potions distributed to them, doing maintenance on their guns, making sure they had enough bullets, and so on.
Once the break was over, we were finally ready to go to thest dungeon floor.
Wevee a long way.
We hadnt lost anyone but there were some whose injuries couldnt be healed in such a short span of time using the potions so they were made to Transfer to the backlines. Moreover, our supplies of bullets and potions were stretched to the limit and our remaining stock of napalm bombs were used up along the way.
It was unavoidable for the ones that remained to suffer mental fatigue.
In this regard, among others, Marcho was truly amazing. Her forces had been continuously fighting like so for nearly a week, a feat I thought we couldnt match.
We specialized in breaking through the enemy lines but our overall,prehensive strength was still no match against any veteran Demon Lord.
Nevertheless, our goal was near.
As long as we could join up with Marcho, all else will follow. Like for example, once my monsters had gotten enough rest, they could team up with Marchos forces and annihte the enemies.
A Demon Lords dungeon wasposed of floors and each of these dungeon floors were in turnposed of up to three dungeon rooms.
For example, the first floor of my Avalon wasposed of the city itself, a in room and a Mine room.
Knowing which room the enemy encampment was in was highly important in my ns so I made Rlyeh Diva search for it. While at it, I also had her, who was with Marchos forces, ry my intentions to Marcho.
"Rlyeh Diva, you can make contact with Marcho again, right? Theres something more Id like you to say to her: ask her to tamper with the first room. Ask her to make it as small as possible and to remove all walls within. Emphasize the need to change the settings for the ceiling."
Confronting head on the enemy monsters that were on the first floor was out of the question; we would get squashed without a doubt. Especially after hearing Rlyeh Divas report on them. We were outmatched not only in quantity but also in quality. The ones sent to intercept us was but a small fraction of the ones on the next floor.
Perhaps the only reason that the enemy hadnt intensified their assaults against us was that they were wary of Marcho.
Regardless, from this point on, tackling the enemy encampment was inevitable.
For that reason, I brought my trump card here.
Thanks to Rlyeh Diva and the information she had provided, I was able to make a sound decision. Truly, I was very grateful to her.
"I hope Marcho can apply the changes to her dungeon..."
Demon Lords were able to change the configurations of their dungeons but there were certain limitations such as not being able to tamper with anything that was upied by a person or monster that wasnt under that Demon Lordsmand.
So speaking of what she could do, it was limited to just taking out walls and removing the space that wasnt upied by any enemy monsters.
Considering the enemys formation probably wasnt so spread out, she should be able to narrow down the first room quite a bit and also have everything that could be used as cover removed.
After all, my trump card grew more effective the narrower and more airtight the space was.
Encountering them might be inevitable but fighting head on was still preposterous. So, as a solution, I intended to turn everyone in that airtight room into ash. If it was with the trump card I had preserved all this time, it was possible.
To my knowledge, it was the strongest weapon of mass destruction among the conventional weapons made by mankind.
Its name was the MOAB. Or more formally, it was a Massive Ordnance Air st.
Its appearance was that of a gigantic missile.
It was the strongest conventional weapon developed by the US Air force. It weighed 9752 Kg, had an overall length of 9.14m, and a diameter of 1.03m.
Obviously, there was no way such an enormous thing was made in one go using my [Creation] which consumed MP proportional to the weight of the created object. Instead, I made it part by part and had it assembled by Rorono.
I started making it back when I still lived in Marchos dungeon.
But both my time and magic power back then were scarce so the construction was simplified and the bombs capacity was decreased, making it nothing more than a miniature of the real thing.
A long time had passed since then though and at present, the one I brought was at its top performance. Actually, it was better due to the improvements done by Rorono and the enchantments it was given.
It was the perfect fusion of science and magic.
Its downside was that it was the most expensive single-use weapon in this scarce world.
To prepare one, it would take more than a months time. That meant one was impossible to produce at a moments notice.
And yet, it was still worth it. Its power was so great that back when the humans first made it, it was often mistaken as a nuclear weapon.
Dropping one of those could produce an explosion so great, a mushroom cloud would form.
Aside from magic and Roronos skills, another thing that the humans from the previous world didnt have was the addition of the users stats to the potential damage.
I wonder how much I can add with that power.
There was no doubt that with all the time, skill, and magic power poured into it, it was the strongest.
But even so... I felt anxious.
The ones I were challenging were veteran Demon Lords after all.
Is it possible to win without using that? Without not taking any risk? But then, if I was willing to take risks, I can draw out even more power.
"I have to man up here. There was never a way for my weak self to win in a perfectly safe way against such powerful enemies."
I resolved myself like so. To be specific, I resolved myself to use the power Id rather never use if possible.
And so, power welled up within me.
My monsters had done so much for this campaign. Rlyeh Diva even used the power she simrly forbade herself from using.
If they were willing to go that far, how can I be so hesitant?
".........[Awakening]"
Those words spontaneously came to my mind.
Upon uttering it, wings grew on my back. Jet ck ominous wings.
That wasnt all: my eyes turned red and on my pupils were some kind of magic array.
I had first acquired this power during my war against the human city.
And just like back then, I felt strength well up within me but at the same time, I felt a darkness that clouded my mind. It felt like the cruel part of me was taking over.
I wanted to rule over everyone and everything.
"Wh-what is that? Whats with your form?"
Fel, who was taking a short break, looked at me, got surprised, and went near.
"Nothing. I do this get a bit more power."
"You look like someone up to no good. Return to your original form right away! Like, you look so creepy!"
So noisy and just when things were feeling good. From now on, I intend to feed on a lot of despair but it seems like thats going to be hindered. Now that I think about it, this girl has been acting quite impertinent, hasnt she?
"W-what? Even if you make that face, Im not scared of you, okay?!"
I then silently got in front of her and roughly grabbed her tail.
"Hii! Again, with my tail."
As I thought, grabbing her tail turns her on.
Despite looking young, shes capable of feeling like this.
It might be because I took on this form but for some reason, I can tell how pleased she is by touching her tail. Oh I get it, maybe this is because of [Evil] whom I killed some time ago. So, I guess I can use his power when I assume this form.
When I put pressure on the sensitive areas of her tail, her face became ecstatic and she leaned closer to me. And when I put my hand on her chin and stole a kiss, she didnt have the strength to resist.
I then further teased her tail and her whole body trembled in reaction.
Unable to keep standing up, she dropped down to the ground.
"What a proper mess you are. Do you understand your ce now?"
"Awful, so awful. Uuu, y-you!"
"You? Dont you mean master?"
I grabbed her, murmured such close to her ear, and then lightly bit that ear.
In the eyes she looked at me with, there were no more signs of rebellion, only of submission.
"Haa, haa... Uuu... You, you, thats enough... No, not again!"
I proceeded to tease her further but then decided to stop at the most tantalizing part: the part where her will was just about to give in to the pleasure. I then kissed her again and poured my Demon Lord power into her, causing her spine to tingle.
"If you say one more impertinent thing, I wont pet you anymore."
"Master, Fel, Fel has misbehaved."
She said so while looking at me with puppy dog eyes. She seemed to have turnedpliant but proper reflection was necessary.
"Youre currently under my custody. If you show me through your attitude that you have reflected, I will continue petting you."
"Tha-thats awful. ...Please pet Fel."
This girl isnt my daughter so even if I show my affection like I would to any other girl, theres no problem.
I then shook off Fel who was clinging on to me and she dropped down to the ground.
Now that thats out of the way, its time to actually do my job.
I grabbed the ten-ton weapon of mass destruction from the Mithril Golems and carried it with one hand.
Next, I made my magic power act like a force field to protect myself since I intended to go to the next dungeon room alone while the others were still resting.
Nice timing. Like this, the MOAB will be able to cause maximum destruction.
In my new form, I was able to use the pinnacle of my [Creation] which was called [Create]. If the former gave form to objects of the past, thetter advanced objects to their future forms. In other words, it guided objects to their evolutions.
Like so, the MOAB evolved. The silver light of [Create] enveloped the weapon and it then turned into an even more fiendish thing.
Ahh, this feels good. I wonder how much despair and dread I can enjoy if I unleash this thing. These thoughts are making me hungry. Soon, I have to feed soon.
"Oto-san, Kuinas alsoing as your guard."
Kuina approached, looked at me, and got frightened.
What the? I thought this girl liked me but shes behaving like she loathes me. Does Kuina also need some education?
When I thought of such, an unspeakable difort welled up from within me.
What is this feeling? Impertinent monsters are unnecessary... no, this girl is an important... I will absolutely not hurt Kuina.
"Kuina, theres no need for that. It wont take me long to go to the next floor, massacre them all, and return."
The darker-than-ck emotion I felt became a little less dark. I might have even smiled when I said such things.
"Master, as a developer, I wish to gather some data. But to do so, I muste with you. May I?"
The next to approach was the silver-haired Rorono.
Data collection was indeed useful so I decided to bring her along but then I realized a problem: if I were tounch the MOAB and then return to the previous dungeon room right away, no data collection could be done. Moreover, to feed on the despair, I also had to be on the same room.
Ahhhhhh, its such a waste of despair and dread. It would have been a buffet but now, its gone unless Im willing to die just for it. Something, there has to be something. Oh yeah, there is one convenient fellow.
I approached Fel, who was still on the ground with her ears and tail down, and carried her with my left hand.
"Fel, I have a task for you. When I give the signal, expand a time barrier."
Fel was the only one capable of erecting a time barrier which stopped the flow of time within a certain space. Theoretically, no matter how much attack power there was, nothing should be able to get pass her invincible barrier.
Moreover, its a transparent wall which means I will be able to watch as my meal is being cooked. Shes quite convenient, that Celestial Wolf.
"Huh? What?"
"Did you not hear mymand?"
Is she still resisting? Is my teasing not enough?
"I-I heard. I understand so theres no need to tease my tail in front of everyone! Please only do that when its just the two of us."
What a lovely thing to say. If its just the two of us, it might lead to something more than just the teasing of her tail.
"Good girl. If you do a proper job, Ill make you feel better than earlier."
"Mo-more than earlier? If-if-if you do more than that..."
Fel looked troubled as I continued to carry her in my arm.
"If we have Fel-chans barrier, Kuina shoulde too. There might be enemy monsters with abilities like Fel-chans."
"Then, Ill go too. I can use my defensive magic spells to help."
"If thats how its going to be, then I would like toe as well, my lord. This is a chance for me to gain some precious experience points."
My monstersnamely Kuina, Aura, and Wighteach also expressed their desire toe along.
If Wight didnt mention it, I would have totally forgotten about the matter of experience points. And so, I, who hated to waste things, had decided to form a party with them and even included Rlyeh Diva.
Carrying Fel with my left arm and the MOAB with my right, I took a step toward the next room.
I had entered the first room of Marchos final floor.
Since this was the stronghold of the old Demon Lords attacking her dungeon, there were close to a thousand monsters here.
I was also able to confirm that there were Demon Lords here as well.
Theyre old Demon Lords so Im willing to bet theyre delicious. Maybe they even have nice fat.
It seemed like there were also Covenant monsters here that wereparable to even Kuina. Just by looking, I could sense their insane, overwhelming presence and magic power.
Ahhh, I think Im drooling. How nice of them to prepare such a feast for me.
"Aura, continue to produce more mmable air."
"Leave it me."
I had ordered so to further strengthen the MOAB.
Preliminary preparations are all done. Now, time to feast.
When the enemy guards noticed us, they shouted their warnings. Soon after, magic spells and breath attacks from the enemy monsters wereunched against us.
Haa, so annoying. Just shut up. Youre already dead anyway.
With my right arm, I threw the ten-ton and ten-meter missile and it flew at a speed that was faster than sound.
After flying for several hundred meters, it then descended and hit the ground.
"Fel, barrier, now"
"U-understood. ..Master."
Like nned, Fel erected a Time barrier. Almost right after, the MOAB exploded.
Red... The entire dungeon room was covered in red.
Rather, almost entirely: the red had failed to reach the one-millimeter area around us.
All that overwhelming power, stopped before our eyes.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
Iughed, I onlyughed.
Such violence. Such beauty. Such art.
Nearly a thousand monster lives were extinguished and all of those became my nourishment.
All of their fear and dread have made my belly so full. So delicious! Oh Im so full, I dont think I can breathe.
The wings on my back trembled, became evenrger, and from two, they increased to four. Moreover, a ck horn grew out of my head. After such things, I felt myself be even stronger.
And then, that scene of mayhem vanishedpletely. Finally, my vision turned back to normal. But what I saw in ce of the chaos was just... emptiness. Only traces of the Demon Lord and the thousand monsters remained in the walls and floor of the room.
This... this... this is my power? What, old Demon Lords? Pfft. What a joke. Theyre nothing but small fries.
"AHAHAHAHAHA"
What did I have to fear for all this time? Im strong. Im [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, the strongest Demon Lord there is. AAAAHHHH. Such a taste. Fully leveled monsters are delicious but Demon Lords are on a whole other level. After knowing of such taste, just how can I not want more? Gaining abilities just like I did with [Evil]s is quite the wee bonus too.
Hihihi, I wonder who Ill eat next? Now that I think about it, there is one convenient person whose ability I do want to get my hands on. Plus that person shows their back to me so much, not stabbing it makes less sense.
A voice came from the water in the earring I wore.
"Oto-san, youre making a scary face again. Even though you said youll be able to revert back to normal?"
"Mhm, I agree with Kuina. That certainly is an amazing power but the usual Father is even more amazing for me. As Father is right now, I cant say I love you."
"I love master no matter which kind but I much prefer you be the cool master if possible."
"Yes. I adore you, my lord, but you were much cooler before. We were not worthy of such grace."
My monsters voices reached my ears and I felt warmth.
The ck part of myself, the part dying my soul with desires, faded and I remembered who I truly was little by little until my real self finally emerged.
Instead of feeding on despair and sacrificing my beloved monsters, I had decided to build my city.
It was slow but my dreams were finally taking shape thanks to everyone. And even though there was still a lot of work ahead, we had built something that could definitely be called a city.
Then, can I just throw away that ce? No. Absolutely not. There was no way I could dispose of a ce where the people I loved lived.
I am [Creation] Demon Lord Procell and I am not a tyrannous Demon Lord that only fed on despair.
I thought that and then smiled. Afterwards, my ck wings and horn vanished and my mind became clear.
"Fuu. Sorry, everyone. I went a little overboard. I thought I can handle it this time but it seems I still need some practice."
"Oto-san, it cant be helped. But no matter what, we will bring you back again so dont worry so much."
After saying so, Kuina gave a triumphal smile and struck her chest. She also swung her fluffy fox tail and it was adorable.
My other monsters smiled toward me as well.
I see. They are my happiness. Im such a fool to only realize this now. I will do everything I can to not part with them.
As I thought of such, I realized something warm and soft was in my left hand. I looked at it and then to Fel who averted looking in my direction, had a red, entranced face, and was speaking to herself.
"Gufufu. Fel contributed too. Master, caress my tail more. More, the tip, oooh. A wicked Demon Lord, huh? I might just get used to being enthralled."
I dont know why but Fels acting all serious. My memories during [Awakening] isnt all that clear. Did something happen? Ugh, I feel a chill down my spine. Its like Ive done something I cant recover from. ...must be my imagination.
At any rate, the enemy stronghold had been crushed. By my reckoning, that was 90% of the campaign won. All that was left was to strike the remaining enemy soldiers that were fighting with Marchos forces from behind and crush them.
Nevertheless, we could not afford to get careless until the very end.
And so, I braced myself.
Also, I intended to indirectly confirmter with Wight about what happened. Just to be sure.
TL notes
[Creation]=[] and [Create]=[]. They pretty much mean the same. I considered using Production or some other synonyms but it just didnt feel right/cool enough.
Volume 5 20
Although there were some bit of trouble, we were sessful in wiping out the enemy stronghold.
The MOAB made things seem easy but if it wasnt used, we would have been hard-pressed, to say the least.
"I have to make another MOAB that can stand as Avalonsst line of defense... In regards to its performance, I now know for a fact that there is no need for concern and if it can be mass produced, there will no longer be anything but praise to say about it."
I had originally intended for the MOAB to be used as Avalons final defensive weapon. The n was to gather as much enemy monsters as possible in my dungeonsst room and then make the MOAB explode, thus turning all of the gathered enemies into ash.
No matter how strong the enemies were, it was impossible for them to be able to break through. The n also included making my own monsters escape just before the explosion to make the gathering of the enemy monsters more effective.
Despite taking more than one month to make that single MOAB, I was unsure of its performance. Thankfully, without any sort of tests, it worked perfectly.
Thats great and all but there is one issue...
"Master, Fel has worked hard."
For a while now, Felsias the Celestial Wolf had been sticking close to me.
She was showed off her head as though saying she wanted me to brush it so I did as was asked of me and she smiled ecstatically in return.
Shes acting scarily fond of me.
I had asked Wight what happened in the duration that I was under the effects of [Awakening]. ording to him, my other self unbelievably grabbed Fels tail, brushed it, and then threatened to do even more terrible things.
Upon hearing that, I decided that I should, no, that I must apologize to her.
If the [Time] Demon Lord knew of this, it would be trouble. No, regardless of him knowing and taking issue, the fact is that I did such things to Fel who was entrusted to me, and for that, Im simply the worst. I dont think I can look him in the eye anymore.
"Fel, a-about earlier,"
"Im looking forward to the reward of being petted privately. But if master wishes for it, I dont mind enduring being petted in front of everyone..."
It didnt seem like she hated what I had done. Rather, she was expecting for more. It was troubling in a different way.
"Yeah, look forward for it, Fel."
"I will. Ehehe."
She said so and then locked arms with me while swinging her tail.
I bought some time so I should think of ways to solve thister.
"Muu, Oto-san, Kuina worked hard too."
"Yes, Fel shouldnt be the only one to receive a reward."
"Yeah, yeah, maybe you can also do those awesome things to us."
Kuina the Celestial Fox, Rorono the Elder Dwarf, and Aura the Ancient Elf all approached and issued out theirints.
"Of course, I n on rewarding everyone."
When I said so, everyoneexcept Rorono who had a disappointed look in her facecelebrated in delight.
"For your efforts in developing our weapons, Im going to prepare a special reward for you, Rorono, so dont pout anymore, ok?"
"......I wasnt really pouting. But, yeah, thank you, Father."
Rorono then proceeded to grab the end of my left arm which was the arm not held by Fel.
She might act like she was cool and mysterious but she was actually very easy to read.
By the way, at the moment, we were waiting for the rest of my monsters to catch up so there was no real time lost for our idle chat.
Allplete? Alright, lets go.
Before entering the second dungeon room where Marchos forces and the enemy forces should be holding their all-out battle, we prepared for the potentialst battle of the campaign by employing all possible performance increasing skills and magic.
For example, Rozelitte whom I got from [Wind] Demon Lord Sts strengthened the entire army while Wight did the same but only to the undead.
We were pulling out all the stops. After all, there was no meaning in holding back anymore.
And so, we advanced. What greeted us was the fierce fight unfolding there.
In palpable desperation, the forces that belonged to the old Demon Lords were repeatedlyunching reckless assaults.
It was understandable though. Their base of operations which they could retreat to was no more; they could no longer expect for supplies; no reinforcement wasing; and they also no longer had an escape route.
They could still win if they could manage to break through Marchos forces but her monsters werent generous enough to allow such reckless assaults to pass through.
Marchos medal was the [Beast] medal.
Its feature was its capability to create monsters that had high physical abilities along with other varying abilities. As a group, they were the strongest.
Individually, her monsters might fall behind in performance to [Time] and [Dragon]s monsters but taken as group, hers would fare better.
The [Beast] medal itself allowed the creation of monsters that were easy to use in a groupeven in hundreds, they could adapt perfectly to small changes in the battlefieldbut the main factor for their strength was Marcho herself and her caliber as a Demon Lord.
She loved and was loved by her subordinates. For that reason, her army was strong.
"Now, everyone, rampage as loudly as you could! Attack the enemy in the back!"
My monsters replied with shouts of their own.
The enemys rear was full of openings and my monsters intended to exploit that.
The ones with guns began firing theirs while the ones without used their magic and breath attacks.
It was an easy hunt.
Obviously, if Marchos monsters were locked in close rangebat with the enemies, it would be hard to distinguish who was friendly and who was not. Even if we were able to do that, preventing friendly fire was still going to be hard.
However, considering that what was ahead of us was only the rear end of the enemy forces and considering that they couldnt just turn around to face us because of Marchos monsters, things were simple.
Inferior in both quantity and quality, there was no way they could survive for long.
In such a short time, the enemy forces began to perish. And once they showed an opening, their demise came a little bit faster.
Like so, in under two hours, the enemy forces were annihted. Well, almost annihted since some were spared so that information could be extracted from them. To prevent the survivors frommitting suicide, strong paralyzing poison was applied.
"Is it over?"
With this, Marchos dungeon was probably safe for moment.
We won. Such feelings welled up within me.
Marchos forces then parted and in the center was a giant wolf which was taller than I was.
It was a monster that fought vigorously in the previous battle.
It had grey pupils and a coat of fur so beautiful that it could make one sigh. Despite its killing intent that could make ones soul freeze, it was very noble.
That wolf then began to walk toward me slowly. After a while, its body shined and it changed its form into the shape of a humanoid.
The light faded and what appeared was a brown-skinned, beautiful woman that had white hair and a wolfs ears and tail.
It was the person that I came here to help. It was my guardian. It was Marcho.
"Procell, I believe I told you to note."
Her smile was wry but in her voice was unconcealed joy.
Urged by something, I rushed forward and embraced her.
"I was worried, Marcho. Very worried."
When I felt Marchos warmth and tenderness, the feeling of aplishment rushed to me. I did it, I did it without losing her.
"Sorry. ...you must think Im useless right now, dont you? After all, if you didnte, I might have been defeated and killed, my crystal broken, and my beloved monsters gone. So, thank you foring."
When Marcho said so, she then parted from our embrace, ced her hands on my shoulders, and looked me straight in the eye.
"Im d that you came but as your guardian, I must say this: what you did was suicidal. Its impossible for a new Demon Lord like you to remain safe after challenging old Demon Lords to a fight. Things might have turned out alright for the moment but I assure you, things will get much harder from now on."
As she said, it was probable that I would be continuously targeted by the Demon Lords I fought this time. But...
"I know and Im prepared. Ive considered all that and in the end, I still wanted toe. Id much rather have that than let you be killed."
Marchos face grew red but more interestingly, the expression on her face was more innocent than usual. It was my first time to see her look like that.
"Yeah, youre an adult now, no longer a child. You just made my heart skip a beat. ...ahhh, I should be angry right now but after hearing that, how can I stay mad?"
Marcho and I thenughed together. Thank goodness, we canugh together like this again.
"...Procell. Your reward will be all of me. My dungeon, my monsters, my treasures, all of it, I want to entrust it to you. I know its a selfish request but from now on, will you, in my ce, please protect my dungeon and my monsters? If its you, Ill have no worries."
She said such words with a smile and in a refreshing tone but somehow, those words made me feel uneasy.
Volume 5 epilogue
TL note: Before you start reading, Id like to say that I slightly alteredst chapter. Instead of saying in my ce, I made Marchos line to be in my absence.
...I know its a selfish request but from now on, will you, in my absence, please protect my dungeon and my monsters? If its you, Ill have no worries."
Marcho said that in exchange for rewarding me with all that she was, I had to protect her dungeon and her monsters.
Is it just me or is she saying shell bepletely gone right away?
"Marcho, wait, what do you mean by that?"
"In this war, you see, I kinda overdid it. My monsters had reached their limits long before your potions arrived. So, to support the frontlines, I had to use that power. Im talking about [Awakening]."
[Awakening]? Marcho has that power too? Wait, no, of course she has it. Thats nothing to be surprised about. If even I managed to Awaken, its impossible for her not to.
"What does using [Awakening] have to do with anything?"
"Youve already Awakened, right? I mean, Ive heard from the subordinates I posted that you did. Anyway, dont use that power without thought, okay? Using it for a little whiles fine but using it continuously and repeatedly will cause your existence to be consumed and your lifespan to be shortened... just like me. I dont have much time left anymore. Im starting to feel my existence crumbling. I dont know whether Ill still be fine after a day, an hour, or just a few more moments; I have no idea. All that I know is that the being that is [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias will very soon be gone."
I was at a loss for words.
My head was full of ifs and questions and among them was did I not make it in time?
"Dont make that face, Procell. You were just in time. Its precisely because you were that I am able to stand here and entrust my beloved monsters to you. Most of all, Im very d to see your smiling face again. I would have hated it so much for us to part while on bad terms. Now, I can pass away without regrets."
Dont screw with me. I came here because I wanted to be with Marcho longer. Theres no sense if I end up alone. I wont ept such an oue.
"The power to help you, I have it. I mean we can use the power I received from the Creator to solve this."
I was talking about [Rebirth]. It was a power I received as a reward from the [War] with Sts.
With it, I was able to turn somebody into a medal and have that medal be used in Synthesis, making that individual stronger than before. If I used this power, even someone whose lifespan was spent would be able to live long life.
"Ill pass. Id like to ept my end and die properly as a Demon Lord."
"I dont believe it! If that was the case, then why bother surviving long enough to hand your monsters over to me? Youre reluctant in dying, arent you? Youre worried for the ones youll leave behind, right? Well, if you wont ept the option of living longer, I wont ept the responsibility of taking care of your monsters. You said that my reward was all of you but doesnt that include you yourself??"
Even I thought I was being a coward for holding her monsters hostage just to get what I wanted. Nevertheless, I would rather do so than have her gone.
"That way of arguing is unfair. Very well, since you seem like you wont be convinced with this kind of exnation... and given that these are to be my final moments, well, I guess theres no harm in telling you the truth. For a very long time now, I have wanted to join the person I loved in death."
"Eh?"
I issued out a dumb response to her entirely unexpected reply.
"Do you remember the medals I first gave you? One was my [Beast] and the other was [me]. The one Im talking about is the owner of that medal. The [me] Demon Lord Amon. He was the first Demon LordPerson I ever loved. Oh, but it was unrequited though. Anyway, I was there when Amon died. I still remember it. I cried then as you are now."
It was only when she mentioned it that I noticed that tears were flowing in my cheeks.
These tears were the first tears of the Demon Lord known as Procell.
"Back then, I wanted to follow him. But, you see, that person made me promise. To live out my life as a Demon Lord to the very end. It was because I made that promise that I am still alive to this day, that I held on until my proper endes. And today, that end has finallye."
"...Marcho, all this while, you wanted to die?"
"I wouldnt put it that way. What I wanted, all this time, is to be with that person. Procell, youve grown splendidly and that has made me finally proud of my life. So, wont you just please send me off with a smile? As myst request to you?"
With her answer of refusal, the distance between our hearts grew.
In my chest, I felt an emotion as strong as the sadness I felt: Anger.
I thought her story and her love was beautiful. I thought it to be noble. But, even so...
"Dont screw with me"
I screamed like so.
"If I were to agree to that, I wouldnt havee here in the first ce and challenged those old Demon Lords. I want you to live, Marcho. That is why I came here."
Those were my true feelings. I knew I was being selfish like a child but I had to say it out loud.
Marcho, with a deste yet somewhat d look on her face, then spoke.
"Its already been decided. But, I appreciate that you thought that much."
I then embraced her.
"Do you remember what you said when I left your dungeon?"
"Why that all of a sudden?"
"You spoke back then about wanting me to embrace you, to etch my very essence into you. Well, Im going to now."
"Eeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh? Procell, wait, do you even know what youre saying right now!?"
While within my arms, Marcho was dumbfounded.
"Im going to make you forget about your former love. So live. Ill make you never again think about reuniting in death with that man. Im going to make you want to live because of me. Im going to be the more desirable man."
What I was saying was absurd. I didnt even understand it all.
Even so, I didnt mind.
In fear of her going somece else, I continued to hug her.
Marcho seemed troubled at first but soon returned my embrace.
"Haa, geez. Youre so selfish. Can you not stillst a day without mommy?"
Unable to endure it anymore,ughter escaped from lips.
"I can. You said it yourself, Im a full-pledge man now. More than that, Im a man thats courting the woman I love. ...Marcho, be mine. Ill make you happy. Ill risk my life for you. Always."
I vigorously gave her my proposal.
I justid my feelings bare without any n. Beyond that, I had no idea what would happen.
"Geez. I cant shake you off, can I? Do you find it fun to hit on an old bird like me?"
I answered her not with words but with a kiss. Thankfully, she did not reject it.
"This is my answer. Ill say it again, Marcho. Be mine."
Her face bright red, she opened her eyes. She then withdrew her face and smiled. It wasnt a wry smile either but one from the bottom of her heart.
"You know, actually, I always thought you resembled that first love of mine and thats why I took a liking to you."
I had been reapeatedly told by [Time] and [Dragon] that I resembled [me]. Each time that was said, it made me feel a bit depressed. Like I was just some kind of recement for that guy.
But if that was what it would take to make Marcho stay, then it was fine by me.
"But I know better now. You and that person arepletely different. Youre more pushy, selfish, and obstinate. ...but youre also a very charming man. So, I guess, I want to see more of you, more closely."
"Are you?"
"It cant be helped. I ept your offer. Im going to live for a little bit longer. Im willing to be born again. Ahh, this makes me a cheater, doesnt it? But dont worry, after this, Im going to be truly faithful. To you."
Marcho stretched out her hand and I grasped it with mine.
"Can I take it that youre epting me?"
"Yeah. And that Im entrusting myself to you, Procell."
And thus, I began.
"[Rebirth]"
I recited the words of power. Marchos body was then covered in light. Had she not epted me, [Rebirth] would have failed right away.
Her shining body then transformed into particles of light and those specks gathered in the hand that I used to hold hers. What then formed in my hand was a medal: the [Beast God] medal.
It was a medal that was even better than the [Beast] medal.
Next, I took out another medal and ced it in my hand. That medal was the [King] medal that [Time] gave me.
It was a special medal. It didnt belong to any particr Demon Lord. Instead, it was the kind of medal that could only be gotten as a reward from the Creator.
The [Time] Demon Lord gave me such an absurd medal so that it could be used on Marcho without hesitations. An act of love, so to speak.
I also took out a third medal: my [Creation].
With all three, I was ready. I closed my hand and recited another word of power.
"[Synthesis]"
I said so and felt the temperature within my hand rise.
Next, my [Creation] began to transform. My [Creation] had the ability to transform into whatever attribute the user wanted and, for Marchos rebirth, I wanted it to be [Light].
I wanted her to be my light.
Originally, all that was left to do was leave it up to luck. However, with my [Creation], it was possible to select the desired future from the countless possible ones.
And so countless futures came and went in my mind. If it was as usual, I would have just picked from the ones that were avable but for this time, I decide to look for more. In reaction to my wish, more oues were produced.
Still not satisfied, I searched for more and, again, more possibilities were presented to me. I did so over and over again until I couldnt process them anymore. I became overloaded with information.
But then, I heard Marchos voice. At that, I reflexively smiled. I wasnt alone in this; Marcho was with me, extending her hand as well. And so, we grabbed the future we wanted and smiled together.
The light that escaped from my closed hand became even more intense, more dazzling than ever before.
I then opened my hand. The light turned into particles, gathered in one ce, and formed a humanoid shape. After a short while the light then stopped.
In its ce was...
A brown-skinned beautiful woman with a white wolfs ears and tail.
Marcho.
Her features remained mostly the same. Originally though, she was a woman that appeared to be in thetter half of her twenties. Right now, however, she looked slightly younger, like a woman in thetter half of her teens.
Also, on the matter of her attire, on her head was a small crown and on her body, she was wearing a snow-white dress.
"And so, Ive be yours. Im in your care now and forevermore, Procell."
Without a doubt, it was truly Marcho.
I then ignored her outstretched hand and hugged her instead.
Seeing that, my and her monsters cheered.
Taking that as a sign of their blessing, we kissed.
In reaction, more cheers erupted.
...it was a little embarrassing, to be honest. The monsters reaction was a bit too much.
Nevertheless, that didnt mean everyone was pleased.
Kuina, Rorono, and Fel all puffed their faces and pouted. Aura, meanwhile, smiled but her eyes did not. Also, Rozelite, the monster I received from [Wind] Demon Lord Sts, had a troubled look on her face.
I guess I got to follow up on themter. First though, we should return to our city. Everything would have to wait until after that. Oh, maybeter I should throw a grand feast and invite [Dragon], [Time], and [Wind]. Itll probably be an eventful and entertaining feast, in more ways than one.
"To Avalon"
It had been only for a short while but it felt like forever to me since I left my home.
Volume 6 prologue
Due to the schemes of the [ck] Demon Lord, Marchos dungeon was put into danger. I had decided to go there and, thankfully, I was able to help her.
Not only were we able to repel the Demon Lords and monsters assaulting her dungeon, we were also able to prolong Marchos nearly ending life via [Rebirth].
For her [Rebirth], I used the [King] medal which was a special medal awarded by the Creator to the [Time] Demon Lord and was then given by him to me.
In addition, I also used my [Creation] medal. Thanks to its ability to let me choose the oue I wanted, Marcho was reborn with her abilities as a Demon Lord still intact.
Due to that and the fact that she became my monster, her dungeon and her subordinate monsters became mine.
At the moment, she was busy reorganizing her dungeon and her fighting force.
The damage her dungeon received in the recent attack wasnt insignificant. The n was for her to take about 3 days to finish reorganizing her dungeon and the chain ofmand of her fighting force before heading out to Avalon.
I was reluctant to part with Marcho but I couldnt be away from Avalon for too long. And so, I led my monsters and began our trip back.
We boarded the gigantic containers that were to be carried by the Darkness Dragons. After some time, wended on the [in] room of my dungeon.
My monsters then exited from the containers, looked toward Avalon, and marveled at it.
"Were finally back."
"As Kuina thought, Avalon is the best!"
"Mhm. Its calming."
"Were finally back. I wanna go to the orchard right away. Im worried about those children. I have to give them lots of care."
I was in the lead and was followed right away by my [Monsters of the Covenant] and each of themKuina the Celestial Fox, Rorono the Elder Dwarf, and Aura the Ancient Elfvoiced their amazements.
I was gone for only nearly a day but I sure missed the ce. It seemed my monsters all felt the same. To each of them, this city was their home where their life and work was.
"Master, I have to repair these children who worked hard."
Rorono was fired up as she carried a big sack which contained many golem cores.
In thest campaign, aside from the ones that carried our trump card, the MOAB, all golems were destroyed.
It was through their efforts acting as our shields that my monsters didnt suffer any casualties.
Even if their bodies were destroyed, so long as the central part of them, their golem cores, were alright, they could be rebuilt.
"Rorono, I know its a lot of work but do your best, okay?"
"Of course, these children are very important to me, after all. ...but theres not enough stock of orichalcum left. I used them up when I made the first batch of Avalon-Ritters. It will probably take time to gather all the necessary orichalcum to fix everyone."
The quality and quantity that could be gotten from a [Mine] was proportional to the strength of the Demon Lord that owned it. In my case, only a small amount of orichalcum could be mined.
The Avalon-Ritters were made using the few orichalcum that we gathered from my dungeon and from Marchos dungeon when I still lived there.
However, that stock was now all gone.
The Mithril Golems aside, it would take a very long time before the Avalon-Ritters could have new bodies again.
But as I am right now...
"Ive gotten stronger from thest war. I think that, maybe, the amount of orichalcum that could be mined have increased. Plus, because we can dig in Marchos dungeon again, we actually have more sources of orichalcum than ever before. So, dont make that face anymore, Rorono."
When Rorono heard me, Rorono brightened up. She cared greatly for the golems and the possibility of repairing them sooner than expected made her happy.
The golems, including the Avalon-Ritters, were an important part of our fighting force. Having them repaired as soon as possible was obviously very beneficial to us.
Next, Id like to give everyone a reward but it seems everyones tired right now.
I thought so and then turned toward my monsters who were all lined up.
"My beloved monsters! Thanks to your efforts, weve won. It is because of all of you that weve managed to seize victory despite the difference in fighting force with the enemies. Most important of all, we managed to return here without losing anyone. I truly am proud of you all. And, everyone, thank you!"
My monsters cheered.
Everyone that had gathered there were the very same individuals as when we left. The fact that we hadnt lost anyone after all those fighting was proof of their tenacity.
"I dont intend on only offering my feelings of gratitude though; I fully intend on giving everyone actual rewards. Save for those who cant be away from their jobs, everyone will have no work for today and for tomorrow. Furthermore, everyone will also be given plenty of bonus money."
When I said so, the monsters cheers grew even louder.
Some monsters even began making ns with the ones they were close with.
My monsters were mostly humanoid monsters and could therefore spend money without issue. As of the moment, Avalon offered various alcohol and cuisines from all over the world so, as long as a monster of mine had money, they would be able to have plenty of fun right here.
For that day and the next, I wanted my monsters to have plenty of rest, lots of fun, and have many opportunities to broaden their horizons.
"I will also be giving special rewards to the two individuals who have contributed greatly to our war efforts: Rlyeh Diva and Rorono. Rlyeh Diva was the one risked her life to guard the other dimension, the one who first joined up with Marchos monsters, and the one who guided us to victory. Whereas, Rorono was the one who developed and gave us both the MOAB and the Avalon-Ritters."
When I announced so, my monsters pushed both Rlyeh Diva, the other world songstress, and Rorono the Elder Dwarf until they were in front of me.
Despite looking somewhat embarrassed, the two still looked delighted and proud.
"First, to you, Rlyeh Diva. Id like to grant you a name. As part of my top brass, I want you to be closer to me from now on."
The moment Rlyeh Diva heard the word name, she smiled from ear to ear.
But she immediately tried to conceal it and act like it wasnt anything impressive.
"W-well, if youre offering, patron, Ill ept. I cant say no, anyway."
She turned away her face but I knew full well that it was only due to her bashfulness.
She might appear rebellious but at her core, she was someone who was diligent and thought about herpanions.
For those reasons, I had decided to give her a name.
"Oh, but forgive me, itll have to wait until next month. I still have to name Wight, the greatest contributor in the war before this. Wight, Ive made you wait quite a long time, havent I, Wight? But rest easy now: in three days, Ill give you your name. Im hoping for your continued service as my right hand man."
The others approved of what I said; none of them objected to him receiving a name.
He was a very popr guy, it seemed.
Actually, I wanted to give him a name much earlier but doing so meant not having ess to my magic power for about a month and a situation where I could afford to lose my magic power hadnte until recently.
As of the moment, the ideal time to give him a name was when I have reunited with Marcho three dayster so that things could settle down. Truth be told though, I would have wanted toplete making another MOAB to serve as our defensive trump card first but Wight obviously took a higher priority than that.
And then, once he has been named and I have gotten my magic power back, I was going to name Rlyeh Diva.
"My thanks, my lord. I dedicate my entire being to you."
Wight, who took on the form of a dragonewt, smiled, saluted, and then said so.
In response, I nodded to him.
Okay, onto the next one.
Rorono had contributed to our efforts time and time again. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that without her, Avalon wouldnt be what it presently was.
"Rorono."
"Mhm."
Rorono triumphantly puffed out her chest.
I found such a gesture to be quite charming.
"Rorono, Ive said this to you before: so long as I can grant it, ask me whatever you wish and I will give it to you. However, you didnt ask for anything back then and still havent. I dont know if its because youre being shy or just being reserved but if I dont give you a reward for your distinguished services this time, my reputation as a Demon Lord would be tainted. So, heres the deal: take a break today and tomorrow and then after that, give me an answer. If you still dont have one by then... Ill give you one thatll make you blush."
"W-wha? Father, what are you talking of?"
Perhaps it was due to her great surprise but she referred to me as Father, a term she used only when she allowed herself to act like sweet child.
"It wont be any fun if I tell you that, will it? If you dont want to risk it, thene up with a reward for yourself, alright?"
Red-faced, she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly.
Meanwhile, the other monsters teased her, making her even redder.
It was such pleasant scene.
Having said so much, I was quite confident that she would eventually ask me for her desired reward without holding back.
I really do want to give her what she wants. Well, now that its settled, theres no more reason to hold everybody here.
"Everyone, your bonus money will be distributedter. So, with that said, let us disband. Enjoy today and tomorrow to the fullest!"
My monsters then produced quite a hubbub as they chatted with each other, making ns on what theyll do for their holiday. Many of them were so excited, they returned to Avalon immediately.
However, among the monsters there, one girl approached me and grabbed my hand.
".........Im looking forward to those more amazing things."
It was the girl with pure-white hair and wolf ears: Fel. The [Time] Demon Lord had entrusted to me this daughter of his but apparently, during my usage of [Awakening] where I wasnt myself, I had carelessly promised her something.
And so, cold sweat ran down my spine.
"Today is fine, right? Fel would like to go to your home tonight so that you can pleasure me more than before."
"Y-yeah, okay, look forward to it."
Intimidated, I thoughtlessly agreed.
"Absolutely!"
With a satisfied look, she nodded and then left.
How do I get out of this? I only have til tonight toe up with something good. In a way, I have to wrack my brain for this than any other battle weve had.
Volume 6 1
I returned to my residence and tackled on the gathered paperwork. I had been gone for only a day but a fair bit of petitions and contracts had been delivered already.
As I was going through those, I thought about the thing with Fel.
It seemed that, while Awakened, I had fondled with her tail and even stole a kiss. Worse, it also seemed that I had promised to do something even more amazing. Normally, going further could only mean one thing.
On the topic of doing such a thing, the question of how to do it floated in my mind.
The easiest would be to [Awaken] and let what would happen, well, happen.
To be frank, I did not have any experience whatsoever on such things. My Awakened self might have been able to toy around with Fel but for my normal self, such things were of course impossible.
"But no, I cant do such a thing. Obviously."
And so, I expelled such thoughts from my head.
Alright, Ill just pleasure her as though Im pleasuring Kuina. She is Kuinas younger sister so shell most probably love that too.
After doing the gathered paperwork, I wrote letters for [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian, [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth, and [Wind] Demon Lord Sts.
What I wrote about were the details of the previous campaign.
I wrote about Marcho being reborn via [Rebirth] but then, I left out the part about my proposal to her.
Actually, [Time] and [Dragon] probably already knew everything that was in my letter but still, considering that they helped, it was my obligation to properly report to them about what happened.
After I finished writing about all that, I mentioned that I was going to hold a feast three dayster and that they shoulde if they were able to. I also asked, in the case they could not make it to the feast, when it would be most convenient time for them to attend and be given a better report and a better thanks.
I suggested a feast because I felt that it was important to have everyone be together in one ce.
In the letter addressed to [Time], I wrote that Fel was well, whereas in the letter addressed to [Wind], I wrote that Rozelitte and her powers were incredibly useful.
Once I was finished, I had the letters be delivered by the blue bird that Sts had entrusted to me.
Pretty soon, we will have to say goodbye to Rozelitte and Fel.
I thought so and felt a little lonely. Parting with Fel was going to be particrly sad since she had made such good friends with Kuina and the others. They will be pretty sad about saying good bye to her too, I thought.
But then again, not having Fel by our side and missing her, [Time] was also on that same boat. And so, I decided to send her off with a smile instead.
I then released the blue bird to sky. And now, I wait for their answers.
Sometimeter, I crossed paths with a blue bird and it had delivered a letter from the [Dragon] Demon Lord.
Written in it were things about the Demon Lords that had attacked Marcho.
The ringleader, the [ck] Demon Lord, had received the [Dragon] Demon Lords assault and then retreated to the inner most part of his dungeon and fortified his defense. In addition, it seemed like the humans who followed that Demon Lords religion were incited by the assault and thus were preparing for an assault of their own against the [Dragon] Demon Lords dungeon.
The [Dragon] Demon Lord had written that he had no intentions of falling to some humans so I didnt have to worry. Still though, in case he needed some assistance, I was going to help.
Aside from the [ck] Demon Lord, six other Demon Lords participated in attacking Marcho. One of them had led a charge against Avalon but was killed by the [Time] Demon Lord who was protecting my Avalon. Meanwhile, another two of the six were killed in the explosion of the MOAB.
It seemed that the dungeons of those three in Demon Lords, devoid of a leader and proper chain ofmand, were unable to offer any decent resistance and had their crystals broken by the Demon Lords in the [Dragon] Demon Lords faction.
As for the three surviving Demon Lords, it seemed they managed to return to their dungeons and defended it. As for how, apparently, when things were turning sour for them, they immediately pulled out all their forces from their Marchos dungeon and diverted it all to the defense of their own dungeon.
The fact that the ringleader and half of his performers were, at the moment, alive and well wasnt very good news since they could attack Avalon at any time.
I had to prepare for any attack at any time but considering Marchos monsters were now under mymand, I thought it wouldnt be that hard.
Plus, I remembered about the two Demon Lords that were killed. While I was in an Awakened state, I was able to use the unique skills of any Demon Lord I had in.
For example, I was made awarest time that I could use [Evil]s ability to make female monsters pregnant and thus create new monsters. I had no intention whatsoever of using such an ability in my lifetime but then, the abilities of the two I had just killed were another matter.
I still didnt know what the new abilities were though and whether they could be a war potential. I wanted to try them out but I was anxious on using [Awakening] and losing myself again. I guess I need to do some special training with it while having Kuina and the others watch over me.
"Okay, thats enough for now."
I said so out loud and rotated my shoulder.
Im beat. It seems my monsters were too but I personally am tired from thest war. I guess Ill go take a breather and walk around the city.
In the shops of Avalon, my monsters were having more fun than usual in their shopping.
It seemed that the bonus money they received had loosened their purse strings.
This wasnt the first time my monsters contributed to the local economy though. In fact, through the sries they received for their work, they did so regrly.
I was able to give them sries thanks to the silver coins made from the unused silver from my [Mine]. The bonus money also came from there.
"Ah! Oto-san, here!"
"Master, this way."
Kuina and Fel waved their hands at me and invited me toe over. Each ones taila fox tail for Kuina and a wolf tail for Felwere swinging energetically. Seeing them like this, they looked nothing but true sisters.
The two were munching on some meat skewers which was Kuinas favorite.
If I wasnt mistaken, themb was softened and marinated on yogurt, spiced to remove any unwanted smell, and then grilled. Considering that its price was reasonable, it tasted good, and there were plenty on one order, I too liked it.
"Oto-san, say AHH"
Kuina said so and then brought a skewer near my mouth. In response, I smiled wryly as I opened my mouth. When I did so... another skewer was thrusted upon me.
"Eat Fels too."
The meat were cut intorge portions so when they both tried to feed me, my mouth became full and I found it hard to just chew.
Nevertheless, spitting them out was a big no so I powered through and chewed.
"T-thank you. Its delicious."
I said so and patted both Kuina and Fels heads. Their fox ears and wolf ears felt pleasant to touch.
"Yay ?"
"Yeah, thats right, be grateful."
Kuina and Fel said different things but they were both pleased.
"The two of you are going around and trying out the food, right?"
"Yup! Actually, we invited Rorono-chan and Aura-chan too but they said they had something to do and went ahead to the workshop and the orchard."
Kuina looked somewhat lonely as she said so.
What those two were doing while they were away was probably on her mind.
"I see. Then, can I go around with you? Im in the mood for some good food."
"Yeah, absolutely! ?"
Kuina took my left hand and, when upon seeing that, Fel took my right.
And so, there I was, with a beautiful girl in each arm.
Looking at me like that, the citizens of Avalon began to whisper among themselves.
I was sure it was just my imagination but I thought I heard the words The Great Lolicon Demon Lord.
After all, the humans that lived in Avalon had no idea that I was a Demon Lord and also, I was most definitely not a lolicon.
The three of us together, we came to nearby bar where tables and chairs wereid outside, ready to hold meetings and celebrations.
And there, we found Rlyeh Diva and the Ocean Singers drinking merrily.
They had bravely ordered a cask full of alcohol and pretty much the entire menu. Enjoying their drinks and food, they were making quite an uproar. It seemed like they were the rowdy sort, with the sound of theirughter resounding in the air.
"Ah, Patron! Come! Kuina and Fel,e over here too. Weve ordered a lot of delicious food, see!"
Rlyeh Diva noticed us and heartily called out to us.
When I looked at Kuina and Fel, their eyes were already on the delicious-looking food and their mouths watering.
Like that, we epted the invitation.
"Then, I guess well partake."
"It looks so delicious"
"I know, right?"
While swinging their tail energetically, Kuina and Fel rushed onto the table.
The Ocean Singers, looking and acting like they were the older sisters, pampered the two and offered them food after food. Both parties, the ones being fed and the ones offering the food, were in great delight.
Considering that Kuina had grown, it might have been weird to see the Ocean Singers treating her like so but to them, she would always be that little Kuina.
"Patron, here, drink, drink"
I, in a table slightly separated from the group, was sitting opposite of Rlyeh Diva.
"Yeah, thanks."
The alcohol offered in this shop was wine made from grapes.
Before, these were outrageously expensive and hard to get but after the air transport via the Hippogriffs, they became cheap and easily obtainable.
Perhaps it was because of the shopkeepers taste but despite my drink being a young wine, it had a very deep vor. It was good wine.
"I really wondered if I was going to die this time. Patron, you ask for too much."
"Sorry about that. Ive depended too much on you and Im reflecting on that. Some of the things Im thinking about is increasing our fighting force on the other dimension. No matter what though, I wont let you be in such an unreasonable situation again."
"Oh, thats what I was going to request so I have no issues."
I smiled wryly at that.
We then drank our drinks together and having finished it, we poured another.
"Say, Patron."
"What is it, Rlyeh Diva?"
"Make my name cute and not uncool, okay?"
"Yeah, dont worry about it. Im quite confident in my naming sense, you know? Kuina, Rorono, and Aura are happy with their names, right?"
"They are but if its them, so long as its a name they got from you, patron, theyll be happy. But then again, who am I to me them? ...Ah, no, scratch that, Im not being myself. This is not my character!"
She said so while swinging her head and her blue hair in denial.
Such a reaction was unusual for her.
Like so, we chatted idly.
When I noticed it, even the Wight and Dwarf Smith couple and Kohaku the Byakko had joined the drinking party.
Hey, wait a minute! Did Wight just say theyve made a child together!? A child? They made one? I know its not impossible and depends on thepatibility between races but still, the dragon race truly are impressive.
"Geez, are you that bored talking with me that you keep on looking away?"
"Its not that. Here, lets drink some more"
For a moment, I thought I saw Rlyeh Diva look upset but maybe it was just the effects of the alcohol.
When Wight says something like that, its only natural for that to grab ones attention, right?
I argued so in my head but in my experience, such a reply would only make her unnecessarily angry. And so, I just obediently apologized andplied.
After that, Rlyeh Diva livened up and then put on a serious face.
"Say, patron, you know, before, I thought you were weird in a lot of ways. But now, I think Im quite fortunate to have you as my patron. If ever I was created by a different Demon Lord, I think I probably wont be able to smile,ugh, and even drink like this with everyone."
Rlyeh Diva said so as she tenderly looked at the Ocean Singers as well as Kuina and Fel.
"Really?"
"Really. So, to thank you for that, Ill be singing a special song dedicated to only you, my patron."
After saying so, she stood up and began singing.
It was a gentle, calming song.
The fatigue I felt from the previous fight seemed to have vanished. It was as though the sea had drowned my stress.
I had heard her sing before but her songs usually were more upbeat, more energizing.
After hearing this song, I was sure that this was the song of the true and without-pretense Rlyeh Diva.
Everyone kept silent and listened to her song. There were no noise, no distractions, only the sound of her song.
It was so moving, so powerful that it gave such an impression.
And then, after a while, the song ended. Right when it did though, it was reced by the thunderous sound of apuse.
"How is it? My song, I mean."
"It was the best. Id like to hear it again."
"If you say it like that, theres no helping it then, right? Ill sing it to you again. While were in bed."
"Hey!"
In reaction to Rlyeh Divas joke, the surroundings went into an uproar.
Kuina and Fel in particr made their face swell and marched toward us. I tried to pacify the two and even handed Kuina some wine, saying that it was alright considering she was an adult now.
I enjoyed the drinking party for a little while more and then headed back home.
I was doing some left over work in my room when I heard a knock on the door.
So, the time has finallye.
"Iming in. Master, Im here for my reward."
The one that came was the thin-nightdress-wearing Fel.
I felt dizzy. As though I had just spent a long time in a hot spring.
Theres no escaping now.
"d you came, Fel. Im going to reward you plenty."
While swinging her tail, Fel leapt into my chest.
I prepared myself to give her her reward and then smiled and extended my hand toward her.
Volume 6 2
That night, Fel the Celestial Wolf turned up in my room.
She acted hesitant and embarrassed.
As for me, I had already decided on how I would respond to her and her request.
"Sit here, Fel."
"Y-yes."
I sat on the bed and encouraged her to sit beside me.
Her face was red, her head was down, and her hands were on herp. She must be really nervous, I thought.
When I tapped her on the shoulder, she twitched and her whole body trembled.
"Master, today, I want you to pleasure me a lot. I want you to be rough like you were before."
Fel looked at me with teary eyes.
Upon seeing that, I thought just what did I put her up to when I lost myself!?
Like that, cold sweat ran through my spine.
Well, whatever. Ill just pleasure in mythe usual mesway.
"Yeah, Ill pleasure you lots."
I said so and then pushed down Fels small body into the bed.
With me hanging over her, I then grabbed her white wolf-tail.
She wore a thin nightdress so her figure was quite clear but still, for someone that had an appearance of a thirteen year old, she was unusually alluring.
"Hyau"
Having her sensitive tail touched, she issued out a strange voice.
Afterwards, I brushed her tail gently to tease her.
"Ok, here I go."
Upon saying so, I applied an ample amount of a certain sticky liquid into my hand and reached for her tail with said hand. It was a special something I had prepared for Fel.
"Hyaa! Its cold. And so sticky."
"Ill apply a lot of it, okay?"
I did as I told her and applied that substance up to the base of her tail.
"Its weird. Its so weird. My tail, it feels so hot all of a sudden."
"Its not weird. This will make you feel good."
Regarding what I was applying to her at the moment, it was top quality shampoo.
It smelled good, slightly warmed the body, and even had medicinal effects.
It wasnt just for hygiene, it was also for wellness.
Apparently it was a very popr item from a certain vige where a lot of fox beastmen lived. Because beastmen regarded it as one of the best gifts that could be given to them, merchants had stocked up on it. And because it was a favorite of Kuinas, I had some stock of it as well.
After rubbing a fair amount, her tail started to bubble.
The secret to proper shampooing was to firmly wash the root of the furs.
"No, ahh, this is making me weak, dont, hyaa"
For a while now, warm and long breaths had been escaping from Fel.
My fingertips unconsciously remembered Fels good spots and involuntarily applied stronger stimulus on them with.
Even though my mind had forgotten what happened while I was in an Awakened state, it would seem that my body did not. Like that, Fel, whose weak spots were being continuously attacked, quickly became even more alluring.
No, stop, doing this much almost made me feel weird. Im not a lolicon and this is just me shampooing her tail.
I thought so as I tried to calm down.
"I think thats enough scrubbing. Im going to rinse it with water now, okay?"
"Yeah, okay."
While still on the bed, I used water magic and washed her tail. Water magic surely was convenient. With it, I was able to make a ball of water float and wash Fels tail using that water without making the bed wet.
Once finished with rinsing off the shampoo, I then dried her tail using fire magic.
Aura might have overwhelming control over wind but another of her strong points was her ability to use the magic of another two of the four great elementsnamely earth and water. So, when she and Kuina became my [Monster of the Covenant], I became capable of using all four.
"Look, Fel, your tails all clean and pretty now."
"Ye-yesh"
"But were not done yet."
I smiled and then took out a brush.
Fels tail was already nice and pretty with just the shampoo and the drying but not brushing it would be just like having a meal without a dessert: kind of iplete.
"What is that?"
"This is a tool to make you feel good."
"Feel good? More than I already am?"
"Yup, definitely."
Fel, half excited and half afraid, asked such a question to which I replied in the affirmative.
Next, I briefly ran my fingers on her fur to fingerb it and was met with some resistance in the form of a few tangled furs. Yeah, brushing should be done, I said to myself as I applied the brush.
The benefits of brushing were plenty: besides making the fur glossier, cleaner and less prone to entangle foreign objects, it also served as a massage which promoted a better cirction of the blood.
A brushing of a master could be deemed as pleasure. So much so that a big dog that had experienced such a pleasure would wag its tail and rush over as fast as it could just by seeing a brush being waved in the air.
Considering how Kuina had repeatedly asked me to do it for her, I was quite confident in my own brushing skills to the point that I could honestly say that I was close to that level of mastery.
Upon contact with the brush, Fels body trembled.
"Master, I feel nice and warm all over."
Unlike a while ago, I wasnt being rough on applying pressure to her weak spots. In fact, I was being thoroughly gentle in pleasuring her tail.
Fel became rxed and all strength left her body. She had entrusted her whole self to me.
"How is it? Do you feel good?"
"I feel too good. I feel like my bodys going to melt."
"d to hear that, then. Itll be over soon."
I continued to brush her tail until every nook and cranny was taken care of. And then, I ran my fingers through her fur again. Only this time, it was not met with any resistance at all.
"Its finished. Go look at the mirror over there."
I said so and then pointed to the mirror in the corner of the room.
"Woahhh. My tails so glossy and pretty. Amazing! Its like a princesss tail."
Seeing her now glossy and well-groomed tail, Fel issued out a voice of amazement.
She then turned around and told me to look at her tail.
"This is your reward. Do you like it?"
"Yeah, thank you! I like my tail like this!"
She replied so and then repeatedly swung her white tail.
Phew, d she liked it.
"But master, this is a little bit different from what I imagined. When I get the chance to be awarded again, can my reward be to have the ck master be rough with me?"
"...lets cross that bridge when we get there."
With a stiff face, I vaguely answered Fels question and then patted her on the head.
I thought there wouldnt be much need to worry. After all, whether the [Time] Demon Lord came to the feast or, in case he couldnt make it, I came over to his dungeon, Fel was going to return to his side and thus, there could no longer be a chance for her to earn a reward from me.
"Alright, thats a promise!"
"Yeah, it is."
Fel nodded in return. But then, after a while, she joined the tips of her fingers together in front of her chest and began to fidget with them as though she was hesitant to say something.
"Fel, is there something youd like to say?"
"Ahm, can I ask one selfish request? ...if possible, Id like to meet with the ck form of master right now. You dont have to do anything; I just want to see it."
Whether I agreed or not, I still needed to check the new abilities I got from the in Demon Lords.
It therefore didnt make much sense to deny her request.
The problem, however, was the possibility that I might do something weird while in that form.
I was able to control myself the first time so maybe, with the calm state of mind I have right now, things will be alright.
As I thought of such, Fel looked at me with eyes full of expectations.
Haa, cant be helped. Ill grant this wish of hers as a parting gift.
"Alright. But just for a little bit. And I wont do anything. Okay?"
"Okay!"
Upon hearing it, Fels eyes sparkled.
And so, I Awakened.
I felt a bundle of heat gather on my back and in the next moment, my four wings emerged. Concurrently, a horn also grew on my head. After those transformations, a sense of omnipotence welled up within me as this power dyed my heart ck.
My consciousness began to fade and I felt sleepy... I closed my eyes as my other self opened his.
"Kyaa! ck master! Oh that cold stare!"
Hugging me like this, shes acting too familiar. Its irritating. It seems that after all that education, she still doesnt know her ce. If education isnt enough, punishment is in order. Yeah, lets discipline her as though shes just a dog.
I woke up and found Fel sleeping soundly by my side. She was hugging my arm while looking so happy.
I then tried to remember the rest of yesterdays events.
Fel and I were both clothed so that was one less worry.
After some more effort, I remembered some things. First was that I was able to aplish my goal of ascertaining the nature of the abilities I got from the two Demon Lords I had killed.
Great, Ive remembered them properly. They will certainly be useful tools.
If I made use of those abilities, Avalons war potential would surely double. Individually, they werent particrly strong abilities but together, they transformed.
They werent abilities I could afford to ignore. Even with all the risks, I have to learn to control [Awakening].
As for what happened with Fel, it seemed like it went just fine and that I somehow remained rational.
I remembered that upon transforming, I only talked with her and then proceeded to go to sleep. I didnt recall anything else so I probably didnt do anything weird.
"Fel looks so happy."
When I looked at Fels adorable face, I found it regrettable to part with her.
"Father... Fels... doing her best..."
The moment I thought of such, I heard Fel talking in her sleep.
Her words snapped me back to reality. In all likelihood, she probably preferred it more to return to the [Time] Demon Lords side rather stay by mine.
As I pondered on it, she began to scrub her eyes.
"Mnnya. Morning, master."
Maybe it was because she wasnt a morning person but she made a ratherx face. It was adorable.
After three minutes or so, she returned to her usual self. ...or so I thought. There was something odd about her. Before I coulde up with an answer, she put both hands on her suddenly red cheek and shook her head.
"Master, thank you for giving me lots and lots of love yesterday!!"
"Im d you liked it."
"As I thought, a slightly wicked Demon Lord is so cool!"
Fel remarked so as she energetically swung her tail.
She seemed to have made her mind about it after yesterdays shampooing and brushing.
Suddenly, a blue bird entered from the window.
In its leg were letters which were surely replies to the message I had sent.
"Fel, it says here that the [Time] Demon Lord will be participating in the feast."
"Wow, Fathersing here!?"
There was undeniable joy in her voice.
As I thought, she truly loved him.
In reaction to her words, I smiled and then stroked her head.
There was also a letter from Marcho and she wrote that she could attend the feast as well. Aside from that good news, she had mentioned another one which would most probably make Rorono happy.
Okay, Ive finished giving Fel her reward. Next up will be to give Rorono hers. Has she decided on one though? Alright, Ill go check on that while also telling her of Marchos good news.
I parted with Fel and headed for Roronos workshop.
Just like with me, her workshops workload had piled up during her absence. There were also the tasks of repairing the golems and firearms that were broken in the most recent fight as well as replenishing our stock of bullets.
If it were just normal bullets, I could replenish our stocks myself through my [Creation] but since the ones we used were special bullets like mithril and orichalcum bullets, it was necessary that she be the one to make them.
She was just too serious. Even if I said that it could be der, she probably wouldnt rest until a minimum amount had been done.
However, there was something quite depressing in only one person not taking a day off. And so, I had decided to give a separate day off to her sometime in the future. If she still refused to take a break then, perhaps amand to go with me on a trip would do the trick.
In the chance that a trip was what she wanted as her reward, I nned on taking her along in a gourmet tour.
Shes quite the glutton so she should like that.
As I thought of such, I entered the workshop.
"Rorono-sama, youre being too reserved if all you ask for is to be patted in the head! Be bolder! A woman has to be brave!"
"Yeah, yeah. Learn from that girl; she already has a child in tummy, see?"
"Youre not gonna lose to her and Wight-sama, right?"
"Thats it. I have a good idea for your reward. Why dont you ask Procell-sama to give you a baby?"
"""Oh yeah!"""
Roronos subordinates, the Dwarf Smiths, surrounded her and were teasing her.
As for Rorono herself, her white skin was totally red and her head was hung low.
Such was most probably the result of her asking them for advice regarding her reward.
...but, of course, a baby was out of the question. I intended to grant her only what one would grant their daughter.
"Rorono, are you here?"
I loudly said so. When I did, Rorono and the Dwarf Smiths all looked in my direction. After seeing me, the Dwarf Smiths then hurriedly returned to their workstations, leaving Rorono behind.
Its probably better to pretend I didnt hear their conversation just now.
"What can I do for you today, master?"
"I came here to know whether or not youve decided on what kind of reward you want."
The Dwarf Smiths then pricked up their ears and listened closely.
Rorono, with her face still red, said the next words with a trembling voice:
"Father, I want a baby."
Youre going with that!?
I felt my face stiffen. Meanwhile, the Dwarf Smiths squealed in glee.
"Is that a no?"
With upturned eyes, Rorono whispered so.
"Yeah, its a no."
"Is it because you dislike me?"
Anxiety in her eyes, she looked at me.
"No, its because Demon Lords cant produce children. Ive told you Ill grant whatever wish you want so long as Im able to do it but, sorry, this is one of the wishes that I cant grant."
"Mhm, okay. A pity."
"Moreover, even if I could, I wont do that to you, my daughter. Its not that I dislike you, but rather its because I love you."
Depending on theirpatibilities, monsters could reproduce with their fellow monsters. However, the same couldnt be said about Demon Lords; whether it be with fellow Demon Lords or with monsters, we just didnt have the capability to reproduce.
...that was technically the truth. The exception, however, was the [Evil] Demon Lord and his ability, [Mating]. And now that I had absorbed his abilities, I too was very much capable of producing an offspring.
I chose to stay silent though; believing there was no need to bring it up.
"Understood. Ill think of another wish then. Ill have it ready before the day ends."
A bit of sadness could be heard in her voice as she said so.
"Thanks. Oh, one more thing: I have good news. Marcho said that she had collected all the bodies of the broken golems within her dungeon. Ive already sent a group of Darkness Dragons and Mythological Foxes to retrieve them."
For monsters, after a certain amount of time upon death, their corpses would turn into blue particles of light that would then soon vanish. For golems though, considering they were ultimately just creatures of magic and spells, their bodies didnt vanish.
That meant that so long as their base form was still intact, their bodies could be recovered at ater time.
"That..."
"Yeah. It might not be enough for everything but weve got enough to fix the golems."
"Im so d! I can now repair those children sooner."
Full of joy in her voice, Rorono said so as she embraced me.
Thinking that she truly did love those golems, I smiled wryly.
When the Darkness Dragons arrive, Ill make them deliver the recovered bodies to her immediately.
However, as her father, I wanted her to think more about herself. The reason I wanted her to think of her own reward this time was to make her herself know what she really wanted.
I talked with everyone for a little while and then left the room.
I had work ahead of me. Distinguished Demon Lords wereing in response to my invitation and for that, preparations must be done to ensure Avalon could wee them as best we could.
Volume 6 3
I left Roronos workshop and then attended to the preparations for the feast.
I contacted Conanna, the head of the Conanna Company which was biggestpany in Avalon, and entrusted him to take care of all the details of the feast.
I told him to provide the best wee possiblethat would be appreciated even by a nobleregardless of the cost. Additionally, I had instructed him to put emphasis on Avalons greatest feature: the various wonderful goods from all over the world that had gathered here.
Conanna was a talented merchant. Even if the only thing given to him were the requirements, he would still deliver ster results. With him, I was confident he would assemble the best chefs and the best cuisines possible. Even the shops probably would be great.
I was confident in my own cooking and initially thought of serving my own food but then decided to just leave it to professionals.
I had also asked Aura the Ancient Elf to prepare special wines and sherbets that were made using the golden apples, a first ss delicacy that could only be obtained here in Avalon. The delivery of these additions had already been shared with Conanna.
I wanted to replenish our stock of golden appleswhich were all used up in the previous waras soon as possible but more than that, I wanted to properly host the people who had cooperated with me in that war.
Other than those, I also thought of making a few reservations on this citys recreational facilities.
This was finally the chance for them toe to Avalon and it would be kind of a waste if their visit ended with just a meal.
Okay, lets do this efficiently. The feast is only two days from now.
The preparations were basically finished.
When I casually looked up at the sky, I saw the Darkness Dragons and the containers they carried getting closer.
"Theyre here, huh."
I had previously made a group of Mythological Foxes and Darkness Dragons go to Marchos Dungeon to pick up the broken down bodies of the golems and it would seem they had finished doing so.
Good timing. Ill go meet with them and tell them to deliver the package to Roronos workshop right away. Im quite certain shes eagerly waiting for them.
A little while after I began waiting around the gates of Avalon, the Mythological Foxes arrived riding on golem carriages.
Although all of the golems for fighting perished in the previous war, the golems for transportation services in the city were left behind and thus were still functional.
When I saw the Mythological Foxes, there was sense of difort in them. They were strangely and considerably tense and the expression on their face tense.
"Good work, Mythological Foxes."
I greeted the two that were driving the coach like so and they bowed back.
After waiting for them to calm down, I then instructed them to deliver the package to Roronos workshop.
They nodded and then spoke.
"Certainly. We will deliver it right away. Also, theres something we have to tell you."
Its probably going to be the reason why theyre tense.
"Speak."
"A guest hase."
"A guest?"
I had a bad feeling on who that was. Or rather, there really was only one person to think of. Only one person who could make the Mythological Foxes so tense after going to Marchos dungeon.
When I looked at whats behind the Mythological Foxes driving the coach, I unexpectedly saw the face of a beautiful woman.
She had: white hair; white wolf-ears; white wolf-tail; beautiful brown skin; a small crown on the top of her head; an elegant white dress; and the appearance of woman in herte teens.
It was the reborn [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias.
Through [Rebirth], she became one of my monsters. As such, I was able to see her status regardless of level. And so, I confirmed her status again.
Race: Wise Wolf Monarch Managarm
Rank: S
Name: N/A
Level: 90
Physical Strength: S+
Endurance: S+
Agility: S+
Magic: S+
Luck: S+
Special: EX
Skills:
Demon Lord Powers
Goddess of the Moon
Beast-God Transformation
King of Beasts
Nullification of All Magic
Precognition
The Creators Mockery
The three medals used for her Rebirth were: [Beast God], the medal she transformed into; [Monarch], a powerful medal that could only be obtained from the Creator as a reward; and [Creation], which had the ability to conduct Synthesis with three medals instead of the usual two as well as ability to allow the user, in this case me, to choose the best possibility from an infinite number of possibilities.
A very powerful monster could be made just by using any three medals but she was reborn using three medals that each exceeded even normal A rank original medals.
And so, the result was that she was undoubtedly strong. All of her stats were at least S+. Her level was 90 which was the highest possible level even for an S rank monster that could level up.
Not to mention, each of her skills was strong too.
Demon Lord Powers: While the skill holder is a monster, they also have the qualities of a Demon Lord.
Goddess of the moon: the power of the goddess who presides over the moon. By receiving the light of the moon, the skill holder is able to receive a supply of magic from the temple of the moon as well as bonuses (maximum) to all their stats. Moreover, it allows the deployment of moonlight barriers as well as moon magic, a special type of magic.
Beast God Transformation: the ability to transform into a beast god. Physical Strength, Endurance, and Agility are increased by two ranks. Alongside that are various other bonuses.
King of Beasts: absolute dominance over beast-type monsters. This skill provides bonuses to all beast-type monsters on the same dungeon room as the skill holder.
Nullification of All Magic: magic of all types are rendered null.
Precognition: this skill makes it possible to see a few moments into the future. Utmost concentration is required while using this skill.
The Creators Mockery: the price for achieving power beyond the norm. Under certain conditions, this skill will cause ruin to befall both the skill holder and their master. Additionally, there is a small chance that the skill holder could break free from the rule of their master. The deeper the bond of the master and the monster, the harder it is for such things to happen.
The Wise Wolf Monarch who could use both the Goddess of the Moon and Beast God Transformation together with their abnormal base stats could exhibit a fighting prowess that nigh invincible.
In my opinion, it would take at least a perfectly armed group of Kuina, Rorono, Aura, and Wight to even have a chance of winning. It would only be until Fel and Rlyeh Divawho could provide support from the other dimensionjoins the fight that there could be a 50% chance of winning.
"Procell, dont stare at me that much. Its embarrassing, you know."
Marcho put her arms around her body and issued out such aint.
Shes teasing me again.
"Marcho, youve be so strong that it feels like its cheating. If you wanted to, you can storm a dungeon alone and break the crystal within."
She was that strong.
The ultimate one-man army.
"Yeah, I was surprised too. Im stronger now than when I was a Demon Lord. But Procell, lets not be overconfident, okay? For one thing, my greatest strength, the Goddess of the Moon, cant be used inside dungeons."
The weak point of the skill Goddess of the Moon was that it could not be activated in ces where there were no moonlight.
But then again, there was her moonlight barrier. This barrier made an area be connected to the moon regardless of time or distance, thus making it possible to forcibly acquire the power of the moon.
The magic power consumption was severe though so the Goddess of the Moon could probably be used like this for only about two minutes.
Not that there is any monster that canst for two minutes against Marcho right now.
"Yeah but still, youre so strong, I cant do anything butugh. There should be a rank higher than S rank thats all for you."
S rank was the highest rank.
If a monsters power exceeded a certain amount, it was deemed an S rank. Considering this, there were definitely going to be disparities between the strength of S rank monsters. She, as a Wise Wolf Monarch Managarm, was certainly on the high end of S rank. So much so that I felt she exceeded it.
At any rate, there was something I couldnt ignore.
"I dont mean to nag but dont rely on me too much, okay? After all, theres also that obvious trap."
"...The Creators Mockery is quite worrying, isnt it?"
The price for power outside the norm.
It was just a guess but that skill was most probably the unknown skill in Wights status when he was reborn into a ck Dragon of Death Siegwurm.
"Yeah. But you know what bothers me about it? Its that this isnt quite like the Creator."
"I think its an ability thats quite like the Creator though."
The Creator was a rascal who enjoyed torturing us Demon Lords.
"Letting us know only half of the information, which is the harm that it will cause, truly is like the Creator but things cant be this simple. This seems to me just a decoy to hide its true purpose."
Now that she mentions it, a trap that gets revealed by unlocking the skill through leveling up is too generous.
"I see what you mean. Another scary thing is that all thats stated is under certain conditions. What if those conditions are something unavoidable like eating? If so, that persons really got such an awful character, doesnt he?"
The anxiety of needing to be cautious of whatever I do was immeasurable but if that was the price for saving Marcho, it was something I would dly bear.
"I think you can rest easy on that. While I agree that that persons horrible, the trigger shouldnt be something mundane like thinkingand just thinkingof something horrible. I believe it will be something that you will truly and deeply regret doing despite avoiding the consequences. But, so long as you stay as you are, I think youll be just fine."
"As long as I stay as I am? Okay, Ill take care to do that. And I guess Ill hold off on relying on you until we have full information on this."
I vowed to myself to never lose sight of who I was.
"Yeah, thats a good attitude to take. After all, if you rely on me, you and your monsters wouldnt be able to grow. ......speaking of growth, lets do some special training right now."
Marcho said so, grabbed me by the scruff of my neck, and then dragged me away from Avalon.
To the Mythological Foxes, she just waved her hand at them and told them to return to their duties.
"Wait, what do you mean special training???"
This is bad. Shes too strong; I cant resist.
I could have issued out amand and, through my power as her Demon Lord, she would have been forced to obey but then, that would be in vition of my own set of principles.
"Youve used [Awakening], right? That power is more frightening than you think so I was thinking that I, as your predecessor, should teach you how to use it."
"Im very grateful but cant we do it some other day? Like the day after the feast, for example."
Yeah, I do need to learn how to use it but it doesnt have to be today.
"Nope. This is best done sooner rather thanter. Do you know why I came here before my dungeon has been fully reorganized? Well, let me tell you. Its because my eyes here in Avalon told me that they sensed your [Awakening] being used."
"It was on the request of a subordinate monster of mine so I had to use it."
Thanks to that, I was able to make Fel immensely pleased. And seeing the results, I didnt think using [Awakening] again for Fels sake was such a bad thing.
"I was surprised, you know. I was like, does he want to die? I think this the first Ive heard of Demon Lord who used [Awakening] for such nonsense. Or is your intention to make me a widow right after youve extended my life?"
Her tone was soft but it also had unyielding force.
Also, for some reason, she was puffing her cheeks in an intense manner.
"What are you getting so angry for?"
"Ill say this just in case it pops into your head but this has nothing to do with jealousy; I am not worried at all about being upstaged by such a little girl. I am just genuinely worried about you."
"Then exin what you are worried about so that I can understand."
"Okay, simply put, as things are, you will cease to exist. I was convinced when I heard it from Kuina and the others but, Procell, it seems youre fundamentally mistaken about [Awakening]: it doesnt create another personality within you or anything like that."
"It doesnt?"
When I used [Awakening], I felt a dark me raging within, swallowing my own consciousness.
I had thought that to be another personality.
"Nope, it doesnt. [Awakening], you see, only brings out to the surface your base self which doesnt listen to reason and which desires for things. Well, its also the part of you that wants to have fun but nheless, it is undeniably all been a part of you from the start."
"...youve got to be kidding"
Thats impossible. Theres no way that Im like my dark self who lust for blood or Kuina and Fel.
"Im not. Those are what you desire from the bottom of your heart. Well, everyone has a dark side and I can understand the feeling of not wanting to recognize that as a part of yourself."
"I dont want to believe you."
I did not think of myself as a saint but I was certainly not that awful either.
"But please do. The problem, see, is in not recognizing that part of yourself. Thats not me, thats different person, you might think. While one might argue that that is a good technique to return to your normal self, in truth, thats nothing more than denying who you are. Because of that, youll end up denying that part of yourself over and over again, until eventually, you do have two distinct personalities within you. And when that happens, those two personalities will sh until only one is left to fully control the body, even when Awakening is not in effect."
Im going to be erased by my dark self?? Thats my fate? I cant deny that it feels likely though.
"The important thing here is that you recognize your dark side. Imagine it as a mask, if it helps. Upon recognizing that part of yourself, you will learn to control even those dark emotions. Anyone who can master this can be called a very capable Demon Lord. Well, at any rate, lets try it out. You dont have to worry; if you get out of hand, I can simply knock you out."
I didnt want to believe it but to be strong, I had no choice but to ept my predecessors words.
"Alright, Ill believe you. Im going to confront my own emotions and master them."
Ok, Ill do it, I thought to resolve myself.
For maximum safety, I had the option of simply not using [Awakening] ever again. However, that wasnt a real solution; it was only running away from the problem. To be on the path of growing stronger, I had to face the risks. Otherwise, I could never be the strongest Demon Lord.
Now, to activate [Awakening]. Marcho said shell watch over me so there should be nothing to worry about.
My goal this time wasnt only to master [Awakening], but also to test out [Necrosis], an ability that I recently obtained from killing the [Bow] Demon Lord Leraje.
This was an ability that the [Bow] Demon Lord used to make the wounds caused by each of his forces arrows to rot and be harder to heal.
And now, I too could use such an ability. If I applied it to all the bullets that my monsters would fire and thus cause the wounds they would inflict to rot, their offensive capabilities they could cause would surely rise.
Each bullet would turn into an certain death bullet.
"[Awakening]"
I recited the words of power and made my dark self manifest before Marcho.
Now,e. Ill conquer even my dark side to be a stronger Demon Lord.
TL: I changed [King] to [Monarch]. Aside from gender neutrality, it just sounds better to me.
Volume 6 4
While under the supervision of Marcho, I activated [Awakening] in order to master it.
Shortly thereafter, four ck wings and a horn then emerged.
"Khh"
I let out a strange voice.
It was happening again: something fiendish was raging within me.
This had always been the case when I used Awakening.
I wanted to destroy everything, to indulge in them, and to desecrate them.
Having sensed my dark self, I tried to suppress the impulses that were rushing in. Try as I might though, I felt my consciousness fading away rapidly. As the world turned dark, the desire to rage as much as I wanted grew.
Marcho said that this is my other side but I dont want to believe that. Of course this isnt me, theres no way this is me!
"Procell, no, not like that. What youre doing is the same as before: youre forcibly suppressing those emotions. If you keep on doing that, youll only end up being swallowed up."
Marchos voice felt farther and farther away.
And then, my normal self waspletely gone.
Oh yes, this feels so good. I feel so refreshed. Im finally in this form again. Now, I can do whatever the fuck I want.
This woman, this bitch in front of me is so noisy. How long does she intend to look down on me from her high horse? Enough already, you are mine and you will listen to what I say. You foolish woman, you wont learn unless I teach you with your body like I taught that little wolf-girl, will you?
"As your Demon Lord, Imand you to-"
I had managed to say only that much before something hit me and sent me rolling.
What the hell happened!? This bitch, she dares to literally look down on me while Im on the ground!? Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable.
"It seems [Awakening] isnt the only thing youre misunderstanding, huh. It looks like youre also gravely underestimating the dangers that monsters present."
How dare she. Ill thoroughly teach her her ce. Ahh, just imagining the look on her face as she cries and begs for forgiveness, excites me very much. First, Ill have her prostrate herself. Ill just have to be careful this time and watch my surroundings before I issue mymand; Ill never let her do something like blow me away happen again. Never again.
"Imand-"
However, before I could issue mymand, I was blown away again.
"Geez. Youre so smart and yet so careless. Youve lost yourself so easily. Youre already driven primarily by your instincts, arent you? Such a troublesome child."
Marcho bitterly smiled and sighed cant be helped.
Meanwhile, I stood up and red at her.
How? How is she capable of humiliating me like this? Im supposed to be the strongest Demon Lord, especially in my current form. First of all, as my monster, she shouldnt even be able to harm me. Why must I endure such violence!?
"You look confused, Procell. Shall we conduct a ss? Remember, there are two rules that protect a Demon Lord from their monsters. The first is that no monster can disobey amand given by their Demon Lord. If a monster doesnt want to do something, it can freely disregard its Demon Lords will by not letting the Demon Lord say themand to them."
I know that. What I have no idea about is how she can blow me away. ording to the next rule shes about to say, such a thing should be impossible.
"The second rule is that monsters cant harm their Demon Lords."
"I know. Now tell me, how were you able to do that to me?"
And yet, she managed to blow me away twice. Even if shes a monster that has the powers of a Demon Lord, so long as shes my monster, she shouldnt be able to harm me.
"I havent done anything to you though. Very well, I guess Ill tell you the trick to it. You see, hiding in my shadow is a monster. In other words, its not me thats interrupting you but rather, its that child."
"Dont screw with me. Your monsters should have also been ced under mymand and therefore shouldnt be able to harm me as well!"
Along with Marcho herself, I gained control of her dungeon and her monsters.
"The answer is simple: I have ended my contract with this child. So rather than that obligation, this child cares for me and follows me out of its own will. You better remember: if you treat your monsters too cruelly, be prepared for the worst. Like for example, a monster that youve forsaken may choose to call in some humans or some monsters that are not under your control in order to deal with you. Conversely, just like now, if a monster loves you, it will protect you even after you release it from your control. Being a good Demon Lord to your monsters is important."
Her words shocked me. Thoughts like what if they let enemies into my bedroom and what if information of a trip outside of my dungeon is leaked beforehand ran through my mind.
Thinking on it, the rule of Demon Lords over monsters was indeed in no way perfect.
"You left my dungeon too soon so I did not get the chance to teach such things. I apologize for that. From now on though, rest assured, Ill be teaching you a lot of things."
Again. Shes looking down on me again. So irritating. Above all else, what I cannot forgive is treating me like a child! Ill dominate her and be the one on top. ...But how? Should I create a space between us so that I can summon Kuina and the others? Or... should I just make her taste my power? The one protecting her, its most probably one of her [Monsters of the Covenant]: the assassin that hides in the shadow. If so, then if I get rid of the shadows using a stun grenade while giving her amand, it wont be able to interrupt.
"Fuu. I thought you have be a fine man but I see now that youre still a child thats desperately trying to be treated like an adult. And then, through [Awakening], your desire of wanting me to recognize that youre no longer a child has been twisted into this. Contemte on that for a second."
What? No, its not like that at all. Ive be strong, stronger than everybody else. So much so that even the three supposed-to-be strongest Demon Lords cantpare to me. I have no need of being recognized by this bitch.
"Lies! And dont treat me like a child!"
"There, you said it yourself, dont treat me like a child. Im not stering you with lies, you know. Listen with that walled-off heart of yours and youll know that its true. Youll know that you have this desire of being recognized by me, to be told youre a splendid Demon Lord and whatnot."
"Its not like-"
"It is like that. And that weakness is a part of you too."
What is this ufortable feeling?
"By the way, about your ill treatment on that little girl, that Fel, that is brought on by the stress youve gained from acting like a kind father to your monsters. I mean, youre surrounded by these fascinating and beautiful girls but you say to yourself that you have to restrain yourself because youre their father. In other words, your feelings as a father is conflicting with your instincts as a man. ...you may have set a line you promised yourself you will never cross but all that pent-up emotions finally proved too much and so you went too far with that little girl."
Shes probably talking about what I did with Fel. But that was what she herself wanted.
"Well, Id say it cant be helped. You may do it with me if youd like but if you want to be discreet, you can also visit a brothel. Restraining yourself too much is also not good, you hear? Or else something like that will happen again."
Marcho spoke gently. In response though, I got embarrassed.
Do it with her? Go to a brothel?
"Thats none of your business!"
Such words involuntarily came out of my mouth. As I said such words though, I felt various colors return to my oddly cold and ck heart.
"Ah! You were more like your usual self just now, werent you? I guess Im on the right track then."
My heart began to go into an uproar, various colors were mixing with another.
I was unable to refute her words and wondered if I did look at Kuina and the others not as my daughters but as members of the opposite sex. After some thought, I recalled that I did indeed felt charmed by their feminine appeals. However, because I was their father, I continually shoved those emotions away.
"Dont get me wrong, Im not judging you or anything. After all, we may treat them as our children but theyre not actually our children. You cant help it if you find a member of the opposite sex attractive. Your love as a father is real and thats what matters. Instincts and love are very different. You dont have to be ashamed."
Her words put me at ease.
Yeah, yeah shes right. I did look at them like that. No, its more proper to say I looked at them liked that as well. I am both a father and a man.
"And then, about your deepest desire of wanting to be recognized by somebody, you may try to hide it but your actions betray your wish for approval. To speak in in terms, you are lonely and long for the affection of others. And yet, after all that, you are ashamed to admit to yourself and to others that you feel that way."
Thats not it, I am not a child that feels like that.
...no, I have to stop this stubbornness. Those feelings do exist within me. I have always wanted to be seen, to be recognized.
"Procell, Im telling you now: you are amazing. You have my recognition as well as that of others. Furthermore, always remember, everyone loves you more than you think."
As she said those words, some kind of warmth spread across my chest.
I see, so this is what I have been longing for. And now that she has given it to me, I feel at ease.
My dark self was the result of both my sexual frustration and my hunger for recognition going out of control.
Realizing that, I smiled.
A frenzied, out of control person was far from the definition of a cool guy.
I was but a child.
Truly pitiful.
And yet, that was who I was.
"Thank you, Marcho. I was finally able to see who I really am."
By epting that dark part of myself, I finally became who I really was.
I still felt somewhat dizzy but despite that, I was now fully rational.
"Thats a nice expression on your face. Yup, that suits you more."
Marcho then smiled back.
"From the very beginning, there never was another me. I know that now."
epting such emotions and moving on, that was what it meant to Awaken.
If one knew that, they would know what to do next: to not deny themselves and topromise with themselves. Even my pitiful self was able to do that much.
"[Creation]"
Using my [Creation], I produced an M&K MK416 which was the most used assault rifle in Avalon.
With that, I was ready to use the new Demon Lord ability I had gained.
The [Bow] Demon Lord used his [Bow] medal to produce monsters which, as his name would suggest, were primarily long range attackers.
Furthermore, he had the special ability called [Necrosis] which made the arrows of his entire forces be able to inflict unheble wounds that festered almost immediately. In other words, attacks made with it were certain kill attacks.
The question was whether or not it would apply to bullets as well.
Wild animals lived in the in that Marcho and I were in and 300 meters from where we stood, I spotted a stray dog. It looked riddled with disease and would definitely cause only trouble if it got into the city and bit a human. It had to be put down, perhaps even for its own sake, so there was no need to feel remorse.
Reasoning so, I aimed at it.
Before pulling the trigger, however, I felt a decrease in my magic power, proof that the ability worked.
If the target was directly hit, it would die gruesomely regardless of the new ability so I decided to deliberately just graze it.
With confidence I could urately hit the mark, I let the bullet fly and it grazed the stray dog as intended.
The dogs wound then festered. As moments passed, I saw the infection spread.
It worked, [Necrosis] worked.
"Marcho, as I am, I can now freely use [Awakening]. Thank you."
"Im d to be of help. But you know, normally, it would have been much harder than this. I mean, not everyone wants to admit that they have such an unsightly side to them. In their effort to escape the truth and deny this part of them, Demon Lords would oftensh out."
The shame I felt for admitting it truly was immense.
Despite that, I still epted all of it. Had I not done so, I wouldnt have mastered [Awakening].
"Dont rely on [Awakening] too much, though. I would rmend using it only up to 3 minutes straight and then waiting for at least 10 hours before using it again. The burden it puts on the body and soul is too great. ...so much so that overuse will shorten your lifespan. You wouldnt want what happened to me, right?"
Marchoughed at her own expense.
She had used [Awakening] along with her skill [Beast Transformation] for a long period of time and thus had shortened her lifespan.
Considering that, I decided to take her advice to heart. I wanted to live for as long as possible and do all the many things that needed to be done.
Besides that, I still felt uneasy on using [Awakening]. Though I may have epted myself, what I had done was barely maintain bnce. I didnt know when such a bnce would crumble as even at present, I felt my instinctive urges growing stronger.
"Ill take care."
We should conclude this session of experimentation soon. I have gained one more ability but that ones a little hard to use.
"Oh yeah, Procell"
"What is it?"
"Why dont we do another experiment while were at it? How about that ability to impregnate monsters? You can try it out on me. You dont think of me as your daughter but as a proper woman, right?"
Marcho said so and then lowered the neckline of her white dress, revealing her cleavage.
In reaction, I gulped down.
"...Lets stop here for now. I dont think what remains of the three minutes will be enough for that."
I wasnt that much of a quick shot, after all.
Moreover, perhaps due to the excitement, memories of what I had done to Fel the night before resurfaced in my mind.
And what I did... was barely eptable. I had held back just enough before I did something truly extreme as a Demon LordPerson. Despite that, that girl still wanted to do something more. It might not be entirely wrong to say that that was her aim in asking me to use [Awakening].
"Thats a shame. Well, lets go back then. Youre quite the conservative, arent you?"
"Its just that theres a proper order to these kind of things."
I cancelled [Awakening] and my wings and horn then vanished.
Meanwhile, Marcho decided to link arms with me and when she did so, I felt a soft sensation in my arm and picked up a pleasant fragrance. Unsurprisingly, I somewhat regretted having refused her offer.
Oh well, lets just return to Avalon. I have to make sure all the preparations for the feast are going to beplete and perfect.
"Now that I think about it, what were you like when you first Awakened?"
I wanted to know Marchos true nature. After all, it was kind of unfair to have only my true nature be revealed.
"It-its nothing special. Yeah, totally ordinary. I didnt umte anything like you. Enough of that; that topics off limits!"
Marcho forcibly ended the conversation and briskly walked ahead.
While looking at her back, I vowed to myself to someday get the answer to my question.
Volume 6 5
While Procell had gone to the [in] to master [Awakening], Kuina the Celestial Fox, Rorono the Elder Dwarf, and Aura the Ancient Elf all gathered in Kuinas secret base.
It was an underground room that was not known even by Procell.
By nature, foxes had the habit of digging out a hole in the ground and Kuina was no exception.
Through the help of Rorono, who possessed the best smithing abilities in the world, Kuinas secret den was built to be extremely pleasant despite it being under the ground.
The three girls would gather here whenever they wanted to talk with one another but not be heard by Procell. After all, even though they were his [Monsters of the Covenant], there were still things that adolescent girls didnt want their father to know about.
"The third [Monsters of the Covenant] meeting hereby begins!"
Presiding over todays meeting was Kuina.
By striking the ckboard in the torch-lit room, she signified the start of their meeting.
Her trademark fox ears were upright and her mood motivated.
In contrast, Rorono and Aura simply ate the cookies they bought in Avalon while cozily sitting on a sofa.
"Rorono-chan, Aura-chan, why arent you more focused?! This is a serious matter!"
Kuina uncharacteristically shouted and then puffed her cheeks.
In response, Rorono issued out a small sigh and then spoke:
"Kuina, why did you have to turn it into a [Monsters of the Covenant] meeting? All I wanted was to consult you on what to ask for my reward."
A [Monsters of the Covenant] meeting wasnt held unless there was something very important that its members needed to discuss.
As for how this particr meeting came to be, Rorono had visited Kuina to ask thetter for advice when Kuina suddenly suggested to hold a meeting and then forcefully dragged Aura into it all.
Rorono thought that her reward wasnt enough of a reason to warrant a meeting. They were busy enough as they were; if they were to use any of their time, it had to be for something productive.
"Dont worry, your reward isnt todays main topic but it is rted to that!"
Kuina proudly said so.
Meanwhile, Aura raised a hand.
"Aura-chan, you have the floor."
"Chairman Kuina, please inform us the purpose of this meeting. Depending on that, I may choose to go back. As I wasnt able to yesterday, I want to have fun with the High Elves today."
"Mhm. I want to go back too; I want to repair the golems."
For today and yesterday, all of Procells monsters were given holidays.
However, due to Auras absencewhich was because of the warthe apple trees needed thorough care and thus resulted in her having to forfeit her day off yesterday.
Thankfully, yesterday was enough to finish all those tasks. So, after doing only the absolutely necessary tasks in the morning, it was nned that from noon today, she and her subordinates, the High Elves, were to enjoy their holiday together.
As for Rorono, she had finished all the gathered smithing jobs yesterday and today, her n was to repair the golems using the golems parts recovered from the [Beast] Demon Lords dungeon.
In short, both Aura and Rorono were extremely busy.
"Listen carefully. Todays main topic is"
Kuina said so as she vigorously wrote the words for the main topic on the ckboard, making each character as big as possible.
"How do we make sure that Oto-san wont be taken away?"
Kuina excitedly asked so but again, Rorono and Aura looked disinterested.
"Kuina-chan, Im going back now, okay?"
"Bye, Kuina. If you think of a good reward, let me know."
The two stood up and began their way back.
"Wait, hold on. Listen to what Kuina has to say first"
Kuina then grabbed the hem of their clothes and stood her ground.
"You know, Kuina-chan, theres no need to worry about master being taken away."
"I agree. Master loves us all."
Aura and Rorono gently told so to Kuina to persuade her.
"You two are being na?ve. Yesterday was supposed to be Kuinas turn at Oto-sans day but... but... Fel stole it away!"
In a teary voice, Kuinained so.
Each day, through rotation, the one who gets the chance to sleep together with Procell would change. Officially though, the rotation was to decide which one was going to guard Procell for that day. At any rate, it was a most enjoyable day for them where they could act all spoiled. And thus, such a day was referred to as Fathers dayor Oto-sans day for Kuina.
"It was the day for Oto-san give Fel-chan her reward so even if it was Kuinas turn, Kuina didnt sleep together with Oto-san. Kuina didnt get to enjoy Oto-sans day."
It was definitely a big deal for Kuina, as evidenced by her flopped-down fox-ears and her unmoving fox-tail.
"Kuina, these things happen; you dont have to feel so down. Moreover, Ill talk to master and ask him to adjust the schedule."
"Rorono-chan, I love you!"
Kuina dered so and hugged Rorono.
Meanwhile, Rorono returned the embraced, and then patted Kuina on the head while saying there, there, tofort her.
However, looking still worried, Kuina continued to talk.
"...but still, this is the first time that this happened. Even when Wight was reborn or when Ruru-chan showed up, this didnt happen. And Kuina doesnt think this will be thest."
"You have a point."
"Its already a problem with just Fel-chan but now, the [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias is here and that persons special to Oto-san."
Upon hearing those words, the gravity of the situation finally dawned on Rorono and Aura.
"This requires consideration."
"Yeah, it might be a bit bad for us."
The two said so and sat down on the sofa.
Meanwhile, Kuina returned to the front of the ckboard.
"The worst case scenario is that from now on, Marchosias-sama will be the only one to enjoy Oto-sans day. If charmed by her, Oto-san might no longer notice us."
The three Covenant Monsters face all went pale.
A scenario where the [Creation] Demon Lord they love and respect was no longer interested in them anymore was nothing but a nightmare to them.
"It is at this time that we need to stand as one!"
Kuina once again raised her voice.
This time, being aware of the situation, Rorono and Aura nodded.
"Kuina-chan, first, we should think of how we will get master to love and keep loving us. I think that if we make ourselves absolutely indispensable, master will continue to care about us."
"Exactly. Oto-san does often say he rewards hard work."
While keeping her eyes on Aura, Kuina continued to speak.
"First up, Aura-chan, youre amazing. It is because of you that the humans can farm with ease. Plus, your apples are amazing! So, Aura-chan, youre without a doubt absolutely essential to Avalon!"
"If you say things like that, youre going to make me blush."
In order to feed on human emotions, humans must first be gathered. In this regard, Aura was very helpful.
If crops were grown in Avalons fields, they would grow big, nutritious, and delicious tasting. Moreover, abundant harvests were guaranteed along with the promises of no diseases or cmity befalling on the crops. This information became well-known among humans, thus prompting the sessive immigration of farmers into Avalon. All of these were due to Aura and the High Elves blessings.
Additionally, there were also the apples they personally raised themselves. These products, even when eaten as they were, were more potent than low grade potions. And then, among those, there were the much more potent golden apples from the very special [First Tree].
Truly, Aura was indispensable for Avalon.
"Rorono-chan, youre amazing too! You make lots of amazing weapons and draw lots of humans into Avalon! And its thank to you that humans can livefortably here!"
"Your praise make me d but I am only doing duty."
Whatever look Rorono had, it wasnt of dissatisfaction.
As Kuina had said, without Rorono, Avalons fighting force would drop down to 1/3 of what it currently was. It was no understatement that Avalon was dependent on the weapons and golems that Rorono had made.
Some of the weapons she made were also sold to the humans and the fame of such weapons had spread not only across the country but also abroad. Each day, many humans woulde to Avalon just to purchase her weapons.
Additionally, Rorono was the one in charge of building all of the infrastructures in Avalon, like its waterways for example. Thanks to all of that, Avalon was probably the most sanitary city in the world.
An Avalon without Rorono was unthinkable.
"And then, Kuina... What about Kuina? Kuina isnt the best at anything. Is Kuina not essential to Oto-san?"
Kuinas voice grew quieter and quieter as she said so.
And then, while hugging herself and shaking, Kuina frantically thought for things she was best in. unfortunately though, nothing came to her mind. It was at that point that she thought the worst: that maybe, even without her, Avalon would have no problem carrying on.
"Kuina-chan, youre irreceable. Youre the strongest monster in Avalon, after all!"
Aura gave words of encouragement but Kuina only became more depressed.
"Kuina is the strongest? Once maybe. If you look at Marchosias-sama, youll know Kuina cant win against her. Kuina doesnt have a chance. Its hard to win against Wight too. Kuina might be equal to Fel-chan but Kuina definitely isnt the strongest."
Until recently, Kuina had the honor of being [Creation] Demon Lord Procells strongest monster.
Depending on the strategy, she could still force a win against Wight; he might have explosive power but such power was unstable and hard to control.
When Fel, someone that could rival Kuina, showed up, Kuinas heart went into riot. But the difference in theirbat experience showed that Kuina was slightly the betterbatant.
However, then came [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias. She was special; no matter how much Kuina tried, there was no hope in winning against her. Not only was she better than Kuina in stats but also inbat experience.
"Kuina, youre the leader of all the monsters in Avalon. Youre the most loved. Theres no need to rush to such conclusions."
"Kuinas not that too, Rorono-chan. Wight is better at leading and is more loved by everyone. Kuina can never lead everyone as skillfully as Wight does."
Kuina was at her wits end.
She was aware that she was relied and trusted on by the other monsters but, as great as that was, that was the extent of it; she knew that it was impossible to lead the other monsters as well as Wight did.
At that, Kuina rapidly grew terrified, scared of the thought that because she wasnt the best in anything, her turn to have Oto-sans day would be stolen away.
Such dreadful thoughts of being unimportant rapidly flooded to her mind.
"......now that you say that, then perhaps you really arent the number one monster anymore."
Rorono matter-of-factly stated so.
In response, tears welled up in Kuina eyes.
"Rorono-chan, please choose your words carefully."
"Lying wont help anyway. However, master... Father is not the kind of Demon Lord that will dislike a monster just because they arent the best at anything. I expect you know that too, Kuina."
"Kuina knows that but if theres a monster thats stronger than Kuina, it wont be strange for that monster to be more important than Kuina..."
Kuina wasnt sure whether Procell cared for her as much as he did because she was the strongest or simply because she was herself. What she was sure of was that the moment she wasnt the strongest anymore, she lost her turn to have Oto-sans day. That was what mattered to her.
"I understand. If your anxiety is due to you not being the strongest anymore, I will just have to make you the strongest."
"Thats impossible. That persons too strong."
"I will close that gap in strength. By my pride as the worlds best smith, I will make you into the strongest monster ever. I will make an extremely strong weapon thatll make full use of your adult forms power. By doing so, you can even surpass that person!"
"Why do so much for me, Rorono-chan?"
"Because you are my older sister. You may be annoying from time to time but you worry and care for me always. ...this is my way of saying thanks for that. Besides, for me, youre the worlds best older sister so I cant just abandon you, can I?"
"Rororno-chan!"
Tears in her eyes, Kuina hugged Rorono.
Instead of being tears of sorrow, her tears were now of joy.
"Ill help too. Im developing a new kind of potion made from golden apples thatll help monsters draw out theirtent potentials. If you drink it each day, you should grow stronger. Itll be finished soon and once itsplete, Ill send you some right away. ...I also love my older sister so I dont want you to lose!"
"Aura-chan, I love you too!"
Kuina hugged Aura as well.
No matter what were said, Kuina was undoubtedly loved by the other monsters as a result of her being kind and caring for them.
While still wiping the tears off, Kuina sat down. Judging that Kuina wouldnt be able to continue her duties as the chairman of the meeting anymore, Rorono decided to take over.
"The conclusion for this times meeting is to make Kuina stronger and have her reim her ce at being number one. To achieve that, all of us [Monsters of the Covenant] must exert all of our efforts. Kuina, Aura and I will do our best to support you but for you to grow stronger, your effort is more important."
"I understand."
"Apart from that, you probably also need to talk to master personally."
"I have the same opinion. I think that if you go talk to master, youll be convinced that he cares for you not only because youre the best at anything."
Kuina and Rorono both nodded. Still though, the uneasiness in their hearts didnt disappear.
"Rorono-chan, I thought up something good. For your reward, how about you ask master for an opportunity to converse a lot? Wouldnt that make you really happy?"
Aura began telling her idea and when Kuina and Rorono heard it, they were both excited.
"Aura-chan, thats a good idea!"
"Mhm, I think so too."
The two proceeded to praise Aura for her marvelous idea.
After a while, Rorono cleared her throat.
"Well then, this [Monsters of the Covenant] meeting is adjourned. From now on as well, as [Monsters of the Covenant], let us support master in any way we can. ...All three of us."
pping resounded all over the room as the meeting ended.
Thanks to this meeting, the bond of the three had grown stronger still.
~Back to Procells point of view~
I had finished practicing with [Awakening] and was finally returning to my residence.
On our way, because Marcho still clung to my right arm, we received plenty of teasing from the citizens of Avalon. I didnt mind it though.
When we arrived, I found Rorono in front of the house.
"Father"
When Rorono noticed me, she rushed over, her silver hair fluttering in the wind.
"Rorono, have you decided on a reward?"
"Mhm, I have. What I wish for is some of Fathers time. Please be with me and only me for even just a day. Just me and you, Father."
Rorono ced her hand on my chest and pleaded so. In return, I smiled wryly.
"Of course, it will be done. On that matter, if we stay here in Avalon, everyone else will get in the way of your request so lets go outside the city."
Hearing that, Roronos eyes sparkled.
She was so adorable and thus, I decided to pat her head.
"Thank you, Father! Im looking forward to it!"
After saying so, Rorono walked away.
Shes so adorable. If this much will make her happy, Ill be d to cooperate.
"Woah, Procell, that smile. As I thought, you really are a lolicon, huh?"
"No, Im not. Its just that my daughter is so adorable."
Marcho teased me so.
I ignored her jests and began making ns for my and Roronos trip.
Granting her request of a full day without anything else to worry about would have to wait until after the uing feast though; I might be too busy to afford being away for that long.
Now that I think about it, I might have been too busytely to care for Kuina and the others. As the father, I think I have to spend time with my family from time to time.
Volume 6 6
The day for the feast finally came.
Though I had been referring to it as a feast, it was by no means an ordinary dining party. With all of the Demon Lords that aided in the mission to rescue Marchonamely [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth, [TIme] Demon Lord Dantalian, and [Wind] Demon Lord Stsing to attend, it was an assembly of very important Demon Lords.
Furthermore, it was also the day where I was going to part with Felsias and Rozelitte. So, although I was excited for the arrival of this day, I also dreaded it.
At any rate, I was currently outside of my residence.
"Master, will you be sad when Im gone?"
Fel pulled on my sleeve and asked me so.
Upon hearing her question, I didnt need to think twice. So, I squatted down, looked her in the eye, and told her my answer.
"Of course, Ill be lonely. Ive grown to love you, after all."
She was undoubtedly capable. Not only that, she had grown very close with me, Kuina, and the others too.
"Im so d that master likes me. But then, if you really do like me, then why... oh, never mind."
She began saying something but then stopped midway.
My guess was that she wanted me to make her stay, or at least try. However, I would not do that; much like myself if I ever were parted from Kuina and the others, the [Time] Demon Lord would definitely also be lonely without Fel. In fact, if I were in the situation where the other Demon Lord refuses to return my monster, I dont doubt that I would kill that Demon Lord.
...but then again, I would also kill if something like what I did to Fel was done to my girls. I really have to apologize sincerely.
"Ive thought of doing that but in consideration for your happiness, Ive decided against it."
Without holding back, I patted the teary eyed Fel.
"Ohh, I love you too, master!"
With a certain sparkle in her eyes, Fel smiled and said so.
Im d shes so honest.
"Oh my, how about me?"
The angel-type monster Rozelitte teasingly asked so.
"Im very grateful to you too for your service on thest campaign, of course."
Working in the background, she supported us greatly. Without her powers, that campaign would have most likely been much harder.
"Im afraid your words wouldnt be enough though. I want a reward. The [Time] Demon Lords monster has gotten various rewards already so isnt it only proper that I too receive a special reward?"
"Name it. So long as I can grant it, it shall be done."
I was sure that it was only my imagination but for a moment, I thought that Rozelitte put emphasis on various rewards.
At any rate, it was as she said. While she did receive the rewards given to all the other monsterslike money to buy things in the city and suchbeyond that, she hasnt received any.
Considering that she was sent here from [Wind] Demon Lord Stss side, some kind of special reward was a given.
Upon hearing me, Rozelitte drew close and whispered something in my ear.
"I want you to kiss Sts-sama. That will be more than enough."
Fel, who was still nearby, leaned in to eavesdrop but it didnt seem like she heard anything.
"Wouldnt that make her angry?"
"Most probably."
"Hey."
Does she enjoy purposefully making her master angry?
"But thatll be just to hide her embarrassment. She might act like shes angry but Im sure shell be d that you did something like that. Shes that kind of girl, after all. So for that reason, please do this. Or is it that the [Creation] Demon Lord is the kind of Demon Lord that breaks his word?"
"I said as long as I can grant it."
"Yeah, but my, around you, that girl always lets her guard down. So Im sure you can do it. Anyway, Ill take my leave here; I still have to buy everyone back home their souvenirs. This citys got a lot of wonderful things that its so hard to choose which to get."
Rozelitte then pped her wings and left. But not before reminding me to keep to our agreement.
What a headache.
Rozelitte probably thought of Sts as her younger sister. Even then though, she was too caring.
"Master, are you in trouble?"
"Just a bit."
"I might be able to do something!"
Fel proudly said so. In reaction to that, I smiled wryly and then patted her on the head.
"Its alright; Ill manage somehow. More importantly, Fel, dont you have some preparations to do? You have to look as cute as you could."
"Okay! Look forward to seeing an even cuter Fel!"
After saying so, Fel went into my residence.
At the moment, my [Monsters of the Covenant] and Marcho were busy prettying themselves up with make-up and with the clothes of the citys best designers.
Such a thing was also provided by the Curtrude Companythe one led by Conanna. It might have been trivial but it showed their attention to detail.
It wasnt often that the girls dressed up so as a father, I looked forward to seeing what they would look like all dolled up.
Also, to not waste the chance, it was decided that Fel and Rozelitte be also included in the service. As for why they were outside, Rozelitte had finished ahead of the others so she went out already whereas Fel simply got bored and decided to slip out.
"Are they here?"
When I looked up in the sky, I saw a dragon that was gigantic even though it was still far. On its back was a single person.
Okay, lets go meet them.
With such thoughts, I headed toward the citys gate.
As soon as I arrived at the gate, a gigantic, white-bodied dragon d with a golden, divine auranded.
It had an appearance of a dragon from the west but even then, the power it held was enormous.
I wouldnt have been surprised if it was truly the strongest dragon. Such was probably the [Dragon] Demon Lords trump card.
It was unbelievable that such a dragon was used for just transportation.
"[Creation] Demon Lord, youre here. Ohh, it doesnt seem you were faking it; it looks like youre really the man I thought you to be."
I heard such things followed by loudughter, kakaka.
When I looked up, I saw [Dragon] Demon Lord Astoroth looking down on me from the top of the dragon.
His appearance was that of an aged man with a sturdy body. Though he looked like it, he didnt feel old at all. He exuded such presence and drive that I couldnt possibly match.
My body was telling me to kneel and although I resisted, it was just barely.
"Wee. We have prepared a reception for you so please follow me this way."
"Hmm... wait. Another person ising. It would be a waste of effort for you to do your wee all over again so lets just wait for a while."
Astaroth then turned around. When I looked at that direction, I saw that space was being distorted. What then greeted my eyes were three individuals.
The first one was a handsome, graceful, aristocratic young man. It was the [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian. He was dressed in even better clothes than when I saw himst.
The second one was a monster. It was a Qilin that had mes for its mane. It was themanding officer of [Time] Demon Lords boasted elite shock troops, the [Chronos Knights]. I had met this nightmarish monster before when the [Time] Demon Lord wanted to test me in a game he devisedLN Volume 2. In that game, this monster had managed to pressure Aura. Aura somehow pulled a win in the end but then again, that monster didnt use its powers over [Time]. Even now, I was only 50% sure my Monsters of the Covenant could win against such a fiend.
The third was another monster but it appeared like an old man whose back was bent forward. It was my first time to encounter this monster but I knew then and there that this one was an incredibly strong monster. Perhaps it could even rival Tere, the me-maned Qilin. I was even confident to bet that this monster was one of [Time] Demon Lords [Monsters of the Covenant].
"Ohh. Its rare for the always-perfectly-on-time Dan to arrive way earlier than the appointed time. Could there be something youre worried of?"
The [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth affectionately referred to the [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian as simply Dan.
"Dont call me by that name. Weve long since parted ways."
"Youre the only one that says that. I surely dont think so. At any rate, for you to bring suchpanions to a simple feast, I see that yourpetitiveness hasnt changed."
"Astyou misunderstand. Its not that I brought these guys but rather these guys insisted oning."
The [Time] Demon Lord covered his eyes with his right hand and then sighed. When he did so, both the Qilin and the old man then began to speak.
"How dare you snatch away the princess? If you ever did anything awful to her, do not expect mercy."
"Has Fel said anything about her grandpa? Like missing me, wanting to take a nap with me, or wanting to have some of my sweets?"
What the heck are these guys? Did theye here today just to reunite with Fel a little bit sooner?
"[Time] Demon Lord Dantalian-sama, you have my sympathies."
"I appreciate it. However, dont misunderstand that I never listen to their wishes just because theyre a handful; especially since I share their worries. So, if something did happen to Fel... youre dead."
He said so while looking at me with eyes so cold, it could freeze ones soul.
Nope, cant say it. Definitely cant say that I almost made her unable to marry anymore.
"At any rate, this way please."
"Hmm, yeah. This looks like itll be a lengthy talk and Ill much prefer to do it sitting down."
The [Dragon] Demon Lord remarked so and then put the monster he rode to get here into his [Storage].
Upon doing so, the figure of a girl appeared. She was probably hidden by the massive dragons body.
"Sts, Im so d you came."
"I didnte for you, just so you know. Its just that Rozelitte wrote in a letter that this was a good city and that got me intrigued."
Sts was the same as ever.
If there was anyone around me that had mastered the one true way of being a tsundere, it was her.
For today, she had put in more effort in looking prettierwearing slight make-up toplement her beautiful ck dress as well as wearing a ne I hadnt seen beforeand it worked; she was fascinating.
"Still, thank you foring. I have wanted to see you after all."
"...! Just focus on guiding us as the host, please."
Sts extended her hand as though suggesting that I grab it. When I did so, I thought up of something good.
If I do this, Ill be able to grant Rozelittes request.
"With pleasure, young miss. Ill guide you with all my heart."
While saying so, I knelt down before her and then kissed the back of her hand.
In reaction, even the tips of her ears went bright red.
"Y, yeah, thank you; Ill be in your care."
For some reason, while averting her eyes, she said so in a formal way.
As I thought, its fun to have her around. I want us to be better friends.
"[Creation] Demon Lord, will you do that to me too?"
The [Dragon] Demon Lord asked so with a straight face.
"...you want me to do that to you...?"
"Im just kidding!"
He said so and followed it with augh, Gahaha!
To which I thought: I still cant figure out this person.
For todays feast, a whole restaurant was reserved. It was a restaurant whose main target clientele were merchants and first-ss adventurers.
However, for us Demon Lords to talk properly, having no humans to interfere was the better choice.
Regrly, there would be a very talented pianist that would perform songsas dictated by the current atmosphere or by requestsin this ce but for today, instead of such, we had Rlyeh Diva, the otherworld songstress.
It seemed she was talented not only in singing but all things sound-rted. With her singing to her own piano apaniment, I was sure the mood in the ce would be even better.
And so, she began her performance. It was a calming melody that made me think of the sea.
"Ohh, this seems like a good store."
"I see youve prepared at least the minimum to receive us."
[Dragon] and [Time] seemed pleased.
Sts, meanwhile, was still holding my hand even though we had reached our destination. Needless to say, not being able to freely use my hand was a tad inconvenient.
Perhaps, if I suggested it, shell happily agree to a tour to even the remotest shops in the city.
"Procell, when are they going to get here?"
Some irritation in his voice, the [Time] Demon Lord asked so.
Such irritation was rare for him, considering that he was usually so calm.
"Theyll be here soon. I guess its just taking them time to prepare."
"I see. ...by the way, Procell, stop being so formal with me. I have recognized you as an equal and thus lent a handst time. So, hearing you all formal just feels more like youre mocking me."
"I understand-I mean, okay. And if you dont mind, Ill call you Dan from now on."
Upon hearing my reply, he gagged vehemently and then, after a while, he beganughing out loud.
Even his two monsters were surprised as they looked at him.
"Fuhaha, geez. As I thought, I just cant seem to like you but then, I dont dislike you either."
"Whats this? When have you two be so close? Well then, stop being so formal to me too. But dont go overboard; you still have to respect me as the father-inw."
"Astaroth-sama, what are you talking about?"
Sts went bright red once again as she retorted so. By the way, she finally let go of my hand.
At any rate, the real, scheduled time was drawing near.
And just when I thought of that, the door opened.
What it revealed was the figure of six beautiful girls: my three [Monsters of the Covenant]; Rozelitte, the monster lent to me by Sts; Felsias, the [Time] Demon Lords daughter; andstly, Marchosias, the [Beast] Demon Lord who was reborn to be my monster.
Each wore clothes, make-up, and essories that would draw out their best charms.
Upon seeing them, Dantalians eyes were wide open. And with a dumb expression on his face, he remarked:
"Its a most beautiful sight"
With all the actors on stage, let the feastmence.
Note:
The event with Tere refers to the bonus chapter of the 2nd volume of the LN. I havent read itpletely since the vertical arrangement of the characters confuses me greatly.
Anyway, to summarize, the day after Procell received the letter to meet up with the three Demon Lords, he was summoned by Dantalian to be in a game. And the game was a one on one to see if Procell was worthy of Dantalians attention and his favors(like the permission for Procell to build his dungeon so close to Dantalians). It was done in a coliseum that turns back time, like in the first volume. Without the Creators aid however, its very limited and hence only a 1vs1. After Aura volunteered to be tribute, I stopped reading. Maybe in the future Ill do a proper trantion along with the other bonus chapters. For now, Id like to focus on the WN.
A couple of other points:
The Chronos Knights areposed of twelve members instead of twenty. I dont know whether the raw was just edited or if Im just dumb to make that mistake (probably thetter) but whichever it was, volume 5 chapter 13 has been updated. Makes more sense to have twelve members too, what with the time theme and all.The Demon Lord that Dantalians supposed to caring for (like Procell for Marcho) has apparently been discarded because he/she was ipetent and Dantalian has no patience for ipetence.
Volume 6 7
Upon seeing the dolled-up Marcho and Fel, the [Time] Demon Lord was dumbstruck and I couldnt me him.
The dresses provided by the Curtrude Company was a work of art made by a designer famous even abroad. This woman, despite achieving her firm status, had felt herself being stuck in a rut. To ovee such a rut, she had set her eyes on Avalonwhere excellent things had gathered from all overand immigrated here.
I had spoken to her just once before but I was already able to tell that she was determined to improve and yet still very sociable.
From among the dresses she hadpleted, she chose the ones that best suited the girls and reworked them to suit the girls further. Upon knowing that such beautiful girls were going to wear her dresses, she was ecstatic. So much so that she finished the dresses in such a short amount of time.
To draw out Marchos bewitching appeal, hers was a stylish white dress that clung to her bodyline. It also had arge slit at the back. The contrasting of her brown skin and her white dress was breathtakingly beautiful.
As for Fel, to bring out her cuteness, the dress designed for her was a fluffy ck dress. The ribbon she wore was a nice ent.
Father, oh how I wanted to see you!
With her tail swinging, Fel jumped into an embrace with the [Time] Demon Lord.
For a young girl who has been separated from father, she must have felt really uneasy.
With a tender expression on his face, the [Time] Demon Lord returned her embrace.
Me too; I was so worried about you.
I sympathized with how they felt and thus decided to let parent and child enjoy their reunion.
Oto-san, does, does Kuina look cute?
Kuina, getting a headstart is sneaky.
Yeah, we want master to take a look at us too.
It was then that my [Monsters of the Covenant] approached.
Kuina had eyes full of expectations; Rorono was acting somewhat embarrassed; and Aura was being bashful. Each of the three acted differently but all of them wanted me to praise their dress.
All of you look cute. Youve always looked cute but now, youre even cuter.
Yay! ?
Mhm. That makes me happy.
Thank you!!
Kuina wore a greatly revealing red dress that showcased her grown-upped forms sexual appeal. The disparity between her appearance and her childish behavior had a mysterious charm to it.
Meanwhile, Roronos was an elegant sky-blue dress that made her really give the impression that she was a noble. Rorono had always been more beautiful than cute and this dress had highlighted that.
And as for Aura, her dress was a sexy violet dress that showcased her body lines and cleavage to emphasize her voluptuous body. If she were to appear in high society, she would definitely be a head turner.
"Procell, Im hungry; can we perhaps eat soon?"
Somewhat pouting, [Wind] Demon Lord Sts told me so.
I guess shes upset Im praising other girls.
"Oh, of course. Ill have the food served right away."
When I pped my hands, the food was carried in.
Upon seeing this, the girls who had just arrived took their seats.
The table that was prepared for us was a round one, making conversation easy even with this many participants.
Marcho and my three monsters seated themselves around me, Fel sat next to the [Time] Demon Lord, and all the other monsters sat beside their Demon Lords.
The exception being the ming Qilin, Tere; Tere could speak but unlike [Time]s other monster, it was not able to take up human form.
One after the other, the best dishes from all over the world were being brought in.
As long as merchants could, even if by foot, they would travel to an area and acquaint themselves in that areaswork of merchants.
And when they be a first-rate merchant like Conanna, they could force their way toworks all over the world, continuously gather information, and obtain each areas best seasonal products.
Even the highest-ranking Demon Lords shouldnt have that many opportunities to enjoy such seasonal and exotic delicacies.
The control over air travel, such was Avalons charm.
"Youre just a greenhorn and yet youve prepared this many wonderful things."
"In case you prepared only inferior things, I would have forced you to do better but now, I cant reallyin."
"Fufu, youre my child so this much is just natural."
It seemed to have pleased the tastes of the three strongest Demon Lords and for that, I was relieved.
When the dishes were all served, Avalon wine was poured into our sses. This wine was made using the golden apples of the [First Tree], a tree that was equal to a World Tree. Just like with the golden apples, this wine was only avable here in Avalon.
When I was thinking of doing a toast to officially start the feast, Marcho spoke.
"Dan, Ast, Procell, everyone, thank you for helping me. I am here right now, smiling, only thanks to everyones efforts. Please ept my gratitude."
Upon hearing her words, the [Dragon] Demon Lordughed, kukuku. As for the [Time] Demon Lord, he seemed calm but there were subtle signs of his face turning red.
"Marcho, helping a friend in need is only natural. Or so I would like to say but I have to confess that my ns were to ignore your plight. We did have that non-intervention agreement, after all. What convinced me to act was your child. Above all, it was akin to a business arrangement where I waspensated. For those reasons, I have no right to ept your gratitude."
The [Dragon] Demon Lord said so and shot me a meaningful nce.
In reaction, I smiled. The [Dragon] Demon Lord was not the type of man to act for such a measlypensation. However, he did need an excuse so that he could help Marcho and I was the perfect one.
"Im the same as the [Dragon], no, Im the same as Ast; theres no need to thank me. Its vexing but I was not the one to save you; it was Procell. Rather than be thanked, I should be the one thanking him. So, Procell, thank you for keeping Marcho alive. I consider my reward of having more time to be with Marcho fulfilled."
The [Time] Demon Lord then turned to me and smiled.
His smiling face was so beautiful and so devoid of worry... that it made me feel even more guilty.
Embarrassed by the words of her two old friends, Marcho smiled as well.
However, she didnt attempt to thank them again. Their bond was deep enough that no words were needed to express their unspoken feelings.
"Hey, Dan, earlier you said not to call you Dan anymore but now, youre the one going back to our old way of calling each other. What changed your mind?"
"I was being nonsensical. With all three of us gathered in the same dining table, there was no sense in being so obstinate anymore."
"Kakaka, you say this now afterplicating things for at least a century. Oh well, it was nice to hear you call me Ast again before I die. Thats one less regret to worry about. ...anyway, Marcho, although I have a theory, Im still going to ask: whats with that form? You look a lot younger."
The [Dragon] Demon Lord narrowed his eyes and examined Marcho.
"I was reborn. I was able to drive back the ones that attacked me but at that point, I had used [Awakening] too much, therefore using up what little left of my lifespan. Just when I was about to vanish, Procell used [Rebirth] and that turned me into his monster. As I currently am, I am no longer a Demon Lord."
"Hmm, I see. Its surprising though, to have yousomeone who proudly persists more than anyone to follow the proper path for a Demon Lordrely on such a shady method."
The [Dragon] Demon Lord said so and then looked toward the [Time] Demon Lords direction.
The [Time] Demon Lord was leaning on his elbow, looking as calm as before, when he began to speak.
"Im worried too. Marcho, why did you ept [Rebirth] but not my powers over [Time] when it could have just as easily prolonged your life? Can you tell me your reason?"
Upon hearing the question, Marcho scratched her cheek, avoided eye contact, and then turned red.
My guess was that she was embarrassed because she thought of what happened between us back then.
Just when she steeled herself and was about to speak, a growling sound was made and all eyes were directed to the source of that sound.
"I-Im sorry. Please, continue speaking."
The source was Fel or more specifically, her rumbling stomach.
To have such a feast before oneself and not be able to eat it, it would surely make ones stomach protest.
Someoneughed, then another, until everyone wasughing.
"Gahahaha. Dan, it seems your cute, little monster has grown tired of this long talk. Well, lets enjoy the food first; the talk can wait until after our bellies are full."
"Im sorry, Father."
Fel said so while her wolf-ears were down and her face hidden.
"No, its fine. Ive wanted to eat too. Procell, why are you not doing anything? Youre supposed to be the host today."
It seemed like the [Time] Demon Lord was really indulgent to his daughter.
If it were not for Fel, I might have interrupted his conversation with Marcho. However, and if I did do that and he felt he lost face, it wouldnt have been strange if he decided to cut off my head.
"Then, a toast: to Marchos safety and to renewed friendship."
"""Cheers!"""
We all shouted so and made our sses bump into the others.
And with that, we began eating the feast.
"Procell, this wine made of apples is really good. I would like to enjoy some of it in my own dungeon. Can that be arranged?"
"Im sorry but no. Todays wine needs special apples to make but Im afraid we cant produce them inrge enough quantities so giving away this kind of wine for free is something that cant be done. If youre fine with wine one grade lower, Ill have it ready. But for this one, again, sorry."
As to be expected, I could not just carelessly hand over wine made out of the golden apples.
If it was wine made out of ordinary Avalon apples, then sure, he could have as much he would have wanted but the golden apples were primarily used for the creation of strong recovery potions and were thus too much of a valuable resource to be used all on wine.
"I see. Thats a shame. Then, how about I offer an A rank medal in return for some bottles?"
"Dan, stop it with that. If you give out an A rank medal for some wine, youre going to be punished by the Creator again. If you really have to have it, I suggest waiting until after Procell has graduated from being a newly born Demon Lord. On that note, Procell, send me some of the next finest wine. In exchange, Ill give some dragon meat. Those are rare, you know. There are some dragons that would periodically cut their tails to make it grow bigger and those cut-off tails could then serve as food. And if you havent known already, dragon steaks are delicious."
Old Demon Lords were currently at the risk of being penalized for giving monsters and DP to new Demon Lords like me. The exception to this rule was when new Demon Lords offered something of equal value in return.
Based on their exchange, however, it seemed like [Time] was going to be punished for lending Fel to me.
"Ast, youre just stealing a march on me. Youve always been so sly."
The two bantered and created an atmosphere unique to old friends. In truth, I was a little envious of them.
"Rest assured, Ill send bottles of wine made out of applesalthough not of golden applesto the both of you."
For the favor they did me, this much was the least I could do.
The two nodded and continued on with their meal.
"Oto-san, look at these giant prawns! Theyre so delicious but its a bit troublesome to peel their shells off."
What Kuina held in her hand was a prawn so superb, it was like a lobster.
These prawns caught somewhere in the northern sea was now presented to us deep-friedwithout any breadingand ready to be dipped into a spicy, bitter-sweet sauce.
"You dont have to peel the shells off; you can eat them as they are."
I said so and demonstrated it to her. I chewed on one and felt the meat dance around my mouth. Thebination of its juices that were overflowing in my mouth and the sauce was just sublimely delicious. I would go so far to say that it was more delicious than anything I had eaten so far.
With sparkling eyes, Kuina mimicked me.
"Oto-san! This is amazing! Its crunchy and the taste is so deep! Kuina loves this!"
The fact that it was alive until this morning certainly boosted its deliciousness.
As for why the shell was soft, the prawns used were ones which had just finished molting. Molting was when prawns shed their shells so that they could grow. In ce of their old shells, however, were the still-thin-and-soft ones. When deep-fried, the shell provides a crunchy, pleasant texture as well as good vor. And so, biting and chewing these lobster-like,rge prawnsshells and allwas considered very luxurious.
"Master, check these beef sashimi out. I very much like them. Its strange though; it looks raw but its warm juices are simply amazing. Its sauce is splendid as well."
"Oh, those arent sashimi; those are cut-out center portions of grilled meat."
What Rorono ate was a kind of steak.
In this world, there were also such things as premium cows. These cows, simply because they were very delicious to eat, were bred, fed, made to exercise, and managed. Raising such creatures was mostly a hobby for nobles, considering the high price it would take, but the taste of their meat certainly matched the cost.
For everyrge cut of 2kg of meat cooked whole, only about 100g of itthe central partwas served to us. Truly, a very luxurious item.
"For me, I love this oyster pae. The delicious taste of the shellfish permeates all over the rice. Such bliss."
What Aura ate was a special kind of oyster pae; rather than the oyster being added to the rest of the pae was in the oyster.
The pae was made by putting rice grains into theserge, m-like oyster shells; adding in dashi, which was a stock made from kelp; adding in a small quantity of alcohol; and then steam-cooking it.
By doing so, the vor of the oysters was contained within the rice, making the dish delicious.
In addition to those dishes, every single one of the many cuisine that were served to us was very exotic and luxurious.
"That Conanna really went all out, huh."
As per my instructions of disregarding cost, Conanna had arranged for numerous outrageous cuisines.
Everyone was amazed.
More than the ingredients, what made these dishes amazing was the sheer variety of them. The most marvelous recipes from all over the world were arranged for this feast and we had the pleasant opportunity to experience them ourselves.
It went without saying that the delicious food and the great alcohol made everyone happy, filling the ce with the sight of our smiles and the sound of ourughter.
After a while, ck tea and desserts were brought out. Our final dessert was an apple pie. I initially thought it was a little disappointing to have something somon be thest item of our feast but when I tasted it, it was outrageously delicious.
The apple pie used golden apples so it was a given that it was delicious but even then, the patissiers amazing skills made it even more so. Each technique used and each ingredient chosenother than the appleswere perfect, making it the ultimate apple pie.
Its crust was crisp; its syrup had a subtle taste; and the vor of the apples was vivid. With all of these, the pie delighted me greatly.
I see, so this is why Conanna said to look forward most of all to the desserts.
Apparently, these desserts were made by a noble who hailed from a certain remote, pioneering vige. This man, despite being praised as the pride of the nation, was an entric who chooses to remain in his vige. And even when asked to, he would decline requests of making pastries.
I heard, however, that after seeing the apples and being told of a superior variety, he considered wanting to create desserts using the best ingredients and then epted our request. Since it was the golden apples, he probably decided it was better to make a simple pastry to fully draw out its vor.
Id like to meet him once.
It didnt seem like I was the only one that enjoyed his creation. In fact, I would argue that anyone who tasted it would be at a loss for words.
After a while, we all were finally finished with desserts.
"Procell, the feast today was magnificent. Even for me, this was the first time Ive experienced such good food."
"As a top-ranking Demon Lord, it vexes me to say it but I agree. Youve outssed my dungeon in terms of culture, Procell. It seems your decision of building a city does have some pretty good merits."
The [Dragon] Demon Lord and the [Time] Demon Lord each expressed their words of praise.
"The ones that are truly amazing are the humans that made all of these. Ive merely gathered them."
Technically, even that was done by the human merchants. To have awork that reached all corners of the world, not even a Demon Lord could have that.
"I too am satisfied. Procell, there arent many Demon Lords who could skillfully use humans like this, you know. Theres no harm in patting yourself in the back for this. Besides that, hey, let me eat these delicious things again someday, okay?"
Marcho jokingly asked. In reaction, I just smiled wryly.
With our bellies full and with the mood cheery, it was great.
Right then, however, the expression on Marchos face turned serious and she then decided to continue the interrupted talk from earlier.
"Now, onto why epted Procells use of [Rebirth]. Procell said to me, when I was on the brink of vanishing, that he loves me, that he wants me to be his and that hell make me forget about the man I loved before. He said all this as he wept and embraced my tattered body. It was then that I thought I couldnt leave this boy behind, not after being touched by dedication. So yeah, I had fallen in love with him. And I wanted to be with him longer."
Marcho exined so and then put a happy smile on her face.
Seeing that, the [Dragon] Demon Lordughed a little whereas Sts puffed her cheeks.
As for the [Time] Demon Lord...
"I see. It vexes me that I was not the one to say Ill make you forget about him. I was so preupied with trying to catch up with him that the thought didnt even ur to me. Really vexing."
"Hmm, Dan, are you angry? It might not be my business but snatching away the woman you love from the one she loves is foolish to me. My advice is to just give up."
"Ast, youre misunderstanding something. I cant not love Marcho. Sure, at the moment, she loves Procell, but thats all; it doesnt affect my feelings for her. Pity me if you must but Ive grown ustomed to loving somebody who doesnt love me back and who loves somebody else. My centuries-long love for her isnt some trivial thing. ...If this much could make me give up on loving her, I would have gone for some other woman long ago."
The [Time] Demon Lord paused and then took a deep breath so that he could deliver his next words with all his heart.
"So to answer your question, Ast, Im not angry and I dont n to be. Rather, the words I want to say to Procell is thank you for fulfilling our agreement. After that, Im dering it here and now that I am going to make Marcho fall in love with me and take her away from him."
His words were filled with conviction and were definitely not a bluff. They were his true and honest feelings.
That being said, I had no intention of making it easy for him.
"I wont let you."
I strongly dered so. Marchos love was mine.
"Very well. Now that that is taken care of, there is something else Id like you tell me."
The [Time] Demon Lord said so and then smiled coldly.
"For some time now, every time you say you love Marcho, my precious Fel has a sad expression on her face. Its as if shes fallenpletely in love for you as well. So, tell me, why is this the case? Just what did you do to Fel?"
He then shot me a look that by itself could kill.
Theres no escape, I realized. And so, I readied myself and spoke.
The fourth volume of the LN is avable now! Here is an
The first chapter of the manga has also been released.
I did not trante the manga so please express your thanks to them.
If you want to see untranted version, go
Volume 6 8
The [Time] Demon Lord asked about Fel.
It was possible to lie but I would rather not do that to a Demon LordPerson who honestly bared their feelings for Marcho.
I have to brace myself.
"Iid my hands on her. I fiddled with her tail and then kissed her. And then, the other day, to discipline her, I made her undress and then spanked her bottom. Im really sorry."
I said so and bowed my head.
The fiddling of Fels tail and kissing her happened when I used [Awakening] within Marchos dungeon. And then, the other day, by Fels request, I used [Awakening] again. On that second event, I fiddled with her tail again and then afterwards, I spanked her. ...when I did so, I felt extremely happy but obviously, that was an awful thing to do.
After hearing me, the [Time] Demon Lord smiled.
"I see, you did that to Fel, huh. ...now die."
The world became slower. Or so I thought but it was more urate to say that time stopped flowing for me.
Such was the ability called [Time]. If things stayed like so, I would die without being able to lift a finger, let alone any kind of resistance.
But then, my consciousness returned.
As it did, I saw a white tail before me.
"Fel, dont get in the way. I have to give this man his due."
"Father, p-please wait"
Fel was protecting me.
The only ones who could move in a space governed by the powers of [Time] were the [Time] Demon Lord and the monsters who had the ability to manipte [Time].
The two subordinates of the [Time] Demon Lordthe me Qilin Telre and the mysterious old manhad no inclination to protect me so if it werent for Fel, I most probably would have died.
"Chief, lets do it. If you wont, I will."
The Qilin said so while being d in ck mes summoned from hell. It was the ultimate me that embodied incineration itself. Unbound by thews of physics, its mes would continue to burn even while under water.
"M-my Fel-tan, my Fel-tan has been soiled. Grandpas going to destroy this city!"
It was only the old mans face but he transformed nheless into a raging dragon. Dragon whiskers appeared and his eyes turned into these fiery reptilian eyes.
"No, stop! Dont harm master!"
Fel desperately petitioned so.
However, the [Time] Demon Lord just looked at me as one would at trash.
"Step aside, Fel. Let me kill that man... Or could it be that, by his authority as your Demon Lord, this man hasmanded you to do this?"
The [Time] Demon Lord was furious. There was no way he was going to forgive me and, honestly, I deserved that much. Losing myself via [Awakening] was no excuse. To make matters worse, knowing all of the risks, I still used [Awakening] again when Fel requested it.
"I am not beingmanded"
Fel shaked her head no.
"What he did is unforgiveable!"
"Even so, please, dont! I, I..."
Tears began flowing from her eyes.
Fel, you can stop now.
It was painful to let her continue protecting me like this: by going against her father.
"...Felsias, thats enough. I [Command] you to step aside."
Through a Demon Lords authority over a monster, a [Command] given by them must be carried out without exception.
As of the moment, control over Fel was mine.
The [Time] Demon Lord was perfectly aware of such and even though his [Command] had no binding effect, if Fel decided to disobey him, it would mean them parting ways.
"I-I may not be able to disobey you but if you insist on giving me this [Command], know that I will you for it. I will hate you Father, you Tef-niisama, and you Ragna-jii. I will hate all of you."
Seeing Fel act as tough as she could, the [Time] Demon Lords party was confused.
Given that, I stood up, grabbed Fel by the shoulder, and hid her behind me. There was no way I could let her act as my shield any more than she has.
"[Time] Demon Lord Dantalian, let me return Fel to you. Kill me after that please. If you kill me right now, I wont be able to transfer authority over her, after all."
And so, I began the transferring of the authority over Fel.
I then extended my hand. By grabbing it, the [Time] Demon Lord wouldplete the process.
"Procell, if you release Felwho has the ability to manipte [Time]over to me, there will be nothing you can do to stop me. If you intend to use the monsters behind you, you will find that that is a futile effort. Having unparalleled strength, such is the ability called [Time]."
"Even so, Im sure. I do have one request though: please dont break my crystal. These children are innocent in this matter."
Even if I was killed, so long as Wight and Marcho were there, Avalon would be safe.
"Good resolve. Now, return Fel to me."
With that, the transfer wasplete. Seeing that, Fel leaked out a sad sigh.
"Now, there is nothing to stop me anymore. Before I kill the [Creation] Demon Lord, Fel, tell me, why are you willing to go that far to protect that man, that lolicon whoid his hands on you?"
Tears in her eyes, Fel fearlessly looked straight at the [Time] Demon Lord.
"Because I love master. It was my wish, my request that he did those things. He was only listening to my selfishness; hes not at fault!"
"Is that true?"
"It is! So, please, forgive master! Please! Ill do anything, please!"
Fel said so while her head was lowered.
Meanwhile, the [Time] Demon Lord let out a long, long sigh.
After a while, he then smiled thinly.
"For you to lie to mefor the very first timemust prove how much you love him. I understand that much. My desire to kill him hasnt changed but I would rather stay my hand than be hated by you."
What Fel said was indeed a lie.
She did request that I use [Awakening] on the second time but on the first one, I simply did what I wanted regardless of her say on the matter.
Upon realizing that she was lying, the [Time] Demon Lord sympathized with what she felt. He then put a hand on her shoulder and asked her something.
"Fel, Im going to give you a choice to make. Return to my side or be that mans monster. Whichever you choose, I give you my word that I will not do anything horrible to him."
Fel then began to tremble.
For a young girl like her, it must have been a difficult life choice.
"I-Ive decided. I love master. I also Kuina who is like an older sister to me. Ive also made a lot of friends here in masters very amusing city. The food here is very tasty too."
Recently, Fel has be familiar with Avalon.
She has been adoring Kuina as though thetter truly was an older sister; has been befriending the other monsters; and has been enjoying herself casually in Avalon.
"I see"
The [Time] Demon Lord murmured so, almost with a sigh.
"But the one I love most is Father. I look up to Tef-niisama. Even though Ragna-jii is annoying, I dont dislike him. I love everyone in the [Chronos Knights] too. It is there that I belong. I love you, master, but I choose to be with Father."
Fel strongly dered so.
Her decision wasnt out of impulse but rather out of careful deliberation.
The [Time] Demon Lord then brushed Fels head with his reassuring, fatherly hand.
"I see. Then, lets return together. [Creation] Demon Lord, I forgive you. My daughter has said that she loves you and I of all people know what it feels like to lose someone you love. More than anything, every father only ever wishes for their daughters happiness."
"You really will forgive me?"
"Under two conditions."
The [Time] Demon Lord shot me a piercing gaze and then help up a finger.
"First, it would be horrible of me to tear Fel apart from the people she has gotten close to. And so, from time to time, allow her to visit this ce. Kuina, I believe you were called. It seems like you have been like an older sister to Fel; I leave her in your care."
"Leave it to Kuina! Kuinall shower Fel with love!"
The [Time] Demon Lord nced at Kuina and thanked her.
"For the second one... Ill be clear here: Im offended. I was trying to act cool earlier but, what the hell? Youve told me that your feelings for Marcho werent anything like romantic love and yet youve seduced her. Sure, it might have been necessary to convince her to ept [Rebirth] but... fuck off! Dont screw with me! And then, on top of all that, you go andy your hands on Fel. Are you mad!? Do you even understand how a man who has both a daughter and someone he yearns for feels right now!? This is the first time in my three hundred years of living that Ive felt this aggravated."
"I am truly sorry"
Apologizing was all I could do.
To him, it must have felt like he was cuckolded twice.
"What aggravates me the most is that both Marcho and Fel are happy with you. They like you, they love you. So, if I kill you, those two that I love will be sad. And there is no way Im going to deliberately do that... Hah, truly aggravating. And so, Ive decided to just forget it all with alcohol. In other words, my second condition is that bottles of wine made out of golden apples be delivered to me weekly. I will make Fel go each week to pick up the wine. Do we have an agreement?"
"Are you really okay with this?"
"Dont misunderstand. Im offering this for Marcho and Fels sake."
"Im really sorry."
"If youre truly sorry, then dont do it the first ce. Also, if it helps you ept this, consider this a favor you owe me."
I agreed.
I owed him arge debt of gratitude which I should pay back someday.
At that point, his monsters began to cause an uproar.
"Chief, is this really alright?"
"...Teres respected as a big brother and meanwhile, though I am not disliked, Im annoying? Such difference! Grandpa will correct this; grandpa will shower you with three times the sweets!"
The old man was totally off the subject.
"Its fine. Ive decided on this after seeing Fels resolve. Or is it that the two of you wish for her to be unhappy?"
"...got it, chief. But if that Demon Lord makes her cry, I swear Im going to beat him to death."
"More importantly, Fel-tan, eat these sweets. Here, youll see your grandpa is kinder and more handsome than that Demon Lord."
It seemed to me that the [Time] Demon Lords monsters were willing to let me off the hook as well.
With that, I thought I could finally take a breath and rx but then I heard some Demon Lords saying some disturbing things.
"I just dont know anymore. Is he someone who likes older women but pretends to be a lolicon or a lolicon that pretends to be otherwise... Is his taste that varied? Is there room for something in-between? I just cant understand it anymore."
"Sts, is he really alright? Im getting worried."
"Procell is a fantastic Demon LordPerson! Its just that hes a mothercon and a lolicon; hes just fickle!"
"No, you see, thats whats getting me worried."
[Wind] Demon Lord Sts and [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth were conversing excitedly.
Its better for me to not get involved.
Meanwhile, my monsters too were getting lively.
"Oto-san, if you want, you can do to Kuina what you did to Fel."
"Mhm. We have to verify how safe it is. I dont know if Ill like having my bottom spanked but the responsibility of doing it does appeal to me."
"Yeah, right? So, how about it?"
I could sense nothing but bad things.
Just what are these girls asking for?
But then...
"Pro~Cell~"
Marcho clung onto me.
"Youve proposed to me and yet here I find out that youre doing whatever you want. I guess Ill have to educate you in the bedroom to not look at anyone other than me."
Marcho whispered so in my ear. When I heard her say in the bedroom, multitudes of weird thoughts came to me one after another.
At that point, Kuina and Rorono approached.
"No! You cant disrupt Oto-sans day!"
"Mhm. The turn order on which we have it should be preserved."
"Then, I guess Ill just include myself on that turn order."
Things were gradually getting out of hand. Thinking about the seeds I had sown and their consequences was giving me a headache.
And so, I decided to butt in and forcefully announce something.
"Everyone, it isnt just food that Ive prepared for you all today. We have ys we can watch, a hot spring to enjoy, and curios from all over the world to shop. I want you to enjoy everything Avalon has to offer. Now, lets move on to the next one."
Whether what I said had an effect on its own, the group was interested regardless.
There were various hurdles but, in the end, we finished the meal peacefully.
As they were, I believed it was fine to say they were enjoying my city, my Avalon.
As I thought of such things, I guided everyone to our next venue: the stage for a y.
We were having a marvelous time.
We watched a y, sipped some tea while taking a break, and shopped at Avalons renowned shopping district. Of course, I took care of the expenses so that they could have as much fun as possible.
At the moment, we were rxing ourselves at the hot spring which was reserved only for us. Due to the men and women bathing in separate areas, three male Demon Lords and one monster that looked like an old man were stuck together. All thorns and no flowers.
Kuina and the girls always took a bath with me but, for this instance, I had to convince them not to. It took all of my willpower to do so but thanks to the excellent water of the hot spring, the fatigue of both my body and mind were swept away.
Still, Id rather be in the other area where many beautiful girls are.
"Dan, youre so mature now. Just the fact that you didnt kill this guy earlier surprised me."
"I am not my old self. It might only be a little but Ive learn to sympathize with others... deep down though, I still want to kill him."
"I have nothing to say in my defense."
I felt smaller.
"Fuhahahaha, well, thats fair enough. Hey, Dan, you were really shrewd on getting those alcohol. Why dont we go drinking from time to time?"
"Okay, lets. Weve wasted a great amount of our lifespan not being in each otherspany so even if by just a little, Id like to go back to what we were in the old days. Ast, even now, will you not want to extend your life?"
"Yeah, I dont. Ive found a sessor, after all. I n to leave it all behind to Sts. So, Procell, if you make that child cry, know that Im going to go after you from beyond the grave."
"Ill keep that in mind."
When I replied so, the [Dragon] Demon Lord pped my shoulder.
While being submerged in the water and being intoxicated by alcohol, I looked up and admired the stars and moon. Such marvelous things that surpasses everything else.
Thinking like so, I extended my hand as though to grab the moon.
After that, for some reason, we talked about dirty stuff. We might have been Demon Lords but we were still men. It was my first time to have an innocently perverted conversation and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
We continued to drink, humidity and all. Like that, we passed the time in an enjoyable way.
After the hot spring, we rested for a while and then headed to the gates of Avalon.
"Well, Im heading back. Sts, will you be staying here?"
"Yes. The day of my [War] is approaching so Id like to hear various advice."
"Thats good. He did manage to get a win against six old Demon Lords so Im sure youll learn a lot."
The [Dragon] Demon said such, rode his esteemed dragon, and then left.
"Well be going as well. I wont say any furtherints about the matters on Marcho and Fel but I stand by what I dered earlier: I will not give up on Marcho. Someday, I will make her fall for me and take her away. Also, if you make Fel cry, remember that I will kill you."
"Ill keep those in mind."
At the end of our farewell, the [Time] Demon Lord smiled.
And then, Fel who was beside him spoke as well.
"Master, Kuina, everyone, goodbye! Well see each other again so this isnt really farewell!"
"Fel-chan, well absolutely see each other again! Everyone will be waiting for your return!"
Kuina said so as she energetically waved her hand.
Both Fel and Kuina had tears flowing from their eyes. It was only a short time but the two had be close sisters.
And then, when the [Time] Demon Lord waved his hand, they vanished.
"Kuina, dont get sad, okay?"
"Yeah, our time might have been limited, but Im d I have a new sister."
Fel was good kid.
She has be more irreceable for Avalon than she could imagine.
"Lets go back to the house"
Standing there forever wouldnt help things one bit.
With all that, I have finished thanking all those that helped in rescuing Marcho.
Things from now on was a step toward a new endeavor.
And as the first step, Im going to name Wight.
Volume 6 9
A lot of things happened but we have sessfully finished the party.
The guests were able to get a taste of the charms of the Avalon I have built.
...I was also forgiven by the [Time] Demon Lord for the traitorous thing I did.
It was all thanks to his kindness. However, as he had suggested, I intended to pay back this debt of gratitude someday.
"Thats pretty much it. Was it helpful? Did you learn anything from it?"
As of the moment, I was in a guest room telling Sts about my experiences on war thus far.
It was required of us new Demon Lord to experience [War] at least once within the year.
I had already cleared such a requirement but Sts was only about to experience her first one and thus requested that I give her some advice.
There were currently three people in the room: me, Sts, and Rozelitte, the angel-type monster that Sts lent to me.
"Yeah, thank you, Procell, it was very helpful."
Sts said so and then stretched.
When she did so, my eyes were drawn into her unusually white nape.
She was currently wearing a silk pajama she bought here in Avalon. Its texture was great and it was undeniably a first-ss item. She had tried it on and liked it so much that she bought duplicates.
"It was my pleasure."
When I said so, a Mythological Fox serving as a housekeeper brought in ck tea.
"These are good tea leaves. Its very calming."
"Its actually my favorite. A lot of things can trouble a Demon Lord, after all. Ill prepare some for you as a gift."
"Thanks. Fufu, youre so kind, Procell."
It was the first time for us to make small talk and I felt strangely tensed.
"Well, this is the only way for me to return the favor I owe you, you see. Id like you make you a happier, even if by only a little."
When I was challenged into a [War] by three other Demon Lords, Sts acted as my insurance and stood guard in my crystal room.
And at such a crucial time where I decided to go on a campaign to save Marcho, she lent me Rozelitte who was one of her [Monsters of the Covenant]one of her trump cardsregardless of the risk of losing her should I fail.
"Hey, Procell, I..."
Sts began saying something but then stopped.
To disguise the fact that she did so, she pretended to drink her ck tea.
Looking at such a Sts, Rozelitte shrugged her shoulders and sighed my, my.
"Its because youre so half-and-half that Procell-sama is snatched away by someone else. Now, go all out, push him down, and be one with him."
"Pfft, w-w-whatever are you talking about?"
With a red face, Sts sprayed out her ck tea and said so.
"This is what Im talking about, master. Well, it is cute as well though."
The two acted totally like sisters.
When I thought so, I unconsciously let out a slight smile.
"Rozelittle, this is goodbye. Our time might have been short but it was fun."
"I should be the one saying that; Ive learned a lot. Ive actually been taking some lessons from Wight-san and I intend to use my newly acquired knowledge to make Sts-sama even more powerful."
She sure is shrewd and dependable. As long as shes around, Sts should be fine.
While thinking so, I did the procedures for transferring monsters and then extended my hand toward Sts. Upon Sts grabbing it, the transfer would beplete and control over Rozelitte would be returned her.
Just like with Fel, I was about to part with Rozelitte as well.
"Procell, thank you for training Rozelitte. Though you might someday regret making your rival stronger."
Not making the other person feel indebted to her was a good trait of hers.
"Ill be careful not to let ite to that. I would like us to continue to be rivals, Sts. Racing against one another to be a first-ss Demon Lord and whatnot. Id rather there be no bloodshed among us though."
I wanted to avoid a fight to the death with her because win or lose, it would leave a bitter aftertaste in my mouth.
"Yeah, Id also like us topete against each other but without us killing each other. ...oh, Ill grab your hand, now."
Sts and I had the same sentiments.
She then grabbed my extended hand and thuspleted the transfer of Rozelitte back to her.
"Sts-sama, Im back."
"Wee back, Rozelitte."
The two said so and then embraced.
Parting with Rozelitte might have been lonesome but, as one would expect, by Stss side was where she belonged.
"Procell, Im heading back to my room. I really enjoyed this day."
"Oh my, Sts-sama, youre not going to sleep in Procell-samas room tonight?"
"Its much too soon for that. Not that that will ever happen. Anyway, were going."
"See you tomorrow, Procell-sama! You should make a move on Sts-sama. Shes the ideal candidate to cure you of your weird fetishes in no time!"
""Thats none of your business!""
Sts and I both retorted so.
We arent in that kind of rtionship.
"Say, Procell, I was wondering, if you have the time, do you want to watch my [War]? Theres no way my fighting force would lose but your moral support would be appreciated."
"Sure. I guess should watch you fight from your crystal room, just like you did in my war. But wouldnt this put me in a very advantageous position? Being able to see for myself the scope of your fighting force and all."
I returned to her the words she said to me back then so that I would not feel overly thankful.
Upon hearing it, she smiled wryly.
Aside from being head and shoulders above other new Demon Lords, Sts was the bearer of an A rank medal. There was no way she would lose.
I could lend her one of my monsters to further secure victory but I knew her pride would not allow that. And so, it was my decision that I would just watch her fight and act only when her opponents were trying to do some foul y like mine did. To that end, I had preparations to do.
Sts and Rozelitte left, leaving me alone in the room.
I was lying on the bed, totally exhausted. Exhausted not physically but mentally.
"Master, Iming in."
"Yeah, enter."
Rorono the Elder Dwarf asked so and then entered the room.
Each night, one of my [Monsters of the Covenant] slept with me. They had dubbed so their Fathers Day.
Of course, when I said they slept with me, I meant it in its literal meaning. I was not a lolicon and these girls were my daughters. I dont have any abnormal fetishes whatsoever.
"My reward starts now. Until tomorrow evening, father would be together with just me. Also, from now until my reward ends, Ill keep calling you father."
Rorono said so and then gave her usual reserved smile. Upon seeing that smile, all my tiredness faded away.
"Understood. As promised, after we see Sts off, the two of us are going outside."
What Rorono asked for her reward was my time.
To be more specific, a full day spent only with her.
If I were to give Wight his name, I would lose my magic power for a long time. While in that state, going outside was not advisable and so, I had decided to grant Roronos reward first.
"Mhm, Im looking forward to it."
"That being said, are you really fine with a trip to that ce?"
"Yes. Travelers have said that the cksmithing techniques there are amazing."
The destination of our trip was also decided by what she wanted.
Due to the fact that it was located at the foot of a mine and that materials were thus easy to get, it became a sacred ce for master cksmithsand those wishing to be oneto further hone their craft.
"But even if you see for yourself the humans smithing techniques, I dont believe there would be much benefit."
"Humans indeed do have unrefined techniques but to make up for that, they try out all sorts of ideas. Sometimes they even stumble on a new approach. Im quite excited for it."
Even when going on a pleasure trip, she still thought about cksmithing; she really did love it.
She was currently lying on the bed with me so I decided to hug her. Hugging my girls as though they were hug pillows were one of my greatest source of satisfaction. Their warm body temperature and fragrant scent simply erases the fatigue in both my body and mind.
"Say, father,"
"What is it?"
"Why dont you do to us what you did with Fel? Is it because you like Fel more?"
Upon hearing it, I unconsciously leaked out a weird voice.
I have to calm down and look good in front of my daughter.
"No, its not that, but rather, its because you girls are my daughters and I love you too much for that. Also, in the first ce, I didnt even mean to do what I did to Fel."
"Mhm, okay. Then, between your daughters, your bride, and all other else, which would you say is the most important?"
"I think its you girls. Theres no one more important to me right now than you."
After I said so, Rorono then buried her face in my chest.
"Im relieved to hear that. Lately, Kuina has been worried, saying things like youll be stolen away from us and that youre so charmed by Marchosias-sama and Fel that youll forget about us."
"Kuina has been thinking those things? But theres absolutely no way thosell happen."
"Unless you put it into words and actions, we had no way of knowing. In fact, when she said those things, I also became a little worried. For those reasons, make it up to us by showing us a lot of love."
Rorono said so in a spoiled manner. In response, I brushed her head.
It was only until she said so to me that I was made aware of such things. Certainly, I had been spending less time with the girlspared to before so it was perfectly understandable for them to worry.
"Yeah, I will. Thanks for telling me about it."
"Mhm. But while its fine to show your affection to Kuina via your actions, it might be too soon to say it directly to her."
"Why is that?"
"Kuina is under the impression that you love her the most because she was the strongest amongst us. However, now that Marchosias-samasomeone stronger than herhas appeared, that confidence of hers has crumbled. To regain it back, shes undergoing special training that will benefit not only her but father as well. And I want to help her conquer her weakpoints."
"Her weakpoints?"
"Mhm. If it was just her physical prowess and the amount of magic power, theres no problem; my weapons can take advantage of those. But then, her forte is her mes and yet she almost never uses them. And so, I want to make her a weapon thatll incorporate the use of her mes as well."
It was indeed a waste for Kuina not to use her mes despite being a high-end me user. If she could then make full use of her mes, she would probably be even stronger. So much so that she could perhaps even match Marcho.
"Its supposed to be your time but all weve done is talk about Kuina."
It was a little bit heartwarming. Even though Rorono didnt often act like it in front of Kuina, Rorono really did look up to Kuina as her older sister.
"Yeah but whenever Kuina gets sad, I get sad as well. Well, enough of that. Father, about that special gun we talked about the other day, Im quite curious about the amusing mechanism in it."
"Oh, okay, Ill use my [Creation] to make it before I name Wight."
Naming ones first three monsterstheir [Monsters of the Covenant]was different from naming the seeding monsters. For the first three monsters, the monster and Demon Lord were bound by a connection that united them as one, thus making the procedure of naming cost almost none.
For the naming of the seeding monsters, however, the Demon Lord would have topensate for theck of that special connection by one-sidedly expending an amount of magic power that far exceeded their own which then leaves them unable to recover any magic power for nearly a month.
Obviously, without any magic power, I would not be able to use my [Creation].
For all the risks it entailed, I was still more than happy to give Wight, who has always been supporting me, his name.
After that, Rorono and I talked about trivial things and then fell asleep.
Her small body and her warmth were very pleasant. It seems like I can sleep well tonight.
The next day, after we saw Sts off, we began our stroll toward the city well-known to cksmiths.
Rorono seemed like in a good mood, I noticed during the journey.
"Father, look at this sword. It has undergone a peculiar process when it was forged. I want to tinker with it. Oh, and the tanned hide used for the armor over there is pretty too."
She said so as she praised the ingenuity of the humans.
Even if clothes and essories were bought for her, she wouldnt be too ecstatic about it, but buy her weapons and armors that might look promising for her research and she would be over the moon.
"Lets buy it then. If it helps you improve your techniques in any way, then its essential for Avalon."
"Thank you, father!"
My [Monsters of the Covenant] each had different things that made them happy.
Kuina liked first and foremost food. Next to that, she liked cute clothes and essories. However, because her body had grown recently, she could no longer wear her cute clothes and that obviously made her sad. Ill go buy her a lot of cute clothes next time.
For Rorono, she enjoyed peculiar weapons and armor. The keyword there was peculiar. If the equipment was deemed mundane, she would be displeased. The next things she liked were ores, and thenstly, food.
As for Aura, she would be happy with pretty much anything but she loved getting girly things such as make-up.
At any rate, if shopping could make Rorono this happy, I would very much like to do as much shopping as she wanted.
After observing the towns cksmiths, we enjoyed a meal at around dusk.
Carrying arge quantity of baggage, we returned to Avalon.
Rorono was very happy, and just seeing her face was very well worth the trip.
After arriving in Avalon, we enjoyed some sweets and tea.
Of course, it was still just the two of us.
Rorono happily talked about things. 70% of which were about the weapons under development; 20% were about Kuina and Aura; and about 10% were about her subordinates, the Dwarf Smiths.
She had a million other things to tell me when the rm on the clock struck.
"......its already time. Its regretful but my time alone with you, father, has ended."
Rorono said so in a somewhat sad manner.
In response, I brushed her head, almost unconsciously.
"Rorono, while it is true that your reward has ended, I enjoyed this day so I think we should do this again someday. Ill be sure to make some time for it."
When I said so, Rorono smiled.
I wanted to make time not just for Rorono, but for Kuina and Aura as well.
"Well then, Im going to the lower dungeon floor. The time for Wights naming ising soon."
"Ill go too."
Rorono usually grabbed only my cuff or sleeve, but this time, she reached for my hand.
Some kind of change of heart?
At any rate, from then on was the naming of Wight in the lower dungeon floor.
For precautions sake, I had informed my monsters that they were free to participate. Seeing as how popr Wight was, I was quite certain almost all of my monsters would show up.
I hope Wight likes the name I thought up.
While psyching myself up and thinking of so, Rorono and I headed toward the dungeon floor beneath Avalon.
Volume 6 10
Rorono and I headed toward the dungeon floor under the ground so that I could give Wight his name.
Wights name had already been decided. In fact, it was a name I long wanted to give him.
The venue for his naming was the graveyard area in the said underground dungeon floor. I had given out instructions to ready it before I left on the trip with Rorono, and those preparations should have already been finished by the time we arrived back.
After a while of walking, Rorono and I arrived at the venue.
"All of the monsters in Avalon are here, huh."
"It is Wights event, after all. its a given that everyone wille."
As Rorono had said, Wight was indeed well loved.
Upon our arrival, I noticed several things: the venue was decorated more than what I had ordered; there were more food brought in by volunteers; the Dwarf Smiths had built several structures; Rlyeh Diva and the Ocean Singers were performing their music and songs; Aura and the High Elves had made dishes using their prized fruits and vegetables; and Kuina and the Mythological Foxes were serving as waitresses.
Moreover, the Skeletons under Wights directmand were busily moving about while the Darkness Dragons were posed majestically as though they were Hachiko, the faithful dog.
A crowd was formed and in center of it was Wight, shyly talking to the others.
Upon seeing him, I walked toward him.
"Wight, thismotions as if were in a festival, doesnt it?"
"Oh, its you, my lord. I cant thank you enough for such a grand celebration."
"Dont misunderstand; this isnt my doing. Mymands epassed only the bare minimum of the preparations. Everything more than that is thanks to everyones volunteered efforts. So, dont thank me, thank everyone."
It was because it was the popr and well-loved Wight that my monsters exerted this much effort.
When I said so, Wight smiled.
"Is that so? Then, I will have to thank each of themter."
His courteousness and attentiveness were the reasons Wight was so well loved.
Wight was an excellent monster by himself, but his ability to gather and inspire the other monsters made him even more excellent.
It was because he was there to protect and manage Avalon in my absence that I was able to go on the trip with Rorono.
"Wight, congrattions on soon bing a monster with a name. I have made this with all my best. I hope you ept it."
Rorono who hade along with me handed to Wight a prettily packaged, long and narrow box.
When can she have prepared such a thing? But at any rate, for my daughter to prepare a gift on her own ord... Im really happy with her growth.
"To receive a masterpiece of Rorono-sama, a master cksmith of the highest level, I am extremely delighted."
"Do not be so modest. You deserve at least this much. Wight, congrattions again. You are a monster worthy of being named. From now on, lets continue protecting master and making Avalon better."
"But of course. It is my very desire to support and to protect my lord, as well as to win against tribtions together with him. Rorono-sama, may I open this here?"
"Mhm."
When Rorono nodded, Wight opened the box.
What was inside was a beautiful ne.
Its sophisticated chain was an alloyposed of orichalcum and mithril. It also had a violet gem inserted into a golden pendant. The golden pendant wasnt gaudy, but rather, it was modest while still very capable of drawing out the charm of the violet gemstone.
"This... its so beautiful. And, I sense very powerful magic power within it too."
When Rorono received her name and thus became one of my [Monsters of the Covenant], a new ability awakened within her.
That ability was the materialization of magic power. Each materialized item was infused with a single magic that she herself must be able to perform. It had limitations and needed ingenuity but with it, she could materialize items that dont exist in this world. The ne she gave Wight was also made using this power of hers.
"It is a magic tool made using my power. Always keep it close to you because it will surely keep you safe."
"I will treasure it."
"If something ever happens to you, that child will surely be saddened. So, take good care of yourself."
By that child, she was most likely talking about the Dwarf Smith that was in a rtionship with Wight.
After saying such things, Rorono turned around and left.
Following that, Kuina approached and then pressedrge kebabs, which she seemed to have bought from the stores in Avalon, forward to Wight before saying: here, eat these and grow stronger.
The next one to approach was Aura. She gave Wight some special, multi-colored flowers that I had never seen before. She must have done selective breeding on them using her magic.
And then, one after the other, my monsters gave their congrattory gifts to Wight. They must have taken Roronos giving of the ne as the signal to give their own gifts.
Coincidentally, when things began to settle down, the appointed time was near.
"Well then, Wight, lets begin."
"Certainly, my lord."
Wight and I then climbed to an elevated stage that was built at the center of the venue.
All the eyes of my monsters were gathered on us. When I shot a nce at them from atop the stage, they understood that the naming was finally going to begin, ceased their conversations with one another, and then became quiet.
Right at that moment, Rlyeh Diva sent a signal to the Ocean Singers, making them change the music they were ying from a cheerful one into a majestic one.
With that, the scene was set. All that was left was for me to give Wight his name.
"Wight, thank you for all the support youve done thus far. The reason that I, an ipetent Demon Lord, continue to win is because I have you, an excellent chief of staff. I am very grateful to you."
"I am unworthy of your thanks. I was able to do all Ive done because of you, my lord. It might seem like Im returning words youve said, but youre the reason I was able to draw my full potential."
The smooth talker that he was, Wight used the words I had said before against me.
"Wight, to reward you for your services and achievements, you shall henceforth have a name."
I said so and then concentrated.
The moment I decided to begin the naming, I felt something in me bing switched to on. I felt my magic power and my might as a Demon Lord boil up within my body.
"The name Im going to give you is... Duke."
The moment I said his name, my magic power and my Demon Lord might went into Wight as these ck specks of light.
I felt I lost an outrageous amount of myself. So much so that I found it hard to even stand.
It got cold, or rather, I felt cold. I felt my strength continually being drained away.
I now understood what it truly meant to name a monster other than my [Monsters of the Covenant]. The stronger the one being named, the greater the toll. And Wight was a ck Dragon of Death Siegwurm, a special S rank monster, at that. The strength it consumed of me was unimaginable.
My knees were wobbling, but because I knew I must absolutely not fall at such an important event for Wight, I steeled myself instead.
I cant be a bother to him now of all times.
A momentter, the ck lights stopped flowing. Finally, the naming process wasplete. Wight was now officially Duke.
Forcing my unsteady body to stand by willpower alone, I looked directly at Duke.
With an intoxicated face, he looked at me as well and then nodded.
"Duke... Thats my name."
"Yes, it is. From now on, you will no longer be called Wight. Instead, you shall be known as Duke. From here on, all of you shall refer to him as Duke."
When I addressed the audience, they began chanting his name: Duke, Duke, Duke.
Each time it was chanted, the more Duke grew triumphant and the more the reality of having a name sunk into him.
"Your name is a word from a lostnguage which means the highest seat of nobility next to the monarch. It was a noble with influence that could rival that of the monarch itself. In exchange for that power though, the position also offered duties and responsibilities that must be endured. And what I ask of you is to not only muster and organize my monsters, but to also be their role model. To be the most proper and ideal monster there is. Can you do that?"
"So long as my lord wills it, it will be done. I have and will continue to be until thine body rots, by your side, my lord."
Wight, now named Duke, pledged so while kneeling down.
As usual, his graceful conduct was worthy of a portrait.
"Ill be expecting much from you, Duke. Much more than before now that youre part of my top brass in both name and actuality."
"Yes, my lord!"
Good reply.
With that, the naming was over.
My monsters pped and congratted Duke.
"Now, lets get down from this stage. There are food and drinks waiting for us. Its been a while since we shared a leisurely drink and I say today we do just that. Tell me of all the things going on with you recently."
"My lord... would you not mind even if I talked about the woman I love?"
Upon hearing that, I had a vacant look on my face.
And then, I recalled that he was in a rtionship with a Dwarf Smith and that Dwarf Smith was now pregnant.
"Yeah, talk about her as much as you want. Duke, you must do your best for your child, okay?"
"Yes, I want to be a father the child can be proud of."
Duke said so and smiled. It wasnt the usual smile he gave me, but rather, it was the gentle smile of a father thinking about his child.
"Alright, today, we drink!"
"To thest drop!"
Just like that, we drank the night away.
The alcohol was great, better tasting than usual.
I had finally named Duke and I strongly believed that we will be by each others side now more than ever.
The party continued until morning, full of non-stopughter from my monsters.
Volume 6 11
After having breakfast, I retreated back to my room and felt a little bit repentant. The reason for such is that I drank a bit too much the previous night.
After naming Duke, I partied with my monsters and drank the alcohol they brought. As a reward for their performance in the campaign to save Marcho, my monsters were given a considerablyrge bonus money. Due to that, they became somewhat generous in their spending which resulted tost nights drinking party.
That being said, we found the alcohol to still not be enough, so I used my own spending money and added more food and alcohol to the party.
"As expected, I really have no magic power, huh."
No matter how I tried, I could not produce any magic power.
Duke was a ck Dragon of Death, a special S rank monster, so the cost for naming him was staggeringly high. And so, as a result of the strain put on whichever part of me that produced magic power by the cost, I became unable to recover magic power.
Saying that my magic power would return in a months timeas per my initial estimatewas still too optimistic. My assumption as of the moment was that at best, it would take me two months to recover, and at worst, well, I had no idea.
"I messed up. I was too na?ve on gauging Dukes strength."
What Marcho once taught me before about naming was probably under the assumption that the monster to be named was an A rank monster. After all, normally, one would not consider a monster beyond A rank.
So, ming Marcho for this miscalction was just absurd. Rather, I should be thanking her.
Anyway, had I not drastically leveled up in the war against the humans and the war to save Marcho, I probably would have lost my life in naming Duke. Which got me wondering what more if it was Marcho I was going to name.
I do have one wish though.
As I was thinking of such things, I heard a knock.
"Enter"
"Master, your beloved Aura is here! To take care of whatever you want."
With a bit of strange excitement in her, Aura the Ancient Elf entered the room. Could she still be drunk?
She looked somewhat more stylish than usual: her prized blond hair was glossy and her clothes were stimting, giving emphasis to her chest.
"Aura, sorry to bother you before your work."
"Its not a bother at all. Its the first time for master to say that the two of us are going to have something to talk behind closed doors, so Im very much excited... or should I say, tensed"
Among my [Monsters of the Covenant], Aura was the only one that didnt refer to me as father.
I had once before confirmed why and it was because she looked at me differently from Kuina or Rorono.
Regardless though, I still looked at her as my daughter.
"What I meant when I said I wanted us to talk privately was that I didnt want the other monsters to know what were going to talk about. Anyway, are you aware that a Demon Lord temporarily loses their magic power and their Demon Lord powers when they name monsters other than their [Monsters of the Covenant]?"
"Yes, youve taught us so. I believe it would take a Demon Lord somewhere between half a month and a full month to recover."
"Yeah, thats what I thought, but apparently, Dukes far stronger than what I anticipated. As things are, my recovery will take longer than anticipated, if at all."
Auras face went pale.
It was bad enough for a Demon Lord to lose their strength temporarily, but for them to lose it forever, it was fatal.
"......then, why talk about it only to me?"
"When I ate a golden apple during breakfast, my body felt a tiny bit better. So, I was of the thought that you might have some medical knowledge about it. In other words, Id like you to examine me. Also, Id like you to look into whether the golden apples can be used for medical treatment for this condition."
My [Monsters of the Covenant] and I ate golden apples every morning. After all, even in small amounts, eating an apple a day could improve not only our health but also our abilities, albeit only slightly.
At any rate, this morning, when I noticed a slight improvement in my condition, I invited Aura to meet after the meal.
"I see. Then, Ill go take a look."
Aura said so, got closer, pressed her forehead against mine, and then poured some of magic power into me.
She had the skill [Personification of the], and thus, one of her strongpoints was the medical treatment using Qi or otherwise known as life energy.
"Yup, its bad. Your magic circuits are all messed up. Your magic reactors in tatters too; it wont be able to produce any magic power. Actually, just standing up must be torture, right?"
"As expected of you, you got it all right."
"Yeah, the other monsters must not know about this."
Aura said so with aplicated expression on her face.
"If talk about my powers probably not returning spreads, the monsters will probably feel anxious. Moreover, Duke will me himself for it. So, again, lets agree on keeping this between us."
"Understood. I wont tell anyone. Now, time for an experiment. Eat this please."
Aura said so and then thrusted her hand into her cleavage so that she could pull out a golden apple.
"Whats an apple doing there?"
"If its there, no one will be able to steal it. After all, golden apples have be ourst lifeline."
Aura said so while triumphantly puffing her ample chest out.
Needless to say, I felt extremely conflicted on eating the apple. Still though, that was no reason to waste a perfectly good golden apple.
And so, I took a bite. It somehow smells like Aura.
"How is it? Did you find something out?"
"Ill do another examination."
Aura pressed her forehead on mine once again, this time longer than before.
"Yeah, while it is only a little, I can definitely see an improvement."
"Great. If thats so, then it is possible to quicken my recovery."
"Im quite intrigued by this. I would like to pinpoint the active ingredients. If I know those things, I might be able to strengthen the effects."
Its exactly as she says.
Upon pondering for a bit, I nodded.
"Master, what is your work schedule for today?"
"I will be having a meeting with some merchants in the evening. Until then though, its just paperwork."
"Then, lets bring your desk and documents over to the orchard so that you can work there."
"May I know the reason why?"
"A side benefit of mine, or rather, of the [First Tree], which bears the golden apples, is that golden life energy is overflowing around it. My hypothesis is that if you spent some time there, it may push you to the right direction."
What she said made sense.
I was then reminded that Kohaku the Byakko recovered from being tormented by Dukes miasma by spending time around the [First Tree].
Besides, there was no particr issue in moving my ce of work to that ce.
My conclusion, therefore, was that if it could help, even by only a tiny bit, I should do it.
"Alright, Ill prepare right away. Go to work ahead of me."
"No? I mean, I cant let you carry the heavy desk and chair in that condition, master!"
She said so and then shed a great smile.
I tried to turn down her offer but she insisted.
Due to that, I wound up letting her carry the heavy furniture. The shame of exposing a form I didnt want others to seenamely me casually walking empty handed while my daughter did the heavy liftingwas cancelled out by the sight of Aura looking so happy.
After the furniture and various other things were brought to the vicinity of the [First Tree]which was located in the innermost part of Auras apple orchardI began working.
In the case of something so urgent that I needed toe back to my residence immediately, I had instructed the Mythological Foxes toe here and tell me.
"Indeed, this is a nice ce."
This ce overflowed with golden life energy, but more than that, this ce made with her love, also overflowed with her care and kindness.
"Fumu, I am also pleased with this ce."
The giant white cat, or rather, Kohaku the Byakko said so as he yawned.
He was a veteran warrior and reliable monster. If I were to consult with him, I could be sure to receive an insightful and adequate answer drawn from his long years of experience.
However, in this ce, he seemed to be just a gigantic cat. It was truly a rxing atmosphere.
"Are you still acting as the watch-tiger?"
"Well, no. The task force led by Wight...by Duke, so long as they have information provided by the intelligence corps, they can go to the site in question and do their job. I might not look like it, but Im an expert in covert operations. In my days off, I generallye here. This ce is very calming, after all. So, in exchange for devouring any intruders, I get to take the most satisfying naps here. Hey, master, it seems youre badly hurt inside. Well, youre here so its fine. This ce is effective those kinds of things too."
As to be expected of him, he sensed I was in pain due to the naming.
"Yeah, Ill be using this ce too."
With my desk and chair set up and with my documents at the ready, I began work.
As I made progress, I felt the mysterious calm this ce gave to me.
Hmm, maybe even after Ive fully recovered, for a change of pace, Ille work here a few times a week.
After some work, Aura came along. Unexpectedly, Kuina and Rorono were also brought along.
"Oto-san, we brought something good!"
"Kuina might have thought of it, but I was the one who made it."
"Now, now. Rorono-chan, Kuina-chan, no fighting."
What Kuina held in her hands was a big parasol.
After arriving, Rorono skillfully worked on my desk and made a connection point for the said parasol. When she attached the parasol and opened it, it blocked the sunlight and thus made me feel more at ease.
"Im very grateful for this. Ill be able to make better progress in my work."
"Kuina is a master at napping, so Kuina knew something like this was necessary!"
I see. When Kuina heard from Aura that I will be working here for some time, she asked Rorono to make this.
"Kuina, Rorono, thank you. Come here."
When I said so, the two dashed toward me.
When I proceeded on brushing their heads, the two gave delighted smiles.
"Since everyone is here, lets have a snack. The snacks for today are apple pies. I got the recipe from the apple pie we ate in the feast the other day! I made it with my best efforts but as to be expected, its nowhere as delicious as the apple pie from that day. However, thanks to the recipe, its still very delicious!"
"Wooow, Kuina loves apple pies!"
"Auras sweets are very delicious. Im d I came here."
The two, who were very fond of sweets, had drool at the corner of their mouths, so I wiped it off.
Kuina frankly gave her thanks while Rorono was shy and roundabout in doing so.
Like that, the High Elves who were in the middle of work joined us in what became snack time.
As Aura said, her apple pies were indeed inferior to the ones from the other day, but it was nheless plenty enough delicious.
Ill ask her to make it again.
After snack time was over, everyone except for Aura and Kohaku left.
Kohaku had already seen through my condition so I figured there would be no problem even if he stayed.
"Well then, master, lets begin. I took a guess on which active ingredients might be effective in your recovery and made 6 enhanced potions. Now, lets test which is the most effective one by one."
I nodded to what Aura said and did as was instructed.
Each and every one of the potion she gave me was purposefully made sweet using voring, making them easy to intake.
After each potion, she pressed her forehead against mine and checked for any change in my body. And then, after confirming each result, she wrote it down.
When we were finished with all six, she reviewed her memo, took two potions from the six, mixed the said two in a 3:1 ratio, added in a few other medicines, and then performed some kind of magic.
"Master, Ive finished identifying the most useful active ingredients. Ibined the two most effective ones, and then, to make it more potent, added in some auxiliary medicines and did some magic."
Aura exined what she did and then handed over a bottle full of potion.
"If I drink this, will I recover my magic power faster?"
"It remains to be seen, but by my estimate, if you spend time in this ce, drink that potion daily, and receive treatment magic from me, then I expect you to recover in about 8 days."
As to be expected of an Ancient Elf, my recovery time was now shorter than what I initially expected.
"Thank you. Youre a lifesaver."
"Yes, but, please do be careful of the amount you intake. To make the potion as potent as possible, Ive made it so strong that its just a step away from being poison. Please strictly stick to this dosage: three of that bottles caps worth of potion every 8 hours. If you miss even one dose of it, your recovery will be dyed, but take too much and your life will be at risk."
"Yeah, Ill be careful."
"Please, really do. And then, after that, I think it would be best for you to stay here as much as possible. You should sleep here even. Ill ask Rorono to make a tent."
"Were going that far?"
I was not fond of putting too much effort for so negligible gain.
"The time one spends sleeping is not insignificant, right? So, of course its better to put that time into speeding up the recovery instead."
When she puts it that way, then yeah.
I sleep for about 6 hours every day. Not putting those 6 hours toward recovery was inefficient.
"Fufu. Hey, master. Todays my turn at Oto-sans day. If we spend the night here, even if you scream, no one wille."
"...What are you ying at?"
"We can do it."
She smiled and then immediately answered so.
Aura liked to joke about such things even though in the inside, she was a very shy person and would be unable to do those things.
"You know I dont like that kind of joke."
"Fufu, Ive been found out. Anyway, Ill contact Rorono right away and ask her to build the tent!"
She said so and then left like the wind.
While smiling wryly at her, I sent her off.
Even so...
"For me to recover in just 8 days, that is definitely good news. Im so d that I have Aura."
It seemed like my magic power and my Demon Lord powerswhich included [Storage] and [Demon Lord Book]would return much sooner. Just to have my Demon Lord powers in time for me to spectate in Stss [War] was reassuring.
Kuina doesnt like to be put into my [Storage], but other than her, everybody else willply. Ill put some monsters into my [Storage] and bring them along as insurance.
As I thought of such things, a blue bird flew toward me. Tied in its ankle were letters.
This blue bird carried letters not between humans but between Demon Lords.
This time, the blue bird had two letters. I grabbed those letters and read them. One was from Sts, giving me details on her [War].
As for the other one...
"......for it to coincide with me losing my magic power, its too suspicious."
When I read the second letter, my face became stiff. Needless to say, I was not a fan of its contents. At the same time though, it was something I could not ignore.
The sender of the letter was the one that tried to make Marcho fall: the [ck] Demon Lord. ording to his letter, he wanted the two us, and only us, to meet.
As for how he sent it, he probably intercepted the blue bird as it carried the letter from Sts and then attached his own.
It was as though he was challenging me. Well, Ill bite.
Volume 6 12
A letter from the [ck] Demon Lord had arrived.
The letter talked about two main points.
First was that he wanted me toe to a meeting of just the two us 10 dayster at a specified ce.
The second was that in the case I refused to meet or in the case that I told anyone that he made contact with me, [Wind] Demon Lord Stss dungeon would be attacked.
At this point, I assumed a few things.
One was that the other party had always been waiting for me to lose my magic power. Another thing that I assumed was that somehow or another, information was leaking to them.
Rlyeh Diva, who headed our intelligence corps, had not reported anything, so it might be safe to assume that the information leaking wasnt due to an enemy monster hiding in another dimension. Needless to say, an investigation was necessary.
My lead as of the moment was in the letter. Namely, the specified date of 10 dayster.
Originally, when an A rank monster has been named, the Demon Lord to do so would lose their magic power for half a month*. However, thanks to Aura, my recovery periodwhich was supposed to be longer than normal since Duke was an S rank monsterwas shortened to 8 days.
Now, knowledge of my recovery period bing shorter was limited to just myself and Aura. If this piece of information was to leak to the enemy, the date of the meeting would no doubt be changed. Put in another way, if the date hasnt been changed, that information still hasnt been leaked.
If we couldpare the patterns where information was leaked and where it wasnt, the investigation would be easier.
At the very least, I could rule out that there is a spy in my immediate surroundings.
"And can the reason he can hold Sts hostage is because he has those artificial heroes...?"
Originally, unless an old Demon Lord could reason out that they received some kind attack from a new Demon Lord, they were not permitted to attack thetter.
Among the monsters that we killed in the campaign to save Marcho, perhaps, some were monsters of his, and if so, he could justify attacking me. However, that reason shouldnt be applicable to attacking Sts.
But then again, the [ck] Demon Lord had a way to be exempt from this rule: his artificial heroes.
These artificial heroes were undeniably humans. They were theoretically stronger than an average A rank monster, but humans nheless.
Even though the [Dragon] Demon Lord had managed to destroy the training facility for them, there were still plenty of already-trained artificial heroes remaining. If the [ck] Demon Lord willed it, it was possible for Stss dungeon to fall.
That being said, if he thought that just that much fighting force was enough, he was looking down at us too much.
I can lend support to Sts, after all.
Even though there was a recent decrease in my fighting forcethe Avalon-Ritters were all destroyed in the Marcho campaign, and Fel and Rozelitte returned to their rightful mastersI had gained more than I lost.
After making Marcho my own monster, her whole army became under me.
As of the moment, her focus was on rebuilding her dungeon, so none of her monsters were in Avalon, but if I felt like it, I could dispatch her whole army to Stss dungeon.
"What is he thinking? Why is he challenging Marcho and me? He must know his remaining human army has no chance in winning against us. ...No, even if he knows that Marcho survived, it doesnt necessarily mean that hes aware that she became my subordinate through [Rebirth]. Is that why hes making light of me?"
If that hypothesis was correct, then there was a 90% chance that his source of information were some humans in Avalon.
On regards to Duke receiving a name, my monsters were not forbidden whatsoever to talk about it. Even if my monsters talked about it when they were buying their congrattory gifts as well as the food and alcohol for the party, to most humans, the term naming would not make much sense.
To the humans being used for intelligence gathering, however, if the order given to them was to report anything strange, the enemy side would definitely know of my condition.
"If hes using humans, then it stands to reason he doesnt know about Marcho."
It hasnt been long since Marcho came here, and my monsters shouldnt have what happened to her as their topic for conversation with the humans.
Following those patterns, since my monsters, other than Aura, didnt know that my recovery time had be shorter, the human spies would have no way of knowing it too.
"What an incredibly aggressive enemy. Threatening us right from the start. Looking down at us, to boot. Im not inclined to negotiate with him, to say the least."
I wondered whether I could get along with someone who would threaten to harm Sts, a good friend I owed a favor to.
At any rate, for the time being... just to be safe, I should make sure to keep the information about Marcho and about my recovery time, an absolute secret.
To defend against potential leakage of information, I thought that it was better to temporarily send Marcho back to her dungeon.
If I could make the [ck] Demon Lord remain unaware about those two pieces of information, there was a chance he could make a fatal mistake.
All that said, it was foolish to act solely on optimistic assumptions.
While I hope Im right, I should also n for possible counter-measures in the case that Im not.
To that end, one card in my deck was necessary: Rorono and her talents.
Im going to ask too much of Rorono again... Im getting too spoiled by her.
In the evening, after finishing my scheduled meeting with some merchants in my residence in Avalon, I headed toward the [First Tree]. While recovering, that ce overflowing with golden life energy was where I was going to be living.
When I arrived, I saw Rorono and something that wasnt there when I left.
"Is this... the tent?"
I involuntarily spoke such oafish words.
In order for me to live in apple orchard, Aura asked Rorono to build me a tent. However, what I saw before me was more than what I imagined.
"I didnt have time to build one from scratch, so I brought a prototype carriage."
"That thing I mentioned... you really went ahead made that?"
"Only until halfway through. I became busy and had to leave it alone, but today, I did my best to finish it at least this much."
Some time ago, I had the idea of someday going on a long trip using a carriage, so I asked Rorono to make one.
The carriage before me was twice asrge as an ordinary carriage. Furthermore, it was made of a lightweight mithril alloy.
The ones to pull it werent the Silver Golems often seen in Avalon, but rather Mithril Golems. Compared to horses, golems had far greater pulling power. So, with them, weight was not as much of a concern. And since that was so, Rorono then had more leeway on designing the carriage.
That being said, considering that we would be the ones to use it, Rorono prioritized ensuring our safety firstby improving its defensive and offensive capabilitiesbefore thinking aboutfort.
"If its this, Im certain master will be able to have a rxing time. Moreover, Ive also incorporated some parts that were made by my [Materialization]. For example, the gravity reduction feature used in the [Mechanical Warmaiden] helps reduce the weight of the whole thing. If you wanted, we can make the Darkness Dragons be the ones to pull it, thus making it into essentially an airship. I am proud of my work."
Rorono said so with a proud face.
She then got closer and looked up to my face.
Always wanting to be spoiled.
"Thank you. Ill be able to have a rxed time here more than in any tent."
I did as she wanted and brushed her head. When I did so, she smiled.
To say she overdid it would probably be boorish of me. After all, it would prove itself useful when we do go on a vacation via air travel someday.
"May I go in?"
"Mhm. It also has all the necessary furniture, so you can live here right away."
And so, I went inside the carriage together with Rorono.
Upon entry, I noticed that the inside greatly resembled my bedroom. The difference was that this one was made under the premise that it would be inhabited by multiple people at once.
In addition, there were also such things as a shower room and a kitchte, among others, inside.
It was luxurious beyond any ordinary carriage.
As Rorono said, it was already filled with all sorts of furniture. Aside from the spares for my residence, there were also new ones made by Rorono as well as ones recently bought in Avalon.
When I looked at the bed, I saw a fluffy fox tail jutting out of the beds sheet.
"Kuina, you were here too?"
"Yeah ?! Its hot spring time, so Kuina came along too!"
After revealing herself, Kuina jumped toward me and gave me a hug.
When I looked at her, she was in tatters. There shouldnt have been any enemy in the [Crimson Cavern] that could drive Kuina that far, so I guessed that she was doing her best in some kind of special training.
While thinking so, I was snuggling against Kuinas tail. But then, I wondered what Kuina meant by hot spring time.
"Ah, master, it looks like your meeting has ended, huh. Then, lets go to the hot spring!"
The one to say so was Aura who appeared from an inner room.
She smelled like medicine, so I figured she was making some potions using the facilities that were on this carriage.
If theres even a kitchen, I guess its not so surprising for this thing to have a potion making facility too.
"...Im fine with going to the hot spring, but care to exin why?"
When I asked so, Aura looked back and forth between Rorono, who was behind me, and Kuina.
Based on Auras hesitation to talk, I understood that going to the hot spring had something to do with my treatment and that she hasnt told Kuina and Rorono of my condition. Perhaps, all she told them was that we were going to the hot spring simply because it has been some time since west went together.
"Aura, its alright; you can tell them. Also, Kuina, Rorono, dont say a word to anyone about what youre going to hear. It has to remain a secret between us four."
Had there been no prospect of recovery, I wouldnt tell even them, but now that there was, it was only proper to tell my [Monsters of the Covenant]andter, Duke and Marchoof my condition.
After all, their cooperation was absolutely necessary.
"Understood. Well, Rorono-chan, Kuina-chan, actually, when master gave Duke-san his name, masters magic power circuit and magic power reactor were badly damaged... to the point he feared his magic power will never return. If its an ordinary monster, masters magic power will return in about half a months* time, but Duke-sans strength was just too much that it seemed hopeless for masters magic power."
"Oh no, thats serious!"
Kuina eximed so while her fox tail straightened up and began to shiver.
"Mhm, its a pretty bad situation, but based on the way Aura and master are acting, it seems you have found a way to treat master. Is that right?"
Although Rorono looked palerpared to Kuina, she acted calmer.
Upon hearing Roronos urate assumption, Aura nodded.
"Yes. Ive realized that master can be healed by the powers of the golden apples, my own magic, and that of the life energy here in this orchard."
Hearing that, Kuina, who had be teary-eyed, put a hand on her chest and then gave a sigh of relief.
As for Rorono, the colors on her face returned.
"As to be expected of you, Aura-chan! Marvelous! As a reward, Kuinas fine with having her tail rubbed today!"
Kuina said so and thenunched into a hug with Aura.
Gaining permission, Aura, hands trembling, then reached for Kuinas fluffy tail.
The moment she grabbed hold of it, an ecstatic voice leaked out from her.
For Aura, someone who was a fanatic of cute and adorable girls, Kuna was the greatest target. However, even though Kuina liked hugging others, she was weak at being hugged herself and thus avoided it. It was to the point that she wouldnt let anyone other than me touch her tail.
"Ooohhhh. Kuina-chans tail. So fluffy, so soft, and so warm. Such bliss! My hands being swallowed by the tail! Woahh."
"Kuina... Kuina can take this...!"
Aura had a euphoric look on her face. And I couldnt me her. After all, Kuinas tail was truly a nice thing. I myself was guilty of enjoying it on a daily basis.
"Going back on topic, the hot spring, whose source was something I and the High elves blessed, had healing properties itself. I admit that it might not be very monumental effects, but even so, I propose we all go there until master fully recovers!"
Still holding onto Kuinas tail, Aura continued speaking.
Shes getting addicted to the tails charms.
"Awesome, Aura-chan!"
"Mhm, good idea. From now on, Ill make time for our daily baths."
My treatment and going into the hot spring together with everyone were different matters. It was not necessary for me to take a bath with them.
...that being said, if it would please them, I thought it was better to not be a wet nket.
Besides, as their father, there was a need for me to confirm their growth. Kuina had undeniably grown, with her appearance bing all at once simr to that of a 16-year-old girls. Rorono too surely have grown, even if by only a little. And while I couldnt really tell with her clothes on, I was fairly certain that Aura had grown as well.
"Well now, lets go right away!"
"Yay ?"
"Mhm"
"Ill prepared apple juice and ice!"
Each then began to rummage through their belongings that were in the carriages shelves.
"Youve already brought in your belongings here?"
"Anywhere Oto-san lives is Kuinas home."
"Naturally."
"We all belong together!"
They were really all in on moving here.
Not that I wasining. After all, I preferred living here with everyone than living by myself.
Also, I made a mental note toter tell Marcho, who was living in a different residence, that I would living here for a while.
Time passed and I continued to have daily baths in the hot spring with my daughters.
On the second day, I went in with Marcho. While hiding what the [ck] Demon Lord told me in his letter, I asked Marcho for strategies against him. I also asked Marcho to return to her dungeon for the time being. Considering that it was her, she would have been able to figure what was going on even if I didnt tell her anything.
When she was about to leave, she told mealmost ordered meto not cheat on her. Not that she had to worry about me doing something like that.
In other news, on the fifth day, even though my magic power still hasnt returned, thanks to Auras efforts, the ability to use many of my Demon Lord powers have returned to me.
As of yet, the [ck] Demon Lord still hasnt done anything.
It was very likely that he still wasnt aware of my sped-up recovery or of the nature of Marchos rebirth.
At any rate, this day, I was set to depart.
I had already chosen the best members for this campaign and put them in my [Storage].
"Well then, Ill be going now."
"Take care, Oto-san!"
While Kuina was sending me off, I left Avalon. Picking me up in the [ins] dungeon room was a high-ranking Griffon.
Today was the day I was going to spectate over [Wind] Demon Lord Stss war.
Originally, my role was to be a mere spectator, but considering that there was no guarantee the [ck] Demon Lord would stay out of this [War]it was possible he would loan some of his forces to Stss opponentI might be forced to do something more.
Even though I did as he asked and have not told anyone of the meeting that was set to take ce four dayster, I was not na?ve enough to think he would refrain from doing anything to Sts.
And so, while desperately hoping my countless preparations were for nothing, I rode the monster that Sts sent. And then, while feeling grateful to Auras treatment, to Roronos tenacity, and to Marchos cooperation, I took off.
Now, let my preliminary skirmish with the [ck] Demon Lord begin!
*TLN: In this chapter, the raw says that it takes a full monthinstead of just half a monthfor a Demon Lord to recover after naming an A rank monster. I checked the LN and by , it still says half a month. Considering the LN is generally the more polished work, Im going with that. Either way, the math involved still works out.
Volume 6 13
I rode on the monster Sts sent to pick me up and headed to her dungeon.
The monster she sent was a high-ranking griffon.
If I was as my previous self, I wouldnt have been able to see the stats of a high-rank monster belonging to another Demon Lord. However, as I was at the moment, thanks to the drastic level ups I had in the Marcho rescue campaign, I was sure I could see the stats of up to A rank monsters.
Race: Storm Griffon
B rank
Level: 58
Physical Strength: B
Endurance: B
Agility: A
Magic: D
Luck: D
Special: D
Skills:
Overseer of Wind
Herculean Strength
One who conquers the storm
High-speed Flight
The Storm Griffon was a monster with excellent close-range capabilities as well as excellent flight performance.
It seemed to me to be quite easy to use.
Unsurprisingly, because it was a high-ranking griffon, perhaps its best feature was that it wasfortable to ride.
If it was in terms of speed alone, the Darkness Dragons in charge of Avalons airways could match the Storm Griffon, but in terms offortability, it could not. As a means of transportation, this was the better one.
While I thought of such, I travelled in the sky.
For today, I travelled alone. It has been some time since I went outside without any monsters attending to me. To be honest, it was a bit lonely.
That being said, through my [Storage], I had insurances prepared.
After a while, I arrived in her dungeon.
As ever, her dungeon was an orthodox one. Her aesthetic sense was on disy at the front of her dungeon.
Still riding on the griffon, I was led deeper into the dungeon. After some time, I arrived not at her crystal room but at a guest room she had prepared.
The room was calming and beautiful. It was a room that was undoubtedly hers.
Procell, you came.
Sts smiled and said so.
Of course. I promised, didnt I? besides, its a friends big event; I want to be of help.
Fufu. That encouragement is just like you. I guess Ill have to do my best then.
Im d shes pleased.
At any rate, there was another person in the room I had to greet: the [Dragon] Demon Lord.
Its been a while, [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth-sama.
Yes, though I didnt expect for us to meet again so soon.
I came here today support Sts.
Hmm, what a fine bond you two share. As for myself, I came here to give her encouragement. Unlike you, I have to return before the [War] begins.
Such protectiveness. There arent a lot of parents that love their child that much.
Procell, I leave Sts in your care.
He said so and then shot me a meaningful nce.
It was just my guess but I thought that he was perhaps aware of the [ck] Demon Lords actions.
Its not so unbelievable for him to know even if I dont say anything as he should have eyes and ears everywhere.
Yes, Ill take care of her. I will protect my friend.
A fine answer. Its nice to know someone will be there for her, given that I dont have much freedom to act at the moment.
At present, the [Dragon] Demon Lord was at war with a coalition of nations.
By attacking the sacred city for the religion founded by the [ck] Demon Lord, Astaroth made enemies of the human nations.
While he might currently have the upper hand, the human beings numbers and resources were also quite formidable, to the point that he would be too busy with them for a while.
[Dragon] Demon Lord, if ever you need help, just say the word and Ill be there.
No need, no need. I am strong, after all. Plus, I already have a faction of reliable Demon Lords at my side.
Please forgive my presumptuousness.
No, Im actually d about your sentiments. However, rather than worry about me, worry about Sts.
I strongly nodded.
After all, right now, Im the only one capable of helping her.
Of course. Shes an important friend, after all. ...while I have the chance, let me give you the medal I promised.
In exchange for helping me save Marcho, I promised the [Dragon] Demon Lord to give him my [Creation] medal. However, since a Demon Lord could only make a medalthrough the use of [Discharge] once a month, I wasnt able to give him a medal back then. Now that a months time had passed since thest medal I made and now that my Demon Lord powers have returned to me even though my magic power has not, I could finally give him the promised medal.
Thats the [Creation] medal? Its a really good medal, isnt it? Rather than give it to me, please hand it over to Sts.
If thats what you wish, then thats what Ill do.
After my war with the three new Demon Lords, all old Demon Lordsthe parent or notwere thereafter forbidden to give medals, DP, and monsters to us new Demon Lords.
If the [Dragon] Demon Lord epted my medal, he would then be unable to give it to Sts.
Thus, he instructed me to hand it directly to her.
[Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth-sama, that medals something you obtained from a deal with Procell. I do not have any right to take it.
You are correct, Sts. However, know that a father wants to leave behind as much as possible to their child. And an S rank monster at that, even if its just one, would be something else. Sts, Im aware of your pride, but for the sake of profiting, theres a need for you to learn to crush that pride of yours from time to time. That, and also to learn to be more epting of your fathers love.
[Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth said so and then gave Sts a gentle smile.
Sts opened her mouth only to close it again. And then, with a look of determination in her eyes, she spoke.
...thank you. Father.
Sts raised her head and was then patted there by the [Dragon] Demon Lord.
Their bond was dazzling.
And so, if you please, Procell.
Understood. Sts, please ept this.
After being prompted, I handed over the [Creation] medal to Sts.
Thank you, Father. Thank you Procell. Im going to use this medal wisely.
Considering that it was her, I thought there was no chance that the medal which contained the sentiments of both myself and the [Dragon] Demon Lord would be wasted.
Well then, I should going back. If all stays normal, theres little chance youll lose, Sts. On top of being talented, your conceityour sole weaknessis gone after you met Procell. Other than him, theres no one among the new Demon Lords who could beat you. ...That is, if no boorish fellow interferes.
epting her ws, Sts looked straight into the [Dragon] Demon Lords eyes.
For them that much was enough; no other words were needed to be said.
With that, the [Dragon] Demon Lord left.
I was on standby in Stss crystal room.
There, her crystal projected images of what was going on within her dungeon.
As I watched, I noticed that she had many [Wind]-type monsters that had the ability to fly. To make full use of such monsters, her dungeon was designed to have skies and difficult-to-traverse fields.
For monsters that couldnt fly, her dungeon was extremely hard to attack. And since flying monsters were rather rare, for most Demon Lords, her dungeon could be said to be impregnable.
However, the other way around, when her forces were the ones to be attacking an enemy dungeon, how well she could do was dependent on whether the enemy dungeon had dungeon rooms that her flying monsters could advantage of.
Youve finished your preparations?
Yes, weve done everything we can.
After a while, Sts came to her crystal room.
As she said, it seemed her monsters were now all appropriately positioned within her dungeon.
Procell, let me tell you of my strategy. First, Im going to make copies of my monsters using [Omnipresence], and then have those copies take care of the offensive. Everyone else will be on standby within my dungeon and take care of its defense. If I can win with just the copies, great, but even if the copies get annihted, its still fine. After all, other than thinning out the enemy, I would know of theirposition and positions, the dungeons traps, and so on. And then, after looking at the situation, I can send out the strongest force I can take out of my dungeon and crush the enemy.
Yeah, Ill do the same if I were in your shoes.
Monsters lost in this [War] would never return.
For that reason, I was of the opinion that losing as few monsters as possible should be of the highest priority.
In that regard, her strategy was extremely effective.
With her [Omnipresence], she could create copies of all the monsters that were both under her control and were on the same dungeon room. Even though these copies were of a rank lower than the original, she would still be doubling her fighting force.
Most of all, since these copies were expendable, they were very helpful when ites to nning strategies.
As Sts exined, on top of providing her with information about enemy deployment, letting the copies be the ones to attack would also thin out the enemy forces without any risk.
Im d you said that. The [War] will start in an hour, huh. Hey, Procell, can I ask for some kind of good luck charm to encourage me?
Sts smiled and then closed her eyes.
Knowing what she was expecting, I approached her.
Youre so mean, Procell.
...and kissed her in the forehead.
Youre my important friend, Sts. And, well, friends dont do more than that.
Sts looked sad for a moment, but then smiled.
I knew that. Well, Ill be going now.
Are you pumped now?
Yes. I was disappointed with the kiss in the forehead, but more than that, Im very happy. Its weird; my hearts beating so fast.
She said so and then turned her back on me.
Her whole face was red, even her ears.
At that moment though, I carefully and stealthilyso that Sts wont notice released a monster from my [Storage] and made it hide in her shadow.
The said monster was an espionage specialist that I borrowed from Marcho. Making it guard Sts from her shadow was one of my measures.
ording to Marcho, not only could it enter the other dimension through a shadow, it had stealth abilities for use even there. Furthermore, even though monsters with dimension maniption abilities tended to have lower fight capabilities, this one was a fiend in the sense that it had top-notch solo fighting capabilities.
It was because of this monster that Marcho was able to defend the other dimension throughout the previous campaign.
Good luck. Ill be watching here.
Sts didnt look back and instead kept walking. However, she did raise a finger, as though saying everything would be alright.
With her strategy, the copies would be fighting on the enemys dungeon while the originals would be fighting in hers.
If something were to happen to her, I would be able to know of it through her crystal and act ordingly. Also, so long as that monster was there, no matter what happens, it could stall for hopefully enough time.
I heard the Creators voice within my head.
It seemed that even if one was not formally involved in the [War], so long as they were in the vicinity, they could hear the voice as well.
As for the participants, I suspect they were sent to that white space.
<>
When the Creator said so, the war finally began.
Unlike my war, there was no time limit for this one.
Anyway, Stss enemy, the [de] Demon Lord, was a B rank Demon Lord. As such, it was highly unlikely for him to create A rank monsters.
The synthesis of A and B rank medals only had a 1/3 chance to produce an A rank monster. Even if the three medals his parent gave him in the time of his birth were all A rank, the most he could make were two A rank monsters.
It was also unlikely for him to obtain A rank medals through trading. After all, a Demon Lord who could only make B rank medals wouldnt easily be able to match the price for an A rank medal.
And so, a Demon Lord who could only make one or two A rank monsters wasnt a match for Sts at all.
If there was to be a concern, it would be that monsters made out of the [de] medal were in a little bit of an advantage against [Wind] monsters. Inorganic-type monsters tended to have high defense while Stss monsters tended to have quick but rather weak attacks.
That being said, it wasnt enough of an advantage to make for the difference between their ranks.
I was watching the first dungeon room when ten monsters appeared.
A rank, all of them!?
Thats impossible.
Despite being shaken by the enemies, Sts immediately ordered all her monsters in the first room to retreat. Afterwards, she suddenly took out a trump card from her [Storage]: the A rank Emerald Dragon that had the [Berserk] ability.
She must havee to the conclusion that anything less than this wouldnt be enough to go against this group of A rank monsters.
The Emerald Dragon, a monster that could go against an average S rank monster due to its [Berserk] ability, raged like a storm and crushed the enemy monsters one after the other.
Even Kuina had a hard time fighting the Emerald Dragon; these guys wonte out unscathed.
Another reason it could fight so well was that it was receiving proper support. Being strengthened like that, it then fired off a long-range attack.
Like this, she can win.
However...
What, theres more of them!?
Another 10 A rank monsters appeared, turning the favor against Sts. As strong as the Emerald Dragon was, there was no way it could win against 20 A rank enemies.
A few minutester, the Emerald Dragon issued out a dying cry.
With that, Sts ced the Emerald Dragon back into her [Storage], and then, together with her monsters that have already pulled out of the battlefield, escaped into the next dungeon room.
Fighting in such a situation would only uselessly exhaust their strength and numbers. In my opinion, it was the right call.
Where there should have been only one or two A rank monsters, there were twenty. And that was just what I saw; there were definitely more.
The impossible has happened.
The [de] Demon Lord has assembled a force that his medal couldnt possibly produce.
Actually, of the twenty A rank monsters, none of them seemed to have qualities of a [de]-type monster.
I dont know for certain if its the [ck] Demon Lord, but there definitely is someone behind the scenes.
That was my conclusion.
If left as it was, Sts would lose.
Given that this wasnt a fair [War] among two new Demon Lords anymore, I decided to intervene.
Moreover, I couldnt let a friend I owed so much die. Plus, if it was really the [ck] Demon Lord behind this, then it would be my fault that Sts was in danger of losing.
She cant lose. I wont allow it.
Now, lets see how well I can perform in my current condition.
My [Creation] ability was not avable at the moment. In order to provide back up for Sts, all I could rely on were the measures I had prepared beforehand and the monsters in my [Storage].
I wont let Sts die here. Ill do everything I can.
From this point on, it was no longer just Stss [War], it was ours.
Volume 6 14
Stss [War] has begun.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been a sure win for Sts.
Her opponent could only make B rank medals whereas she could make A rank ones; she clearly had the advantage.
However, right after the start of the [War], 10 A rank monsters appeared and attacked her dungeon, thus throwing her ns out of the window. To stop these enemies, she immediately brought out her Emerald Dragon, an A rank monster that had the [Berserk] ability.
For a time, her side regained dominance. But soon thereafter, another 10 A rank monsters appeared, turning the tides once again.
After putting her Emerald Dragonwhich was teetering on the brink of deathback into her [Storage], Sts retreated.
"Its a good decision. To stand a chance against this much of a difference in war potential, she has to make full use of her geographical advantage."
To make adventurers feel great when venturing into her dungeon, the early floors were made to be easy. They were whats called the weing floors.
For that reason, Sts intended to retreat to the dungeon rooms where her monsters could make full use of their abilities and thus truly excel.
That being said, the enemy sides war potential was so dangerous that just retreating was a gamble itself. Employing her and her monsters [Wind] powers, and even the traps she had set, she bought time for her forces to retreat.
I should contact Sts as soon as possible.
Stslike all other Demon Lords through our Demon Lord powerscould grant to up to 10 monsters the ability tomunicate with her within her own dungeon. However, it seemed like such a monster was not deployed here in the crystal room.
If thats the case, well just have to contact her ourselves.
Thinking that, I called out Aura and Duke from my [Storage].
"Phew, finally out. I guess it can be said that I have a dislike for [Storage]. Although time stops flowing for my body, its not the same for my mind; Im still fully aware. It makes me feel goosebumps."
"I cant quite get used to this sensation."
Aura and Duke said so after appearing.
"Sorry. I knew you didnt like being put in my [Storage], and yet I still asked you to."
"Oh no, its your request, master, so I dont really mind. Besides, if the child who dislikes it the most has steeled herself, I cant very wellin, now, can I?"
"For your sake, my lord, Ill happily jump into a pool of magma."
Until the veryst moments, that child was contemting whether to stay ore and be put into my [Storage]. After waving her hand to send me off, she suddenly hopped on the griffon and said she wasing along after all.
To be honest, that bravery of hers made me happy.
"Its sudden, but I have a favor to ask you, Aura. Can you deliver a message to Sts using your wind abilities?"
"Even though my wind can cross dimensions, sending sound is not possible; only the intent of the message is. However, that all depends on the receiver being able to perceive and understand the message in the wind."
"Its fine then. She is the [Wind] Demon Lord, after all."
Sts was a wind expert. So long as it could reach her, things would work out.
"Oh, how silly of me. Now, shes my parent too, so I guess I should put in more effort."
Her [Jade Eyes]the worlds strongest magic eyesparkled. Soon thereafter, jade-colored wind blew.
Essentially, each dungeon room in a Demon Lords dungeon was located in a different dimension. And magic that could cross dungeon rooms was exceedingly rare. It was for that reason that I thought Rozelittes telepathy was a cheat ability.
Also, even though I could makemunication devices using my [Creation], since the radio waves wouldnt be able to cross dungeon rooms, its use was limited within one room.
"I can now send a message. Master, please tell me of the message you wish to send."
She said so as the jade-green wind violently flowed outward.
"There is definitely someone acting behind the scenes. I am prepared to help, and there is no need to hesitate to ept it; the enemies certainly are not hesitating to cooperate with one another."
If I assisted her, turning the situation around would be easy. A mere 10 or 20 A rank monsters would be nothing to worry about.
I could say that with confidence since the experience points my S rank monsters have gained from all the campaigns weve been infrom the war with the three Demon Lords to the campaign to rescue Marchohave made them reach the levels they would have if they were born with a static level. To put it in another way, they have gained their original strength.
As they were, even an A rank monster with a progressive level would be a match for them.
"Understood. Attaching the intent into the wind and sending it."
The jade wind that can go anywhereeven across dimensionsblew.
"Aura, its great that we can send a message, but how will the receiver reply?"
"I have made the wind circle back here. Sts-sama should be able to put her own message into the wind... Oh, here it is! Give me a sec, Ill decipher it."
Aura said so and then closed her eyes.
In the meantime, I looked at the crystal. When I did so, I saw that although Sts lost a few, her fighting force was able toe to the second dungeon room of her second floor.
That ce was a ravine. It had narrow footholds where a tiny misstep could send one headfirst to death. It also had a seemingly endless blue sky. In other words, it was a very advantageous battleground for her monsters.
It was more than likely that she intended to engage the enemy forces there and reverse the tide of battle.
"Master, here is Sts-samas message. Im happy for your offer, but even though the enemy is being conniving, this is my [War]. Im just going to have to try a little harder. Im not as weak as you think I am."
Her answer was utterly unexpected.
Amidst such grim circumstances, she still wanted to fight with her own strength.
"Pfft. Ahahaha. I see, how amusing. I guess I have been underestimating her. If thats what she wants, Ill stick to being moral support for a little while longer."
Instead of bluffing, perhaps the reason she was saying such things was because she was still seeing a way to win.
"Aura, tell her this: Understood, Ill keep on watching. However, Ill do so from nearby."
"Understood. Sending the message."
Using the jade wind that was still flowing, Aura sent a new message.
I had no intention of wounding Stss pride, but since there was a possibility of her enemy preparing something other than therge number of A rank monsters, it was more convenient to move to a nearer location where I could act quickly to help her.
"Aura, Duke, well now be heading to where Sts is. Make sure to not lose track of her location."
Aura nodded when I said so.
Once we exit Stss crystal room, we would no longer be able to rely on the crystal to know where Sts was. In that regard, Aura and her wind would be our guide.
I then called out from my [Storage] the one I could rely on the most, and ordered her to protect the crystal.
With that, I dont have to worry about the crystal being crushed.
Without waiting for Stss reply, Aura and I set out to leave the crystal room to go and watch Stss marvelous performance from an excellent position.
As for Duke, however, he remained where he stood.
"Whats wrong, Duke?"
"A young dragon is weeping. While cursing at its powerlessness, it desperately wishes to protect a person important to it. There is so much pain in its voice... along with earnestness and sincerity. Is it because I have leveled up and awoken as a [Dragon Emperor] that I could feel this connection even though were separated by dungeon rooms? My chest, it feels so tight. Its the same feeling I had when I was held by my lord. I cant leave it alone. Ill send it a little of my dragon-forms cheeringroar."
For a mere moment of time, Duke activated his [Berserk], and increased his magic power and draconic Qi until he was in his true form.
It was such a frightening amount of power. Even Aura had cold sweat flowing.
I didnt know what he did, but after returning to his dragonewt-form, he gave a satisfied-looking smile.
If hes choosing to not tell me anything, he must have a pretty good reason.
After that, we resumed our travel toward where Sts was.
Volume 6 15
~Stss point of view~
It happened out of the blue. For the enemy side to have prepared that many A rank monsters, it was unimaginable.
If it was just the ten, the Emerald Dragon and some proper support would have won. However, before that could happen, something even more unexpected happened: another 10 A rank monsters appeared. Fighting them here was just going to uselessly increase her sides losses.
And so, with all their might, Stss monsters were enticing the enemy into a field that was advantageous to them.
"This is all my fault."
"No, it isnt. Its impossible to have predicted they will have that much of a fighting force."
Rozelitte the Rathgrith consoled Sts. However, Sts still felt listing her faults.
"Maybe it was impossible to know that there would be reinforcements, but my slow response after their arrival is inexcusable."
"Theres nothing you could have done about that."
The moment Sts thought victory was hers, she dropped her guard. That then caused her decision-making skills to be dyed.
"But there was something I could have done about it. And now, because of my dyed judgment of the situation, Emerald Dragon sustained a fatal wound. This after all that child did."
In all haste, Sts put the Emerald Dragon into her [Storage] to prevent it from dying.
However, [Storage] would not heal a monster ced there; it would only prevent any change to their condition. In other words, once the Emerald was taken out of her Storage, it would soon die.
"Procell should have amazing potions on him. Whatever the price he names, Im willing to pay."
So long as it ended with that child not dying, Sts was fine to part with anything.
To that end, she first needed to do something about their current situation.
"Rozelitte!"
"Yes, Sts-sama!"
After replying so, Rozelittes body shined.
She was activating her ability that strengthened the whole army she was in.
It was timed to match her sides barrage of magic against their pursuers. As unbelievably strong as her ability was, the toll on her magic power and constitution was intense. It was going to be a long fight and conserving as much of Rozelittes strength was vital. For that reason, it was best to activate it just a moment before the release of a big attackin this case, the barrage of magic spells.
All that being said, that barrage was not enough to defeat the A rank monsters. But then again, it was just strong enough to dy them.
"Phobos, it seems were maintaining the path for those behind."
"Of course, I, Phobos, am not your [Monster of the Covenant] for nothing."
Phobos was a Pegasus, a B rank monster. As of the moment, he was flying in the lead and cutting through the air in front. This created a slipstream for those behind, enabling them to fly with less air resistance. Thanks to this, their side was able to advance quite quickly.
Combining their speed, the dungeons traps, and the counterattacks they did at every vital point, they were able retreat with the least possible damage. A magnificent feat, considering just escaping from a group of A rank monsters was a life-risking effort.
"Everyone, hold on just a bit more."
However, they werent just retreating; they were also luring the enemies into a field where they could win.
After a while, they finally reached their destination: the second dungeon room of the second floor. It was a [Ravine] type room with an endless blue sky and very narrow footholds.
After crossing theplicated ravinethe non-flying monsters taking a ride from the flying onesStss monsters headed toward an open area. Upon achieving some distance from their pursuers, the monsters turned around.
It was there that they were going to make their stand.
Right at that time though, a wind that was anything but ordinary wrapped around Stss body. Realizing that there was intent embedded into the wind, she decided to decipher it.
Upon doing so, Sts broke into a smile.
"I see, Procells worried. But even if the enemys being conniving and doing something foul, I will stille out on top. Ill show him that Ive grown as well."
In the message sent by Procells subordinate, he told Sts that he was willing to lend a hand. The fact that he was worried for her made her happy, but at the same time, it made her lonely. She wished he would believe in her more. She was his rival, after all. Not some helpless damsel in distress whose only purpose was to be protected.
Deciding to snap out of it, she came to the conclusion that if he didnt believe in her strength, she just had to fight until he did.
"They still show no hesitation, even in this field"
Even with the difficult and narrow footholds, the A rank monsters unsurprisingly charged on without any sign of cowardice.
"As expected."
Though monsters that could fly were rather rare, the enemy side had a few of them in the lead. Three of such monsters were A rank monsters: a peafowl with gigantic wings that had the 7 colors of the rainbow; a demon with four wings; and a moth monster that spread poisonous scales.
They were bold, but also too reckless. They brazenly charged in against all the [Wind]-type monsters gathered in this ce.
As they neared, a rampaging tornado formed.
As strong as the A rank monsters were, against such a tornado made by several of Stss monsters, they were helpless. They were tossed around so much, theyve lost their sense of direction, not even knowing which way was up or down. And then, one after the other, they were skewered by a spear.
"Skillful as always, Garuda."
"My utmost thanks."
Almost before Sts knew it, a humanoid bird monster was there by her side. It had feathers and wings so red, it seemed like fire.
It was an A rank monster born from thebination of the [Beast] and the [Wind] medals. While having strong flying capabilities, it also had enough knowledge and intelligence to be dubbed a sage of the sky. And if those werent enough, it also had extreme martial arts capabilities and could even control fire.
In its hands was the spear it used to skewer the reckless enemies.
It did so by reading and then riding the wind of the tornado rather than going against it. It also used fire explosion magic to give itself a boost. With all these, even if the enemies were A rank monsters, so long as they were within the tornado, it was impossible to evade or defend against the spear attacks.
The flying monsters in the lead were not the only ones under siege though. One by one, the monsters desperately traversing through the narrow footholds would suddenly vanish one moment and then reappear 2000 up in the sky the next moment. Never mind falling into the narrow footholds they previously were at, they were made to fall into the perhaps non-existent bottom of the ravine.
As such, the enemy ranks were thrown into chaos. They didnt even know how they were being attacked.
The one to do so was of course a monster of Sts. While refracting light using the wind so that it could conceal itself, it waited for the approaching enemy monsters. It would then grab an enemy monster by the ankle and then use [Transfer] to whisk them away.
When a location, either the destination or origin point, was outside of ones dungeon, [Transfer] could only be used through a pair of Transfer arrays. However, when both origin point and destination were within ones dungeon, such limitations didnt exist. If used to move an enemy far up in the sky, it could turn into a very deadly attack.
"You dont have to reply, but good work, Windy."
Just like Garuda, Windy was an A rank monster.
And, although it was only an A rank monster, it had the ultimate wind skill for monsters: the [Ruler of the Wind]. Additionally, it also had [Transfer]. Although its overall base stats were rather low, it had a high magic stat as well as excellent skills and spells. Depending on how those were to be employed, Windy could do fantastic work.
"See, Procell, Ive grown too."
After losing in the [War] against Procell, Sts strived to be even stronger.
Her ability to make calm decisions about the situationhow and when to use her monsters and trapswere clear evidence of her growth.
Additionally, her fighting force has also drastically increased. She has gained quite a few C and B rank monsters. As for A ranks, she has gained three new ones. In other words, aside from Windy and Garuda, there was one A rank she still hasnt revealed in this [War].
For her to be able to use that monsteras well as some of her trapsin the most appropriate of situations, she has decided to hold back on deploying it for the moment.
She believed that with the locational advantage and the proper deployment of her monsters, her side could prevail against 20 A rank monsters.
Suddenly though, the enemies attacks and movements ceased.
In the next moment, a pping sound could be heard.
"Gahahahaha. Splendid, splendid. Youve done well. Though its all for nothing in the end!"
A man was then making his way through a group of monsters.
He was a big man that wore armor and had a sword hanging from his back. He also had cow-like horns.
"[de] Demon Lord, how confident of you to show yourself here so nonchntly."
"Why wouldnt I be confiident? After all... I have all this!"
When he snapped his fingers, over a hundred monsters appeared behind him. To make matters worse, most of them were of B rank which were considered to be elites by Demon Lords.
Even if one could make A rank monsters, the strongest they could buy with DP was the C rank of that monsters lineage. In other words, except for those few that could make S rank monsters, B rank monsters could only be made by medals. And now, there were over a hundred of those rare and powerful monsters.
It was an impossible sight.
Sts, despite bing weak-kneed, smiled smugly so as to bluff.
"Is it fun to smooch off of your parent and then act big?"
"Huh? What are you talking about? This is my own power! Ive crushed the [Oni] Demon Lord in a [War] and took that guys monsters, medalyou know whatI took everything away from him! It was a spectacle, I tell you. That guy didnt want his monsters to disappear, so before I crushed the crystal, I made him transfer control of his monsters over to me. And, he dly served them up!"
Realizations then dawned on Sts.
One particr realization was on how her enemy had such extreme war potential.
An old Demon Lord would incur penalties for giving a new Demon Lord a monster. However, there was a surprising loophole to this. If a new Demon Lord waged war against an old one and then another old Demon Lord teamed up with the young one, any monsters the new Demon Lord was going to gain would not cause any penalties to the supporting old Demon Lord.
One other realization Sts had was that the [de] Demon Lord was an utter fool for exposing the scope of his power.
"I see. But dont think that numbers alone can assure you victory."
"I guess... but then again, I have the upper hand on not only quantity but also quality. Do you understand now? You cannot win. Now, Sts, be my woman. If you do, I wont kill you."
Certain of his victory, the [de] Demon Lord spoke with fervor.
"And your cute monsters, would you rather have them disappear with your crystal when I break it? You know that your choice is clear. Join me, the soon-to-be strongest Demon Lord, and live a peaceful life."
The [de] Demon Lord said so while he looked at Sts as though he was undressing her with his eyes.
In a [War] between fellow new Demon Lords, his proposal was a charming one. Once ones crystal was broken, their dungeon and the monsters under their control would be gone as well. But if control over the monsters were transferred beforehand, the monsters would be safe.
And even though they would receive a recement for their broken crystals after the year has passedwhen they were no longer considered newly bornthe monsters lost would never return. If one could avoid that pain, it would make starting over easier.
Sts, without any hint of fear, looked her opponent straight in the eye.
"I refuse. My heart already belongs to someone else. In the first ce, theres no way Ill fall for a small fry that acts big using his borrowed power."
Sts said so and then made a mocking smile.
In response, the [de] Demon Lords blood boiled to dangerous levels.
"Fuck you! Im going to annihte all your monsters, line up their severed heads before you, and make you look at them as I vite you!"
After shouting so, hemanded his monsters to resume the attack.
Seeing his reaction, the corners of Stss lips slightly rose.
"If I dont do anything, were screwed."
Her side did their best, but despite the locational advantage, the best utilization of her monsters abilities, employment of different strategies, and all of their efforts, there was just too much of a difference in war potential.
Her monsters fell one after the other.
And then, the enemy monsters traversing the narrow paths finally reached the open area Sts was in. Upon arrival, they raised a blood-curdling roar against her.
~???s point of view~
I was violent and out of control.
Whenever I was summoned, I had this urge that I must destroy anything and everything Iid my eyes on. This urge, this ck haze over my head made me think of nothing but destruction.
Even my ally monsters thought of me as unthinking and blinded by rage.
And they were right. That was who I am.
However, there were times that it hurt to be called uncapable of thought and devoid of a heart. I wanted to tell them I did have those things.
Only that girl would talk to me. She would say that I was an important monster of hers and smile. Apparently, I was the very first monster she made using the medal she received from her beloved father.
She actually wanted to give me a name but decided to postpone it until she has gained enough experience to be able to at least control me. She promised me so and then apologized.
Even though I knew she was an ally, whenever she came near, I would rampage nheless. Still, rather than to lock me up, she gave me my own room. She talked to me multiple times. I wasnt able to show it but I was deeply thankful.
It was frustrating. I wanted to embrace her and to talk with her, but my body never moved ording to the will of my heart.
All I could do was to rampage. However, by doing so, I have brought her some happiness before. In turn, that made me happy.
Rampaging was all I could do for her and yet I failed even at that. I was seriously wounded, but the pain of failing my one job troubled me more.
While staying where I was, her feelings reached me. She was crying. Crying for her dying monsters. Someones making her cry. Unforgivable. I have to fight.
<>
I knew my thoughts wouldnt reach her, but I still tried. I had to.
In the end, I, whose heart and body were not one, could do nothing.
"You have a good heart. Your sentiments rival those of mine for my lord. Allow me to meddle here."
A voice reached me. It was a powerful voice. An unknown voice.
And then, I realized it belonged to a [Dragon Emperor]. One whose voice was stronger than the ck haze over my head. When I heard the voice, something warm flowed through my body and made it lighter. Perhaps now my body would finally listen to my heart, I thought.
Whoever you are, thank you. I can now p my wings as my heart wills it.
"Young dragon, what do you want to be? What do you desire?"
Thats a given. I want to protect her, the one person in the world that has been kind to me.
"I see, you want to be a knight that protects your mistress. Never forget those feelings of yours. If your feelings are strong enough, youll surely be her knight. Now, fly, sir knight! Fly!"
I didnt know what the word knight meant, but I thought it had a nice ring to it.
After those words, I didnt hear the [Dragon Emperor]s voice anymore.
I needed to get out where I was. Thankfully, I knew how. For the first time, my body listened to my heart as I began to fly.
Dont cry anymore; Ill be there to help you.
Flew I did to get of this ce and to get to her side.
Volume 6 16
~Stss point of view~
The situation was worsening by the moment.
Stss fighting force was split into two main battlefronts: the one in the sky against the enemy flying monsters and the one on ground against the monsters that travelled through the path with narrow footholds.
The ones in the sky were doing well thanks to the low number of enemy flying monsters, the A rank monster Garudas efforts, and the tornado made by several monsters. On the other hand, the ones against the enemies on the ground were in quite a bind.
"Theres too many of them."
Sts unconsciously voiced out herint.
A great factor in why the enemy in the ground havent dominated that battlefield yet was the A rank monster Windy.
Windy, who had strong wind abilities and also Transfer, employed a tactic wherein it would conceal itselfby using wind magic to refract the lightthen hide its presence, creep up to an enemy A rank monster, and then use Transfer to whisk the target away to a far-off sky. It was an effective and deadly move, but there were several limiting factors.
The downsides of using Transfer on an unwilling target were that the magic consumption was extreme and that there was a requirement that the skill user had to be in direct contact with the target. Additionally, Transfer could only be used on one target at a time.
Windy has already used Transfer 12 times. Any further use seemed uncertain.
"Windy, fall back and recover a bit of magic power."
Through the wind, Sts ryed hermand to her subordinate.
Windy replied that he would fight with his bare fist, but considering itsbat proficiency outside of magic was rather low, it would just lead to a pointless death.
If Windy could only use Transfer one more time, it would be better to reserve that one final use as a trump card.
"You have done enough. Leave the rest to us."
With words of reluctance, Windy retreated. Having killed 12 A rank monsters, in Stss opinion, Windy has already aplished his part.
So far, in cooperation with other monsters, Garuda has killed 5 enemy A rank monsters.
Additionally, the Emerald Dragon had killed 3 A rank monsters earlier in the war.
All in all, their side has defeated 20 enemy A rank monsters.
"Everyones really giving it their best."
What made them seed so far were the excellent performance of both Garuda and Windy, the army-wide strengthening skill of Rozelitte, and the support of all the other monsters.
Windy was able tounch multiple surprise attacks thanks to the many eyes that provided him with the appropriate targets and the appropriate timing to attack. asionally, they also provided him useful diversions.
As for Garudas side of things, although the enemies were swept away by the tornado, had Rozelittes strengthening not provided enough stat boosts, the enemies would have surely and quickly got out of the tornado.
Bybining their powers together, Stss monsters were doing well despite the vast difference in numbers.
"Garuda!", cried Sts.
"Fret not. Battle continues."
The red birdman Garuda was pierced by a spear. Even though he was coughing out blood, fighting spirit never left his eyes.
"I will be the one to kill this enemymanderrrrrrrrrrrr!"
A monster with the horn of an Oni and the wings of a bird broke through the tornado and then pierced Garudas belly while thetter was distracted with another monster.
The flying Oni then twisted its wrist which in turn twisted the spear in its hand, causing an awful amount of blood to spout from Garudas belly.
"Defeat, I refuse"
Rather than try to pull out the spear, Garuda pped his wings so that it could move toward the flying Oni and grab both of its wings. As he moved closer, the spear pierced deeper. The blood flowing out of him were increasing too, but miraculously, the weapon wasnt piercing through any vital organs. Like that, the two went into freefall, elerating by each passing moment.
"Let go! Let go! If youre a warrior of honor, just die bravely!"
"Warrior of honor, nay. Guardian, aye."
The flying Oni struggled to break free but to no avail.
On thest second, Garuda skillfully changed their trajectory. Instead of crashing t on the ground, he made it so that only his enemys head would be hit by the cliffs edge. As a result, the flying Onis consciousness faded and its grip on its spear loosened.
When the two of them were near the bottom of the ravine, Garuda released his still unconscious enemy, flipped over, and then rose higher. Afterwards, he threw his own spear at the enemy, aiming for its heart. It hit urately and pierced deeply. To further ensure the kill, he dove down and did a dropkick on the firmly lodged spear. Needless to say, the flying Onis heart was crushed and that it was then no more.
With no enemies nearby, he then pulled out the spear stuck in his belly. To stop the bleeding, he cauterized the wound with his own mes. After that, he went back to the battlefield in search for his next kill. Or so he tried. His bnce was off and that caused him to fall.
Just like Windy, his constitution and magic power were at their limits.
"Garuda, you fall back too."
"Inadvisable. Holding frontlines, priority."
"But you cant fight with that body!"
"A soldier, I am, ergo, undying, I am too. ...your encouragement, I crave."
Garudas eyes were not those of someone dying.
Like that, the wounded birdman flew again.
Meanwhile, Sts closed her fist so tight, blood wasing out.
As of the moment, should Garuda be out ofmission, the battlefield in the sky would bepletely lost.
Sts knew that and therefore could not voice her concern as a [Command].
It pained her, but she had no other choice than to rely on his desperate efforts.
And so, the least she could do was do as he wanted and say to him do your best.
With Windy out of magic power, stopping the enemy monsters advancing on the ground became much, much harder.
Not only that, other bad news were happening one after the other.
"Rozelitte, bloods-"
"Its alright. Im not AT my limit yet; Im just nearing it."
Rozelitte, the angel-type monster, said so with a ghastly pale face. ...And with blood running from her mouth.
Upon seeing that, Sts surmised her circumstances: it was all too likely that Rozelitte used her army-wide strengthening ability to the limit.
Even though the battlefield that was the precipitous cliffs was very advantageous to the monsters of [Wind]for one, they could bottleneck their enemiesthe fact that their side was numerically inferior, specially in terms of A rank monsters, remained. The reason they could push back though was Rozelitte and her army-wide strengthening ability.
However, the burden on Rozelitte for using her ability was immense. Not only that, she has been using it for an unprecedented amount of time. Needless to say, Rozelitte has went beyond her limits a while ago. Having exhausted her magic power, she was now burning up her life force as fuel to keep the ability going.
"Thats enough already, you can stop."
"Im sorry but Id rather not. If I stop now, all our allies in the frontlines would be killed. This is where I must risk my life. ...and I only have to hold on a little longer, right?"
The enemies were soon approaching the ce where their great trap was.
If they could activate that trap, the battle would be much easier.
"Rozelitte, I [Command] you, once weve activated the trap, cancel your ability. Until then, dont die."
Withholding her tears, Sts gave that heartless order to her subordinate.
"With pleasure... my Demon Lord."
Hearing themand given to her, Rozelitte wiped the blood in her mouth, smiled, and replied so.
After that, she activated her skill once more. Like a candle burning brightest before it goes out, her wings grew brighter than ever before.
While the monsters in the frontlines were inferior in ability, they fought bravely nheless. However, try as they might, they could not ovee the difference in strength and were thus forced to retreat. Being pushed back was no act but it was not all that was happening; they were also luring their enemies toward a certain open space.
If the battle was to continue in such a ce, the enemy side would be able to make full use of their numbers and swarm Stss side. Seeing that, the enemy side rushed forward.
...just what Sts was waiting for.
"Masamune!"
"Okay, princess!"
Sts and Masamunemunicated via the wind.
After that, Masamune, a Kamaitachi-type monster, jumped down from a cliff.
Despite only being a B rank monster, due to him being one of Stss [Monsters of the Covenant] and due to Rozelittes skill, he fought continuously in the frontmost lines.
At any rate, the wide, open space where the enemies were lured into was actually supported by disproportionately slender pirs. Any further damage to those pirs would cause them to break.
And so, Masamune targeted the pirs and fired off des of wind that Kamaitachi were known for.
Upon destroying some of the pirs, the tform above became greatly inclined. As such, the [de] Demon Lords monsters hurriedly tried to fall back, but a lot were already too far in to make it in time.
Those that didnt make it then fell to the bottom of the ravine which eyesight couldnt even reach. About 50 monsters perished, with some being A rank monsters.
In contrast, Stss monsters were calm.
The reason for that was because they were perfectly aware that such a thing was about to happen thanks to Rozelittes telepathy, her other cheat ability. Due to that, they knew when Masamune was going to destroy the pirs and when to get outvia flying to the sky, escaping from the about-to-fall tform, or some other way.
"With this, things should get a lot easier."
Sts said so, relieved.
With the tform destroyed and nothing else to serve as foothold, the dungeon rooms other end could no longer be reached by foot. In other words, the two Demon Lords forces were separated.
Like so, Stss monster could rest even if for just a bit.
Even though enemy flying monsters could still cross the divide, their numbers were definitely smallpared to the enemy ground troops. And thanks to Garuda and after all that fighting, there were even less flying monsters than in the beginning of the fight.
"Thank goodness. If that went on, I really just might have left you behind, Sts-sama."
Rozelitte who was on standby nearby dropped down to the ground and said so.
Hearing that, Sts wiped the blood from Rozelittes mouth.
"Dont say such nonsense. Besides, we cant let our guards down just yet."
"Ahaha, that was a little harsh."
It wasnt impossible for the enemy to have some kind of unexpected counter-measure, so staying vignt was important.
In that regard, Rozelitte who was too tired that she couldnt stand up anymore insisted on staying in the battlefield instead of being put into [Storage], saying that she could still use her telepathy even when lying down. In the end, she was made to ride a lower rank Pegasus nearby.
A few minutester, the enemies began to move.
The [de] Demon Lord was at the very front, followed by 10 A rank monsters, and then a hundred B rank monsters in the back. Throughout all the fighting, the enemy side should have suffered quite some damage and casualties, and yet it didnt really feel like theyve decreased at all.
"This is getting tiresome. Just how much of a fighting force does he have?"
Sts said so with a stiff smile.
By her count, they should have already killed 23 A rank monsters and definitely more than 50 monsters of varying ranks. In exchange for killing all those enemies though, Windy has used up his magic power, Rozelitte and Garuda were on the verge of dying, and some monsters protecting the frontlines were lost.
If they were to face against such a horde of enemies head-on now, they wouldnt have enough strength.
"[Wind] Demon Lord Sts, you did well, didnt you? I never thought Id take this much damage"
The [de] Demon Lord spoke in a light tone and thenughed frivolously.
However, in an instant, the expression on his face changed.
"Ill make you pay for whittling down my precious troops with your life!"
In a fit of rage, he loudly yelled so.
Next, a few of his own B rank monsters stood at the edge of the cliff and then made des. These des grew longer and longer until they were piercing the other sides cliff.
Almost at the same time, A rank Oni monsters whose skins were made of earth appeared and produced vast amounts of earth. These materials then covered the long des and hardened.
In other words, using des as the core, the enemy side has made bridges.
Using that bridge, one after the other, the enemy monsters were making their way to the other side.
Meanwhile, Sts desperately wracked her brain. At first, she wondered whether it was possible to ambush the approaching enemies with the strength they had left. However, if they did so with whatever n, trick, or strategy, the fact of the matter was that they were too exhausted to make any difference. All that awaited them with such a move was certain death.
If that was so, then they had no other choice than to retreat. But then again, this ravine was the most advantageous spot for them. If they retreated to somewhere else, it was certain that they would have a harder time. In the end, she decided to worry about the consequencester. For now, she needed to buy time.
"Frontlines, retreat! Masamune, Phobos, and the third corps,e with me and protect the rear."
Her priority was to let as much of her monsters escape.
To that end, she herself needed to fight. On top of Rozelitte being no longer able to use her strengthening skill, Sts had no other A rank monsters that could fight evenly against enemy A rank monsters. Thus, if she didnt help hold back the enemies, those enemies would just quicklyperhaps even instantlycatch up to the escaping monsters.
Moreover, she was aware that the [de] Demon Lord didnt want her to be killed right away; he wanted her to be captured first. That presented an opportunity for her since capturing someone alive was way harder than killing them.
Once all the other monsters have finished escaping, she was going to ride Phobos the Pegasus and escape with all haste. Even though Phobos was just a B rank monster, he had Godspeed; the enemies wouldnt be able to catch up to him.
"Geez, princess, are you mad? What are we good for if we let you be our shield?"
"It is because shes like this that we follow her from the bottom of our hearts."
"You got that right!"
Masamune and Phobos said such things and thenughed together.
And so, with Sts on Phoboss back, she devoted herself on stalling their enemies.
She wore an armor of wind as she and her followers faced the [de] Demon Lords monsters.
This armor wasnt just for protection, it was also for mobility. By unleashing an amount ofpressed air depending on her movement, it would give her an incredible amount of speed boost.
Since she had three [Monsters of the Covenant] and were of a high level, Stss stats were much higher than that of a lower-end or even an average A rank monster. Furthermore, she had her highly versatile Unique Skill, [Wind], in her arsenal.
In terms of personal fighting strength, there was no mistake that Sts was one of the strongest Demon Lords.
Her first victims were some oxen Oni. Using her des of wind, she sliced the enemies in half,pletely disregarding the clubs the enemies used for defense.
Needless to say, Stss strength was extraordinary.
"None of you will pass"
Sts strongly dered so. In reaction, the [de] Demon Lords monsters flinched.
Sts was way stronger than they anticipated.
However, as strong as she was, had their order been to just kill her, things would have been simple. Thanks to the stupidmand that the [de] Demon Lord had given, Sts was able to gain precious time for her monsters to escape.
As it stood, her troops only needed another minute to escape. If things remain as uneventful as they are, we can somehow manage, she thought.
...s, such a thought proved to be too optimistic.
She felt an impact to her temple.
It was an attack from long-range using some kind ofrge needle.
Normally, with her omnidirectional perception ability via the wind, she would have been able to react to such a surprise attack. However, the continuous mental strain, the sorrow for all her fallen monsters, and the fatigue of the non-stop thinking and strategizing had left her awfully exhausted. This, in turn, made her focus drop a few levels.
As a result of being struck by that attack, her consciousness grew dim and she fell to her knees.
She quickly realized that the needle wasced with some kind of paralyzing toxin.
When Rozelitte the angel-type monster became one of her [Monsters of the Covenant], Sts gained the ability to use [Purification]. She could use that ability to purge the toxin out of her body, but that would need about 30 seconds to take effect.
Unfortunately, 30 seconds were more than enough for the enemy monsters.
One solution was to have Masamune and Phobos help her, but they were too busy fighting other monsters at the moment.
Likening her to a ferocious beast turned docile, a huge, muscr, and blue Oni with arge grin on its face extended its hand toward Sts.
"Is this the end?"
Tears welled up in her eyes.
If she got captured here, she would probably be subjected to torture worse than death. She was rtively fine with that though. What she wasnt fine with was knowing she failed to protect her precious monsters.
Right at the moment that the blue Onis uncouth finger touched Sts...
<>
Sts suddenly heard a boys voice in her mind.
At the same time, the Oni who reached for Sts was torn to very tiny pieces by an infinite number of wind des.
In the next moment, arge western dragon was there in front of Sts.
It had countless wounds and was drenched in its own blood, and yet its jade scales still shined beautifully.
To save its princess, this young knight broke out of its cageotherwise known as [Storage]with its own will... and loudly roared at its enemies.
TL notes
I just realized this but Rozelittes Strengthening ability was called Crusaders in the first volume but has a different name in thest volume. In the LNs first volume, its still called Crusaders. Well, whatever.A Kamaitachi can both refer to a weasel-like monster and to des of wind(which legends say it produces). Theres a line in the chapter which says fired off des of wind that Kamaitachi were known for. Basically, what the pun or whatever is trying to say is that a Kamaitachi monster is firing off a kamaitachi wind de. However, without knowledge of this note, I imagine it would not make much sense for some so I decided to just keep it in.Also, in case you dont what an Oni is, click here. I guess their distinct feature is their horn/s. Oni can be tranted in english as ogre or demon, but I think that Oni are different enough to warrant their own ssification.As for Garuda, he talks weirdly. He doesnt use particles in his speech and all the words he say are written in Kanji. The way I perceived it, it was kind of, I dont know, poetic or something. Imagine Kevin from The Office trying to shorten his sentences (Me think, why waste time say lot word, few word do trick) but then uses umon, deep words.Lastly, I used he for most monsters since using it was getting unwieldy.
Volume 6 17
The Emerald Dragon, through his own will, broke out of Stss [Storage].
Originally, such a feat was impossible.
However, the [Storage] given by the Creator to the Demon Lords were designed to handle only average S rank monsters, at best. Considering that the Emerald Dragon was a higher-end A rank monster, had [Berserk] which improved its capabilities by a rank, and received a considerable power boost from [Dragon Emperor], his power levels were definitely, albeit only momentarily, exceeded that.
<>
Ultimately, the Emerald Dragons strong emotions was what made the impossible, possible.
The moment the Emerald Dragon got out of Stss [Storage], the brute that dared toy a hand on her was reduced to bits.
Even though the brute was an A rank monster with excellent defense, for the Emerald Dragon who had both the power of [Berserk] and the power borrowed from [Dragon Emperor], crushing such an enemy was easy.
After that, he unleashed a [Wind] breath attack.
That attack was on par, if not stronger, than even the tornado that took several wind monsters to make. And it wasnt simply wind; it was a swirl of countless wind des. Any enemy unlucky enough to be caught in the breath attack would be minced meat.
"Why did youe out with that tattered body of yours? Youll die."
Tears in her eyes, Sts looked toward the Emerald Dragon who looked back at her.
She saw that for the first time, his jade-green eyes were filled with gentleness rather than madness.
She then gasped that other than gentleness, there were also affection and strong resolve in the dragons eyes.
The Emerald Dragon then hid Sts behind his back and roared.
As the dragon was situated in a narrow passageway, the only way through was through him. His roar was both a threat for his enemies and a message to escape for Sts.
"Do you n to die here?"
<>
The Emerald Dragon didnt answer her question. For how could he when she was precisely on the mark?
Although his mind was now free from the shackles of [Berserk] and although he had obtained additional power from [Dragon Emperor], the fact that he had reached his limits a long time ago still remained.
His body was wounded all over and his magic power was almost depleted. All that remained was his sturdy body, as tattered as it was.
He knew from the start that he wouldnt be able to defeat all of their enemies, but in order to save Sts, he intended to take down with him as many as he could. If he could save her by acting as a shield, death was a fine fate to him.
The enemy monsters who were blown away and yet managed to escape instant death returned, this time warier of the dragon than before. Due to that wariness, they and their allies maintained their distance before firing their attacks toward the Emerald Dragon.
Swords, spears, arrows, fire, water, earth, and whatever else poured down like heavy rain toward the Emerald Dragon.
Having insufficient magic power for another breath attack, the Emerald Dragon decided to instead use his remaining magic power for [Hardening].
His goal was to hold on until Sts has made her escape.
And so, against such an attack, his scales burst open and his flesh was gouged. Yet, through it all, he didnt make a shriek as he didnt want to worry Sts even one tiny bit.
<>
The Emerald Dragon sent his thoughts to beg Sts to leave. However, rather than escape, Sts drew closer and touched the dragons back with her small, cold, and shaking hand.
"Using my fathers medal, you were the first monster I ever made. To escape by sacrificing you is something I cannot do. A long time ago, Ive decided to name you. So, if youre going to be brave here... Ive decided to be too."
With the countless attacks he had received, he wouldntst a minute longer.
"Answer me: do you want to be reborn? To be reborn and protect me like this?"
Sts spoke those words with resolve; she wasnt willing to lose the Emerald Dragon here like this.
With no second thoughts, the dragon answered.
<>
The Emerald Dragon had always wanted to be reborn into someone who could fly as they wished, someone that could stay by Stss side, someone that could protect her.
"Thank you... Phobos, Masamune! Buy us 30 seconds. Thats an order."
Sts strongly shouted so.
"Okay."
"Forget 30, well buy you 60."
Her two [Monsters of the Covenant] replied so.
After that...
"[Rebirth]"
Sts closed her eyes and recited the word of power.
[Rebirth] was an ability she received as a prize during the [Evening Party] many months ago. Unlike Procell who won and thus received two, she received only one use of this ability.
As for what it did, it could transform a willing target into a medal and have that medal be usable for [Synthesis].
Upon epting that power, the Emerald Dragons body broke down into golden particles of light which then gathered in Stss hand. Once all of the particles were gathered, they formed an A rank medal called [Emerald Dragon].
Since the Emerald Dragon disappeared, the enemy monsters were now able to attack Sts who was behind the now-gone dragon.
Before they could reach her, however, Masamune the Kamaitachi and Phobos the Pegasus appeared, the former riding on thetters back. Phobos picked up Sts with his mouth and then jumped up, very narrowly avoiding the iing attacks.
Meanwhile, Masamune helped Sts get on Phoboss back.
"Phobos, theyre giving chase."
"Understood. Lend me a hand, then."
While Phobos cut through the wall of air in front, Masamune produced wind in the back to elerate them further.
Through the cooperation technique the two monsters did, they traveled at an extraordinary rate which then made them able to evade the magic attacks targeted at their backs.
However, the scenery ahead became distorted. This was most likely due to monsters that had the ability toy traps.
In reaction to that, Phobos did a 90-degree turn.
A Pegasus was a monster could use not only its speed but also its agility as a weapon. For them, a 90-degree turn was doable, if not easy.
"After all the rampaging that dragon did, we dont deserve to be [Monsters of the Covenant] if we cant buy at least 30 seconds."
"I hear you. Lets do our best, brother."
Phobos and Masamune continued to evade the countless attacks pouring on them like heavy rain. They have done so by expertly coordinating their actions. While Phobos made full use of his mobility, Masamune urately elerated or decelerated their speed using wind and deflected the attacks they couldnt avoid or take.
They were B rank monsters with static levels.
For being the [Monsters of the Covenant] of a Demon Lord like Sts, they were rtively weak. Even without being told, they were perfectly and painfully aware of that.
However, rather than wallow on such fact, the two decided to do whatever they could. They constantly sought strength that couldnt be measured in numbers. They polished their individual strengths, and discovered ways they could work in coordination with each other.
Perhaps even an A rank monster wouldnt be able to avoid such a volley of attacks, but the two who didnt have high levels, high stats, or cheat skills did all that through their own hardships and abilities. Such a moment was the fruit of their sweat and blood.
As such, Sts knew she couldnt waste the time the two were buying for her.
In her hand were three medals.
The first one was [Emerald Dragon] which was the medal the dragon turned into. Next was a medal bearing her own crest, the [Wind] medal. And thest was the one belonging to her rival, the [Creation] medal.
She then closed her hand into a fist, grasping the three medals within tightly.
"Procell, let me see the world that you see. Please, guide me and Emerald Dragon... [Synthesis]"
Light leaked from her hand.
It was a Synthesis beyond convention and that intense light proved it.
Like that, countless possibilities appeared and disappeared in Stss mind.
Her consciousness was then guided into a spirit world of sorts.
There, she met a jade-green dragon.
"All of this are your possible futures. Its so astonishing. Theres really a lot."
<<Our possible futures.>>
The Dragon presented its paw and, in response, Sts grasped it. Hand in hand like that, the two looked at the possibilities before them.
"Ive always wanted to talk with you like this, you know. Despite our present circumstances, but Im d we have this moment."
<>
The dragon had a fearsome appearance, but it spoke with a voice that seemed to belong to a little girl.
"Speaking with that voice, in that manner, its so cute. Anyway, Emerald Dragon, what do you want to be?"
When the Emerald Dragon heard that question, his eyes sparkled brightly.
"Aside from being able to act as I wished, its my dream to keep protecting you. When a dragon king heard of my dream, he called me a knight. So, Sts-sama, what I would like to be is a knight that protects you."
Hearing that, Sts smiled.
After voicing out his wish, a possibility shined before the two.
Sts and Emerald Dragon, still holding each others hands, reached for that glowing possibility. In reaction, it grew brighter and brighter until Stss consciousness returned to reality.
"Alright. This is our answer."
The [Creation] medal in her hand transformed and what it transformed into was... the [Knight] medal.
The light leaking from her hand also grew even brighter. Upon opening her hand, the medals turned into particles of lightgolden in color with a tinge of greenwhich then coalesced.
The form it took was a gigantic western dragon with jade green scales, much like an Emerald Dragon. There were many differences though. First was that golden patterns were in several parts of his body. His ws were also much bigger. On his head was a horn which resembled a unicorns. Also, his eyes had a much more vivid shade of jade green, indicative that he had the magic eyes called [Jade Eyes].
Like that, the Emerald Dragon was reborn.
Even though he still had [Berserk], he stave off that madness with his loyalty to Sts.
He was dragon-knight of the wind known as a...
"Storm Dragon Knight Bahamut"
Sts spoke aloud her monsters new race.
Meanwhile, pleased with his new appearance and, moreover, with the newfound strength he could use to protect Sts, Bahamut roared heartily.
As good as that was, the enemies were still attacking.
As of the moment, the newly reborn Bahamut was following behind Phobos. As attacks continued toe, the dragon decided to create a storm, cing himself and Phobos within the center of it. In spite of the storm repelling each iing attack, it continued to expand by each passing moment.
It wasnt just a tornado either. It was full-blown thunderstorm.
Anything and everything that came close to it were blown back by the wind and the lighting it produced.
"Can you hear my voice?"
<>
"Good. Then, Ill give your firstmand as a Bahamut. Any enemy that your eyes can see, defeat them. I wonder though, can you do that?"
<>
The enemy forces at the moment wereposed of more than 10 A rank monsters and over a hundred B and C rank monsters. Anyone who would say such an enemy force was no problem would beughed at normally.
However, the Bahamut could definitely do it.
Firstly, he was a high-tier S rank monster made using three A rank medals.
Additionally, due to the nature of [Rebirth], his high level from being a static-leveled A rank Emerald Dragon was transferred to his new form as a Bahamut that could level up.
And then, of course, there were his skills. He had [Berserk] which increased all his high stats by a rank. He also had a skill called [Chivalry] which further increased his stats, while at the same time made him keep his sanity, both as long as he was near Sts, the one he has sworn to protect.
"Procell, I have a request."
Sts embedded the intent of her message into the special wind still around her. This special wind was sent by Aura the Ancient Elf and would circle back to her.
In truth, along the way, Sts thought many times of asking for Procells assistance but didnt follow through, thinking there was no way she could give up when her monsters havent.
"Im about to lose consciousness now. Im leaving the rest of the battle to you."
The words that came out of her mouth were of calm eptance.
She had already informed her monstersvia Rozelittes telepathythat she was going to fall unconscious and that they should listen to Procellsmands from then on.
After receiving Stss message, Procell replied.
<
Hearing that, Stsughed a little.
It became apparent to Sts that Procell knew of the measures she had taken to achieve victory.
The first of which was to prepare a group that excelled in espionage from the [Omnipresence] copies attacking the enemy dungeon. This groups goal was to avoidbat as much as possible and break the [de] Demon Lords crystal. This had little chance to seed, but it was a risk worth taking.
As for the other measure, the moment the [de] Demon Lord showed up, Sts made the rest of the copies return to her dungeon and strike the enemies in the rear. With the enemy force being whittled down, the pincer maneuver would make it so that the [de] Demon Lord wouldnt be able to escape.
After all, defeating the [de] Demon Lord was equivalent of winning the [War].
As a side note, while it was true that he had ced several Transfer arrays for insurance, Stss scouts had already erased those.
"I have to do something more important than winning: fulfilling a promise. Because of that, I wouldnt be able to fight anymore. I know Im asking for a lot, but Ill pay you back even if it will cost me my life."
In order to keep an old promise, Sts has decided to cast aside her pride and rely on Procell.
"Bahamut, Ive made you a promise, didnt I? That someday, once Ive be a Demon Lord splendid enough to control you, I will give you a name right away. Ive already thought up a name for you, so here it goes."
Sts had heard from Procell about what happened to him when he named Duke. About how he felt weak and about how he feared he wouldpletely lose his magic power.
Considering how Sts thought of Procell to be stronger than herself and also how the Bahamut was just as strong as Duke, if she was to name her dragon now, she might end up with a worse fate.
Moreover, she was in the middle of a [War] at the moment. Common sense would dictate that giving a name right now would be foolish, to say the least.
However, Sts would rather lose the war and her life than break her promise with Bahamut who has protected against all odds.
Besides, she had someone she could leave the rest to.
And so, with no hesitation in her mind, she uttered the following:
"Storm Dragon Knight Bahamut, your name from now on will be Enlil. Continue protecting me, my knight."
The moment she said his name, she felt her Demon Lord powers and her magic power being ripped out of her body. As though those werent enough, she could also feel her very life being taken away.
It was unbelievable pain.
And yet, amidst that, she smiled as she saw Enlil.
"Everyone, Procell, I leave the rest to you."
After saying so, she began to lose consciousness and fell from Phoboss back. Phobos hurriedly tried to pick her up but stopped midway after seeing that there was no need worry. The reason he deemed so was because there suddenly appeared a man and a high-ranking elf.
After revealing himself, the man carefully caught Sts.
"Youve done well, Sts. Well handle the rest."
The man replied so while carrying Sts in his arms.
Hearing that, Sts smiled. Hers was a face of a maiden in love.
Still wearing the smile, Sts finally lost her consciousness.
As if in tune with that, Enlil roared loudly and then continued to trample over the enemies.
Because Stss powers and feelings have reached him, instead of rushing over to her as he wanted to, he did what was needed to be done.
Like that, the [de] Demon Lords army began to fall back, totally unaware of the almost uninjured copies of Stss monsters approaching their rear...
In case youre wondering, Storm Dragon Knight Bahamut is written as ToХϥ`
Also, for information about Enlil, click here to go to wikipedia
Volume 6 18
After naming Enlil, Sts lost her consciousness and fell from her Pegasuss back. Thankfully, I was nearby and was able to catch her.
She had a peaceful sleeping face. Despite knowing that she would fall unconscious during the war, she went on with the naming because she hadplete trust in me and her subordinate monsters.
"Thank goodness youre safe. I cant tell how many times Ive wanted to intervene."
I said so to the sleeping Sts.
I actually arrived in the battlefield a few minutes earlier but decided to just observe. I was able to do this thanks to Auras power. She had rendered us invisible and erased our presence.
If things turned really awful, I intended to make Aura help through her sniping.
However, Sts managed to resolve the crisis all on her own.
She was definitely stronger than when we fought. Truly my rival.
I was looking at Stss sleeping face when Enlil the Bahamut came near me. He had just finished trampling on a set of enemies and thus deemed it was safe enough to confront me, the one carrying her mistress.
The [de] Demon Lords monsters were too scared by Enlils overwhelming power and our sudden appearance that they just watched and didnt move.
<>
For some reason, it seemed like Enlil was wary of me.
Rozelitte, through her telepathy, should have already ryed to all of Stss monsters that Sts wanted them to follow mymand. However, it seemed to me Enlil didnt have any intention of following Rozelittes instructions.
But then again, it was probably unfair to assume he would follow Rozelitte and the conventional chain ofmand, given that he was under the full effects of [Berserk] until recently.
"Its alright. Im her friend. I came here to help."
<>
If I were to be untactful, it was more than likely that an attempt on my life would be made.
As I wondered what to do, Duke stepped forward.
"Be at ease. We are very much capable of protecting your mistress, young knight."
"You, youre that dragon king?"
"Hahaha, thats an interesting way to refer to me. But yes, I certainly am a [Dragon Emperor]. And this person right here, hes, shall we say, the prince of your mistress. Please believe that we will protect her."
Enlil looked back and forth between me and Sts.
After he settled his gaze on Stss calm face, he nodded and spoke.
<>
When he said so, he pped his wings and went airborne. As he did so, he also began suppressing the enemies.
I took it to mean that he had somehow approved of me.
"It seems well be a having a chasing game."
Aura and Duke who were behind me stepped forward.
"Enlil, take control of the sky. Aura, Duke, Ill leave the ground to you two."
Aura and Duke nodded while Enlil replied in the affirmative via thoughts.
Having someone as strong as Enlil was reassuring.
Enlil possessed a skill called [Chivalry] that allowed him to retain his sanity while using [Berserk], so long as he was near Sts. On top of effectively rendering the downside of [Berserk] null, it also improved his stats further.
Conversely though, the moment Sts was separated from him, he could not help but devolve into a mindless and ferocious beast that would attack anyone that woulde near.
In Dukes case, wherever he might be, he had the option to activate his [Berserk] for only a short time or not at all. In other words, could choose to disregard both the benefits and downsides of [Berserk].
I honestly had no idea which was better.
<>
"Yes, please. Show us the might of Stss knight."
Aura could also be very effective against air units, but I had another job in mind for her.
<>
Upon saying so, he flew with unbelievable speed and crushed any enemy in his path.
After that, I was then inmunication with Rozelitte through her telepathy.
<>
"Yes, it has. Rozelitte, I have some instructions for you. First, make the gravely wounded fall back. Next, reorganize those that can still fight. At the same time, make the [Omnipresence] copiese to this floor. Its fine even if the fast ones go ahead of the others."
<>
"...Save the jokes for when the fightings over."
After that, we endedmunications.
Although I asked her to reorganize their numbers, I knew there was a chance that such wouldnt be needed.
"Aura, if you have line of fire against the [de] Demon Lord, take it. But dont kill him, okay?"
"Understood. Ill just wound him in the legs, then."
Aura was equipped with the anti-materiel rifle developed by Rorono the Elder Dwarf. This rifle was fusion of both science and magic. Rorono had named it Durandal.
Durandal, by itself, had firepower that could rival even tank guns.
And it was Aura, my S rank [Monster of the Covenant], who wielded such a weapon. On top her excellent stats, she had the skill called [Shooter of Magical Projectiles] which elevated her uracy and attack power for long-range attacks.
Anyone hit squarely by her and Durandal would most likely be reduced to smithereens.
"Yeah, do that. Were going to capture him alive because we need to hear who is backing him."
"Master, it may take some time before I get a line of fire, so instead of waiting around and doing nothing, is it okay if I blow up the heads of the strong-looking kids?"
Aura has fallen into a state wherein she wanted to pull the trigger of her gun as soon as possible.
In other words, her trigger-happy nature was showing. Geez, this girl...
"Alright, Ill allow it. Run wild to your hearts content. Take care to not run out of bullets."
"Yes, of course!! Here I go!"
She said so and made the wind swirl.
Despite Durandal being an anti-materiel rifle, it had a short barrel. It was shaped like that to improve its weight and its controbility. However, having a short barrel meant lessbustion time for the gunpowder which would then lead to a decrease in initial velocity and firepower. It also meant a decrease in the straightness of the trajectory which would then lead to a decrease in range and uracy.
Thinking normally, the Durandal was a failure of an anti-materiel rifle.
If Aura was the user, however, it was apletely different conversation.
Using her wind, Aura produced a pseudo-barrel.
Like that, she pulled the trigger.
Normally, a bullets initial speed was also its maximum speed due to air resistance. Along with gravity, air resistance also affected the bullets range.
The bullets fired by Aura were very different though. Through the [eleration] enchantment on the Durandal, bullets elerated rather decelerate. Furthermore, one of Auras skills, the [Ruler of the Wind], not only eliminated air resistance for the bullets, it even made the wind boost the bullets speed further.
That speed tranted into firepower.
So, with all those factorsbined, it wasnt surprising that when a monster near the [de] Demon Lord was hit between the eyes, its entire head exploded like a pomegranate.
It took a while before the sound of the gunshot was heard. Considering that the bullet travelled at more than three times the speed of sound, it was only natural.
Also, as there was no air resistance, there wasnt any sonic booms either.
The enemy that Aura just hit was about 500 meters away from her.
Even at such a distance, Aura was more than capable of shooting with pinpoint uracy. In fact, the maximum range Aura was able to do so was approximately 2 kilometers. If pinpoint uracy wasnt a concern, the range she could still hit the target would probably be double that.
"Now, lets pick up the pace. If you just sit there and watch, youre going to be annihted."
Aura said so and fired in quick session.
It might seem that Auras shooting showcased only range, firepower, and uracy, but in truth, she specialized even in rapid shooting.
With her one-shot-kill attacks thates without pause from well outside of conventional range, Aura definitely was a monster one wouldnt want to be up against.
"Okay, whats going to be their move?"
Auras barrage and their annihtion upon them, the enemies had to do something; just standing around would get them killed sooner rather thanter.
As I saw it, there were two options: to charge or to retreat.
An intelligent person would most likely choose thetter. Disappointingly, the [de] Demon Lord didnt seem like one.
"Everyone, forward! Bastards with unknown purpose have appeared, but if we press them with our numbers, we can win. We will force our way to victory!! To those that can fly, stop that menace in the sky even at the cost of your life!!"
Hearing thatmand, the [de] Demon Lords forces advanced.
I was able to hear what he said even though he was far away from me thanks to Aura and her wind. Thoughtful as ever, I thought.
Aura continued to take down enemies one after the other, prioritizing the strong ones first, but their numbers of more than a hundred were just too great.
If it was just Aura holding the line, they would soon be able to close the distance and perhaps even overwhelm her.
Fortunately, however, Aura wasnt the only one Ive prepared.
"Duke, Ivee here to help Sts, but that doesnt mean we cant have any side benefit from this... Imand you, harvest as many souvenirs we can take back to Avalon!!"
"Yes, as you wish, my lord!"
Duke, in his dragonewt form, elegantly bowed to me despite the horde of enemies approaching.
To such riffraff, there was no need for him to get serious or take his real form.
"Go! Your enemies are just an elf and a dragonewt. Crush theeeeeeeeemmm"
The [de] Demon Lord yelled so, hoping to encourage his troops.
He probably thought that since there was only the two of them, they would be able to win easily.
Then, lets overturn those assumptions.
Miasma came out of Dukes body, indicating that he was about to use the powers of the underworld.
As the name ck Dragon of Death might imply, he was a dragon that ruled over death.
"[Enhanced Resurrection]"
The temperature of his surroundings suddenly fell, miasma covered the ground, and from it, something unworldly crawled out.
The things that came crawling out were the monsters that fought and fell in this war.
[Enhanced Resurrection] was the dark power that allowed Duke to resurrect the fallen as undead monsters with more power than when they were alive. It also allowed him make them his subordinates.
So long as there was a targeta soul that hasnt left or a corpsethe skill could be used to revive them. It could be used for only 15 targets per day though.
The resurrected monsters were voicing out their grudges. They, being the former monsters of the [Oni] Demon Lord, directed their resentment not toward Sts, but rather toward the [de] Demon Lord.
The [de] Demon Lord had not only taken away their beloved master, he had also forced them to serve and fight for him. Serving under such a master must have been agonizing for most of these monsters.
Actually, one other reason Stss monsters were able to fight as well as they have was because most of the monsters that once belonged to the [Oni] Demon Lord were not fighting at their best.
Though they were bound by themands given to them and were thus forced to fight, in their hearts, they would rather die than have their powers be used for the [de] Demon Lords benefit.
If these experienced and strong monsters fought to the fullest, this war might have had a very different conclusion.
"Now that you have been freed from your shackles, you may seek vengeance as you wish!"
Duke loudly dered so.
The targets of his [Enhanced Resurrection] were the 15 that had the greatest skills, stats, and resentment against the [de]. On one hand, these 15 were very filled with hatred, but on the other, they felt joyous to bare their fangs against the one they resent.
As of the moment, there were almost none left of the A rank monsters under the [de] Demon Lords control. Due to Stss efforts, there were 10 A rank monsters left. And after Aura started shooting them, there were even less.
Whatever riffraff that remained wouldnt have enough topete against the 15 A rank monsters that Duke resurrected and strengthened. In other words, it was the start of our one-sided genocide.
"Duke, lets hit them harder. Call in the neers."
"Yes, my lord. Now, time for your first battle. [Gate Open]"
Dukes [Enhanced Resurrection] not only resurrected targets into undead, it also allowed him to use Darkness magic.
Using that, he called forth a gate to the underworld and opened it.
The inside of the gate was darkness that was imprable by the eyes.
Out of that darkness, around 50 adventurers and soldiers d in miasma appeared.
Each then marked their prey with their vacant eyes and attacked.
"Hmm, yes, theyre fine additions to our force."
"Their base was good and thanks to [Enhanced Resurrection] making them all have the undead attribute, I could further strengthen them with my [Ruler of Death] ability. This much of an enemy force is nothing for my prized undead army."
A ck Dragon of Death Siegwurm had exceedingly high individual fighting capabilities, but even then, its true merit was that it ruled over death.
The more the fighting goes on and the more deaths there were, the more powerful a Siegwurm gets.
The summoned humans just now were the artificial heroes and the powerful soldiers that we fought in the war against the neighboring city. They were a fighting force dispatched to destroy Avalon, but thanks to [Enhanced Resurrection], they were now part of our fighting force instead.
Humans were great. If their corpses were put in some kind of cold storage, Duke could potentially resurrect them all at the rate of 15 targets per day which was daily limit of his skill.
Inparison, monster corpses would turn into particles of light and eventually vanish after a fixed amount of time after their death, leaving nothing behind except for the asional item drop. Their souls would also move on quickly. It pretty much meant that they have to be resurrected half a day after their death.
As long as Duke was around, the longer the fight, the more of the enemys fighting force Avalon could im for its own.
Even on the campaign to save Marcho, Duke had increased our numbers with 15 of the most powerful monsters there.
He was literally an army. Such was the true merit of the ck Dragon of Death Siegwurm.
"We have to thank the [de] Demon Lord, dont we? Generously providing us these precious A rank monsters."
"Yes. Once we return to Avalon, should we have a weing party for these neers?"
"Thats a good proposal. ...now then, I wonder what the [de] Demon Lord would do next. The vast difference in fighting force should be very obvious by now."
Counting the undead army of the artificial heroes and the 15 [Oni] monsters, we had the upper hand on not only quality but also quantity.
In addition, Stss monsters had finished reorganizing and were joining the battlefield once again.
When he saw all that, the [de] Demon Lords face went ghastly pale. He then began retreating while using his monsters as shield.
I went to the trouble of selecting which 10 monsters to put into my [Storage], but as things were, the fight would end with deploying just Aura and Duke.
...and then,
"Theyre finally here, huh."
The monsters made with Stss [Omnipresence] finally arrived in our current floor. Since the enemy Demon Lord was scared of us and thus made most of his troops gather in the rear, their vanguard was quite defenseless against the neers.
Coincidentally, Aura had gained line of fire on the [de] Demon Lord. Aiming with her [Jade Eyes], she shot and grazed him in the legs. I say graze but that much was enough to blow off his legs.
Chances of escape now gone, he lost heart.
Its time to wrap this up.
"Aura, use your wind to make my voice resound as far as possible."
"Understood."
For Aura, it was a simple task to make the sound travelling in the air propagate further.
After Aura replied, wind drifted around my face.
"[de] Demon Lord, tell all your subordinates to not resist anymore. I want to talk. If you do anything strange, you will be killed. If you forfeit and end the [War] before we have had our talk, you will be killed. If you ept these terms, I will let you live and surrenderter."
I had already ryed to Stss monstersvia Rozelitteto stop attacking. The undead army too had received the same instructions via Duke.
In the current state of things, the [de] Demon Lord didnt have any chance to win. If he was an idiot who would still fight regardless, there was no helping it. But for the moment, I decided to wait for his decision.
After taking a short time to analyze the situation, he raised both of his hands and said something while sobbing.
Aura informed me he was willing cooperate.
Okay, now, to figure out who the mastermind behind this is.
Volume 6 19
After Aura made the [de] Demon Lord immobile by shooting and thus blowing off his legs, I threatened to kill him if he so much as moved a finger or if he surrendered right away.
By surrendering, the war would end and he would be Transferred away by the Creator, essentially giving him a way to escape. If I were to talk to him, it had to be before that.
I believed that the [de] Demon Lord was incapable on his own of killing the [Oni] Demon Lord and taking thetters monsters for his own. Adding in the timing of the [ck] Demon Lords letter and his threat to hold Sts hostage, I was convinced the [ck] Demon Lord was the one behind this.
I was convinced, but I still wanted to get more information from the [de] Demon Lord. Depending on how I would go about it, I just might get information that could serve as a trump card to corner the [ck] Demon Lord.
As I was walking together with Aura and Duke toward the [de] Demon Lord who was bleeding to death, I spoke to Duke.
"Duke, your undead armys impressive. I will be expecting more from them."
"Yes. And we will strive further to meet your expectations."
"Like this, Avalons armies are finally excellent in both quality and quantity. If going on the offensive, our aces that can go toe to toe against a thousand will be more than enough, but in a defensive battle, numbers be more important. Its a great thing to be able to count your undead army among Avalons fighting strength."
This was the first time the undead army was put in full operation.
In addition to Avalons special forceslike Kuinas elite task force, Auras sniping corps, and Rlyeh Divas intelligence corpswe had three corps considered as the main fighting force.
The first was Roronos golem corps.
If we were prepared to have the Avalon-Ritters be disposable war potential, each could exhibit power present between a high-end A rank monster and a low-end S rank monster.
In addition to them, the golem troops also had the Mithril Golems, each of which having power equivalent to a B rank monster. Having a high number of them be equipped with heavy-weapons was reassuring indeed.
While most of the golem corps were destroyed in the campaign to save Marcho, so long as their golem core was intact, it could be recovered and be ced in a new body. In other words, they could be reused again and again. This disposability, above all else, was the golem corps greatest feature.
The second main corps was the aerial bombing corpsposed of the Darkness Dragons.
By releasing powerful bombs from the sky, they could deal tremendous damage to enemies that had no sufficient countermeasures against air units. And given that each Darkness Dragon Graphross was a high-end B rank monster, they could obtain air superiority by their own should it devolve to an aerial dogfight.
Furthermore, by using containers designed by Rorono, the Darkness Dragons could also be deployed for transporting other fighting force.
Since they were B rank monsters that I could buy with DP, replenishing their numbers if need be was a simple task. Recently, I was finally able to save up just enough DP to buy a [Maelstrom] for a B rank monster, so I bought one for the Darkness Dragons.
A [Maelstrom] was worth a hundred times the price of a monster, but in return, it would create one of that monster each day. Considering that I would break even in a little over three months time and then still continue to receive a monster a day from then on, [Maelstroms] were extremely profitable.
I had hoped to make a [Maelstrom] for the monster two ranks down from Marcho the Wise Wolf Monarch Managarm, but there was no such monster. Apparently, a Managarm was apletely irregr monster and had no monster under it in its lineage.
Thest of the main corps were the undead army.
It was a corpsposed of humans and monsters that were resurrected and made subordinates by Dukes [Enhanced Resurrection]. Due to that skill, these undead monsters were stronger than even when they were alive. Not only that, since they had the undead attribute, they were further strengthened by another of Dukes skills.
And now, thanks to all the battles we had been throughand thus all the fallen Duke had been able to resurrecttheir numbers were just as impressive as their strength.
As of the moment, these three main corps would be enough to stop mostmon enemy troops. The best part was that they would still continue to grow in the future: golems would be manufactured by the dwarves daily; the Darkness Dragons would be born from the [Maelstroms] each day; and the undead army would grow in number with each battle.
I was thinking of such things when I reached the [de] Demon Lord.
"[de] Demon Lord, seeing that you havent ordered your monsters to attack us, Ill take it that youre willing to talk."
"...yeah, thats right, so dont kill me, okay? Ill tell you everything I know. Also, dont refer to me like that; just call me Sabnock."
He was surprisingly very meek. Based on what I watched, I had thought he would choose to be more emotional and resist til the end.
"Sorry. So, Sabnock, tell me, who is the one backing you? Whos the one that helped you take away the [Oni] Demon Lords monsters?"
I asked so, but the [de] Demon Lord remained silent, his hand shaped into a fist.
"Before that, I would like to say just one thing... What the hell is with you!? I mean, were both newly born Demon Lords, but why is it that theres such arge gap between us!? Dont you find that strange? This is unfair, you cheating bastard!"
He shouted so and then red at me.
I really couldnt refute what he said. It was unfair. Both my unique skill and medal were highly excellent and versatile.
"Yeah, I really am blessed. Well, are you done screaming? If you are, lets return to the topic at hand. I dont have a lot of time to waste."
I didnt have time to endure the nonsense of the defeated.
Even if you were dealt an inferior hand, it didnt mean you should just give up. There were still ways to win. In his case, in order to win against Sts, he borrowed the power of another Demon Lord. A Demon Lord who would do such a thing was better than one who would fight a hopeless battle and ept death, honorable though it may be.
Upon hearing what I said, the [de] Demon Lords face grew red before hanging it low.
"...haha, you really think so little of me. Very well, Ill talk. The one who proposed this was-"
Before he could finish what he was saying, his face rapidly became red and swelled.
No!
"Aura, can you stop it?"
"Its impossible. Strange magic power is swelling within him. To stop it from the outsides..."
The [de] Demon Lord was spouting blood from his mouth. His throat was already extremely damaged, rendering him unable to speak anymore.
If left as he was, he was going to die soon.
In such a state, he strangely smiled. Soon thereafter, he took hisst breath.
Before I could get any information, he had died. Damn it, hes been silenced.
It was likely that the moment he tried to talk about the mastermind, this event would be triggered to end his life. Like this, he was gone without leaving so much as a clue.
"Forgive me, my lord. I was not able to predict something like this would happen."
"Theres nothing to forgive, Duke. Even if we could have somehow predicted it, it isnt the kind of thing we could have prevented. ...That bastard"
Assuming that the [ck] Demon Lord was the one pulling the strings from the shadows, I could probe around during our meeting two dayster.
To be honest, it was frustrating to not be able to confirm the mastermind.
No, wait...
"Is this hisst act of tenacity? I still cant forgive him for the horrible things he said to Sts, but I will recognize that hes a man of fortitude. May he rest in peace."
I finally figured out the reason of hisst smile. On the brink of death, he managed to scrawl the name of the mastermind using his own blood.
Through this desperate act, he was able to return a blow against the one that used him and even killed him just to ensure his silence. It seemed like his resentment toward this mastermind was so deep, he was willing to entrust his revenge to me, the one who interrupted his [War] with Sts.
Very well, I will clear away your regrets.
Thinking so, I took a breath and then spoke.
"Come, lets go end this [War]"
The victory conditions for this [War] were for either Sts or [de] break the others crystal or have the other surrender. Unfortunately, death wasnt one.
Lets end this [War] right away and then press a de against the masterminds throat.
Volume 6 20
Before the [de] Demon Lord passed away, he used his own blood to write the word [ck].
Like that, I was finally able to confirm that the [ck] Demon Lord was the one behind all of these.
The [de] Demon Lord was most likely aware of my connection with the [ck] Demon Lord, so it was hard to imagine he would serve me up to the one that caused his death. I therefore believed that there was no need to doubt this clue.
The method employed this time by the [ck] Demon Lord was very clever, I must admit.
The [ck] Demon Lord had [de] challenge [Oni]. Under the pretense of attacking the [Oni] Demon Lord as well, he was able to provide support without being penalized for helping a newly born Demon Lord.
After the fight, the [de] Demon Lord took away the [Oni] Demon Lords monsters. Like this, the [ck] Demon Lord was able to give the [de] Demon Lord monsters without being penalized this time as well. Which in turn allowed him to interfere indirectly between the war of fellow new Demon Lords.
And then, there was that thing that stopped [de] de from leaking information to me. It was just a guess, but either it was an attack somehow made by one of his monsters or it was woven somehow into his agreement with the [ck] Demon Lord. If it was thetter, the [ck] Demon Lord would once again be free of penalties even when he had harmed a new Demon Lord.
"Geez, this guys really pushing the envelope when ites to loopholes. I cant help but think that this is some hobby of his."
As far as I saw it, the [ck] Demon Lord was bending rules just for the sake of bending rules.
Some timeter, we had ended the [War].
The victory conditions for this [War] were for either Sts or [de] to surrender, or have either ones crystal be broken. Unfortunately, their opponents death wasnt one.
Having lost their Demon Lord and their leader, the monsters, especially the [Oni] ones, didnt put much of a resistance. Thanks to that, we were able to break the crystal easily.
I had entrusted the task of actually breaking of the crystal to one of Stss monsters.
After all, this was her war and she had won it by her own. To break the [de] Demon Lords crystal and take his medal for my own was something my conscience would not allow.
A few minutes after the crystal was broken, the voice of the Creator resounded in my mind.
<>
After that message, the Transfer of the dungeon and its inhabitants to normal space began.
With this, I have fulfilled my role.
In my case, the Creator was pleased with my war against the three Demon Lords who received support from their parent Demon Lords. So much so that the Creator decided to give me a special reward.
I still havent used that reward. Or rather, I was too scared to use it.
At any rate, much like my war, the odds were stacked against Sts, so I was expecting for her to receive some kind of special reward as well.
It would seem, however, that I was off in my prediction. Perhaps it had something to do with my cooperation.
"Well, Im just d you won. Congrattions in crossing that dangerous bridge."
I said so to the girl sleeping in my arms.
Yes, the star of the show still hasnt woken up.
Now that the war was over, we headed to a vast dungeon room that Sts and her monsters were using for their strategy meetings.
Once there, her worried monsters surrounded her.
Closest of all was Enlil the Bahamut.
It should be noted that he had somehow be the size of a cat. It was an adorable transformation. He was totally like a stuffed toy. I almost unconsciously petted him, but thankfully, I was able to control myself. Though he looked like so on the outside, he was still the same within.
At any rate, evidently, much like how Duke could transform into his dragonewt form, Enlil was able to be small like this. Perhaps it was a choice he and Sts made during Synthesis so that they could be together easily.
Back to the topic at hand, despite their victory, Stss monsters looked sad and gloomy. Their worry for their still-sleeping master far outweighed the joy of winning.
As of the moment, Aura was doing an examination on Sts. Due to that, all the eyes around her were watching her every action.
"Master, its quite bad. Shes in an even worse condition than you are. Natural self-healing will not suffice. If left alone, her magic power and Demon Lord power might not return all her life. No, actually, if left untreated, she might even remain in thisatose state forever."
Aura reported so and the surrounding became noisy.
For the monsters that love her, such was one of the grimmest news. As such, Enlil issued out a sorrowful cry.
It cant be helped
"Youre gonna owe me one, Sts... Rozelitte"
"What is it, Procell-sama?"
"Until Sts awakens, I will regard you as the [Wind] Demon Lords representative. As such, let me ask you a question: will you trust in me and have Avalon take care of Sts? A few days ago, I was in a simr state as her, but now, my strength is in the process of returning. It might take some time, but in an environment like Avalons and with Auras powers, Sts should recover. Aura, how long do you think it would take for her to recover fully?"
"I cant answer urately without more in-depth examinations and more time to observe her, but I fear itll take about a month. But, is that fine though? I mean, our supply of golden apples isnt exactly a lot."
Other than for my recovery, the golden apples were also being used for the wine being sent to the [Time] Demon Lord. Considering those factors, our rate of gathering golden apples were quite slow.
I had thought that once my recovery was finished, we could once again gather golden apples in earnest, but it would appear we would have to use some for Sts as well.
"Its no problem. My friends recovery takes priority over the replenishment of our stocks."
"Certainly. Ill also think up of ways to increase our production."
"Thanks. There you have it, Rozelitte. Will you entrust Sts to me and have her stay in Avalon for a month?"
It was a difficult choice.
Sts and I were close, but even then, there should be some resistance in Rozelittes mind about entrusting her master over to another Demon Lord. After all, if I wanted to, I would be able to get rid of Sts without any hassles.
Moreover, there was the question of how the dungeon would function without Sts for a full month.
For these reasons, Rozelittes decision as Stss representative was required.
"Id like to say yes, but... what do you ask in return? My answer would depend on that."
In truth, I havent thought about it until she asked me.
"Lets see. For now, just remember that you owe me."
"Is that really all you want?"
"Well, Sts is my friend, after all. Besides, thanks to her invitation, I was able to get 15 A rank monsters. In a way, that could serve as a reward by itself."
An A rank monster was a very precious being that was made with 2 A rank medals. It wasnt that often that a chance to obtain many of them at once was going toe.
And yet, I had gained 15 of them in this [War]. Doing a little bit of service in return was nothing.
"We will take you up on your kind offer, then. Thank you. Sorry to say, but all we can offer in return is our thanks... that and Sts-samas body. I think youll find her appearance and her personality to be fine, to say the least. But most of all, shes the devoted type. Do enjoy your time with her. If shes carrying an heir by the time she returns to us, that would be extremely great."
"Stop kidding around!"
"Fufu. But seriously, we, the [Wind] monsters, will never forget our gratitude to you. If ever youre in a dilemma, trust that we wille to your side at once and risk our lives. Im sure Sts-sama feels the same."
Rozelitte said so and smiled.
Shes a really a good subordinate.
"Well, moving on. Procell-sama, is it alright if one of us came along with Sts-sama?"
"Youreing as well?"
"No, I cant also be away while Sts-sama is unavable. The one I would like you to take is Enlil. If he stays in this form, he wouldnt be a hindrance. Plus, he can also fight for you."
<>
The kitten-sized Enlil said so while sticking very closely to Sts. If one tried to pry him away, he would surely rampage. In his case, he literally would since his [Berserk] would activate once he was far enough away from Sts. Worst case scenario, he might even destroy her dungeon.
Furthermore, as Rozelitte said, in the case that Avalon was attacked, he could fight to protect Sts.
"Understood. We will take care of the two."
"Thank you."
Like that, Stss [War] was truly over.
Just in case of an attack from the [ck] Demon Lord, I told Duke to leave behind the 15 A rank monster we had just gained.
Since the [ck] Demon Lord could not directly provide the [de] Demon Lord with monsters, it was unlikely that there were some [ck] monsters mixed in with the [de] Demon Lords forces. If that was so, the [ck] Demon Lord would not have any pretense to attack Sts.
Nevertheless, we had to be careful as he could still deploy his artificial heroes to attack Stss dungeon.
If that were to happen, Stss monsters and the 15 resurrected A rank monsters would at least be able to buy enough time for me to provide support.
With those things in mind, it was better to return and begin Stss treatment as soon as possible.
"I feel like Im forgetting something."
"Master, youve stationed Kuina-chan and the others to guard the crystal room. They must be feeling left out."
After hearing Aura, I remembered that I left Kuina and some others in Stss crystal room as insurance in case there were monsters that could somehow slip past us like one that could expertly erase its presence.
"...Oh, yeah. Theyve been on standby all this time, right? I hope Kuina doesnt get upset."
Mere moments before we left, Kuina decided toe along with us despite being put within my [Storage] which she hated.
She bravely did so because she said she wanted to show me the new special technique she had gained through her special training, but before any chance for her to do so appeared, the war had ended.
"My lord, considering Kuina-samas personality, I would say its certain that shes upset. Might I suggest that you offer to buy her lots of sweets after weve returned."
"Yeah, I think so too. And, since she has grown recently, her old clothes dont really fit anymore. She did say she wanted to buy new ones, so if you buy it for her, Im sure shell be happy."
Kuinas sullen face appeared in my mind, and Iughed. Even when shes mad, shes adorable.
"Yeah, I guess Ill buy her a lot of things for her reward this time. Duke, Aura, if you have something you want, well go buy them as well."
While thinking of the angry Kuina, we walked toward the crystal room.
Thanks to the [de] Demon Lordsst act of tenacity, I was finally able confirm that the mastermind was the [ck] Demon Lord.
He had tried to harm not only Marcho, but now, Sts as well.
At this point, any hopes for a peaceful resolution were out the window.
That guy was undoubtedly an enemy. He might try to dangle some kind of sweet bait in front of me on our meeting, but it would not matter.
Resolving myself so, my hands formed tight fists.
I preferred going on the offensive than being on the defense. On our meeting, I would try to expose as much of his weaknesses as I could... for I was sure he would try to do the same to me.
Volume 6 epilogue
We had arrived in crystal room of the [Wind] dungeon.
Our purpose foring here was to pick up Kuina and the others who were entrusted with the task of protecting the crystal.
To be specific, the ones in the crystal room were: Kuina, the strongest possible guard; Rlyeh Diva, stationed here to prevent any attack from the other dimension; and two Ocean singers who were Rlyeh Divas subordinates.
Upon arrival, I saw that Rlyeh Diva and her two subordinates were amusing themselves with a card game while Kuina sat in a corner, arms around her knees, and sulked.
Kuina sulked while Rlyeh Diva paid no mind, pretty much what I expected.
Kuina, Ruru, everyone, thanks for your work. The [War] has safely concluded. Lets go back right away, shall we?
I said so with a smile on my face.
By the way, Ruru was Rlyeh Divas nickname since thetter was a bit hard to say. Giving them nicknames didnt constitute as naming monsters, thankfully.
I was about to get tired of waiting, patron.
...Ruru, I know theres no way, but were you guys also ying during the [War]?
Of course not. I would never do such a thing. Ill have you know that I properly watched the other side during the [War]. And, since there might be rude individuals that think weve let our guard down now that the wars over and won, Im purposefully making chances for them while also tightening my waterwork. In this side or the other, my ears hear everything.
Ruru strongly dered so.
She, the blue-haired, androgynous and yet beautiful head of Avalons intelligence corps, acted like she was just ying around but was actually still working.
Im so relieved.
Kuina, Ruru, Ocean Singers, again, thank you for your hard work. Its because you guys were here that we were able to go all out on the offensive.
I spoke out my true feelings.
In a war against fellow Demon Lords, the most troublesome monsters were probably those that excelled in espionage and mobility.
No matter the difference between the main forces of the two opposing sides, if even one monster gets past the lines of defense, the crystal would be broken and everything would be over.
Well, we didnt really do anything. It was mostly the [Wind] Demon Lord and her monsters. Aside from that small push from Duke, even if we didnte, they would have won.
It was exactly as she said. Majority of the work was done by Sts and her monsters.
Even though the war ended before Ruru and the others could get to do anything, I would like to think they at least had an easy time.
The problem was Kuina.
From the moment we returned, she was pouting and ring at me.
Its been a while since thest time she was this upset.
Kuina,e on, I cant bear you looking at me like that.
...Oto-san, why didnt you take Kuina? Unlike Rorono-chan and Aura-chan, Kuinas only good point is fighting. Why is Kuina here if not to fight? Did you choose Duke and Aura-chan cause theyre stronger than Kuina? Even after Kuina got a new special move and became stronger?
She said so with a tearful voice.
I then recalled what Rorono told me: that Kuina was feeling insecuretely.
For Kuina, her raison dtre was being Avalons Strongest monster.
However, with the appearance of Duke and then Marcho, her confidence was crumbling.
I trust in you, Kuina. And it is because I trust in you that I posted you here. Sure, Duke can be more powerful than you for a short period of time, but [Berserk] is such an unstable power. Youre strong and have stable powers, so you were more suited to defend the most important point in this war. As for why I took Aura with me, theres the fact that she can be used for the offense, but more than that, she was there for my safety since she could use her wind to perceive everything, including possible threats to my life. So, you see, its just a matter of having the right person for the right job.
Not a word I said was a lie.
It was out of the question to leave the defense of the crystal room to Duke. And even if Marcho was here instead of Kuina, I would still have taken Aura to the frontlines.
I had brought ten monsters to Stss [War]: Kuina, Aura, Duke, Ruru, 3 Ocean Singers, 2 Darkness Dragons Graphross, and Kurayami the Tartarosa ck-furred werewolf monsterwhom I borrowed from Marcho.
If I brought too much war potential with me, Avalon would be defenseless. After all, there was that possibility that the threat against Sts was merely a diversion so that Avalon would send assistance and be left undermanned.
However, between Marcho, the aerial bombardment corps led by the Dwarf Smith who was Dukes adjutant, and the golem corps led by Rorono, there was nothing to fear.
But Kuina didnt get to fight
Kuinas head might have understood what I was trying to say, but it seemed like her heart hasnt yet.
Her appearance might have suddenly be that of an adult, but deep down, shes still just a child.
While there some monsters who were already mature upon birth, there were some who were still childish.
Whichever they might be, I loved my monsters all the same.
After some thoughts, I approached the still sulking and unmoving Kuina and forcibly carried her in my arms.
Come on, Kuina, lets go back. To Avalon.
Surprised, Kuina resisted at first and then calmed down right away.
She was still protesting though by turning away her face.
Oto-san, youre so mean
Is she referring to me forcibly picking her up or is it because I had posted her here? Or is it both?
Kuina, Ive said this earlier but Ill say it again: I haveplete trust in you. I didnt want to tell you this in front of other monsters, but out of all my monsters, the one I rely on the most is you.
By saying Kuina was the one I relied on the most, I was also saying I didnt rely as much on my other monsters. However, upon hearing what I said, none of Duke, Aura, and Ruru showed any kind of difort on their face. It was because they too recognized Kuinas abilities.
Kuina, I wont apologize for this time. I did what I needed to do as a Demon Lord... but I will make you a promise: in the next fight, I will prepare a stage where you can take the lead and shine. Ill send you to the most dangerous of battlefields so that you can get the chance to show the new power you gained from your special training. Ill be expecting a lot from you, Kuina.
Upon hearing that, she turned her still-looking-away face back to me.
And she was smiling.
Finally, she was back in a good mood.
Understood. Kuina will do her best for Oto-san!
While I still carried her in my arms, she wrapped her arms around me to form a tight embrace.
...when something pressed against me, I couldnt help but think well, she surely has grown.
Needless to say, as her father, I must reflect on myself.
Everyone, lets go back home. Once weve returned, everyone that participated in this fight will be rewarded. The skys the limit. You can buy whatever you want from the shops in Avalon.
Duke thinly smiled and then nodded. Meanwhile, Aura was thinking deeply of what she was going to buy. As for Ruru and the Ocean Singers, they had begun discussing the most expensive goods avable in Avalon.
My beloved monsters were happy.
However, Kuina didnt seem as happy as the others.
Kuina, do you not like the reward?
...Kuina does, but Kuina had thought of a different reward if Kuina had contributed greatly in the fight. Its a shame Kuina cant have it.
Something that Kuina wanted as her reward for the [War]?
I tried to think what that something was, but nothing came to mind.
When I looked at Kuina, she looked embarrassed but continued talking.
Kuina was very envious when Rorono-chan had Oto-san all for herself for a full day. Kuina wants that too when Kuina has done a great job.
I see, so thats what she was thinking.
The increase of my monsters and the growth of my city meant a steady decrease in the time I had to spend with my girls. Kuina was spoiled more than the others, so it wasnt so surprising for her to think of such.
Oh, I see. But yeah, for your service this time, I cant give you the same prize that I gave for Rorono. Ill tell you what though, if you give an outstanding performance in the next fight, Ill spend a whole day with you.
Okay! Ill absolutely, absolutely give an outstanding performance next time! So, Oto-san, promise Kuina that too!
Yeah, its a promise.
The two of us then linked our fingers to signify the promise we made. In other words, we made a pinky swear.
It was perhaps due to her joy, but Kuina was shaking her fluffy tail back and forth.
Honestly, if I could find a day to spend with her, I would do so without any conditions, but that would be unfair to Rorono.
I had to pay attention not only to Kuina, but all my other monsters as well. Being a Demon Lord is quite hard.
After we left the crystal room, we used a Transfer array provided by Stss monsters. This array led us to the entrance of the dungeon. From there, we headed to an outside area devoid of people.
In order for the knowledge that we were going to Stss dungeon to lend a hand not leak, we made use of her monster and even flew at a high altitude. As another precaution, I also made my monsters hide in my [Storage].
On the way home though, such precautions were not necessary.
And so, I took out the two Darkness Dragons from my [Storage]. Like this, monsters that disliked being in the Storage didnt have to put up with it.
As for the still sleeping Sts, she was affixed in the back of Enlil the Bahamut.
Rozelitte and all of the [Wind] monsters, thank you for seeing us off. Im sure Sts would have been pleased as well. Without fail, your master will be healthy again and return in no time.
Please take care of Sts-sama. Once she wakes up, please tell her that we are protecting her dungeon, so rather than worry about it, she should devote herself to getting better.
Okay, Ill tell her that.
Even after that, the many [Wind] monsters that were gathered here still talked to me. It just goes to show how much Sts was loved.
After a while, things finally calmed down and we were able to leave.
Well, lets go
Yay ?
Yes, lets go back home.
Riding on the same Darkness Dragon that I was were Kuina and Aura. Kuina was in a good mood and was hugging me from behind. The fact that she was in a good mood made me happy.
As for Duke, he was riding on Enlil. Apparently, the two dragons had something to talk about.
And so, the Darkness Dragons and Enlil pped their wings.
Pleasant wind brushed my cheek.
After a while of flying, my heart throbbed loudly and I suddenly felt hot.
Ive missed this sensation.
Oto-san, why are you staring at your hand? Is something wrong?
...it seems my magic power has finally returned. I can use the powers of [Creation] again.
Yay ? Kuinas so d! You can make amazing things again!
Contrary to what Rorono might say, it was impossible for her to create something from nothing.
Our production of special chemicals that could be turned into gunpowder and weapon materials were dependent on [Creation] as some of those chemicalslike rare metalscould not be found in this world.
Due to the temporary loss of my magic power, Roronos research hasnt made progress, while our weapon production and explosives production were put to a halt.
Upon the return of my [Creation] though, those would be resumed right away.
Nice timing too. Ill now be able to add more cards in my deck for the meeting with the [ck] Demon Lord two dayster
For doing whatever you wished, I will make you pay.
Volume 7 prologue
We had returned to Avalon.
Upon arriving, I asked the Mythological Foxes working as maids to guide Sts and Enlil the Bahamut to my secondary residence near the First Tree.
Afterwards, I listened to the report of the Dwarf Smith who was entrusted with the defense of Avalon while I was gone. This Dwarf Smith was also Dukes adjutant.
I had thought that the enemy was aiming for me to go to Stss dungeon so that they could attack Avalon, but as it turned out, that worry was unnecessary.
I also asked the intelligence corps left behind, but it would appear that nothing was out of the ordinary.
Like that, I walked toward the shops.
It was in order to give the monsters that participated in thest fight their rewards.
Recently, Avalon had be so famous that there was a new shop almost every day.
It was to the point that each time I visited the shopping districts, there was a new product to surprise me.
At any rate, as their reward, I had given each of the participants of this fight a sum of money that could be called huge. If they couldnt find anything they wanted or they still had money left over, it was fine for them to keep whatever change was left. Alternatively, if ever that amount was not enough, I had told them to find me so that I could give them more.
With that, everyone split up and enjoyed their shopping.
"Oto-san, look, look! Does it look cute?"
Kuina was the first toe back and find me. She was wearing a ck dress which I guessed she had just bought.
In her adult, grown-up form, the dress suited her.
"Its very cute. You look like a noblemans daughter."
"Yay ? Kuina fell in love at first sight with this dress"
She truly was in a good mood. Seeing her like that, even I became happy.
"Oto-san, Kuina still has a lot of money left and still wants to buy clothes. So,e with Kuina and choose the clothes Kuina will buy next!"
"Okay, okay, dont pull so hard."
Kuina pulled on my arm until we reached her favorite clothing store.
After I chose a light pink dress with frills, Kuina bought it. Soon thereafter, she left while holding the dress as though it was some kind of treasure.
Seeing her in such a good mood, it would be impossible to believe she was sulking earlier.
After parting ways with Kuina, I resumed walking in the shopping districts. There, I found Aura. She was purchasing dubious-looking chemicals and materials from some kind of alchemy shop.
Many adventurers were stopping by in the city, so there was demand for such a shop. Additionally, because of the merchants flying to and from all parts of the world, these shops could obtain whatever ingredient they need at whatever time. As a result of such things, before I knew it, famous alchemists and cksmiths were migrating one after the other to Avalon and were opening their own shops.
And since they were trying to outdo one another, Avalon was gradually bing famous for their craft.
For alchemists and cksmiths, being in an environment where they could obtain whatever material from wherever in the world right away so long as they had money was invaluable.
And then, since these alchemists and cksmiths needed their own workshops and stores, there was a demand for builders as well. To take it further, the more people visit or migrate here for the merchants goods or the alchemists and cksmiths products or whatever, the more the demand for necessities and other such things increase.
If left alone in such a cycle, I was sure that Avalon would develop on its own. That was definitely great, but since I would then have freed up time, I was thinking of opening an amusing store we could directly manage.
"Aura, if you need those for potion making, you dont have to use your reward money. If you find the monthly budget for that not enough, we can always increase it."
In the beginning, Aura had to source materials for her potion development by herself, but now, there were merchants that we could buy those materials from. Using theirwork, they could obtain any material from any part of the world.
"These are for potion making, sure, but to be specific, potions that are for my hobby. Theres no way I can use the monthly budget for my own hobby. That would be embezzlement, wouldnt it?"
Aura was oddly firm and unyielding on this subject.
After hearing her speak though, I had a dreadful hunch.
The potions that Aura made were significant additions to Avalons arsenal. From time to time though, she would also make something absurd as part of her hobby. Examples of such were: aphrodisiacs; perfumes that would make animals fond of the user; and a potion for increasing the levels of female hormones up to a hundred times, making even a man be a fine woman.
To make it worse, she wasnt just making them. She was also selling them for some pocket money. asionally, her products were the cause of some kind of trouble.
"......do it in moderation, okay?"
"Of course! Also, recently, I got this amazing and rare book. Its titled Curaga. If read normally, it would be about food recipes, but if a cipher was used, a lot of amazing things can be found. Some of which were fantastic potion recipes that would make a bloodthirsty potion maker question themselves. Theyre very much worth the research!"
Its better to not ask.
I chose to believe she wouldnt make anything truly dangerous.
After talking some more with Aura, I left that shop.
"Ah! Patron, over here, over here. I ran out of money. I need a lot more!"
This time, it was the blue-haired otherworld songstress, Rlyeh Diva, that called out to me.
If anyone was ever going to go over the budget, I had thought it was this fellow.
The amount of money I gave my subordinates this time as their reward was roughly equivalent to about half the average yearly ie of a citizen residing in our city. If that amount was not enough, the thing they were going to buy must have been something absolutely unbelievable.
"...is this what you want? Is this really it?"
"Yes, yes, absolutely yes! So, buy it for me, patron"
In perhaps an attempt to curry favor, she confirmed so while embracing my arm.
Avalon had an overabundance of silver in stock thanks to the [Mine], so the price wasnt a problem at all. The issue lied with what Ruruthe nickname for Rlyeh Divawanted to buy itself: a skull of a monster I was not familiar with.
"What will you use this for?"
"They say that if you grind it, boil it, and then drink it, it would do wonders for your throat. Its a legendary medicine. And Im a singer, arent I? If they say its good for the throat, I have to buy it. I can feel magic power from it too, so I dont think its a scam."
Just as she said, there was magic power emanating from the skull. It wasnt the malicious kind either. Rather, it was magic power that was pure and clear. If it was said that the skull was good for the body, I would agree.
"Well, make sure to use all of it and not waste any."
"Of course, patron"
With a sigh, I handed over the payment.
I never thought a tinum coin would ever be used in a rtively small-time store.
Thankfully, I carried one around for cautions sake.
"To thank you, patron, why dont I sing for you an extraordinary song? If you want, I can even sing it while were in bed."
"Ill listen to it properly, instead. How about in that bar you frequent?"
"Tsk, such a boring answer. Still, thank you. In the fight beforest, I had sung too much and it damaged my throat. Im hoping this might mend it."
After cing a kiss on my cheek, she put the skull on top of her head and then headed out while skillfully spinning and dancing.
"...I was sure she just wanted something expensive, but I guess she really wanted that thing, huh."
Her joy wasnt something that could be faked.
If it was to appease her throat, I had thought I could ask Aura to make some throat lozenge.
At any rate, it seemed like my other monsters were done with their shopping. Given that, I thought of going back home since it was now unlikely for the other monsters to go overbudget as well.
When I thought of such, I ran into Duke.
"What did you buy, Duke?"
"Just presents for my wife. A cake from that famous pastry shop, some flowers, a bottle of vintage wine, and quality cheese. I was hoping that tonight, my wife and I would be able to enjoy a slow and easy evening as a married couple."
As expected of a family man.
Duke was considerate not only to his subordinates, but very loving to his wife as well.
Even if only a little, I should try to be like him.
"Do you think I should buy a present for Rorono as well?"
Rorono was the only one among my [Monsters of the Covenant] that was not taken for thest campaign.
The reason she was left behind was because the work of rebuilding the Avalon-Ritters took priority. Furthermore, for the sake of Avalons defenses, she and her golem corps could not be away as well.
"Thats a good idea. It might not look it as Rorono-sama would never voice out her displeasures, but she would not lose out on Kuina-sama in terms of being spoiled and their susceptibility to loneliness. ...and if she has any bottled-up stress, Im afraid shell need more care than Kuina-sama. She likes sweets, so giving her some might help."
"Thanks for the insight. Ill take your advice and take a look around."
"It might be presumptuous of me, but I have a couple of rmendations. First, the shop with the most delicious fresh cream is..."
Like that, Duke listed his most rmended shops.
He was excruciatingly detailed.
When I asked about it, he said ever since he became a dragonewt and acquired the sense of taste, he had taken a liking to sweets and would often eat in such shops together with his wife whenever they had spare time.
After seeing a side to Duke that I was unaware of, I unconsciously smiled. I thought I knew my monsters, but apparently, not enough.
Anyway, I went to a shop rmended by Duke and bought the choux a crme listed in the shops signboard.
Its creams great taste was unlike any other. And with it having a bit of liqueur, it was just perfect for Rorono who had the tendency to overwork herself.
As I walked home, excited to eat what I bought, I felt an impact on my back.
It was aplete surprise attack made by someone small that wore a robe and held a small de.
However, rather than wound me, the de shattered.
Thanks to having three S rank monsters as my [Monsters of the Covenant] and my high level, I was as strong as an average S rank monster.
Furthermore, the clothes I wore might seem ordinary, but in fact, it was a specialty item made and enchanted by Rorono using a certain monsters sturdy threads.
A mere human with such a weak knife could never hope to prate it.
For this reason, I was confident in roaming alone, unescorted.
At any rate, I seized the attackers hand.
"What do you think youre doing?"
"L-let, let go of me, you demon! Yes, I know what you are!!"
The attacker was just an elderly woman.
Her level was low and was obviously not trained to fight.
As to why she attacked me, I could not remember doing anything to earn such animosity.
But then, I noticed a peculiarly carved wooden cross around her neck. Right then, I got the gist of things.
Another troublesome harassment...
The golems patrolling the city rushed toward us and then seized the elderly woman.
Whenever a violent event happens, these golems would automatically respond to suppress said violence. Afterwards, they were instructed to deposit the perpetrators to a certain ce.
For this one, I had decided to leave the rest to the golems.
I didnt need to interrogate the elderly woman as it was impossible for her to have any significant information.
"Let go! Let go of me, I say! This is tyranny! Youve finally shown your true colors! Youre no benevolent lord, youre just a demon!"
While the golems were taking her away, the woman shouted such things.
Even so, most of the citizens didnt pay much attention to her words. There were many adventurers in this city and from time to time, they would get out of hand, so the golems carrying someone away wasnt such a rare scene.
The problem, however, was that only most of the citizens didnt pay attention. In other words, a few did.
"This is why I hate religion"
The cross she wore was evidence that she was a believer of the religion that the [ck] Demon Lord founded.
Believers were very useful.
Even if you didnt send a spy to a location, so long as there were zealous believers there and you set it up properly, you could potentially turn them into spies and even assassins against the people they had been living with for so many years.
Based on the way the old woman spoke, believers of their faith were likely told I was a demon to prompt them to try and kill me. She probably isnt the only one thats going try. Truly troublesome.
I was sure that this too was another harassment from the [ck] Demon Lord.
There was perhaps no other Demon Lord better in exploitation and harassment than the [ck] Demon Lord.
By spreading small and yet countless thorns, he could potentially destroy us from within. If left alone for some time, fools could be incited to drive me out and take the city for themselves, while at the same time, something like an uprising within could be started.
"Should I start my own religion?"
Thinking it was a good idea, I began to think up of a n.
If done right, I might be able to snatch away some of his ie. No, it definitely will.
To that end, I should make his believers denounce him and look down on his power.
"Bothering Marcho and Sts just wasnt enough for you, was it? Now you trouble my Avalon again. Ill show you the price for those things."
I had reached the end of my patience a long time ago.
He seemed making light of me just because I was a new Demon Lord, but soon enough, hell know of the true might of the [Creation] Demon Lord.
Note: I dont believe there ever was a conversion rate stated between coins, so I dont know the value of a tinum coin. Also, I dont know how many tinum coins Procell spent so I just decided on one.
Volume 7 1
I returned to my main residence, collected the letters, and then moved toward the golem-drawn carriage parked near the First Tree.
The carriage was no ordinary one; Rorono had highly modified it to be a mode of aerial travel while also something we couldfortably live in.
Though my [Creation] had returned, I was still not in my top form. I still needed the environment that the First Tree provided.
"Im back. Today has been very tiring-"
Upon entering the carriage, my eyes widened.
Inside the carriage was Sts, still asleep. That was expected; I had asked the Mythological Foxes serving as maids to move her here.
The issue was... that Aura was kissing Sts. I also saw Stss throat move.
After the long kiss, Aura pulled back her lips.
The sight of two beautiful girls kissing was mysteriously odd and exciting for me.
Aura always was fond of cute girls and Sts unarguably was one, but I never expected for Aura to make a move on thetter.
Taking notice of me, Aura turned to face me.
"Ahm, master, I can tell by the look on your face what youre thinking, so let me tell you whats happening: I was just giving her some medicine. The potions highly viscous, so the sleeping Sts-sama can only drink it like this."
"I dont know what youre talking about; I had thought that was the case. Aura, thanks for giving her some medicine."
The only way to make the sleeping Sts drink her curative potion was through mouth-to-mouth feeding.
Meanwhile, Enlil the Bahamut, who was in his kitten-sized form, was beside Sts as he was looking worriedly at her.
"Enlil, I feel bad that youre the only that didnt get a reward, so I bought you something good. Come here for a sec."
Other than the choux a crme I bought for Rorono, I also bought Enlil a big hunk of meat that had bone sticking out of it.
I was not familiar with what kind of meat it was, but it was extremely delicious.
It was a rmended item that I asionally buy so that I could eat it while drinking some alcohol.
He came to pick the meat with his mouth, but quickly turned away his face with a hmp.
In his kitten-sized form, he was really adorable. Even though he was being cold, I strangely did not mind. Rather, it made me want to pet him. As I tried to do so, my outstretched arm was brushed away by his tail.
"I think you should try to be friendlier, even if by just a tiny bit."
Enlil disregarded me, turned his back at me, and then resumed looking worriedly at Sts.
It would seem it would take some time before he could feel attached to me.
In a way, he was like a cat.
"So, Aura, how is Sts? Were you able to do a more in-depth examination on her with the facilities here?"
"Yes. I tried different things and made a potion suitable to her condition. At this rate, she should wake up in a week. The return of her Demon Lord powers and her magic power, though, will be wayter."
"Ill consider that good news. Great."
I was relieved to know that Sleeping Beauty was guaranteed to wake up.
As a friend, I worried for her. As a rival, the thought of her dropping out this way made me exceedingly lonely.
"Master, please take note from this, okay? If you were to name someone like Marcho-sama, it is likely that youll end up like her or worse. If you do have to name someone like Marcho-sama, please do so when everything is over and calm. Please also be prepared to suffer at least this much. I am serious in asking this."
Aura, who had a more-serious-than-usual look in her face, emphasized so.
It was a little sad that she didnt have enough confidence that I would refrain from doing such a thing.
"Ill keep that in mind."
Obviously, losing consciousness for a period of time was bad, especially considering that many Demon Lords were jealous and angry at me.
Naming someone like Marcho would probably have to wait when Im much stronger than at present.
That said, I wanted to fulfill my promise to Ruruthat Ill name heras soon as possible.
Compared to Duke, I probably wouldnt suffer as much when I name Ruru, but proper timing and preparation was still needed.
"Aura, do we not have any other bed?"
"There might be one in the main residence, but for it to fit through the door, it has to be disassemble first. It will take some time."
"Should I make one with [Creation]? ...no, I think its better to reserve that magic power for our explosives."
By Roronos preference, there was only one bed in this carriage.
That girl purposely installed only one bedalbeit an extrarge oneso that we could all sleep beside each other daily. Unlike here, the arrangement in my main residence was that only one of the girls, selected via rotation, slept beside me.
Therge bed here didnt have any problems whatsoever fitting Kuina, Rorono, Aura, and myself. Even if we added Sts, it would still befortable. The question, however, was rather whether or not we should make her join us.
Nah, Im sure its fine.
I concluded that it was a minor issue. It wasnt like I had any intentions of attacking her or whatever while she slept. Furthermore, I nned on cing myself between my daughters, so that Sts would be physically out of reach.
It was just for one night, anyway. In the very next morning, I was going to buy a bed from a merchant in the city.
"Kuina and Rorono sure arete"
"I think Kuina-chans in the middle of her special training. Though she had made a new special move, she seems to think she can still improve it. So, after returning and notifying me, she went to the [Crimson Cavern] to train some more. As for Rorono-chan, she has been working all this time; Im worried, actually. Her development death march might turn into a literal one."
"Those two are really working hard, arent they? Of course, you are too."
"Not as much as you or those two, but I wont turn down apliment."
My subordinate monsters were really doing their hardest. I should too.
My eyes then wandered toward the letters I collected. The letters were addressed to me and were mostly from the merchants in the city, but there were some from other ces.
As I stared at the letters, I continued my idle chatter with Aura.
"Oh yeah, while wandering around Avalon today, I had some interesting thoughts. Firstly, I think we should increase the shop we directly manage."
Presently, Avalon directly managed only three shops: Roronos cksmithing shop; the Mythological Foxes shop; and Dukes inn.
To give the [ck] Demon Lord some harassment of our own and to further develop Avalon, I believed we should add new shops.
"What kind of shop will we open?"
"..."
While talking with Aura, I unconsciously crumpled the letter I just read.
"Is something wrong, master?"
"A little. An unpleasant letter was mixed in."
One particr letter could not be ignored or be taken as a joke. It was inside an envelope that bore the family crest of the royal family of the Axera kingdom.
Even before I read it, I could feel nothing but a strong premonition that it would be troublesome, at best. Upon reading it, my suspicions were proven true, and so, I thoughtlessly crumpled the letter.
"How unpleasant of a letter was it?"
"Just a bit. Just enough to make me want to destroy a kingdom."
"Sounds fun. But if were to do that, our stock of bullets would not be enough. Not even nearly. Were going to have Rorono-chan work harder, dont we?"
"Aura, I only think this sometimes, but even though you look so calm and gentle, youre the most bloodthirsty out of all of us, arent you?"
"Thats nonsense, master. I am an elf that loves nature and peace."
I did my best to hold myself from retorting and calling her a trigger-happy maniac.
"In case it wasnt obvious, I was just joking about the destroying part. Anyway, ording to the letter, royalty from the Axera kingdom is going to personally visit Avalon, the one and only city in this remote region. To establish a friendship, they say."
There was nobody foolish enough to take those words at face value. After all, just a couple of months ago, we were at war against the Axera kingdom. Worst of all, their state religion was the one founded by the [ck] Demon Lord.
As of the moment, that kingdom should still be suffering from the tide-turning attack made by the [Dragon] Demon Lord.
Although being friendly with them was good, their reason for doing so was obvious: to get something that would help them defeat the [Dragon] Demon Lord. Namely, the golem corps and aerial bombardment corps they saw in our previous war, and our vast funds.
I could not think of any reason to help them bring down the [Dragon] Demon Lord, someone I was greatly indebted to.
Moreover, the timing of it was dubious.
"No, its timed precisely. He really wont let up, will he?"
It was surely another of the [ck] Demon Lords ploys.
If I were to turn down this request of cooperation, it would be taken as a sign of hostility against the kingdom. Since Avalon was amercial city, merchants who would associate with us would be negatively affected and perhaps be forced to stay away altogether, which would then hurt our economy and growth.
On the other hand, if we were to cooperate, we would be making an enemy of the [Dragon] Demon Lord.
Neither choices were ideal.
"But hes still looking down on me too much."
I could use this move of his and set a trap for him instead.
More than anything, I could guess what he was nning to propose in our meeting two dayster: in all probability, it might be to have a lenient nonintervention agreement.
He was convinced his side would have an overwhelming advantage if ever we were to fight, making a nonintervention agreement look appealing to us.
He also seemed convinced that the Axera kingdom would forever remain his pawn. If so, then lets exploit that conceit of his.
My n was to act, for the meantime, ording to the [ck] Demon Lords expectationslike going along with that nonintervention agreementso that I could get his guard down enough toy some traps.
As I thought of such things, I wrote a reply to the letter.
Axera was referred to as the city Procell fought in a war. Now, it is the name of the kingdom(which was referred to before as an empire) that city belonged to. This is just a guess, but maybe the city Procell fought against was Eba all along. As an aside, ording to LN vol 4, the religions name is the Rigdolg faith.
To summarize:
City=Eba
Kingdom= Axera
[ck]s religon= Rigdolg
Im going to stick to these names from now on, no matter the change in the future.
Volume 7 2
I finished my reply letter for the royal family of Axera. As it was alreadyte, I nned on sending it the next day.
There was little chance that the royal family members would being right away and without warning. I expected them to at least send an advance delegation first. If my guess was right, they would arrive after my meeting with the [ck] Demon Lord.
The question then was how much the royal family knew.
If they knew that the god their state religion worshipped was actually a Demon Lord, my meeting with them would be simpler. Because if so, they should feel considerably resentful to the [ck] Demon Lord for manipting their country however he wanted.
But, well, lets worry about thatter.
"Kuinas back!"
"Im back too, master."
Kuina and Rorono had juste home.
Kuina wasnt wearing the dress we bought earlier, but rather her usualbat clothes. As for Rorono, her face was covered in soot.
When I tried to wipe away the soot, Roronos face grew red as though she was embarrassed.
"Wee back, you two. Should we eat right away?"
"Yay ? a meal tastes better after a lot of exercise"
"...Ive used my brain to the limits; an intake of sugar is necessary."
Ohh, the two seem very hungry.
We Demon Lords and monsters could survive on consuming nothing but human emotions. And as long as we were here in Avalon, we didnt have to worry about that. That said, we ate three meals a day as a form of recreation.
"Then, for your hard work today, Ill make dinner. Since the beef was cheap, I thought Id make some wine beef stew."
"Yay ? Aura-chans wine stews are the best!"
"I concur. Others cantpare."
Aura freely used her wind magic to use an ordinary pot as though it was a pressure cooker. Like that, she was able to make a beef stew with tender meat in a short amount of time.
Some would say it was a waste to use wind magic like so, but considering the taste it produced, I would argue it was worth it.
Auras wine beef stew was a favorite of mine, so I looked forward to it as well.
I only seldomly thought this but the sight of Auras back as she stood in the kitchen was charmingly perfect. It was something moving, actually. Although Kuina and Rorono also looked cute whenever they helped out in the kitchen, it just wasnt like with Aura.
"Well then, lets eat"
Aura said so as she ced arge container full of her wine beef stew.
Our sides were tomato & lettuce sd and mashed potatoes.
By the way, potatoes were one of Avalons most important crops. Before I made some with my [Creation], they didnt exist anywhere in the world. Over time, we had easily grown and harvested them multiple times.
Thanks to the elves continually blessing thends in Avalon and also managing the weather here, potatoesand other cropswere grown easily and harvested in abundance here. Presently, cuisines that had potatoes were gaining poprity and could be found in almost every restaurant in the city.
Potatoes were being sold outside of Avalon too. And ording to the tales I heard, potatoes were also being grown outside as well using the seeds sold by the farmers.
That said, since the vor caused by the elves blessings made the Avalon-grown potatoes far tastier, the poprity of our crops was not affected. Besides, if the humans outside of Avalon had potatoes, they would prosper and increase in number. The more there were of them for us to feed on, the better.
I was thinking of such things when we began our meal.
"As expected, Aura-chans stew is the best! And when the soft and ky mashed potato is dipped in this sauce, it gets even better!"
"...It goes well with alcohol."
Kuina scooped up an enormous amount of mashed potato onto her te, while Rorono drank strong alcohol in one gulp.
Given that Rorono was a dwarf, she was rather fond of alcohol and could drink lots of it. I dont think I have ever seen her get drunk before.
Previously, Aura was opposed to have the children drink alcohol, but after considering the traits of the races, she no longer objected.
As for Kuina, she disliked the taste of alcohol and didnt drink any at all. Her sense of taste was like that of a childs.
"Rorono, if you drink too much alcohol, you wont grow. Youre a growing girl, yeah?"
After looking at Aura and Kuinas chests, Rorono looked at hers and then stowed away the bottle of alcohol she was drinking.
It looks like she still wants to grow.
"I understand. Ill stop drinking alcohol."
Right after she said so, she drank wine from a new bottle she brought out.
"Wait, what happened to stopping? Isnt that alcohol too?"
"This is just juice. This has a strength of less than 50%. Not worthy of being called an alcohol at all."
She said so with a serious look.
As to be expected of a dwarf. Such strength.
I then looked at Aura who was entranced as she watched Kuina and Rorono eat. Since she was fond of cute girls, the sight of two cute girls eating her cooking must have been absolute bliss for her.
Also, though she liked a lot of cute girls, it seemed like her favorites were Kuina and Rorono.
And then, as though some kind ofedy sketch, the enormous amount of stew and mashed potatoes vanished in an instant.
The stomach of a growing child sure is bottomless.
After finishing our meal and some chitchat, I took out my present for the girls: the cream puffs I bought.
"I went to the store that, ording to Duke, has the most delicious cream puffs and bought some. Rorono, aspensation for being left behind, you get to have two."
I handed two over to Rorono, and one each to the others.
"Woah, sweets!"
"A pastry that has a lot of cream. My favorite. Thank you, father!"
"Master, are these those that are always sold out? I cant believe you were able to buy some."
"Good luck, I guess?"
Actually, by the time I got to the store, they had already sold all their cream puffs. Upon seeing me, however, the shopkeeper who knew me tried to help me by offering to bake a new batch.
I told him not to give me preferential treatment, but he insisted. I had mixed feelings, but considering that it would make the girls happy, I didnt really mind.
"Wow, the bread parts so crunchy"
"Its my first time to have cream as sharp tasting as this."
"This crunchy bread and this fluffy cream... mhm~ its the best."
When they tasted the cream puffs, they became entranced. Though they had eaten so much already, eating some more was no problem apparently.
At any rate, I decided to eat one as well. And it was amazing. Time had passed and yet it didnt get soggy or anything. The moment I put it into my mouth, I felt its crunchiness and tasted its sweetness.
And then, the light whipped cream spread to my mouth. It was just the right amount of sweetness. It was a testament to the craftsmans skill.
Recently, custard cream was gaining poprity, but personally, I much preferred the taste of whipped cream.
"Kuina, theres some cream on your mouth."
"Wipe it for Kuina, Oto-san"
Kuina said so and then pushed her face forward. I did as she asked and wiped the cream off of her face, but as soon as I did so, she licked off the cream that was still in the finger I used.
"Sweet ?"
Such a spoiled girl.
I then felt Roronos gaze on me. When I looked at her direction, I saw that her face was red and had some cream on it. Is she mimicking Kuina?
I did as she wanted, and just like with Kuina, she also licked the cream off of the finger I used.
Meanwhile, Aura was as ecstatic as always watching Kuina and Rorono.
Being casual andid back like this is so rxing. I hope we can continue being like this every day.
"Now that our stomachs full, master, lets go to the hot spring right away."
"Yay ? lets all take a bath together today as well"
"Mhm. Itll help me lessen my fatigue so that I could work at night as well."
Taking a bath in the hot spring for my treatment had be a daily urrence.
Because the elves have been blessing the hot spring, it gained curative effects. And since the pool I was personally using was being blessed by Aura the Ancient Elf herself, it had curative effects much, much higher than the others.
Naturally, we made use of it to make my lost magic powere back sooner.
After we all agreed to take a bath, the girls gathered their bathing essories such as their towels, their change of clothes, their specially made soaps, and their washing buckets in which they put all their other bathing essories.
In addition to that, Aura strangely prepared another set of clothes. After that, she then proceeded to carry Sts while Enlil carried a bucket with his mouth.
"...Aura, hold up. What are you doing?"
"Getting ready to take a bath with everyone"
"I know, but together with Sts too?"
As though it was obvious, Aura looked at me with a puzzled look on her face.
"In order to make her recover soonereven if for only a day soonershouldnt we use the hot springs curative effects?"
"...everyone, go on ahead, then. Ill take a bathter."
When I said so, Kuina puffed her cheeks. She then began pulling at my sleeve while Rorono followed suit and pulled at the other.
"No! Everyone should take a bath together!"
"Its lonely without you, master."
"Hey, I understand how you two feel, but its unfair to Sts. Oh, Aura, how about you and Sts go bathe alone after-"
"Youre horrible, master. Leaving me out even though you know how much I enjoy bathing with everyone. ...but if you [Command] me to, I will. I am your monster and I will obey even though there will be tears on my eyes."
I certainly could issue it as a [Command], but that would make me a rather cruel Demon Lord.
Im not one and I dont want to be one. Cant be helped then. Ill just try to not look at Sts as much as possible.
"Alright, lets just all go bathe together."
Upon hearing me, my monsters became happy and high-fived each other.
Seeing them like that, I couldnt help but wonder if they perhaps nned it all.
These girls have be very determined.
I bitterly smiled and then began preparing for the bath.
"Yeah, taking a bath like this is great."
"Its paradise!"
"Mhm. Rxing."
"Yup, as I thought, Kuina-chan and Rorono-chan having flushed skin is quite cute."
While we rxed in the bath like so, I was able to confirm the girls growth.
It was only slight, but Rorono definitely had grown. As their father, I was happy.
"Please, rest easy, master. Im going to be looking after Sts-samas body. I wont let her sink in the water or be in the water for so long that blood rushes to her head."
By the way, Aura held the still-sleeping Sts while they were in the water. I tried not to look as much as possible, but the Sts that I caught a glimpse of in my peripheral vision was beautiful. Her chest didnt seem big, but her limbs were slender and her skin was fair. She had the charm that strongly fascinated men.
"Oto-san, wash Kuinas tail today too"
"Master, Ill wash your back."
Kuina and Rorono were in high spirits as usual.
Enlil was also with us, by the way. His facial expression seemed more rxed than usual. When our eyes met, he turned away his face. Still the same.
Putting that aside, I focused on the bath. My work for now was to be in best physical condition as possible before my meeting with the [ck] Demon Lord.
After the bath, I headed to the warehouse beside Roronos workshop.
There, I used my [Creation] as much as my magic power allowed and made certain things such as materials for a new weapon. This new weapon would be necessary in the fight against the [ck] Demon Lord. In a sense, it was a weapon more destructive than a bomb.
After using my [Creation], I headed to Roronos workshop.
Rorono was there and was burning the midnight oil.
"Rorono, sorry but I have a favor to ask you."
Rorono was already mmed with work as it was, but I needed her to do this certain invention.
Since I was unable to fully tell which cards were in the [ck] Demon Lords hand, I had no choice but improve my own no matter how miniscule the effect might be.
The fighting starts again.
Volume 7 3
After we had bath time, I headed toward Roronos workshop.
In order to ovee the [ck] Demon Lords schemes, Roronos talents were absolutely necessary.
As soon as I arrived, I handed her a blueprint. It wasnt for a weapon though.
I had tried to make it myself through [Creation], but the oue wasnt as great as I wanted. Clearly, Roronos help was necessary to make it better.
Upon examining the blueprint that I gave her, she nodded and spoke.
"This is interesting. This thing can simultaneously transmit ones voice and form to everywhere in the city. If masters going to be a god, this thing will turn your message into a divine oracle."
As expected of her, she was able to see what I was aiming for right away.
"Rorono, sorry for giving you more work again."
"Mhm, its fine. I am fathers daughter and [Monster of the Covenant], after all. So long as father has expectations of me, I will continually strive to live up to those expectations."
Upon hearing her purposely refer to me as father rather than master, I was made aware of the depth of her resolve.
And then, when I suddenly looked at the wall, I saw that the schedule of her projects was posted in it.
Maximum Priority: Repair and further production of Avalon-Ritters
Maximum Priority: Development of Kuinas new weapon
Maximum Priority: Further production of the assault rifles (ED models) requested by the intelligence corps
Maximum Priority: Reproduction of the weapon of mass destruction MOAB
Maximum Priority: Development of a new bomb for use by the aerial bombardment corps
Priority: Enhancement of the [Mechanical Warmaiden]
Priority: Development of Dukes exclusive weapon
Priority: Development of Marcho-samas exclusive weapon
Priority: Solving issues and also improving the Avalon-Ritters Burst Drive and Anti-magic shell
Priority: Formtion of countermeasures against the failure of the infrastructures in Avalon brought about by a sudden increase in poption. Formtion of rebuilding ns, as well.
Priority: Further improvements to the Mithril Golems and the lower grade golems.
Priority: Improvements to the Hippogriffs carriage
Priority: Training of the newly added Dwarf Smiths
Just looking at the list of her priorities was dizzying.
And these were just her more urgent jobs. She still had to do her regr work on top of these, like her duties as the head of the golem corps.
It was no exaggeration to say that she was carrying the weight of Avalons future on her small shoulders.
To be honest, burdening her with more work pained me. But its necessary.
"Rorono, sorry I cant reduce your workload. However, if itll help, Ill listen to whatever request you might have and try to grant it... Also, I want you to voice out your selfishness more."
In Kuinas case, I didnt have to worry since if she wanted something, she would say it. Rorono, though, well, she was always reserved and that made me concerned from time to time.
"Mhm. Then, hug me, father. Just your tight embrace is enough for me to be happy and feel warm."
"I see."
When I embraced her from behind, she leaned her weight on me.
After a while, she broke our embrace.
"The recharging of fathers warmth,plete. Im going to return to work. Father, look forward to it. Im going to make the greatest thing."
After saying so, she began using multiple PCs at once and worked on the n.
She was really reliable.
What if there was two of her?
Once Stss consciousness has returned, I could ask her to use her [Omnipresence] on Rorono for a short time to improve thetters productivity. If my request was granted, itll lessen Roronos workload even if by only a little.
To help Rorono work, I made some coffee.
It was a drink from the southern countries that began circting in the city.
After handing her the coffee, I thought of heading back. Anything more was going to be just a hindrance on her work. While I was thinking so, however, the door opened.
"Rorono-chan, Kuina made somete-night sweets! You can eat themter, if you want!
Kuina shouted so and then left.
When I went to the entranceway, a basket was left behind. In it was a fruit pie.
I picked it up and headed toward Rorono.
Thinking the pie would go along well with the coffee, I cut a slice of it and served it to Rorono together with the coffee.
"Thank you, father."
"Does Kuinae here often?"
"Yeah. Recently she has been bringing homemade sweets. In order to not disturb my work, she just leaves the dessert and returns. At first, the ones she made tasted awful, but over time, it tasted better and better. Auras great at teaching."
It seemed like Kuina was also worried about Rorono and was doing whatever she could to help out.
"You eat too, master"
Rorono offered me the pie while holding the cup of coffee on one hand and staring at a PC.
I took a mouthful. Its texture was a bit bad, but it was delicious. It was surprising that Kuina made this. As I bit into the pie, the bittersweet fruit jam broke out and mixed with theyer of crust.
"Im really surprised. This is actually delicious."
"Whenever I do mentalbor for a prolonged period of time, I tend to want sugar. Considering its Kuina, this is very thoughtful."
The corners of her mouth ckened when she said so.
The fact that Kuina made this pie for her probably delighted her more than its taste.
Them being close sisters is a delightful thing.
After I cheered you can do it onest time, I left Roronos workshop.
I decided that just like Kuina, I should support Rorono however I could.
Atst, it was the day for my meeting with the [ck] Demon Lord.
While on the surface it might look like my only escorts for today were Kuina and Ruru, I had ced some other monsters in my [Storage] as an insurance.
Also, while the meeting for today was expected to be for discussion and not for battle, it was just that: an expectation.
Especially since the [ck] Demon Lord was the one to pick ce for the meeting.
I had sent Ruru in advance to examine the ce, and though she confirmed there was no trap, I still had to be on guard as much as possible.
Anyway, Aura was with me to send me off.
She was going to be house-watching this time.
"Take care, master."
"I will. And look after Sts, please."
"Yes. Her condition might be improving, but it doesnt mean we can be rxed just yet, after all."
Just as Aura replied, Stss condition was improving day by day. The day she would awaken shouldnt be too far away.
Right when I was about to ride the back of a Darkness Dragon Graphross and leave, I heard hurried footstepsing my way.
When I turned around, I saw a figure about the height of Rorono that carried a big satchel.
It turned out to be Rorono, but whether it was due to her running all the way here or not, her breathing wasbored.
"Master, Ivepleted it, the thing you asked me, the, the Spatial Image Imprinting & Stereophonic Audio Multiplexing Device... the [Divine Oracle]"
Rorono took out from her satchel a device that was separated into three units.
I never imagined she would be ableplete it so quickly, and yet there it was.
If we used it, we would be able to send my image and my voice to every human in the city all at once.
Very much like a divine oracle.
It was so ridiculous, I couldnt help butugh. After all, having the louder voice in a discussion would have a better chance of being heard.
Especially in this world where methods to disseminate information to many people simultaneously were either rare or nonexistent at all.
In a small,pact city, this device would not only have a greater impact to the people, the speed and uracy of the transfer of information it would bring was just far greater.
Furthermore, it was usible for the people of this world to see such a thing as a work of god.
Roronos invention would undoubtedly revolutionize the world.
"Great job, Rorono"
I unconsciously hugged Rorono tight.
Though she seemed surprised at first, she did not resist and soon hugged back.
She had really lived up to my expectations, and then some.
If we used this device, I would be deified. When used with another tool though, not only could we achieve that, we could go against that guy until his fall.
"You definitely deserve a reward once Ie back. Try to think of what you want. You should ask for a more amazing reward than the one before."
"...Mhm. Ill think on it."
We were still in embrace, so I didnt see her face, but what I did see was that even her ears became red.
Though it was fun thinking of how I could use this device to harass that guy back, there was no time left. I had to go immediately in order to not bete.
And so, the Darkness Dragon I rode pped its wings. We were now on the way to a negotiation meeting in name only. From very start, neither the [ck] Demon Lord nor I was expecting the other to be sincere; all we thought about were ways to screw the other without it getting physical.
Note: I slighted tweaked the wording fromst chapter. Instead of In a way, it was more destructive than a bomb, I used damaging.
Volume 7 4
I rode the Darkness Dragons back and flew away from Avalon.
The ones with me were Kuina and Ruru.
If it was the Kuina and Rurubo to guard me, I was confident I was going to be safe from most threats, both in the surface world and the other dimension.
As an insurance though, I ced some of my reliable monsters in my [Storage].
"Oto-san, were not supposed to fight today?"
"Yeah, thats right. Its best to not pick a fight. But if ever the other side does so, Ill be relying on you."
"Well do our best!"
Kuina made a fist and dered so.
I was d for that and all, but I would rather there not be a situation for her to do her best in the first ce.
"Patron, Ive been wondering this for a while now, but why didnt you call Marcho-sama and her monsters to Avalon? If they were there, Avalon would be much stronger and secure."
Ruru was enjoying the outside scenery and humming when she that question.
Marcho had returned to her dungeon. The monster she loaned to me had alsoe back.
From the start, she was busy rebuilding her dungeon and was only slipping out to teach me how to use [Awakening] properly.
"Maybe, but you see, theyre busy rebuilding. Moreover, if we invite them for that, I feel that we would not be able to grow more than we have. Avalons affairs are Avalons, and the [Beast] dungeons affairs are the [Beast] dungeons. Id like to separate the affairs of the two as much as possible. Though of course, when a crisis arises, we would cooperate with each other."
Avalon was ultimately my own brand. If I were to bring in a bunch of Marchos monsters, it wouldnt be Avalon anymore.
"Yeah, I guess. I mean, what would happen if some unknown monster suddenly appears and acts like it owns the ce, right?"
"Kuina agrees its good too!"
I was d the two agreed, but then again, in order to motivate and stimte our forces, asionally swapping monsters between our two dungeons might be interesting.
I was thinking of such when the Darkness Dragon began decelerating.
Time for idle chitchat was over. Our destination was not far away.
The [ck] Demon Lord had chosen our meeting ce to be in North Cool, a city of arge country in the north. Apparently, he had chosen this city because it was a ce where both our influence didnt reach.
Now, what kind of trick will he try to pull?
About thirty minutes earlier than the appointed time, we reached the designated store. It was the kind of store that could be called a stylish bar. Attentive detail was given even to the lighting of the ce, giving it a peculiar atmosphere.
Within was a slender man that wore a jet-ck robe.
"Wee, junior. Im so d you came."
The man then called out in a friendly-sounding voice. Of course, it was the [ck] Demon Lord. For some reason though, he resembled the [Time] Demon Lord.
His narcissism, however, was obvious at first nce, as well as his disdain and contempt of other people.
Just as obvious, though, was the stubbornness in his eyes.
In just one look, I knew he was the type of individual I disliked.
"When you threaten me like that, no matter how much I might hate it, I have no choice but toe, dont I?"
I usually spoke humbly when talking to a senior, but this guy who has been antagonizing me did not deserve such treatment.
Behind him were two knights d in ck armor.
As I currently was, I was able to see those monsters strength. Both of them were A rank monsters that had been trained and leveled up to the limits.
They were strong, but not absurdly strong. They were not like the girls, Duke, or Enlil who were all way beyond the norm.
If a fight were to ensue, Kuina would most likely be able to trash the two in an instant.
That being said, my instincts were warning me that these two were nothing more than disys and that the real guards were hiding and lurking somewhere. Carelessly starting a fight here could be fatal.
"Sorry for threatening you. Well, it was just that I really wanted to talk to you, Procell, at all cost even. I doubt you would havee if I didnt do something like that. And it seems there are some misunderstandings about me. Let me address some of those first. I think you know, but that threat was just a joke. I had no serious intention of attacking the [Wind] Demon Lord."
He said so with a brazen smile on his face.
Most likely, he was acting like so in order to irritate me. I cant let myself dance to his tune. I have to calm down.
"That was just a joke?"
"Before that, instead of standing here talking, lets sit. The cocktails of the master here are superb. Especially the [ck Demon Lord] I ordered. Its so good, it could send you to heaven. So, with that, master, two [ck Demon Lords]"
"...Cut the crap. Youre my enemy. Whats with this overly friendly attitude!?"
I sat down but was not able to hold my irritation in any longer.
"Enemy? What a joke. Procell, I am arade who understands you, who walks the same path as you. We are both smart. We are unlike other Demon Lordsfools who enjoy killing humans and each other."
"Dont lump me with you"
"Haha, it hurts to be hated that much... But first, let me formally introduce myself. I am [ck] Demon Lord Bm. Alright, to gain your trust, Ill tell you about my ability. Originally, as you could imagine, I wouldnt share this to other people, but since its you, Ill make a special exemption. My ability is [ck]. Basically, I could use any power associated with [ck]. Also, like you, I have an A rank medal. In other words, I am one of the chosen few."
There were many Demon Lords who regarded having A rank medals as something extra special. It would seem he was one of them.
I had known old Demon Lords who had A rank medals namely, [Beast], [Time], and [Dragon]and they all had a sense of majesty and firm resolve to them. I couldnt feel those things from this guy though.
"...I am [Creation] Demon Lord Procell."
"Should I call you Prhi?"
"Quit screwing around. Ill say it again. For hurting Marcho and trying to kill Sts, you are my enemy."
When I said that, the [ck] Demon Lordughed a little.
He then took sip of the [ck Demon Lord] that the master of the ce delivered.
"You misunderstand, Procell. Look, I tried to defeat the [Beast] Demon Lord due to my own personal belief. I didnt do it to antagonize you. Rather, because you arbitrarily intervened, I should be the victim here."
"Its only natural to help your parent."
"Not really. In fact, I would say wanting to kill your parent is the norm for Demon Lords and that you are just an exception."
"Then, how about Sts? You knew that Sts and I were on friendly terms and threatened me by saying you would annihte her and her dungeon. You practically manipted the [de] Demon Lord and used him to kill her!"
I dread to think how much damage Sts would have suffered if we werent there. After all, had Duke not helped out, Enlils rebirth wouldnt have happened.
"I have no idea what youre talking about. I did threaten you, yes, but it was just a means to get you toe, Prhi. I didnt actually do anything."
"As if! Moments before his death, the [de] Demon Lord told me who was backing him. And it was you!"
After being used and manipted, the [de] Demon Lord was killed by a curse ced on him to silence him. Moments before he died though, in perhaps an effort to redeem himself, he used his own blood to write the name of the one who masterminded the whole ordeal. ording to that, it was the [ck] Demon Lord.
"Hmm, even if you tell me that, I have no idea. Surely you can imagine that there are other Demon Lords who want to bring me down. Unfortunately, theyre the same Demon Lords that are very, very scared to see the two of us join arms because itll make us even stronger. I mean, if we team up and the three nations I have under mymand were to receive your Avalons technical support, what do you think will happen?"
I thought about it for a while, but only a scene straight out of a nightmare crossed my mind.
Through my [Creation], I had ess to [Memory of the] and knew what would happen if humans were to obtain outrageously dangerous tools.
"The answer, you see, is that we would have the strongest and greatest empire. An empire that would quickly devour all other countries. Think about it, we would be able unify all countries into one. And with only one nation, there would only be one state religion. Complete world conquest! I would be the god of this empire, and you will be its emperor. No one would be able to defy us. We would be able to gather emotions and DP a million times over than we currently do! Amazing, dont you think?"
The [ck] Demon Lord was visibly enjoying telling his ambitions.
"You seem to enjoy ruling humans, dont you? You have aplex or something?"
When I said so, a crack wedged itself into his smile.
It seemed like I had poked into a subject he didnt want poked.
"Yeah, well, rather than calling it aplex, Id say Im just opposing the fate imposed on us Demon Lords. Have you ever thought about it? We Demon Lords are so much more superior than humans, and yet we cant live without them. The more you think about it, the more you will realize that we are born for the sole purpose of developing the humans. We are but mere tools made for the sake of the humans."
"I had heard something simr from the Creator."
Apparently, the meaning of our existence was to gradually guide humanity back to the level of an ancient and lost civilization.
We were there to advance the. Hence, why the Creator referred to us Demon Lords as [Children of the].
"And what a load of bull that is. We are fantastic beings called Demon Lords and we are not the humans ythings. I will not suffer it! And so, my objective is to have all humans be corralled like the pigs they are. I wont let them grow and develop any further. I will keep them indolent. While I will keep them from any harm, it is only so that I could feed on them. I will bring things back to order."
His emotions were clearly conveyed by his voice.
The [ck] Demon Lord was obsessed about using and manipting the humans. It was some kind of creed of his.
"I have no interest in those kinds of things. Whether our actions benefit the humans or not doesnt matter to me. So long as I can live my life however I choose, its fine."
So long as all partieshumans, Demon Lords, and monsterswere happy, there was nothing else to say.
Personally, even if I was made for the benefit of the humans and that my every action improved their lives in some way, as long as I could act purely of my own will, I wouldnt think I was dancing in palm of some god.
"...Tsk, you talk just like the [Dragon] Demon Lord."
"Well, I do respect that person."
His irritation grew. Upon calming himself a bit, he looked at me and continued to talk.
"Here I thought Prhi would understand and join me."
"Like I said at the start: you are my enemy. y dumb all you want, but that unfair war on Sts and now the royal family membersing to Avalon, Im sure these are all hostile acts done by you."
It wasnt an argument in a discussion, it was just a statement of facts.
"Then, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, are you going to war against me? In the attack against the [Beast] Demon Lord, most of my forces remained intact. You, on the other hand, have used your trump card and shouldnt have enough time or resources to rece it. Oh yes, Im aware that you currently dont have your magic power."
At that, Iughed inwardly.
So, its as I thought? Hes still not aware that my magic power has returned?
Though I used my [Storage] in Stss dungeon, it was only in her crystal room. For him, it should still appear my magic power was gone.
Also, it seemed like the information that Marcho became my monster still hasnt reached him.
"If you push, I will push back. I dont like fighting, but I will do it if I must. Also, dont think that the MOAB is the only ace up my sleeve. If anything, Ill have trouble choosing which one to use on you."
I said so and then looked at him threateningly.
I was just bluffing here though. If it was limited to the battlefield, I had no greater trump card than the MOAB.
"Oh, Im so, so scared. But Prhi, youre underestimating me too much. If I really wanted to, the three kingdoms under mymand can bring ruin to your city easily. In other words, I can kill you without even fighting directly."
"That is scary too. But if I see you doing something like that, Ill crush your base with all my might before I get killed. I guess I can also get the three strongest Demon Lords you hate so much to cooperate with me."
The two of us then red at each other. After a while, [ck] Demon Lord Bm raised his hands as though to say he was giving up.
"I lose. My, what an unappealing junior you are, Prhi. If we do end up fighting each other, it would seem both of us would be reduced to nothing. I dont know about you, but Id like to avoid that. So, I have a proposal. Let us form a pact. Dont worry, dont worry, its just a contract promising that we wouldnt attack the other."
"...That doesnt sound bad. I would rather pass on the opportunity to crush you than fight in the first ce."
After I said so, Bm took a piece of parchment from a bag and then wrote something on it. Once done, he bit his finger and pressed it on the paper.
After reading through its contents, I did the same.
Interestingly, there were a lot of loopholes purposely put into this contract. Those loopholes would justify us ignoring the contract and attack the other pretty much whenever we wanted.
"And so, this meeting is over. Its a shame you didnt even taste the [ck Demon Lord], Prhi. Its very delicious, you know."
"Even so, I value my health more."
I replied so, stood up, and left.
This pact was merely a pause. I was sure that he would be doing things behind the scenes that would help him crush me.
Earning time was the sole reason for this pact.
Which was fine by me because I wanted to buy time as well.
Like so, once our preparations were done, we would be at each others throats.
I guess whoever finishes their preparations first, wins.
Volume 7 5
After my meeting with the [ck] Demon Lord, I returned to Avalon. Since it ended simply as a meeting, Kuina was a little dissatisfied.
That being said, the meeting pretty much went ording to my expectations. Though I couldnt back out now of this conflict between the [ck] Demon Lord and myself which would probably continue and escte until either of us falls, I wasnt really inclined to do so.
I had no intention of losing either. I fully intended to protect both Avalon and my monsters.
Together with Kuina, I headed toward the carriage that was near the First Tree.
I headed there to begin preparing for the visit of the royal family of Axera, while Kuina headed there for a change of clothes.
When she was about to open the door, her fox ears suddenly pointed straight up.
"Oto-san, theres somebody inside."
Kuinas senses were sharp. Even without opening the door, she could sense whether there were people within. She could also tell if the people within were Rorono or Aura.
Wary of this intruder, Kuina readied her shotgun and forcefully opened the door.
"I was getting bored of waiting, master. Ive missed you!"
While wagging her white wolf tail back and forth, a young girl that greatly resembled Kuina jumped toward me. It was Fel.
Much like Kuina, she was a special S rank monster that was made using only A rank medals. To be specific, the [Time] Demon Lord had used abination of [Creation], [Time], and [Beast] medals to make her.
"Its been a while, Fel. I know today was the day for you to pick up the wine, but I had a task I just had to do. I had properly asked the Mythological Foxes to help with the wine though. You didnt have to wait."
It was agreed upon that I was to send some wine to the [Time] Demon Lord weekly. Today was the start of that.
Perched on Fels shoulder was a crow monster that could use Transfer. In all likelihood, it was the one tasked to transport the wine.
"Uuuuh, youre so mean, master. I cante all this way to Avalon and not meet you. So, you see, I did have to wait here."
Behind Fel were the Mythological Foxes. They were lowering their heads repeatedly.
I see.
It seemed that although they tried to keep it as simple as a delivery could be, they were ovee and were coerced into guiding Fel here.
Cant be helped.
It was only for a short time, but Fel did fight for me as my subordinate.
A little service like this was most likely fine.
"At any rate, wee, Im d to see you again."
When I brushed her head, the swinging of her tail grew more intense. It was charming.
"It feels great when you brush my head like that, master."
"Im not your master anymore, so you dont have to call me that."
"Even so, master will always be my master."
I didnt particrly mind having her so attached to me.
As such, I decided to brush her head some more. While we were like that, Kuina approached.
"Its been a while, Fel-chan!"
"I missed you too, Kuina!"
Fels eyes sparkled in delight when she looked toward Kuina.
The two of them then high fived. As usual, the two were as close as sisters.
Looking at the two, an idea struck me.
"Oh. Kuina, if Fel was to join your special training, it would greatly help, wouldnt it? There arent many monsters that can fight on equal footing as you. I think it would be a great experience for you both."
Duke was pretty much the only one in Avalon that could match Kuina in a head-on battle. However, because there were downsides and risks when Duke fought at full power, letting them fight each other wasnt something I could do thoughtlessly.
With Fel as the opponent though, Kuina could probably fight as much as she wanted.
"Thats a great idea! Fel-chan, if you want to, we can train together! Ive made a new technique recently!"
"That seems interesting. Its been so long since Ist yed with you. Master, is it alright if I take Kuina with me to fathers dungeon? If we use the [Time] arena, we can go all out. We can even fight to the death. I dont think my body can endure this new technique of hers without any aid."
I thought about it for a while.
The arena made by the [Time] Demon Lord was installed with a mechanism that would rewind time back and make everything within revert to their initial state, regardless of the injuries the fighters might have sustained.
Basically, the fighters could earn valuable fighting experience for no risk at all. For Kuina, who had fought mostly inferior enemies, being able to fight a formidable enemy like Fel to the death would surely be helpful.
It was an extremely enviable facility.
"Your proposals great, but wouldnt we be imposing too much?"
"Of course, we have to ask father for permission first. But once I tell him I brought home a friend, Im sure hell say yes. Besides, if I were to fight Kuina, I too would get stronger! This wouldnt be just for her."
It was certainly as she said. Being able to fight with Kuina would be just as useful for Fel.
Ill take her on her offer then.
"Alright, but how about you, Kuina? Would you like that?"
"Yeah ?! Kuina always wanted to fight Fel-chan to the death to know once and for all whos the strongest. Ill show her the awesomeness of a big sister!"
As to be expected of Avalons strongest monster, she said such frightening things with a pure smile.
I couldnt help but smile bitterly at that.
"Mythological Foxes, please package the Avalon wine. Kuina and Fel, I have a favor to ask. Since Kuina will be imposing, bringing a gift for the [Time] Demon Lord is the least we could do. So, with this money, find something he might like."
I said so and then handed money to each.
"Woaaahhhh! If we have this much, we can buy gifts for the entire Chronos Knights! Thanks!"
"Well select the best gifts!"
"If there are any left, keep it."
"Understood!"
"Yeah ?"
In high spirits, the two dashed out. Meanwhile, the Mythological Foxes hurriedly carried the Avalon wine and followed the two.
Its great to be energetic. Now then, I should do some work.
As I thought of that, an almost panting Fel came back.
"Master, I almost forgot! I have a message from father. Dont take the [ck] Demon Lord lightly. Worstes to worst, use the silver watch... thats it. Ah! Kuina, wait!"
Right after delivering the message, Fel left.
I then reached for the watch chained around my neck and took it out. It was a beautiful watch ornamented with beautiful craftsmanship.
It wasnt any ordinary silver watch though.
This watch held within it the powers of the [Time] Demon Lord.
I had received it as a reward from him after Aura had volunteered and sessfully ovee his challenge.
It was one of the trump cards I have been holding back. For the [Time] Demon Lord to tell me to use it, something must be going on. Perhaps it had something to do with the [ck] Demon Lords powers.
"The high variance of the [ck] Demon Lords ability is troublesome though."
Generally, a Demon Lords power and monsters could be guessed from their name.
On the [ck] Demon Lords case, however, his powers seemed too general, too obscure. And that made his actions hard to predict.
It was inefficient, but if his actions were hard to predict, we just had to be prepared for everything.
My [Creation], which would not fall behind in terms of versatility, allowed us to do so.
And so, while readying all sorts of countermeasures, we were solving immediate problems. For example, having to deal with the royal familying to Avalon.
After that, Kuina has been frequentlying over to Fels to train.
ording to Kuina herself, she hadpletely mastered her new special move and was winning more than Fel.
I was a little curious how she was oveing Fels [Time] ability.
Also, a few days after Fels visit, we weed an advance delegation for the royal family.
After we gave them world-ss delicacies, entertained them with Rurus songs, provided them with evening entertainment, and showered them with gifts, the delegation left with smiles on their faces.
Thanks to the public knowledge that we unterally crushed a city of theirs in a war, this delegation was considerably well-behaved unlikest time. It was a sign that they were at least putting an effort to build a good rtionship with us.
Also, ording to them, the royal family should arrive in a weeks time.
I wasnt entirely sure and would need Rurus intelligence corps to gather evidence to confirm, but the head of the delegation seemed to be aware of the true identity of their god. He also seemed to feel dissatisfied about being used.
Even if the royal family was like him and was unsympathetic to the [ck] Demon Lords religion, the religions influence was just too strong for them. If ever they were to be emunicated by that religion, they would lose the support of their people and their kingdom would truly be under theplete control of the church.
If thats the way things are, I can take advantage of it. I can give them a way out.
There was also another development in Avalon recently.
Perhaps it was due to that guys instructions, but his believers in Avalon were active now more than ever.
Each day and night, they had been doing their smear campaign against me.
I should do something about them soon.
Establishing my new religion as soon as possible was one solution. By having a group of people that would worship me and defend my name, it would lessen the chances of the [ck] Demon Lords religion of turning people against me.
Even though it wasnt on purpose back then, thankfully, we had already nted many seeds that would suggest that Avalon was a city loved by a god.
And now, all that I needed to do were pretty much to just proim that I was a god and that Avalon would be the holy capital of the nation I would be founding.
...that and think of a name for my religion. I should consult everyone so that we cane up with a good one.
Another note: The pocket watch is from the bonus chapter in the 2nd volume of the LN.
Volume 7 6
If the [ck] Demon Lord was going to use his religion and his believers against me, I didnt see any reason to hold back on founding my own religion and use it against him.
On that note, the most vital ingredient in establishing and spreading a religion was miracles.
Fortunately, we didnt need to prepare any since Avalon itself was a miracle.
It was a known fact that Avalon was built in just a weeks time.
Furthermore, Avalon has never been hit by any natural cmity, has always given abundant harvest, and always had clear water.
Thanks to thebination of the blessings given by Aura & the High Elves as well as the infrastructures designed by Rorono & built by the Dwarf Smiths, Avalon was far morefortable to live in than any other city.
Miracles were in abundance in Avalon.
"We are being quite harassed, though."
Even now, believers of the [ck] Demon Lords religion still came to Avalon to harass us.
They imed that I, the leader of this city, was a demon and that I was aiming to bring unhappiness to each and every citizen of the city.
To make matters worse, for some reason unknown to me, the [ck] Demon Lord included in his teachings that humans were the superior beings and that demi-humans were filthy and inferior, leading to discrimination against thetter.
Based on that, they were telling others that expelling me, the demon exploiting the citizens of Avalon, while doing the same or possibly enving the demi-humans would grant the ones that participated gods blessing and a better life.
Sadly, there were some who believed such foolish talks.
If left alone, it was possible there would be a revolt.
"If only it was as simple and straightforward as killing them."
Getting physical would be the simplest solution to manage such a group.
However, if possible, I would like to avoid going that road. Because if I did, exaggerated rumors that would say Avalon was suppressing free speech and that one could be imprisoned for just criticizing me, its leader, would surely spread. And if that happened, Avalons poption growth woulde to a halt.
Even worse, in the pretense of helping their fellow believers, nations controlled by the [ck] Demon Lord would unite under a single banner and march toward us.
And so, I had to find another solution.
One that would give a better impression of us.
I think nows the time.
At the moment, I was standing in a small hill overlooking Avalon.
While gazing down at the city, I did some preparations for a certain kind of event.
"Aura, have they started already?"
I spoke so, trusting that the wind would deliver the sound of my voice to the faraway Aura.
"Yes. Theyre enthusiastically handing out fliers today as well. Sometimes I feel so annoyed, I want to shoot them."
Today as well, the believers of the [ck] Demon Lords religion were spreading ill information about me and were propagating the hate against the demi-humans.
"Hey now, theyre victims in this too. Victims tricked by the [ck] Demon Lord. Try to proceed peacefully."
I was more worried about those susceptible to being tricked by these believers words than the believers themselves.
If we were going to start somewhere, it would be with those that havent been tricked yet. We needed to make them realize that following me would be much more beneficial to them.
"Rorono, has the [Divine Revtion] been prepped?"
"Mhm. No issues. Ready for use anytime."
Rorono had just finished her final check-up on the Spatial Image Imprinting & Stereophonic Audio Multiplexing Deviceotherwise known as the [Divine Revtion].
It was a device whose purpose was to project images to the sky while also making sounds like my voice reach throughout the city.
In order to consolidate my position, I was going to use it today for the first time.
It was possible that its existence had already been leaked to the [ck] Demon Lord, but I highly doubted that their side knew its functions or what I would use it for.
I bet they couldnt even imagine that this is portable.
"Oto-san, you look cooler than usual today"
Sparkles in her eyes, Kuina said so while looking at me.
"Today is a special event, after all."
In the religion I was going to found, I would be its symbol. If the symbol was going to look slovenly, it wouldnt be much of a symbol. For that reason, I dressed myself up more than usual.
Thanks to Ruru who was great at these kinds of things, I was confident I looked the part.
And so, I took a deep breath.
"Rorono, if you please."
"Mhm"
Rorono nodded and then started up the [Divine Revtion], projecting my form to the sky.
Each citizen that looked up in the sky was in awe.
"Can everyone in Avalon hear me? Many of you might recognize my face, but let me introduce myself nheless. I am Procell, the head of Avalon. I am also the great sage that built this city."
My voice resounded throughout the city.
Their reactions were a mix of curiosity and fear.
Without dy, the believers of the [ck] Demon Lords religion began yelling the demons ck magic! and the like.
"Recently, there have been a group of people iming that I am not human... these people are correct. I am not human."
Confusion among the citizens grew by the moment after hearing my words.
Alright, Ive piqued their interest.
"However, unlike what they are saying, I am not a demon. What I am is a god. And these words of mine to you are my [Divine Revtion]."
I strongly dered so.
To make others believe me, it was vital that I not only looked the part, I had to sound the part as well.
I needed to seemrger than life. I needed to seem like a voice from heaven whose words must not be argued against.
As soon as they heard me, many among the citizens showed signs of worshipping me.
This in turn made [ck]s believers flustered. They shouted and protested, but their pleas held no sway.
As the moments passed, the number of citizens that believed that I was a real god grew and grew.
Alright, herees the critical part.
"Right after I descended to thesends, I founded Avalon. It was to be a paradise where everyone can live happily. Have you never found it strange that after all this time, this city has never been hit by any cmity? That crops nted here always result to a bountiful harvest? That even though this is already a fairlyrge city, the water flowing here is always clear? Or that the weather always great? The answer is simple: all of these are works of a god."
Everyone probably had, at some point, wondered about these things.
Until they came to Avalon, the farmers had to constantly fight against the issues such as the weather, pests, crop diseases, barren fields, and water shortages to name a few. Oftentimes, theyd lose. After moving to Avalon, however, such issues no longer haunted them, allowing them to lead a much morefortable and secure life.
Meanwhile, merchants who were active in otherrge cities would have definitely notice that those cities tended to have water that was foul-smelling. Not to mention the levels of smoke and pollution present in them. And yet, even though Avalon was just asif not moreprosperous as those cities, it continued to be clean and beautiful.
And here, I gave them the answers to such mysteries: I was a god and those were my miracles.
"All that being said, these miracles didnte solely from me. I have been borrowing the power of the demi-humans here in Avalon. Only by amplifying their powers with my own was this city possible. For that reason, it saddens me that some of you are campaigning to expel the demi-humans out."
At this point, I made a sorrowful expression.
The [Divine Revtion] truly was useful. Convincing them using the expression on my face was far better than just using my voice.
"Everyone, try to recall the non-human neighbors youve spent each day with. Were they evil? Did they do you any harm? I would assume no. Rather, wouldnt you say they made your life here in Avalon richer and fuller? It is my wish that humans and demi-humans continue to share meals together, sing together, drink the night away together, andugh together. I want everyone, humans and demi-humans alike, to be happy."
Upon hearing me, excitement among the crowd grew.
Yeah, this was the right approach.
Instead of listening to the unfounded information that demi-humans were inferior or that they were up to no good, the humans based their judgment on something very real: the memories of the life they have been sharing with the demi-humans.
"Honestly, if it was possible, I would have continued hiding the fact that I am a god. I didnt want you to expect too much out of me. The extent of my power is rather limited. I was just barely able to make the city youvee to love. I am not capable of eliminating sickness altogether, or even creating infinite wealth. Rest assured, however, I am very much capable of protecting the citizens of Avalon and their happiness. But I digress. The reason I am telling you about my godhood today is, apparently, the Rigdolg Faith would not allow the continued existence of the demi-humans. They are manipting their believers and sending them here to Avalon to bring about its ruin."
The Rigdolg Faith was the name of the [ck] Demon Lords religion.
The citizens who have now put things together began talking with others.
"To put it bluntly, without me, this city would stop being what it is and would eventually vanish. If the demi-humans were driven away, the current way of life will also cease to exist. These people are fully aware of such results and yet are still going for it, at the cost of everyones happiness. They would not stop until their beliefs and their god were the only ones. On the other hand, I want to protect your smiles and your everyday life here in Avalon. So, please, do not be deceived by their malicious words."
Along with facial expressions, I appealed to the citizens using my voice.
For a ruler, few tools would exceed the ability to spread information to all your citizens immediately and simultaneously.
Not only have I just obtained the citizenrys support, I was also able to turn them against believers of the Rigdolg Faith.
"Lastly, Ivee to the conclusion that I should start a religion of my own in order to unite everyone. I only have one doctrine to preach: regardless of whether you are human or demi-human, everyone should live in peace and bliss. If you approve of this ideology, you are wee to join. I will supply the details at ater date. For now, thank you for your time. Let us continue being a ce of love for all."
After those words, [Divine Revtion] was terminated.
The speech was very effective. Right away, many would-be believers were gathering.
That whole thing about everyone living in peace and bliss was proving to be quite the charmer.
Perhaps I could entice more in by offering to lighten the tax on them. Merchants would surely jump at that.
But at any rate, with this, I had assured that Avalon wouldnt be destroyed from within. Believers of the Rigdolg Faith should find it harder to move now.
Other than staving off that threat, I stood to gain at least two other things from founding this religion.
First, if I were to hold a daily prayer meeting, I could gain tremendous amounts of strong emotions. It might just actually be my most efficient source emotions to feed on.
Secondly, it could serve as a valuable card during my negotiation with the royal family.
Be that as it may, this is only just the beginning. Things are bound to be a whole lot hectic from now on.
While stifling down a smile, I made my way back.
Now that I was on equal footing with the [ck] Demon Lord, I looked forward to his next move.
As I thought of such, a blue bird perched itself on my shoulder.
"Thank goodness. As expected of the [Dragon] Demon Lord, hes so reasonable."
In addition to the religion n, I had another move that was ongoing. That other n was apparently going nicely, I should add.
Right now, I was fully prepared to wee and deal with the royal family.
Note: Ive decided to use [Divine Revtion] instead of [Divine Oracle]. Just a personal choice.
Volume 7 7
Four days had passed since I founded my religion.
Simply dering I founded a religion and doing nothing else was meaningless. The [Divine Revtion] surely had a wondrous effect, but that alone wasnt enough.
And so, for the past four days, the Dwarf Smiths had been building a church. Even though it would formally be known as a church, I also intended to use it as an assembly hall forrge-scale events.
By the way, it hasnt been said enough because I had Rorono, but the Dwarf Smiths were truly fantastic.
As B rank monsters, they were already rare enough that most Demon Lords wouldnt be able to make them without expending original medals.
To top it off, their craftsmanship was one of the finest among all monsters. Using the golems as heavy machinery, they could do construction work faster than a group of humans could ever hope.
All that being said, to kickstart my new religion, I had enlisted the help of not only my monsters but the humans as well.
"Procell-sama, Ive finished that thing you asked. Oh boy, it was hard. I dare say no one else but us, the Curtrude Company, would have been able to finish this task in time. Anyway, as you requested, our workers, after working day and night, have produced 500 copies of your second draft."
"You have my thanks, Conanna."
I had asked the Curtrude Company for its cooperation in this endeavor.
Considering that it was the leading tradingpany in Avalon and that its leader, Conanna, has answered each expectation I had for him, I was confident in asking them for help.
"I must confess I was surprised when you said you wanted to make so many high-quality books and then distribute them for free. But then again, it is you, Procell-sama."
"These texts are vital, after all. Word of mouth just isnt enough for this."
What I requested of the Curtrude Company was the production of holy books for my religion.
The main teaching of my religion could be summed up to humans and demi-humans getting along, but having only that much was just toocking. For that reason, Imissioned the help of a poet to pad things out... err, rather, to rewrite my initial draft to appeal more to the people.
And now, we had produced arge number of copies of that book consisting of 20 or so pages.
The n was to distribute these books for free to potential believers.
Seeing as paper was expensive, it was only natural to assume that books would be even more so.
Even so, I had decided to distribute the holy books for free in order to ensure, even if by only a little bit more, that my doctrine would be spread and that it would be spread correctly.
A little bit of investment for such a cause was not an issue, especially considering our gold reserves.
"Yeah, its a good book."
I said so while holding a copy of the holy book.
The leather it had for cover had a slight luster to it. It also looked sturdy and its overall craftsmanship was great.
Furthermore, they had only begun on the production of the book three days ago when the manuscript for it had just been finished. Even if the Curtrude Companymissioned multiple workshops, to be able to produce 500 copies in such a short time was a tremendous aplishment.
"The ample budget surely helped. Early tomorrow morning, all of the 500 copies should be delivered."
Thank goodness. They made it just in time.
It was scheduled that we were to hold the very first worshipping event tomorrow. We might not have enough for every individual that would attend, but we might just have enough for each family.
"If you can keep up this quality, I would like to order a thousand more copies. Dont worry, I wont say something like deliver them right away and all at once. Just deliver what youve finished once a week. Ill pay in advance; the cost doesnt matter. Also, Ill provide a bonus for your workers."
Hard work needed to bepensated fairly.
That was my policy.
"Much appreciated, but I dont really mind being paidter."
"Wouldnt an advance payment be more helpful?"
"Fufu. It certainly would be helpful, but Id rather receive it after Ive formally entered the religion youre going to found."
"I guess I shouldnt be surprised youve heard about it."
I nned on offering anyone who would be a believer of my religion tax incentives.
Furthermore, I also nned on giving people who worked in agriculture priority on the usage of our water systems. Free fertilizers and other stuff too.
I had reservations on this tant baiting, but it was necessary.
I knew I wouldnt gain many true believers this way, but I had a n to turn anyone enticed by these methods into er.
"Alright. From tomorrow onwards, my religion is going to ept believers. Let us do our dealings after that."
"Yes, lets."
"Are you sure though? Worshipping me would pretty much mean that you and your Curtrude Company would be severing its ties to the Rigdolg Faith."
The Rigdolg Faith was the worldsrgest religion wherein the [ck] Demon Lord reigned as its god.
In all likelihood, its believers wouldnt ept anyone believing in faiths other than their own.
Upon hearing me, Conanna smiled.
"Oh, Im sure. Even from before, I have greatly respected you, Procell-sama. Moreover, your teachings align with what we merchants have believed. Whether they be human or demi-human, so long as they can give us profits, they are wee. Your teachings suit us much better than that human supremacy ideology of the Rigdolg Faith."
As to be expected of a first-rate merchant, he had already carefully thought it through. As calcted as it was though, this decision was still a gamble.
On the other hand, as Avalonsmerce grows, so too would his profits.
"Im so d you came to Avalon. Conanna, as thanks for your decision to stay, I hereby approve your proposal of establishing an orphanage. I shall see to it that it is built quickly too. I was surprised though. Youve always struck me as a merchant who thought of nothing else but profit, and yet here you are doing something selfless."
Conanna surprisingly was a very considerate person.
A day after I announced I was going to found my religion, he proposed to establish an orphanage in the church.
There were many adventurers here in Avalon. They made a living by going into the [Time] Demon Lords dungeon which was very nearby. Unfortunately, risks of death came hand in hand with their upation.
When such things happen, it wasnt an umon story for them to leave behind some family members.
The existence of orphans had always been a concern.
In order for them to survive, they would resort to rummaging the garbage and even pickpocketing. This in turn caused public order to deteriorate. Capturing these orphans, on the other hand, wasnt really a solution.
Adventurer associations did exist, but they didnt offer much help to the matter.
And so, in order to protect public order while also luring more adventurers to Avalon, establishing an orphanage seemed like a good move.
Should these orphans grow properly and make a family of their own, it would greatly benefit Avalon in the long run.
"You give me too much credit. This too is just a business venture. If those children are given proper education and grow into adults that have honest jobs, they would be valued customers for mypany. This is just me shoving the responsibility to Avalon."
So the person himself said, but I knew better.
I had found out was that he has been employing as much orphaned children as possible into hispany, and has been treating them fairly.
There were also other good deeds he has been doing behind the scenes. It was enough to make me wonder if he had been orphaned and enved when he was a child.
I guess a person just isnt what they seem to appear on the surface.
"Id also like to ask you to take care of the interior design of the church. Please have it ready by tomorrow."
"Yes, arrangements for that has already been taken care of. Nothing but the highest quality furnishings that would help produce an atmosphere of holiness. My Curtrude Company has gathered the greatest craftsmen to produce this event, so please look forward to it."
Even though the Dwarf Smiths might be able to make even better things, they were outmatched when it came to theming and such things.
Like this, it would serve as a valuable group activity between my monsters and the humans.
After talking about two or three other points, Conanna and I parted.
There were other important things to prepare, after all.
I then returned to the carriage ced near the First Tree.
In the kitchen, Aura was busy making some kind of dubious medicine while humming.
Meanwhile, in arge room within the carriage, Ruru listened and then criticized the Ocean Singers on their song over and over again. The citizens of Avalon werent supposed to hear their song yet, so they practiced it here.
"No, that wont do, you have to put more emotion into it. Theres not enough love, love I say! You have to make them love everyone and cherish peace and harmony. Here, listen to me and the feelings I put in."
Ruru then gave a sample.
Just listening to her song was enough to make one kinder.
"Okay, now, from the third verse! We only have until tomorrow! Everyone, do your best!"
With that, the Ocean Singers began singing again.
Although Ruru still had a few criticisms to make, the Ocean Singers were definitely singing better than earlier.
While waiting for the Ocean Singers to finish singing, I approached Ruru and talked to her.
"Ruru, is everything going well?"
"Yup. At this pace, well be ready for tomorrow. Ive made an excellent hymn for you, patron. I and the Ocean Singers are staking our titles as otherworld singers in this performance."
I figured that a memorable song was far more effective than a thousand words. Considering Ruru and the Ocean Singers could influence their audiences hearts, the effects should be even more tremendous.
And so, I asked Ruru toe up with both rhythm and lyrics. The subject was to be about demi-humans and humans being just the same; about how everyone should live peacefully and happily together; and about how I was a great and benevolent god, so I should be worshipped.
The song was also supposed to be easy to sing and its melody easy to remember.
The n was to lure the people toe to a worship meeting by offering tax cuts and advantage in agriculture, and have those people listen to the song. Even though the baits wouldnt make them faithful believers, I had confidence the song would.
They would then enthusiastically invite others who would then invite another set of people toe. Like this, the amount of my believers was going to increase at a steady pace.
This method very closely resembled brainwashing, but unlike thetter, this wasnt malicious in any way. We were just going to be instilling some values; we wouldnt be doing any harm.
At any rate, the very first worship meeting was scheduled for the next day. After that, it was going to be a weekly event. Hopefully, each week would bring in more believers while the current would be even more religious.
"Patron, are you sure about sure about the sound equipment? It isnt designed by Rorono, so I have some concerns."
"Though the Dwarf Smiths were the ones that designed it, Rorono did properly check it. It should be fine. Youre going to have the worlds greatest stage."
"Im relieved, then. Actually, in that case, I guess we should improve our performance!"
Like that, Ruru and the Ocean Singers began their practice once again.
Having checked up on them and being assured, I then headed toward Aura.
"Is everything going well here as well?"
"Yes, Ive actually just made a trial product. Have a look. I call this special potion [Gods Smile]! Any human that drinks a cup of wine from a barrel that has even only a single drop of this would be put in a state of intoxication and be unable to think fully. In such a state, they would obediently ept all sorts of things."
Aura then smiled wickedly.
Despite being an elf, why does such an expression suit her so much?
"Im d to hear the holy waters ready."
The tax cuts and agricultural advantages werent the only things we were using to lure in potential believers. One other such thing that we were advertising was that anyone who woulde to the worship meetings would get to drink our high-quality winewhich would be called our holy waterfor free.
Of course, this wine would be mixed with [Gods Smile].
If people were to listen to Rurus hymn while under the influence of the holy water, the effects would sky-rocket.
It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that through those two things, the citizens of Avalon would unite as one.
Im so excited for tomorrow.
The first ever day of worship for my religion finally came.
The registration for those who wished to be a part of it had begun at the many registration desks we had set up in front of the church.
After writing down their name orfor those that didnt know how to writehaving it written down for them, the now-registered believers were handed proof of their faith in the form of a ne and an expensive-if-sold holy book. The Mythological Foxes then guided them to the church.
As the believers poured into the church, I felt d I made the hall asrge as possible. If I hadnt, it would have been full to bursting in no time.
After checking the crowd, I entered the church through the back entrance.
Now then, time to give my speech as a god.
We had designed the church to be a ce for magical rituals. We had estimated it to be able to hold a thousand people. At the moment, it was full.
Thankfully, the Mythological Foxes had skillfully judged the cutoff point in the lines and then closed the doors.
To each of the citizens inside, high-quality wineor juice for those that couldnt drink alcoholwas being distributed. Additionally, the most famous bakeries in the city had also prepared ham sandwiches with generous amounts of high-grade ham for the citizens.
Understandably, the citizens were overjoyed when they were offered such delicious things for no cost. None that they knew of, at least. In truth, the cost was their ability to think properly.
The citizens had begun giving in to their euphoric state. It seemed like the [Gods Smile] mixed in the wine and juice was having great effect.
When certain closed curtains were opened, the intelligence corps including Ruru appeared in the stage built within the church.
After seeing such beautiful girls on the stage, the citizens became excited.
Ruru smiled at the crowd. It wasnt just an ordinary smile though; it was already part of her performance.
A soothing melody then began to flow. Thanks to the audio equipment, it reached everywhere in the hall and was very clear.
The melody was so beyond captivating, no other sound was made.
After a while, Ruru began singing the lyrics to her hymn.
As nned, the magic powerced into her song engraved the thoughts of loving peace and equality into the citizens hearts. Praises for god Procell were added in as well.
I would say about 90% of those that attended today did not share the values of the hymn and were most likely believers of the Rigdolg Faith. The only reason they came was to ruin this worshipping event.
However, thanks to Auras [Gods Smile] and Rurus hymn, they were converted into true believers instead.
The hymn was then over.
Hearing the hymn while in a state of trance made everyone have a befuddled look on their face. In other words, they were enjoying pleasure beyond measure.
When Ruru took a bow, everyone pped. Soon after, Ruru and the Ocean Singers exited the stage.
That worked well, better than expected even. Their emotions are flowing into me. I see. So, this is why the [ck] Demon Lord is obsessed with his religion.
Demon Lords were creatures who fed on the emotions within their dungeon.
In the worshipping event just now, I was able to feed on huge amounts of high-quality emotions. This was important since it proved the hassle was worth it, even if we were to do it weekly.
Well then, its my turn soon.
As I thought such, I began climbing the stage.
Just by that act alone, the citizens went wild. Another benefit of Rurus hymn.
"Wee, everyone. I am Procell, a god. I thank you all for approving my teachings. From today onwards, let us all cherish peace and equality... as part of the Holy Grail Faith."
I had decided that my religion was going to be called the Holy Grail Faith. It was named after the Holy Grail that granted any and all wishes.
"The Holy Grail Faiths doctrine will center around being happy and loving one anotherregardless of race. We are all family."
Ovee with emotions, the citizens roared while tears fell from their eyes. They seemed to be really into it.
"I want others to be happy as well, so I have a request to all of you. We will be holding a worship meeting once a week, and on the next one, I want each of you to bring someone you know. Tell them there will be delicious food and great music. Just getting them toe is enough. Once theyve listened to our teachings, Im sure theyll understand."
Afterwards, I spoke all god-like and ended the meeting.
The citizensnow zealous believerslooked satisfied as they headed back. That reaction was more than enough. Like this, the number of believers would increase steadily.
Results of the worship meeting were favorable. I was able to easily gain strong and delicious emotions while also making Avalon easier to govern more than ever.
As of the moment, we only had a church here in Avalon, but in the future, I nned on building them in other cities as well. That way and by using the same techniques as we did this time, the Holy Grail Faith would spread even outside of Avalon.
The stronger my religion bes, the less of an influence other religionssuch as the Rigdolg Faithwould have in Avalon.
Later on, an official notification had arrived stating that the royal family would being to Avalon three dayster.
I nned on selling to them the idea of switching from being a single-religion state to a multi-religion state. I would argue that having only a single religion in their domain would give that religion too much sway in their politics.
Of course, words alone werent enough. I had prepared two baits.
One of which needed the [Dragon] Demon Lords cooperation, but he had already given his approval.
I wonder what the royal familys reaction would be like once theyve known that I founded my own religion and have garnered a lot of zealous believers. Im looking forward to seeing it. At any rate, lets prepare for the battle that doesnt involve armed conflict.
Note: The Holy Grail in Holy Grail Faith has a superscript Kurisu/ꥹ/Chris, suggesting it should be read like that. If Christ was used, I would have gone along with that or Christianity. As it is, I dont want to use Chris Faith or Christianity. Besides, I find Holy Grail Faith cooler.
Volume 7 8
The day for the royal familys visit finally came.
Preparations for weing them were fully in ce.
We intended to make them enjoy Avalon from the bottom of their hearts. After all, it would make negotiations far easier to do.
"It seems the Holy Grail Faiths spreading at a good rate."
Believers who worshipped and were in awe of me were diligently spreading my religion.
Of those invited to join, many were interested ining if it meant they could enjoy delicious wine and excellent songs in the next worship meeting. Just actuallying to the meeting was enough to ensure they would be zealous believers. They would then invite others and those others would invite others, ad infinitum.
All these were for the sake of protecting Avalon.
While in my room and thinking of such, I finished up on my paperwork.
What I was working on was the establishment of the citys orphanage.
We were going to use the Curtrude Company to hire individuals with the necessary skills to run the orphanage. It didnt matter if those people were to be from other cities or towns. Meanwhile, to assist those people would be diligent people from Avalon who were good with children.
In a field where experts were rare, recruiting even from other ces and offering high pay to them was the fastest method.
The effort of building the orphanage as soon as possible was not only for the sake of the children themselves, but also for the sake of attracting even more people to Avalon.
Another benefit of having an orphanage was the opportunity to make children of very young age enter the Holy Grail Faith and swear loyalty to Avalon.
"Hey, hey, patron, now that I think about it, why did you tell me to make that rather mild song? If we put our mind into it, we could seriously brainwash the humans to the point that they will kill for you when ordered to, you know?"
Ruru, who was lying in the bed in my room, curiously asked me so.
It has been rather hot recently, so she has beening to this carriage where there were air-conditioning systems in ce.
"We mustnt do that... it might sound like hypocrisy at this point, but we must do our very best to never cross that final line."
Thanks to thebination of Auras [Gods Smile] and Ruru & the Ocean Singers hymn, the values of loving their fellow regardless of race and also revering me were instilled into the believers hearts. However, it should be limited to those values alone. Nothing more, nothing less.
We werent going to force them to do things, especially those that they would hate. This was very different to treating them as though they were mere puppets.
Besides, if we were to treat them like puppets, the humans would not be able to exhibit their ability to create new things. And if that was to happen, Avalon wouldnt be able to grow any further.
"Hmp, well, you sure are adamant in the strangest of things, patron."
"That aside, dont you have to head out soon? You guys are the centerpiece in making the royal family entertained. Are all your preparations done?"
Rather than using Ruru and the Ocean Singers songs to influence the mind of the royal family, I had asked them to sing purely for entertainment purposes this time.
"Thats a foolish question. I am an Rlyeh Diva. I dontpromise anything in my craft. Look forward to it, patron. Itll be a once-in-a-lifetime song and dance performance."
If anyone had the talent to impress royalty who had most likely grown tired of song and dance performances, it would be Ruru.
Now, I guess I should change and get ready myself.
<>
Auras voice was carried by the wind all the way to my room.
I had made Aura observe Avalons gate using her wind. The chances of the [ck] Demon Lord taking advantage of this event to invade Avalon were high, so we were on full alert.
Ok, time to greet them.
"Kuina, are you ready?"
"Yeah-? absolutely!"
Kuina, who wore a chic dress that suited her now older appearance, replied so.
As there was a chance of danger, I had asked her to stay by my side as my guard. That being said, there was one other reason she was with me: in order to showcase that we were a city aiming to coexist with demi-humans, it was necessary to have an individual that could easily be perceived as such to be by my side.
"We talked about this yesterday, Kuina. I want you to change the way you talk to that of an adult. Will you do that for me?"
I felt a little bad for asking her such, but the usual way Kuina talked could be taken as discourtesy by high-ranking people. Demon Lords were one thing since they could sympathize, but humans probably wouldnt.
"Understood, dear father. Ill try to conduct myself befitting of your standing."
It felt weird to hear her talk like that, but it was necessary.
She was smart, so as long as she put effort into it, she could keep conducting herself like so.
"Yeah, that sounds good."
"Then, Ill keep it up until the royal family goes back. If I do a good job though, I want to be showered with plenty of praise."
Though her way of speaking and mannerism changed, I guess Kuina will always be Kuina.
At that thought, I unconsciously smiled.
When we went to the city gate, a two-horse carriage with the crest of the royal family was there. A group of knights atop horses was also there to guard the aforementioned carriage and its upants.
One of the knights was loudly shouting something.
"Announcing the arrival of Prince Leonard Mira Axera, the third prince of the Axera Kingdom, as well as his attendants to the city of Avalon! His highness requests the immediate presence of the citys representative!"
In perhaps an effort to show off the grandness of the prince, they purposefully announced his arrival in a gaudy manner.
Kuina in tow, I appeared before the group.
"Thank you foring. I am this citysAvalonsleader. I am Procell. Allow us to wee and entertain you to the best of our abilities."
The knight then looked at me and Kuina.
Her beautiful face certainly captured his attention, but upon noticing her demi-human features, he frowned.
Since the Rigdolg Faith, the state religion of Axera, followed a human supremacy ideology, that kind of reaction was just natural.
At the top of the Rigdolg Faith were the [ck] Demon Lord who reigned supreme as their god, and the angel-type monsters who served as his retainers. They were followed by faithful human believers as blessed beings. At the very bottom were demi-humans who didnt receive any blessing at all from their god, thus being relegated to be inferior beings.
Building a religion and giving a certain group a sense of superiority was a tried and tested approach.
Nevertheless, I rather the knight didnt look at Kuina as such, so I decided to move the conversation along.
"I believe everyone is tired from the long journey, so I think it best to guide you to your lodgings first."
When I snapped my fingers, Mythological Foxes appeared and then courteously bowed.
I then proceeded to instruct them to guide the guests to the finest inn in Avalon.
We prepared lodgings not just for the prince, but for all of the knights as well.
There were a lot of wealthy people in Avalon, so first-rate inns were in abundance anyway.
That being said, we had reserved the very best from those first-rate inns.
"Hmm, how very considerate."
"I am honored by such praise. We have prepared entertainment and meals for you all to enjoyter. We will send someone to pick you up. Until then, please rest your bodies."
After bowing in thanks, the partyseeming satisfiedfollowed the Mythological Foxes and left.
It was worth noting that the prince did not show himself.
Well, Im sure hell show up for the mealter. Save the best forst.
After being guided to their lodgings, dropping off their luggage there, and resting for a while, we brought the princes party to the hall that doubled as the church and treated them to a musical show supervised by Rlyeh Diva.
Next to that, we let them enjoy shopping as much as they wanted to, with me footing the bill.
We also let them rinse off their sweat and fatigue away in our hot spring.
I chose to not go with them, thinking they would be able to enjoy things better unapanied. Nevertheless, I knew of their actions through Auras wind.
It seemed like they enjoyed their tour of the city.
The goal of letting them know of Avalons many good points before the negotiation proper has been sessfullypleted.
As for Kuina and I, we went to a restaurant we had reserved beforehand and waited for a while there.
Todays menu was prepared with the help of the Curtrude Company.
Using their merchantwork, they had found out Prince Leonards favorite dishes. On top of those they also prepared dishes whose ingredients couldnt be acquired easilyif at allin the Axera Kingdom due to issues of freshness or distribution, but were readily avable here in Avalon thanks to the Hippogriffs air transportation service.
...Conannas so good, its scary.
When the time for dinner drew near, Aura reported that the princes seemingly pleased party was heading toward the restaurant.
After a while, the knights, the civil officials, and the prince himself showed up.
The prince had blond hair, blue eyes, and handsome features. He seemed to be in his mid-twenties.
One look at him was enough for me to tell that he was sharp.
"No words are enough to express my gratitude for warmly weingly not only me, but my subordinates as well."
"Please dont mention it. So long as everyone is pleased, it was well worth the effort. Nevertheless, I fear there are certain things we cant talk about in front of your knights. Let us go dine in another room while your esteemed knights dine here."
It was now time for negotiations and it requiredplete focus.
"Thank you for your kind consideration, Procell-dono. Would you mind terribly if a minister and the head of my knights apany us as my advisers?"
"Not at all. After all, I am bringing this child as well."
I replied so and ced a hand over Kuinas shoulder.
With both sides in agreement, we moved to a private room.
Thanks to our warm wee of them, the prince talked to me in a friendly manner.
Our conversation was also rather energetic.
"Procell-dono, this city you call Avalon is amazing. It is overflowing with things and people. Everything and everyone are also so lively. I have heard that this city has been around for less than a year, and yet in that short time, it has developed so much. The only word I have for that is incredible. As a political figure myself, I confess my interest is piqued. Wont you please impart to me your secrets?"
I had expected all members of the royal family to be crooked, so I was surprised to see him have such a modest personality.
In response to that personality, I answered him earnestly.
"I have one trick. I endeavor to bring happiness to my citizens. I believe that once theyve be happy, they will work harder to further improve their lives. Naturally, the city will profit from their sess."
"Ohh, so the citizens happiness is tied to the territorys wealth? Thats in direct contradiction to what father thinks. ording to him, the people exist for the state. Still, what you say makes sense."
He was also very frank.
<>
Auras voice reached me via the wind.
I had asked her to examine whether the prince and his party were being controlled or not.
In response to Auras confirmation, I asked the Mythological Foxes to bring out some Avalon Wine. Avalon Wine was made using Auras [Water of Life] which itself had [Purification] properties.
"Please enjoy this Avalon Wine as an aperitif. This is one of Avalons best products."
"So, this is the famous Avalon Wine, huh? When I heard the rumors about it, I immediately wanted to taste it. I mean, ording to the rumors, it is the drink of the gods."
The prince said so while looking at the bottle of Avalon Wine with overflowing curiosity.
The bottle brought out wasnt made with the golden apples from the First Tree, but it was made with apples grown by Aura nheless, so it should still have overwhelmingly good vor and special effects.
The Mythological Foxes then poured some into a ss.
Instead of the prince though, the head of the knights was the one to drink it. Apparently, he was the princes food taster.
Upon intaking the liquid, the head of the knights opened his eyes wide, but was perfectly motionless otherwise.
"Whats wrong, Bernard?! Is it poisoned!?"
"N-no, its not, my prince... the sublime taste of the alcohol just rendered me speechless. Not only that, I feel that my bodys somehow lighter. As if the sluggishness my body has umted for years is suddenly gone."
This sluggishness he talked about was more likely the curse one of the [ck] Demon Lords monsters had cast on him.
It seemed highly likely that arge percentage of the leadership of the Axera Kingdom was afflicted with curses.
"Then, Ill try it too... Its true. It is delicious, and it has also made my body feel better. Thank you, Procell-dono."
"If it would please you, why not take some barrels home?"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, definitely. However, instead of enjoying them alone, please share them with everyone. With your family as well as with your subordinates."
It might be more work for Aura and it might only be temporary, but staving off that guys powers was important.
"I am very grateful. As will my father and older brothers be."
He said so with a smile.
Its well worth the investment.
Afterwards, dishes were served one after the other.
Each was perfect. From the ingredients used to the culinary techniques employed.
Even the prince who was used to luxurious meals was in awe.
Of course, Kuina and I were greatly pleased with it too.
Around the time the desserts were served, the prince put on a serious expression on his face.
"Those were marvelous cuisines. It would seem the rumors saying the best things from all over the world are gathered here are true. Not only is this city blessed with excellent things, but with excellent personnel as well."
Such was Avalons specialty.
Using air travel, merchants could procure things from all over the world.
And when good things gathered, so too would people.
Seeking better working and research environments, alchemists, sorcerers, and cksmiths had immigrated here. With a higher demand present, of course, merchants increased too, repeating the cycle over and over again.
"Furthermore, you seem to be borrowing the demi-humans talents as well. You havebor and a standing army for no cost in the form of the countless golems. Additionally, you also have air units in the form of the Hippogriffs and the Darkness Dragons. Frankly, Im envious. However, even though I understand the usefulness of employing the demi-humans and the monsters talents in enriching a territory, the Rigdolg Faith has closed off that option for my country."
It was as he said. Since the human supremacy ideology was prevalent in the Rigdolg Faith, peacefully borrowing the demi-humans talents was just not likely to happen.
"As for Avalon, our policy here is to use whatever we can in order to grow."
"...I see. Thats fine, but it just isnt possible for us. Even though the Rigdolg Faiths teachings are malicious, it is also true that it unites the hearts of our citizens. My voice is drowned out by their founders."
The prince said so with aplicated expression on his face.
"Is it fine telling me of this?"
"I see no problem. My experiences tell me lying about this would do no good. For that same reason, I would be frank here. I want your city of Avalon to be a part of our Axera Kingdom."
"And then, youre going to borrow our funds and our fighting force? Specifically, our golem corps and our Darkness Dragons aerial bombing corps? All so you can keep up the assault on a certain dungeon?"
When I said such, the prince was inplete surprise.
I see, so he didnt expect me to know of their goals.
"J-just how much do you know?"
"As pointed out earlier, merchants from all over the world have gathered here in Avalon, so it should be no surprise our information is good, so long as we listen closely. As for your request, my answer is no. I have a couple of reasons. The first is that no matter how many golems or Darkness Dragons we lend to you, you will not win."
Their opponent was the [Dragon] Demon Lord who employed powerful [Dragon] monsters.
He also had a Dragon Emperor that couldmand at will the dragons empowered and driven mad by [Berserk].
In terms of a frontal assault, even if Avalon was to throw its full force against him, we would be crushed. Easily crushed, I should say.
So, even if I was to lend the Avalon-Ritters and the Darkness Dragons over to the Axera Kingdom, it was still an effort bound to fail.
"...But Ive heard that during our war, Avalon showed tremendous strength."
"We do have tremendous strength, but against that enemy, it is nothing but childs y."
Under no circumstance should one take the [Dragon] Demon Lord lightly. Anyone thinking they could conquer his dungeon should check their sanity.
Upon hearing my reply, the prince looked downcast.
Lets throw him a lifeline here.
"If Im not mistaken, your true goal, Prince Leonard, is to stop the fighting as soon as possible. However, even if you pour all your war potential, you dont stand a chance at winning. Rather, your damages and losses would just increase further. I am guessing your national treasury is already at the limits."
In order to apply pressure to the [Dragon] Demon Lord, the [ck] Demon Lord had tasked the Axera Kingdom to attack. However, instead of being harassed, the [Dragon] Demon Lord was actually profiting off of his attackers: he was gainingrge amounts of DP and feeding on excellent emotions.
As to be expected of one of the three strongest Demon Lords.
"But on the other hand-"
"On the other hand, if you pull back now, you run the risk of a retaliatory attack. Youre afraid that if you loosen up on the offensive, the [Dragon] Demon Lord would send his monsters to destroy the Axera Kingdom. The founder of the Rigdolg Faith had said hell protect you, but you dont truly trust those words."
"How, how do you know so much?"
"Like I said, we have good information."
Actually, it was less a matter of good information, and more of a logical deduction. Most people woulde to the same realizations.
The following step in that train of thought was this meeting.
Without doubt, the [ck] Demon Lord instigated the Axera Kingdom once more and told them to acquire funds and war potential from Avalon.
In fact, in case todays negotiations were to fail, the prince was resolved to take Avalon by force, thinking that it would be the only way for their kingdom to survive.
Little does he know, I prepared another way for them.
"I understand youre in a tight spot and need help in whatever form, but before you get any foolish ideas, let me tell you upfront that taking Avalons strength by force will end in vain for you. Ill have you know, the Avalon-Ritters and the Darkness Dragons are but a fraction of our strength."
"If youre that strong, then help us! We might not have the money now, but we will eventually, without fail,pensate you for your help."
"I still refuse. Like I said, lending you war potential wouldnt actually help. Moreover, I and your enemy are in good terms. In fact, he has been calling me his son. There is no way I would be make an enemy out of that person."
In thetest letter he sent me, the [Dragon] Demon Lord called me his son.
Sts and I were just friends, so it was undoubtedly a misunderstanding, but it didnt seem like it would stop even if I tried to correct him.
"...The ruler of that dungeon called you his son? I did suspect it a little, but are you a Demon Lord as well?"
The intelligence corps had confirmed that the [ck] Demon Lord had revealed his true identitybeing a Demon Lord and allto the royal family of the Axera Kingdom. And so, I saw no reason to hide mine.
"Indeed, I am a Demon Lord too. Just like the [ck] Demon Lord who is pulling your strings, and the [Dragon] Demon Lord, your esteemed enemy. And now, Im going to offer you something that would actually help. As I said, the [Dragon] Demon Lord and I are on friendly terms. I have already spoken to him about your situation. If you ept my termsand of course pull back your forces as soon as possibleyou can be assured he would not exact retribution."
"Is that... true?"
"Yes. Thats not all. I can also lend you money to help in the rebuilding of your kingdom. You can also send your injured soldiers to Avalon for a much faster recovery. All these and more if you ept my terms."
His reaction seemed to suggest he was interested with my offer.
The [ck] Demon Lords n involved pitting Avalon, the Axera Kingdom, and the [Dragon] Demon Lord against each other.
He used the [Dragon] Demon Lord to push the Axera Kingdom to the edge until attacking Avalon seemed lucrative.
The desperate Axera Kingdom was then supposed to put pressure on Avalon from the outside, while his religion threatened to tear Avalon apart from within.
If pressuring us failed, the Axera Kingdom was then to proceed to a full-blown war against us. If even that failed, it was still fine for the [ck] Demon Lord since by then, Avalons name would be tarnished. And if our reputation and poprity were to plummet, it would mean a halt to our growth.
It was a convoluted and yet amusing scheme.
Too bad for him though, I used it against him.
By founding a religion of our own, we had consolidated our defense.
And, by proposing a truce between the Axera Kingdom and the [Dragon] Demon Lord, I could get the Axera Kingdom to my side instead.
You were careless in dealing with me. Now, its my turn on the offensive.
Volume 7 9
After hearing my proposal, theplexion on Prince Leonards face changed.
His kingdom, the Ax Kingdom, was in a critical state at the moment. Instigated by the [ck] Demon Lord, they marched their armies onto the [Dragon] Demon Lords dungeon. However, the [Dragon] Demon turned the tides against them, causing themthe supposed-to-be attackersto be on the receiving end instead.
Their losses were great and it continued to grow by the day.
Aside from their diminished numbers, medical treatment fees, bereaved family pensions, training costs for the recement soldiers, recement for the lost equipment, and of course, the creation and maintenance of the supply lines for their soldiers were all also very significant concerns.
To make it worse, even if they win, there was nothing for them to gain.
And yet, stopping the war was not truly an option for them either. For if they did, it was not unlikely for the [Dragon] Demon Lord to burn their cities to the ground in an act of retribution.
The Ax Kingdom knew full well the consequences of this war: whether win or lose, they would suffer. The only reason they were in this mess was because the Rigdolg Faith told them to.
For that reason, I decided to extend a helping hand.
"Is that true? Is that really true? Can you truly prevent the [Dragon] Demon Lord from doing any retaliatory attacks?"
"Definitely. I can only ask that you believe me on this matter, but the [Dragon] Demon Lord and I do not break our word."
By guaranteeing there would be no retaliation, a peaceful conclusion to this war was made possible.
Of course, there was no way that that was the onlyplication in this whole mess.
"...I am deeply thankful for your proposal, but I am concerned of what the believers of the Rigdolg Faith might think of us letting their gods enemy go unchecked."
In the first ce, this war was waged to take revenge against the wicked god that attacked the holy capital of the Rigdolg Faith.
"I advise you to say to them that you have fatally injured their gods enemy and that it fled in fear of its life. In this instance, there is no harm in lying and making yourself look good."
Even if you lost in a war, there was no need to be foolishly honest about it.
"...but-"
"Or, are you saying you are fine with how things are at the moment? With how you continue to waste money and resources on a war you cant possibly win? How about all the soldiers you let die and are letting die?"
"I understand what youre saying, but..."
"No, apparently, you dont. Because if you do, you wouldnt be second guessing right now. As you worry what to do, the nation you love is dying in vain each minute, no, each second."
For some reason, my rather irresponsiblements seemed to work on the serious Prince Leonard.
"...I would like to agree to your proposal, but first, what were those terms you spoke of? Ill form my decision after hearing those."
Ohh, hes be more inclined.
"To begin with, dont you think theres something wrong with the current state of affairs? How can a single religion have so much sway over an entire nation?"
"Of course, I have always found that to be troubling."
"In my opinion, it is because your nation views the Rigdolg Faith as the state religion."
That Rigdolg Faiths strongpoints were their numbers and their dominance over such numbers. To take them down, they had to lose one or the other.
"Im sorry, but I dont follow, Procell-dono."
"Ill go over it in sequence. First, I propose that you abolish the idea of having a state religion; dere your government separate from religions. Next, approve of the introduction of Avalons religion. That is to say, approve the introduction of the Holy Grail Faith!"
It seemed like Prince Leonards quick wit allowed him to grasp easily the meaning of what I said.
If there was another major religion in his nation, the Rigdolgs Faiths influence would certainly diminish.
And if that happened, the Rigdolg Faith shouldnt be able to freely manipte the Ax Kingdom.
"Procell-dono, Id like to confirm two points. First, unless something major has happened, most wouldnt switch religions. While epting the Holy Grail Faith into the holy capital is rtively simple, would you really be able to convert our citizens who are mostly devout believers of the Rigdolg Faith?"
"Do not worry about that. Our right and proper teachings of striving for a happy life and of the coexistence of humans and demi-humans will prevail, allowing our religion to spread quickly."
In truth, the n was to gather humans into the church we were going to build in the holy capital of the Ax Kingdom by promising them money and other things such as a free meal, and then using thebo of Auras [Gods Smile] and Rurus hymn. But in this case as well, there was no need to be foolishly honest.
I thought it would be more pragmatic to hire a minister that would be regrly present in the church. That way, our religion would still have a presence even when Ruru and the Ocean Singers only performed once a week.
The church in the holy capital wasnt the only one I was nning on building; I aimed to build a church in at least three other major cities. Hopefully, a rotation system would work so that Rurus group still only had to perform once a week.
"I still doubt it would go well, but if Procell-dono says it will, I guess it will... For now, lets move on to my second concern. Even at the best of times, the Rigdolg Faith has been troublesome, but now that we are going to adopt a new religion, their harassment is bound to get worse. What do you propose to do about that?"
"The only reason theyve been able to do those things was precisely because they were the only religion. With another religion present, they would be much more careful."
The prince understood, but in his view, if there were advantages to epting my religion, there would surely also be disadvantages.
"...However, there have also been times that the RIgdolg Faith have been so helpful."
"Maybe, but again, isnt it because of your reliance on them and their help that they now have so much control over you? Believe me, things would only get worse if you chose to let the Rigdolg Faith be the only religion in your kingdom. In my opinion, epting the Holy Grail Faith would be the more advantageous decision for you. At the very least, your current crisis with the [Dragon] Demon Lord would be solved. At any rate, please follow me."
I said so, stood up, and then walked toward a carriage. The prince and his subordinates also stood up and followed me into the carriage.
Our destination was a certain warehouse. Avalon had many of such warehouse under its strict control. To top it off, each one was also as big as a mansion would be.
Upon arrival, I greeted the Mithril Golems guarding the warehouse, told them to unlock the entrance, and went in.
"What!? A mountain of treasure!? This is enough to match an entire citys fortune!"
"This is not all that we have. We have three other warehouses that holds the same amount of fortune, if not more, than this one. If it means you would ept our Holy Grail Faith, I am prepared to hand over all the contents of this warehouse over to your kingdom."
Our golems were mining 24 hours a day non-stop in my [Mine] dungeon room. Frankly speaking, from our point of view, minerals like gold and silver whose value was less than mithril were failures.
However, simply throwing them away was wasteful, so we instead stored them in warehouses.
Furthermore, we also gained money through taxing. Even though our taxes were much, much cheaperpared to other cities, since we had a lot of people to tax, we still wound up collecting a huge amount.
"So, what is it, Prince Leonard? I imagine this amount is enough to cover for all your spent war expenditures and even pensions, is it not?"
Upon hearing my proposal, the prince gulped down.
As I thought, this is the effective move.
By showing rather than just telling them of the warehouse, the effect rose multiple times.
Well then, one more push.
"Dont worry though; this is not all were willing to offer you. Were prepared to give you a hundred golems which are one of this citys prized possessions. The ones well lend are not for fighting though; they are specialized for transportation. Toplete the set, Ill add in special carriages too. I believe youve be familiar with their abilities, havent you?"
"...youre giving us those magical, untiring carriages that outpace even our kingdoms fastest? If we have those, our cirction of goods will surpass those of other countries... and did you say youre going to give a hundred golems?!"
"In addition, like I said in the beginning, you may send your injured soldiers to Avalon so that they may recover faster. Medical fees are nothing to scoff at, and your facilities for treating all the wounded should be insufficient now with the ongoing war. If you send your injured here, we just might be able to lessen the loss of excellent soldiers."
In Avalon, rather than use horses or such animals for our carriages, we used golems.
Silver Golems were strong enough to match even a C rank monster or a first-ss adventurer. In other words, it was strong enough to protect itself and oftentimes didnt need an escort. Unlike a horse, it could continue to travel non-stop, without ever needing to sleep, eat, or even drink. It was the perfect existence in terms of workforce.
It was worth killing and dying for. The Ax prince wasnt so ignorant as to not know its value.
Thats why, we were only going to give Silver Golems, and not Mithril Golems or Avalon-Ritters. Otherwise, it would actually cost us.
By also offering to heal their injured, I had made the deal perfect for them, if I may say so myself.
But then again, by having a lot of high-level humans in Avalon for an extended period of time, I would be able to feed on lots of delicious emotions and also gain DP. It was actually also a boon for us.
Once the soldiers have known of the many great things in Avalon, they just might decide to move and live here. If they did, there was the chance they might be influenced by the Holy Grail Faith and be believers themselves. If that happened, we could send them back to the holy capital of the Ax Kingdom, this time as devout believers of the Holy Grail Faith who would enthusiastically spread our religion.
"It is time to make a decision, Prince Leonard. You just need to ept our Holy Grail Faith and nothing more. If you do, you will receive all the support that I promised."
He was faltering.
Although I called it support, they were basically just cash offers. However, considering the Ax Kingdoms treasury was almost non-existent due to war expenditures, it was the better option. The only other option of getting money being raiding other countries.
"...before I say yes, what does Avalon stand to gain in all this?"
"This is a necessary step in spreading our Holy Grail Faith. Furthermore, I want to weaken the [ck] Demon Lords influence no matter how much."
I didnt put it into words, but the reason I wanted my religion to spread outside of Avalon was because I wanted humans to someday make a pilgrimage to Avalon. That way, I could obtain the pure emotions of my believers from all over the world at a regr interval.
Also, some of those believers would surely want to live in Avalon itself, causing Avalons poption to grow.
"...Are you in conflict with the [ck] Demon Lord?"
"Yes. Its futile to hide it, so I confess: he is my enemy."
His suspicion confirmed, the prince looked straight at me.
"I want you to promise one thing in regards to that. Dont make the Ax Kingdom your battlefield. If you can keep that, then I agree to your terms. Ill stake my pride and convince my father to agree."
I see. He worries about his country in his own way.
If the [ck] Demon Lord and I were to seriously fight, it wasnt an exaggeration that a whole country could be destroyed.
"I promise. But if I am attacked, I will have to counterattack. In that case, I promise to at least try to keep the damage to the minimum."
"Fair enough. Then, I formally request financial aid, the loaning of the golems, and the medical treatment of our injured."
The third prince said so and then lowered his head.
Despite his social position of being a prince, he was ready to do so for the sake of his nation. That made a good impression on me.
Afterwards, we discussed the finer details of our deal.
Little by little, my influence was making its way to the capital of the Ax Kingdom.
I need to work hard to realize my ns. Things are going to get a whole lot hectic, but also a whole lot more exciting.
I couldnt stop myself from smiling. We had obtained many great things in exchange for things we didnt really care about.
My ideal city where humans and monsters could peacefully and happily coexist was slowly but surely bing reality.
Volume 7 10
My negotiations with Prince Leonard had ended for the day.
After our meeting, he returned to his inn together with his knights.
To those that wanted to partake, we offered the services of the citys top-ss brothels.
Surprisingly, even the prince wanted to enjoy thepany of a professional. However, due to his position, there was no way he could go to a brothel himself. As a solution, we sent nighttimepanions to him instead.
For them to further like Avalon, we prepared aphrodisiacs based on the pink slime thete [Evil] Demon Lord used when he captured Aura. Furthermore, the professionals dispatched this time were actually excellent subus-type monsters that preyed on the pleasure of men.
I had requested these monsters from Marcho to ensure quality, and thankfully, she dly obliged.
Due to the recent attack on her dungeon by other Demon Lords, it would seem the number of adventurers delving into her dungeon had decreased, causing these kinds of monsters to be somewhat starved.
We also sent subus-type monsters to the other high-ranking humans other than the prince. Weve defanged them by making them feel great.
"Im d everythings going well."
As of the moment, preparations were in ce.
The next objectives were to build a church of our own in the Ax Kingdoms capital and one other thing.
One could say that the [Divine Revtion]s true worth would be determined in the uing endeavors.
Considering we would be stepping into his territory, we shouldnt expect the [ck] Demon Lord to be as docile as he was at the moment. In fact, we should expect him to make contact soon... Ill be waiting.
"Oto-san, Kuina did her best!"
"Yeah, you sure did. You were a very finedy today."
"Yay! ?"
I had returned to the carriage parked near the First Tree. While I lied on the bed, I thought of the things to do from thereafter.
Also lying down beside me was Kuina.
She had taken off her formal dress and had already changed into a pajama. It was her favorite penguin onesie. Needless to say, she looked unbelievably adorable.
That being said, it wasnt exactly the one she always wore before. Since her appearance became older, her old one didnt fit anymore, and thus she bought a new one with a simr design. Despite getting older, this cuteness still suits her so much.
"Oto-san, why were you so roundabout earlier?"
"Hmm, to limit as much as possible the number of human casualties, I guess. If we fought head-on with the [ck] Demon Lord, hell use the humans to wage war against us, right? If that happens, itll be genocide for the humans. To avoid that, troublesome steps were needed to be done. Besides, we gained lots of things from this deal too. More than them, in my opinion."
Depending on how things develop, we might end up fighting against three major nations all at the same time.
It would be bloody, but we still must win.
Frankly, if just in terms of destroying the human nations, simply sending the Darkness Dragons to bomb and burn to the ground their major cities would do. Clearing away citiesrather than actually fighting in the battlefieldwas the easier route, if things ever escted that far.
I had gained much more DP than I expected, so I had purchased another [Maelstrom] for the Graphross. The number of my Darkness Dragons now increased by two each day.
Also, since my [Creation] had returned, I was once again able to produce materials for our explosives. And since I leveled up a lot, my magic power rose too, meaning an increase in production for the said materials. Due to those factors, our stock of explosivesmanufactured by the Skeletons in the factorywas high.
In other words, we were fully prepared for a war against the humans.
"We should just kill the humans!"
"No, we mustnt. If we choose that path, it would lead us to ruin. Humans would stoping to Avalon, after all. If that happens, you would no longer be able to enjoy the desserts and the cute dresses made by the humans. You like those right? As for me, I like humans and the things they make. And because I like them, I try to make them happy. Thats why we have Avalon."
We mustnt lose sight of that.
We should avoid killing humans as much as possible. Also, even though I was willing to go as far as instill the teachings of our faith into the humans, we mustnt cross the line and let it be brainwashing.
I had no desire in turning them into puppets. If anything, letting them be puppets would be harmful to us since they would then lose the ability to make amazing things. It was vital that we hold ourselves back. For if we didnt constantly admonish ourselves, we would be strayed off the path in no time.
"Oh, Kuina wants to eat those delicious food and wear those cute clothes! So, I guess Kuina will protect the humans living in Avalon! Humans are weak, so they need us to protect them in order to not die!"
"Yeah, humans are weak and need your protection. Lets do our best to gather more of them. The more of them there are, the more amazing things theylle up with."
"If we gather more humans, Kuina will be able to eat more delicious food?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Humans are amazing!"
Kuina the glutton said so with drool spilling from her mouth.
I smiled at the sight of that and then proceeded to wipe it off. Kuina was as cute as ever.
Perhaps she was tired from acting differently than usual, but after talking for a while more, she fell asleep while embracing my arm. Her cuteness was overflowing.
Humans were important, but so were my monsters. I want not only the humans, but also my monsters to be happy.
Ill do my best tomorrow too. I said so to myself as a reminder.
The next morning, I woke up early and readied myself.
In the afternoon, Prince Leonard and his party were going back to their nations capital.
I was going to have a meeting with them onest time before they leave.
Yesterday, I had discussed with him and his top advisors the details of my n for them.
In response, the prince said they wanted to take some time and think on some items.
And so, I made my way to the ce of our meeting.
The idea was to hold the meeting while having an early lunch.
I arrived thirty minutes earlier than the scheduled time, but the other party was already there.
"Procell-dono, youre early."
"I can say the same. Did you enjoyst night?"
"Yes. So much so that if the friendship between our nation and your Avalon has been formally established and secured, I wille back again."
"It will be our honor to have you. Prince Leonard, you will always be wee here in Avalon."
I had listened to the reports from my monsters about yesterday night.
ording to the reports, the prince decided to let loose and have as much fun as possiblest night. Apparently, he had lived a very sheltered life within the castle. Considering that, it was understandable that he made use of this chance to have a little fun.
Well, it was a drug-enhanced sex with subus-type monsters, after all.
The only downside was he most probably wouldnt be satisfied with regr sex anymore.
"Allow me to return the favor, then. Procell-dono, Id like to invite you to our nations capital."
"That sounds wonderful. After your nation has epted our Holy Grail Faith, it would be my pleasure to visit your capital."
There was no need to waste the invitation. Besides, I could use it as a means to observe.
"Please look forward to it. I will do my best to entertain you, my new friend. ..,at any rate, after giving yesterdays talk a lot of thought, I want to ask for two more terms. First is that I want to observe the Holy Grail Faith with my own eyes. I want to obtain the vast amounts of wealth, a chance for a ceasefire, golems for transportation, and many more that youre willing to give us, but I cannot, in good conscience, let your religion spread to my people without first verifying that its teachings are appropriate. I hope you understand my proposition."
After hearing his first term, I smiled a little.
Hes a good-hearted prince.
He truly cared a lot for his people. Not to mention, his proposal was extremely convenient for me.
"Then, before you depart, would you like to join a worship meeting of ours? Im certain that once youve seen our proceedings, you will approve."
"Yes, please."
It was sudden but wee since it would save us time. I was actually wondering yesterday whether I should drag the prince to such or not.
"The other term Id like to add is that I want to meet with the [Dragon] Demon Lord."
"May I hear the reason why?"
"My nation has indeed suffered greatly in this war, but for [Dragon] Demon Lord-dono, he was just fighting back in a war we one-sidedly initiated. As representative of my nation, I have to apologize."
I was getting more and more amazed with the prince.
I would have never imagined such train of thought woulde from a member of royalty.
For that, I have taken a liking to him.
"Im happy to hear you say that, but shouldnt such an apologye from the king, the first prince, or even the second prince, and not the third prince?"
"My father and older brothers are all so bullheaded though."
He said so with a frown. Looking at him like that, I began to grow worried.
"You dont have to worry, Procell-dono. I guarantee you that I will persuade my father and older brothers. Thankfully, theyll listen to me, given my achievements up to now and my poprity with the people. Moreover, I am in the right in this. I am just going to make them realize that this is the only way to save the Ax Kingdom."
...well then, what should I do?
Despite what the prince said, I couldnt stop feeling uneasy.
I doubted he would be able to persuade them, but worse than that, it might get him killed. It was certainly far easier for us to act with Prince Leonard alive and in his current position. To that end, we needed someone to keep watch on him, protect him, andin the worst case scenariodeal with the king and the princes siblings.
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I sent my thoughts to the water in my earring.
Through any water, I was able tomunicate with Ruru who was in the other dimension.
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Where the heck has she picked up those terms?
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Rorono had been and still was working non-stop.
Thanks to that, she had made enough of the ED model assault rifles that Ruru wanted.
Additionally, she had finished repairing ten of the Avalon-Ritters. Five of which I nned on deploying to the Ax Kingdoms capital as an emergency fighting force.
Even though it would mean less fighting force for Avalon, protecting the prince was worth it.
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Our conversation ended there.
I have always been relying on her, so I should give her a reward.
"Procell-dono, is something the matter?"
"No, its nothing. I was just thinking about something. Anyway, lets head to the worship meeting, shall we?"
"Yes, please."
We stood up and then headed to the church.
In there, the procedures for a normal worship meeting was followed.
Attendants drank our holy waterwhich was actually Auras [Gods Smile]and then Ruru and the Ocean Singers sang their song promoting peace, cooperation, love, and also the idea of worshipping the god Procell.
After that, I preached the Holy Grail Faiths teachings.
Once all that was over, tears were flowing from the princes eyes.
"Those were amazing teachings! Love, peace, and cooperation despite of race, I want to spread these values to my nation at all cost. Procell-dono, forgive me for ever doubting you! Id like to be a believer right away, so that I may spread your ideals!"
"Im just d you understand. Then, to spread these ideals, to promote the growth of the Ax Kingdom and Avalon, and most of all, to deepen the friendship between our sides, let us join hands moving forward, shall we?"
"Yes, of course!"
It wasnt just the prince that was in agreement, his subordinates as well have be devoted to the Holy Grail Faith.
The moment I realized I had gained my first followers in the capital of the Ax Kingdom, I unconsciously smiled.
We talked for a bit more before they left for home.
I considered this times negotiations to be a huge sess. Not only have I aplished all of my objectives, I have also established the ideal friendship with the prince.
As nned, Ruru and the otherswhile concealing themselves in the other dimensionfollowed after the prince.
Ruru wouldnt be able to perform in the worship meeting this weekend, so that was kind of worrying, but her subordinates that were left behind should be able to pull it off. She had trained them hard, after all.
For now, I should bolster our war potential.
The [ck] Demon Lord would surely stir some kind of trouble and I needed the means to oppose that.
Unfortunately, the production of another MOABa trump card of mine and was our strongest bombwould most likely not make in time.
If I cant count on that to improve our war potential... Oh, why dont I take a look at Kuinas new special move? I want to see how strong she has gotten.
Kuina and Fel had been training in the [Time] Demon Lords [Time] Arena. Apparently, Kuina had obtain a special move that allowed her to not mind Fels [Time] powers.
Without a doubt, I wanted to see that strength with my own eyes.
"Well, its Kuina. Im sure has developed an amazing special move."
Like that, I headed for the carriage in Auras orchard, excited to talk with Kuina.
Volume 7 11
A few days had passed since Prince Leonards party left Avalon.
Fearing the worst, I had ordered Rlyeh Diva and two Ocean Singers to hide in the other dimension and follow the prince so that they could observe and, if need be, protect him.
Furthermore, I had arranged to send five Avalon-Ritters via air transport to the outskirts of the Ax capital and have those units hide there until Ruru felt the need to summon them via a transmitter.
With these preparations in ce, so long as it wasnt anything too major, Prince Leonard would remain alive and safe. Even if countless assassins were dispatched after the prince, none would even notice.
ording to Rurus reports, the princes preparations seemed to be going well.
As for me...
I was in my room, readying myself for my trip out with Kuina.
"Todays the day Kuinas gonna fight Fel-chan!"
"Ive already told you this yesterday, but Im going with you today."
"Yay~ ?! Ill show Oto-san lots of cool things!"
Our destination today was the [Time] Demon Lords Arena where Kuina was doing her special training.
Kuina was Avalons strongestbatant, so it was undoubtedly important that I see for myself the new strength she had found.
To my knowledge, her training consisted of regr fights with Fel, one of the [Time] Demon Lords monsters.
Considering that the [Time] Demon Lords Arena could turn back time and reverse all wounds, they could go all out without fearing any risks. And since they didnt have to hold backwhich they had to do when sparring the normal way with others because they were just too strongit apparently had led to tremendous growth for the two.
"Kuinas just ahead by one win! If Kuina loses today, itll be a tie again, so Kuina has to absolutely win!"
Perhaps it was a sign of her motivation, but her beautiful fox tail pointed skyward. Finding that to be amusing, I smiled wryly.
While we were like that, a knock came from the Carriages door.
"Kuina, Ivee to get you! You better be thankful."
Speak of the devil.
It was Fel, the girl who looked exactly like Kuina except for her wolf tail and ears.
When she saw me, a great smile appeared on her face.
"Master, its been a while! Kuina told me you wereing today. Im gonna show you lots of cool things!"
She said the exact same thing Kuina said.
The two really are like sisters.
I thought so andughed.
"Haha. Ill look forward to it, then."
I was of course rooting for Kuina, but there was no need to voice it out.
Fel had beening every week to fetch the Avalon wine I had promised to the [Time] Demon Lord and some other items made from the First Trees golden apples.
Today was the next scheduled day for such a delivery.
I had been asionally exchanging letters with the [Time] Demon Lord so I knew he himself had been enjoying and consuming the wine being sent to him. That being said, ording to him, less than half of his umted stocks remained after the frequent visits made by the [Dragon] Demon Lord.
At any rate, it was time to go.
As nned, the crow monster that came together with Fel was going to transport the three of us to the [Time] Demon Lords Arena.
"Kuina, Fel, wait. Im alsoing along today."
The other person was Rorono.
"How about your work, Rorono-chan? Are they finished?"
"No, theyre not. Buting along with you today is important work as well. Here, take this, Kuina."
What Rorono handed to Kuina was something long that was wrapped in cloth. After receiving the item, Kuina, undid the wrapping.
"Could this be..."
"Yes, Ivepleted it. Its the EDS-05S omh Sis, thetest shotgun model specially made just for you, Kuina. Its a weapon specialized for you, to the point that only you can use it."
And so, the thing Rorono handed was a shotgun. It had a certain shade of silver, a sign that it was made with an alloyposed of orichalcum and mithril.
Unlike the previous ED series shotguns which were progressively getting bigger and bigger, this one was rather slender.
"Rorono-chan, I can feel amazing powering from this kid."
"Youre not the only that has grown, Kuina. Ive gotten stronger too from the many battles Ive had. And the stronger I get, the more I can do and make. This weapon was made using that new-found strength. ...also, like I said, this weapon was made with you and just you in mind. I focused on increasing the power, but in exchange, handling it has be much more difficult than previous iterations. If its you though, Im sure youll manage."
"Yay~ ?! Thank you, Rorono-chan!"
Kuina said so and then embraced Rorono.
Due to the difference in their physiques though, Rorono was put off bnce and they fell down.
"Thank meter. That brings me to why Iming along today: I need to verify its performance in an actual battle. Kuina, use it as you wish. Dont hold back."
"Understood! Leave it to Kuina!"
"Would you like some exnations about it?"
"Nope, Im good! The moment I held it, I heard this kids voice! It wants to go wild!"
"Mhm. Then, as you said, Ill leave it to you."
The new weapon Rorono made certainly made things more exciting.
What kind of effects does it have? I have to see it with my own eyes.
Meanwhile, Fel looked envious.
I wanted to make her happy, but obviously, making and then handing out another weapon wasnt a real option.
Nevertheless, Kuinas new shotgun gave her quite the advantage in their uing fight.
And so, the crow monster transported us to the hidden room in the [Time] Demon Lords dungeon where the interconnecting Transfer array was. From there, the crow monster used Transfer again, this time transporting us to the Arena.
There, a gigantic stone stage was set in the center, serving as the ring for thebatants. Audience seats were also prepared around the said ring. It waspletely like the Colosseum.
Stretched around the ring was a powerful barrier. By activating it, everything except the memories of those within would revert back to their state when they entered the ring. Due to that, thebatants within could fight even to the death at no risk at all. To top it off, they were able to learn and gain valuable experience from such a fight.
"Im as envious as ever."
I wanted one in Avalon, but it was just impossible. The barrier was a product of the [Time] Demon Lords ability. There was no way we could replicate it.
"Kuina, lets go!"
"Okay! Oto-san, were going!"
Like that, the two that were like sisters headed to the ring with their tails swinging. Kuina with her light brown fox tail and Fel with her white wolf tail.
Even though they were about to fight to the death, the two were still very friendly to each other.
"Master, lets go as well. To the spectators seats."
"Yeah, we have to properly watch Kuina and your weapons performance, after all... nevertheless, there sure are many monsters who havee to watch, arent there?"
The spectators seats were overflowing with the [Time] Demon Lords monsters. I knew there were going to be other spectators but I didnt expect it to be this many.
Among them were some tough-looking men that were cheering for Fel while waving a g that had her face on it.
"Fel-tan, do your best!!! Ojii-chans cheering for you! If you win, Ill give you lots of candy!!"
I feel like Ive seen him somewhere... ah, it was the old dragon that Fel called annoying.
Or more formally, it was one of the [Chronos Knights].
Fel looked to its direction and made a displeased face. I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of that expression.
This monster might appear to be miserable at the moment, but without a doubt, it was hiding tremendous power within.
The other monsters in the spectators seats also held tremendous power that was enough to intimidate me just by looking at them.
Just by sight alone, I could tell that the other monsters in the spectators seats also held tremendous and intimidating power.
Did the whole of the [Chronos Knights] came to cheer? But then, wouldnt it be better to rename their group into the [Fel Fan club]?
While I was thinking of such, I felt a presence behind me.
"Are you surprised, Procell? Felsias is popr among my monsters and your Kuina has been getting popr too as ofte. The two arent just cute, theyre spectacr in battle too. Its to be of no surprise then that my monsters are so engrossed in watching the two fight, dont you think? At any rate, the two have been greatly helping and supporting each other. For helping Felsias grow, you have some of my thanks."
When I turned around to look at the source of the voice, I found that it came from [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian.
He was dressed more casually than usual, wearing trousers and a ck, stylish shirt.
"Oh. Dantalian. You came to watch too?"
Typically, I spoke respectfully toward older Demon Lords. However, ording to the [Time] Demon Lord himself, a rival to Marcho speaking to him in such way made him feel ufortable and he rather I spoke to him casually.
"I wont miss such a fun show. I heard you wereing today, so I prepared us some special seats. Why dont we enjoy our daughters fight from there?"
He asked so and smiled.
The special seats were located in the uppermost section of the audience seats.
Thanks to magic, we were able to listen to the sounding from the ring, so the watching experience was very immersive. Binocrs proved helpful too.
"Now then, Procell, shall we bet on who wins this fight? Lets see. How about whoever wins the bet gets to ask the loser any question?"
Even if I wanted to, I knew I couldnt refuse to participate.
Well, I wanted to ask him something about the [ck] Demon Lord, anyway.
"Sounds fun. Ill y."
"Naturally, Ill bet on Felsias."
"And I on Kuina."
It was the only choice for both me and Dantalian. We both believed in our daughters and expected them to win against the other.
And then, I suddenly asked him something that I had been curious in for quite some time.
"Is Fel part of the [Chronos Knights]?"
The [Chronos Knights] might seem like a pitiful group of monsters cheering for Fel, but originally, they were the [Time] Demon Lords most elite corps.
As such, it just seemed natural that Fel was one of them.
"She will be soon enough. You see, to be one of the [Chronos Knights], one must first defeat a current member and take their spot. Felsias has already tried and failed though. Which couldnt really be helped when she has challenged the strongest of them. Once one has failed to win, they would have to wait half a year for another chance. In that next try half a yearter, Felsias will doubtlessly challenge the strongest again. I fully believe that next time, she will prevail."
He said so while looking at Fel who was focusing on her uing fight. His eyes as he looked at her were filled with love, tenderness, and expectations.
I wanted to criticize him for being such a doting parent, but that would have made me a hypocrite as I was quite one myself.
"Please notify me when Fel has be a member of the [Chronos Knights]. Id like to congratte her."
"Understood. I think Fel would like that, so Ill do as you say. But let me make things clear: if you use celebrating as an excuse and do something weird to her, I will fucking kill you."
His eyes were serious.
I had already proven myself guilty of such a thing, so there was really nothing I could say.
"The fights about to begin soon. Lets find out whether its my Felsias or your Kuina that is stronger."
Just as he said, Kuina and Fel had just finished their preparations for the fight.
Their willpower and magic power were already shing in the ring.
The two were special S rank monsters who were both made using three original A rank medals.
It was strongest versus strongest.
The fight I was going to see was most likely beyond human imagination.
I myself could hardly hold down my excitement for the fight.
And so, a sound rung in the [Time] Demon Lords ring, signaling the start of the battle between the worlds strongest sisters.
Volume 7 12
The fight between Kuina and Fel in the [Time] Demon Lords Arena had begun.
The first to make a move was Kuina by firing off her new shotgun, the EDS-05 iomh Sis.
Instead of having a 12 gauge like most regr shotguns, hers was 1.5 timesrger. In other words, it was a 4 gauge.
After being fired, a shotshell would burst open and scatter spherical, metallic projectiles called shots. This rain of shots was almost impossible to avoidpletely.
Quickly judging that to be the case, Fel stopped time for the space in front of her, creating an imprable wall for the shots.
Although it was stopped, the power that Kuinas new shotgun demonstrated astonished me. It was orders of magnitude of power beyond her previous weapons.
"That power, that initial velocity... its at least on par with Auras anti-materiel rifle."
"Id like to say this is iomh Siss true strength, but its actually Kuinas."
Back on the ring, while maintaining distance, Kuina ran around Fel in a clockwise direction and continuously fired her shotgun. It was perhaps in hopes that a shot or two out of the barrage she was pouring would not be caught in the wall of time and hit Fel.
"Rorono, can you tell me what you did to make Kuina;s shotgun this powerful?"
"Mhm. omh Sis has two enchantments. The first is the usual [Explosion]. By activating [Explosion] when a shell has exited the barrel, the shots within the shell will elerate further. This effectively increases the power without any additional recoil."
"Alright, its the same as before. Whats the other enchantment, then?"
"Just [Hardening] which reinforces the shotguns barrel."
After hearing so, I scratched my head in bewilderment.
I had no idea how that would make the power increase this much.
"I have misunderstood something. As you know, I had added twin-drive golem cores into Kuinas shotgun and increased the gunpowder in its shells. However, Kuina did not need any of those. What I should have focused on instead was making sure the shotgun doesnt break even if Kuina was to pour all of her magic power."
I finally began to understand.
"omh Siss shells have no gunpowder. Instead, it uses Kuinas [me] magic power and converts it into explosive power, which then fires the shell out. However, for it to withstand a serious Kuina, I used the best magic metal my skills allowed and also made mechanisms that would not break due to the impact. All that said, my orichalcum alloy still could not withstand Kuinas power, so I added the [Hardening] enchantment. After that, it finally became a gun that could endure Kuinas full power."
"Amazing."
"The truly amazing one is Kuina. If anything, this is only an apology to her. Originally, guns are things made to supplement the users power. However, the fact that they offered a constant, unchanging addition to ones attack power has be like shackles to Kuina. omh Sis is different. Its able to convert all of her power into attack power."
It seemed like Kuina was enjoying her new gun. She was as happy as a child that received a toy that would not break no matter how rough she yed with it.
But then, Kuinas barrage suddenly stopped. She ran out of shells.
Even though her new weaponjust like the previous ones in the EDS seriesautomatically reloaded from an attached magazine, changing the emptied magazine for a new one still costed a few moments.
Fel wasnt so soft as to let that chance pass.
"You finally stopped!"
Still about five meters away from Kuina, Fel already took out the deless sword that was hanging on her back. It was clear that it would not reach Kuina.
Or, at least, it wasnt supposed to. However, a de of light was suddenly and immediately formed.
To evade, Kuina lowered her body as much as she could. Except for some of her hair, she was unharmed.
Following that attack, Fel twisted her wrist and shed again.
Since only the hilt of her sword had weight, handling it was very easy.
In addition, given that the weightless de of light was currently 10 meters long by my visual estimate, a swords shortness of range was rendered a non-issue for this battle.
"As ever, Fel is amazing. Just forming the de of light for that prototype is quite difficult. I think even I would take a second to form it. Also, the prototypes magic power consumption is quite extreme. But the way that girls using itforming the de only when necessary and even then only for a momenttremendously decreases the consumed magic power. As a developer, it makes me happy to see such mastery over a creation of mine."
The sword Fel was currently using was originally developed as the Avalon-Ritters exclusive weapon. However, the magic power consumption was so intense that even with the twin-drive system, they could not maintain the de of light to be always formed. On the other hand, it took them quite some time to form the de. Concluding therefore that the way Fel was currently using the sword was an impossibility for the Avalon-Ritters, we had decided to shelve it in a warehouse where it was left to gather dust.
That had been so until I gave it to Fel. In no time, shepletely mastered it.
Unfortunately, though, she was using that mastery to corner Kuina.
As for Kuina, while evading that flurry of shes by using both [Precognition] and [Ultra-rapid Reaction], she somehow finished reloading her shotgun.
Her weapon now fully loaded, she then leapt high into the air and fired from above.
In reaction, Fel once again used her [Time] ability to stop the iing projectiles.
At that, the [Time] Demon Lord beside me apuded.
"Its a great match, wouldnt you agree, Procell? Both have lethal attacks and also very effective defensive and evasive techniques."
"Yeah, its a really close match. It can honestly go either way. Its going to be more of a war of attrition wherein theyre just waiting for the other to make a mistake. Which shouldnt be long, seeing as both are nearing their limits."
Kuinas [Precognition] required intense amounts of concentration and thus could not be used for a long period of time.
Meanwhile, Fels [Time] barrier consumed great amounts of magic power. Also, even though the de of light remained in form for only a moment, it still consumed intense amounts of magic power.
Given that they were both fighting seriously, I said what I said.
However, as if to say no, the [Time] Demon Lordughed.
"...No, Fel will win. Look, shes about to decide the match."
The moment he said that, Fel vanished.
She then suddenly appeared in Kuinas blind spot, the de of light already formed.
Theres no time to evade! Did she hasten herself using [Time]!?
I had once been Fels master, so I was aware she was capable of such.
Her [Time] ability allowed her to stop the time of those that were up to one meter around her. Considering that Kuina was still far away, it wouldnt work.
However, stopping time was just one aspect of Fels [Time] ability. If she instead used it to elerate her own time, speed was not an issue.
"It all ends with this!"
Through the magic on the ring, I heard Fel shout so.
"Youve already shown that move."
Kuinas voice was calm as the de of light hit her.
Even though Kuinas stats were absurd, Fel and the swordsbined offensive capabilities would still mean instant death for her if she gets caught.
However, that was not what happened when the de hit her.
Instead, Kuina was unharmed. The only visible change was that she was now d in beautiful, golden mes.
Whenever Kuina intensified her mes to the limit, it would be golden. Somehow though, the mes this time were not the usual golden mes. It had a bit of red to it. But that didnt mean it was just the imperfect form of the golden mes.
The red mixed in wasnt a natural red; it was the color of her soul.
So, it was more urate to call it her golden red mes.
Actually, I had once seen this kind of me before.
It was the me she used when I had named her. Back then, she was fighting a frenzied Enlil and used [Transform] to change into her adult form.
At any rate, frustrated, Fel clicked her tongue and backed away.
"How can light even be burned!?"
Just as Fel said, her de of light was being burned by Kuinas mes.
Impossible.
No matter how high the temperature, the burning of light went against allws of physics.
"Ohh, the primordial me which is the very concept itself of burning, huh? Its been centuries since I saw that. Kind of reminds me of that guy. Procell, your monsters amazing indeed."
As the [Time] Demon Lord said, Kuinas mes were the very concept itself of burning. Thus, it burns just about everything, regardless of logic,mon sense, and even thews of physics.
"Fel-chan, Kuinas already seen your time eleration, but you havent seen Kuinas special move yet. Its unfair right? So, Kuinas going to tell you about it."
Kuina, still d in her golden red mes, said so and smiled.
"These mes burn everything, but theyre too exhausting to use. I think I can maintain it for only another minute. Also, once they separate from Kuina, they go back to being regr mes, so wrapping them around Kuina like this is the only way to go on the offensive with them."
It was powerful, but had its own set of issues.
"Its impossible for Kuina to catch a fleeing Fel in under a minute, though. So, Rorono-chan made this. Kuinas betting everything on this bullet that can contain these mes."
Kuina said so and loaded the bullet engraved with characters into omh Sis.
The said bullet wasnt a shotshell, but rather a slug shell enchanted with magical effects. In other words, it was a trump card.
"Lets y, Fel-chan. If you managed to defend against it, its your win. But if Kuina brings you down with this, its Kuinas win."
Kuina said so as she made a ferocious smile.
She was definitely enjoying this battle.
"Fine, bring it!"
Fel replied so with a smile of her own.
Fel had not only her time barrier, but also [Precognition]. One could even say her defenses were perfect.
And yet, Kuina still decided to proceed.
She readied iomh Sis, poured all of her golden red mes to the bullet, and then fired.
The bullet was too fast for my eyes to see. I even put as much as possible magic power into eyes, but still, nothing. Such speed was no doubt the result of using a tremendous amount of magic power tounch the bullet.
I did see some sparks fly in front of Fel, though. Soon thereafter, I heard an explosion.
"Its my win! No matter how strong that bullet of yours is, if I stop the time on the space... Eh!?"
Before Fel could finish her sentence, the bullet went through the time-frozen space and hit her. it had so much power that Fel exploded and burned beyond recognition.
It was instant death.
The match finished, the barrier around the ring activated and time turned back.
Perhaps remembering the moment of her death, Fels face was pale as she hugged her body.
"Its odd. So, so odd. Im sure I stopped time!"
Not understanding how she lost, Fel red at Kuina with teary eyes.
"Its simple: the bullet burned time! Like Kuina said, those mes can burn anything and everything. And that bullet had those mes!"
"Burning time is absurd! But, well, I recognize that its my loss this time. But you better be ready because Im going to win next time!"
"Kuinas looking forward to it!"
Like that, the fight between Kuina and Fel concluded.
Having been shown a great fight, the audience gave the two a thunderous round of apuse. Of course, I too pped my hands as loudly as I could.
So thats Kuinas new special move? Its better than what I expected.
It was surely a fatal attack if it could burn even time. It was hard to imagine anyone ever being able to defend against it.
Equipped with her new shotgun, Kuina was truly the strongest.
I doubted even a [Berserk] Duke would be able to pull a win.
"It seems Ive lost our wager. Why dont you ask me whatever it is you want to ask over dinner? This is the least I can do to thank you for before."
"Thank you for the dinner, then."
"I suspect that what you want to ask me concerns the [ck] Demon Lord, correct?"
"Yes."
The [Time] Demon Lord had previously warned me about the [ck] Demon Lord and I wanted to know why.
As we talked, Kuina and Fel looked our way and waved their hands.
In response, I waved back.
The two showed us a really good fight.
This dinner wouldnt be just for gathering information about the [ck] Demon Lord, but also praising the two. Or rather, the three. For the wonderful new shotgun she made, Rorono deserved just as much praise.
Volume 7 13
Out of the blue, we were invited by the [Time] Demon Lord to dinner. ording to him, the invitation was his thanks both for the feast he attended in Avalon and for our contributions to Fels growth.
While those might be true, there was also the matter about our bet. Before the fight between Kuina and Fel began, the [Time] Demon Lord and I bet on whom we thought would win. The winner of our wager was going to get an answer from the loser on whichever question the former wanted to ask.
Naturally, we bet on our own respective daughter.
And so, Kuina and Fel fought. The winner of their match was Kuina, making me the winner of the said bet.
I was of course happy with the oue, but a small part of me wondered what the [Time] Demon Lord was going to ask if his side was the one to win. Considering that he was the one that proposed that bet, there must have been something he wanted me to answer.
"Oto-san, what did you think of Kuinas special move? Did you like it?"
After dashing toward me, Kuina asked so while looking up at me. As suggested by her energetically swinging fox tail, she seemed very pleased on her victory over Fel,.
By the way, we were currently in a guest room in the [Time] Demon Lords dungeon so that we could wait and rest while their preparations were underway.
"Yeah, it was amazing. I didnt imagine the move youvepleted to be that amazing."
Kuina had produced beautiful, golden red mes. Far from being ordinary mes, they were the very concept of burning. In the fight against Fel, Kuina had used it to burn both light and time, a feat no ordinary me could do no matter how hot it was.
Kuina had obtained, without a doubt, a terrific power. In terms of offensive capabilities, it was perhaps the strongest among all monsters.
"Kuina worked really hard!"
She then enthusiastically talked of her hardships on learning to use those golden red mes.
Oh. Shes wants to be praised, doesnt she?
Having grasped what intent, I ced my hand on her head and stroke it gently. Based on her narrowed eyes, she seemed pleased.
Touching her hair and fox ears felt so good to me as well.
"Come closer, Kuina. Its been a while since weve done some brushing."
"Yay~ ?"
There was a bed on the room so I decided to utilize it.
I sat down, tapped on myp, and beckoned for Kuina toe closer. In response, she jumped onto myp with her fluffy fox tail wagging.
I grabbed hold of that tail and then used the brush made exclusively for her. That undid tangled-up hairs while also removing dirt and debris that were mixed in. At the same time, it stimted the pores and improved blood cirction.
It seemed to be making Kuina feel good.
Ordinarily, I would also use high-grade oils and soap, but seeing as there were none readily avable at the moment, I decided that brushing was plenty enough.
"Oto-san, it feels, great, ahh, there, yeah, its the, best-"
As though she was sleepy, Kuinazily said so.
Like always, shes such an adorable child.
And so, I continued on brushing her tail. It was to the point where I entered a trance, as though my whole lifes purpose was to brush Kuinas tail.
Amidst that, I heard a clink and then a nk.
It was made by Rorono who was also in the room. She was disassembling the EDS-05 omh Sis Kuinas shotgun. She analyzed each part thoroughly and then inputted whatever findings she had into herptopputer. From time to time, she would add notes to the guns design.
"Rorono, hows omh Siss condition?"
"Fortunately, its mostly as predicted: it has withstood Kuinas power. I did discover some points for improvement though, thanks to the actual data Ive gathered. It goes to show that sometimes, you have to see it in action to realize some things."
Rorono was a perfectionist.
As such, she was fully devoted to eliminating issues and developing improvements for her creations. Any new discoveries she made in one invention, she would apply to the rest if possible.
She was the worlds best alchemistrgely due to hertent ability and racial bonuses, true, but it was alsorgely due to her diligence.
"Im relieved you didnt find any defects. That omh Sis you made truly is a masterpiece, Rorono. I hope you continue supporting Kuina."
It would probably upset Rorono if I put it into words, but I honestly thought that the omh Sis was already the ultimate form a shotgun could attain.
"Yup! Its far, far easier to use that any shotgun Kuina has used! Its the best!"
Kuinawhom I thought had dozed offpraised the gun so with her fox ears fully erect. She seems greatly pleased with it, doesnt she?
"However, that trump card, that [Magic Bullet], its burden on the gun was far greater than what I anticipated. After each time you fire that shell, Id like you to submit it for maintenance."
"Rorono-chan, does that mean that after firing a [Magic Bullet], the omh Sis cant be used again until youve done some maintenance?"
Worry apparent on her face, Kuina asked Rorono.
The weak point of her golden red mes was its short range.
Topensate for that weak point, Rorono developed [Magic Bullets] that could be loaded with those mes.
However, if omh Sis could only endure one shot with those bullets, its usabilitywhile still impressivewould drastically diminish.
"No, it wont be that bad. Doing maintenance is more of a rmendation than an actual need. I think itll remain functional even after 3 shots. If by the second shot you notice theres a drop in performance, the chances of it breaking down by the fourth shot are incredibly high."
"Its all good then! Those mes use a lot of magic power, so Kuina can probably shoot at most two!"
Kuinas magic power was way beyond the norm, and even that description might be an understatement.
For her to be able to use those mes only two times, those mes must indeed consume unbelievable amounts of magic power.
"You say that, but you have the ability to store magic power into the furs of your tail, dont you? If you really wanted to, you can use those mes a greater number of times."
"Oh yeah, you did have an ability like that, Kuina."
Each fur in Kuinas tail was able to store magic power equal to the magic power of a mage-type B rank monster.
Whenever she was free, she would store her magic power into her furs. That way, she would have some stock for when the going gets rough.
Also, due to its nature of being excellent magic power batteries, Rorono would asionally pluck some out so that she could use them as materials for her creations, such as the Avalon-Ritters and Auras anti-materiel rifle.
"Kuina does have some savings, but Kuina wont use it! You see, when Kuina leveled up a lot, Kuina gained a new skill! Kuinas currently a Celestial Fox, but once Kuinas saved up magic power in 9999 tail furs, Kuinas gonna be an [Aether Fox]!"
Wait, wait, wait. What was that unbelievable thing she just said? Ive never heard about monsters changing their race, about them evolving.
"Kuina, this is the first Im hearing this. Its a pretty important information, you know?"
"I havent told you, Oto-san?"
"Nope, havent heard of it."
In haste, I used my Demon Lord Authority and looked at Kuinas stats.
When I did, I saw a skill that wasnt there before. It was perhaps a skill she had obtained when I chose her to be one of my [Monsters of the Covenant].
"[Aether Fox Tribute Ritual]?"
"Yup! The condition for its activation is to use all the magic power stored in 9999 furs of Kuinas tail! And thats why Kuinas saving up!"
If she turned into an Aether Fox, her strength would increase tremendously.
ording to the entry in s Memory] that I just searched, a Wild Fox could ascend into a Mythological Fox, a Mythological Fox into a Nine-tailed Fox, and then into a Celestial Fox. And then, there was the case of a Celestial Fox being reborn into an Aether Fox.
An Aether Fox was no longer just a monster; it was a being that has ascended into godhood.
"...so, youll grow even stronger, huh? Im looking forward to that."
As to be expected of a top-tier monster born from 3 A rank medals: nothing but greatness.
"By the way, how many tail furs have you filled with magic power so far?"
"50! Theres still a long way to go!"
"Ill wait for it patiently, then."
Just as Kuina said, it would take a long time before she could fulfill the requirement.
For the meantime, all I could do is wait, so Ill do just that... then again, there might be something else we can do hasten the process of saving for magic power.
And so, I decided to actively cooperate. After all, it would make my already powerful trump card even stronger.
After a while, we were summoned by the [Time] Demon Lord, so we moved to the room he was in.
There, lined up in the long the table were countless cuisines. It was just like the [Time] Demon Lord to prepare such a feast, but if it was some strange Demon Lord, I would have assumed they were doing a joke that some nobles loved to pull.
"Oto-san, the food looks delicious!"
"Yes, but for some reason, it feels like Ive seen these ingredients and dishes before."
Kuina and Rorono had different reactions.
I knew what Rorono meant, and apparently, the [Time] Demon Lord did too since he spoke to exin.
"I guess its natural youve noticed. These ingredients were bought by my monsters from Avalon. Avalon sure is great, isnt it? But then again, because it has everything, its very easy to unintentionally buy too much."
Many high-ss Demon Lords enjoyed human culture, so they always had currencies that humans use at the ready. These were typically from the money and equipment left behind by adventurers who had died within their dungeon.
"Dantalian, thank you for bing a valued client of our city."
"Im just using something thats useful. But do expect my continued patronage."
At that, we bothughed.
Taking another look around, I saw that his monsters had already taken their seats. By his monsters, I meant Fel and the [Chronos Knights] in humanoid form.
As soon as Fel and I locked eyes, she beckoned me toe closer and then tapped on the vacant seat beside her as though she wanted me to sit there.
I wanted to humor her, but I also wanted to be discreet in front of the [Time] Demon Lord, given that incident with her before.
"Whats wrong, Procell? You can sit besides Fel if you want to."
"Is it really alright?"
"Yeah. So long as you dont cross the line, I have noints. If shes happy, Im happy as well. Or is it that youre concerned about your monsters? Do you want to be seated near your monsters too?"
After pondering for a bit, the [Time] Demon Lord spoke again.
"Fel, why dont you move to the other side? That way, Procell can sit near Kuina and the Elder Dwarf as well."
"Understood, Father!"
I had noticed it before, but maybe he was actually the type to be considerate of others.
And so, Fel approached and then embraced me. Her wolf tail was wagging in delight.
"Uuuu... Fel-chan, Oto-san is Kuinas Oto-san!"
"But hes also Fels master!"
It was adorable watching the two re at each other.
As though he felt the same, Dantalian, chuckled a bit before speaking again.
"Well then, lets eat. Our head chef is a monster, but hes quite skilled in cooking."
"I can tell just by looking."
Everything seemed delicious. From the fragrant smell, I was eagerly looking forward to each dishs taste.
And thus, the impromptu feast began.
The dinner, mixed in with idle chatting, was fun.
I ate such fancy cuisines only asionally, so the dinner was refreshing too.
I typically ate Auras delicious home cooking and food from bars and cheap restaurants, unless there was a special asion or something. It wasnt that I had no money, its more that I didnt have much time. After all, fancy dishes tended to take a lot of time to be cooked and to be eaten.
After finishing our desserts, a special drink was brought out. It was a drink made from cocoa which was thetest trend spreading in Avalon.
As to be expected of the [Time] Demon Lord, he truly had discerning eyes.
Cocoa was just recently imported from a country across the sea. The n was to make it one of Avalons gship products.
I had no doubts that this drink and chocte, which was made from cocoa, would be hot sellers.
By having a monopoly to those products, we would be able to attract and gather humans from all over the continent even more.
"Well then, Procell, I think its time to conclude our bet. So, ask whatever it is you want to ask. On my title as the [Time] Demon Lord, I would answer without any falsehoods."
His demeanor and facial expressions were calm andposed, and yet the atmosphere changed suddenly, thus ending the idle chat around the table.
It was the majesty of a truly great Demon Lord, a quality which neither I nor the [ck] Demon Lord possessed.
"I want you to tell me about the [ck] Demon Lord. Youve once expressly warned me to not underestimate him. Id like to hear your exact reason as to why."
The [Time] Demon Lord crossed his arms and pondered for a while before giving an answer.
"Hmm, lets see, how do I put it? Youre aware thatsave for some exceptionsthe more versatile a Demon Lords abilities are, the weaker its effects tended to be, yes? Conversely, the more specialized ones abilities are, the stronger its effects tended to be. Lets take Marchos [Beast] as an example, shall we? Other than strengthening her bodys capabilities, it held no other functions and almost no use outside ofbat. On the other hand, its safe to say that theres no Demon Lord that could go toe to toe with her in directbat."
Even I was aware of what he just exined.
"The [ck] Demon Lords abilities fall under the versatile type. However, one of his abilities is much, much stronger than the rest. Its actually enough for me to be wary of him and avoid any confrontations. What it does is..."
The [Time] Demon Lord continued and exined to me what that ability was.
"I see. Hence, the silver watch?"
The [Time] Demon Lord had once given me a silver watch as a reward. It wasnt any ordinary silver watch though; it was actually a magic tool of the highest order for it contained within it his own abilities.
"I hope youre not so na?ve as to think that that much will be enough. If it was, I, the owner of the abilities held within, wouldnt be so wary of that man. However, I do think it will lead to a breakthrough. Now then, I look forward to your disy of skill."
The [Time] Demon Lord said so and thenughed.
Without any doubts, he had provided me with valuable information. Had I not been I aware of this knowledge, I would have certainly been taken out without any sort of resistance.
So, this is what its like to fight with old Demon Lords.
"Thank you. Its thanks to this information that I have any chance of winning."
"No need to thank me. I am just honoring our bet."
After that, we returned to idle chatter.
In a round about manner, the [Time] Demon Lord asked me about Marcho. Looking at him while he asked so made me giggle a bit.
I guess we should have another feast with everyone, Marcho included.
While thinking of such, I thanked the [Time] Demon Lord again and then departed.
Now that I knew the enemys hand, it was possible to make the necessary precautions and counter-measures. Of course, the enemy could very well be doing the same.
Alright, were now on equal footing. The real fight begins now.
Volume 7 14
Soon after gaining valuable information from the [Time] Demon Lord, we headed back home.
And today, considering I shouldnt go outside, I did my work in the carriage parked near the [First Tree]. The reason I shouldnt go out was...
"Aura, are you sure Sts is going to wake up today?"
"Yes. Her body haspletely recovered. As far as her consciousness is concerned, its stable. A little coaxing should be enough to wake her up. These are all thanks to my earnest efforts in healing her, master! Praise me, please!"
Aura said so with a self-satisfied grin while also puffing her ample bosom.
I praised her good job, good job and then brushed her head. To that, she giggled ehehe.
She really did a good job. I should buy her that cake she loves so muchter.
While thinking that, a sound came from somewhere.
"Gauuuuuuuuuu"
It was from Enlil the Storm Dragon Knight Bahamut who hade to Avalon together with Sts, his sleeping master.
When I looked toward his direction, I saw that he was licking his masters cheek. It was perhaps his way of trying to get Sts to wake up.
Much like Duke who could change his form, Enlil was able to reduce his size to that of a kittens. Ever sinceing to Avalon, he had remained in this cute form and vigntly remained at his masters side.
And then, suddenly, there was movement in Stss eyelids.
"Where am I? What happened...?"
After more than a week, Sleeping Beauty finally awakened.
However, having woken up in an unfamiliar room, she was understandably bewildered.
"Gauuuuuu"
Enlil made an affectionate sound and then rubbed his head against Stss cheek. After noticing it was Enlil, Sts immediately embraced him.
"Oh, Enlil, that tickles. Thats right. I... I named you Enlil, and then lost consciousness, and then..."
At that point, she examined her surroundings and then made eye contact with me.
"...and then, you helped me, Procell. The fact that Enlils still here means that my crystal is still intact and that we won the war, doesnt it? Thank goodness. It seems I owe you a great deal, Procell."
"Yeah. Id greatly appreciate it if you do someday."
I jokingly replied so. Hopefully this way, she would feel less pressure to pay me back.
"So, Procell, can you catch me up on things? First of all, I dont know where we are."
"You remember up until you passed out, right? Well, you naming Enlil has caused quite a disaster. You see, that damaged your magic circuits to the point that there was even a chance your magic power and Demon Lord abilities might not ever return."
Enlil was so strong, the act of naming him caused this much burden on her magic circuits. If we didnt have Aura, recovery might have been hopeless.
"...its to that degree? The risks were far greater than I thought."
"Yeah. Thats why we brought you here in Avalon so that Auraa healing expertcan look after you. Moreover, can you feel that warm and gentle life energy? Thats from the First Tree, a sacred tree thatsparable to a world tree. That overflowing life energy helped in speeding up your recovery."
"I see. That means I truly owe Avalon a great deal. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
"Dont worry about it. Were friends and this is what friends do, right?"
I sincerely believed she would have done the same for me if our roles were ever reversed.
"So, has your magic power and Demon Lord abilities returned yet?"
"Lets see... Nope, no matter how much I try, I cant gather any magic power or perform any of my Demon Lord abilities. Im now actually worried. It wont be like this forever, right?"
I understood what she was feeling at the moment because I had undergone a simr situation.
I then looked Aura to give her the cue to talk.
"You dont have to worry, Sts-sama. Between my medical treatment of you, the potions made from the golden apples, and the First Tree, you should recover soon. In fact, I estimate the return of your magic power and Demon Lord abilities in 10 days."
Hearing that, Sts felt relieved.
In ten days, huh. Making her just rest in that time period is kind of a waste. We should let her re-experience the joys of Avalon as much as is possible.
"In ten days? Okay. Sorry to be a burden, but please continue to look after my health. Also, will it be fine if I came home even for just a day? I want to see for my own eyes that everyone is safe and doing fine. Im a bit worried about my dungeon too."
Sts appeared uneasy as she said so. It was perfectly understandable though. If I were to be away from Avalon for a whole week, I would not be able to calm down.
"Can that be arranged, Aura?"
"If Sts-sama leaves right now, I fear that it will dy her recovery drastically. But, if shes to leave after 4 dayss worth of rest and treatment, one day outside should be eptable."
"Alright. There you have it, Sts. You should dy your temporary return by at least 4 days."
Surely, with Rozelittesomeone thats like a sister to Stsin charge, every thing should be fine, if not great.
"Yeah. Ill be in your care, then... my debts are piling up, arent they? I have no idea how to repay you."
I could have said some nonmittal request, but considering her personality, anything too trivial would have been rejected. Thankfully, I came up with a good idea.
"Actually, I might have an idea. I want you to be my trump card."
I had decided that I would be borrowing her powers in the fight against the [ck] Demon Lord.
Our pre-fightour fight that didnt took ce in the battlefieldwould probably continue for a while. It was hard to imagine things would escte fast enough before Sts could recover.
Her powers were the perfect thing to take my opponent by surprise.
Ten days had passed since Sts had awakened.
Today, I was enjoying air travel via the Darkness Dragons that each carried a container full of gold and silver.
Six days ago, I had received a message from Prince Leonard confirming that their side had epted the terms of our deal. Right away, we sent the first half of the financial aid I promised the prince. As for the other half, it was what we were bringing.
Aside from the delivery, the purpose of my visit was to attend a meeting. Apparently, this time, the prince was not the only one I was going to have a meeting with; I would be dealing with king as well.
The Ax Kingdoms attacks on the [Dragon] Demon Lords dungeon had stopped. However, soldiers were still stationed near the dungeon in fear of retaliation.
As such, it was arranged that Prince Leonard and the [Dragon] Demon Lord would also have a dialogue the next day about the withdrawal of those soldiers, among other things.
Apanying me for this journey was of course Kuina.
"This is exciting, isnt it, Kuina? To see for the first time the church built in the humans capital."
"It sure is! Yay~?!"
Through the deal, we had gained permission to build a church in their royal capital. The Dwarf Smiths came as soon as the permission was granted, and in just three days, they were able to finish the construction of the church.
Additionally, the church was built to have a hidden basement. I decided to move the Avalon-Ritters that were supposed to be Rurus back up to the said basement because they would be nearer and better hidden than if they were positioned in the outskirts of the capital as originally nned. The hidden basement was alsoter on filled with weapons.
ording to the reports, the carpenters and clergymen were about to finish all their preparations today. The carpenters were working on the interior design while the clergymen were working on preparing for the worship ceremony.
By the way, the clergymen were actually conmen introduced by Conanna. Apparently, these actors hired with gold were much more convincing than even the real thing. As impressive as a shrewd merchant could be, he has connections to even these kinds of things.
Of course, the conmen-turned-clergymen were properly indoctrinated into our faith. They would never betray us. Theyd go to all sorts of great lengths just to spread the Holy Grail Faith.
"I wonder just how hell wee me."
I whispered so to myself.
There was no doubt in my mind that the [ck] Demon Lord would certainly make a move this time.
After all, there was no way he would sit idly by as I did whatever I want.
And yet, ording to Ruru who was guarding Prince Leonard, no attempts on the princes life had been made other than those by human assassins. Not even in order to prevent the prince from convincing his brothers and the king to trust me and make peace with the [Dragon] Demon Lord. Nor were there any steps taken to prevent the royal family from being purified by the Avalon Wine brought home by the prince.
This passiveness was truly suspicious. It definitely looked like something was up.
...For that reason, Ive dangled a delicious, easy-to-capture bait before him: me. If ever he was going to pounce, it was going to be today. If all went well, we could corner and punish the [ck] Demon Lord.
"Also, Kuina, its Prince Leonard that has invited us, so expect lots of food."
"Air trips with Oto-san are the best!"
This was going to be a fun and exciting air trip, in more ways than one.
After a while more, we finally reached the royal capital. It was not wise to take the Darkness Dragons beyond the citys walls, so wended in a ce designated beforehand by the prince. We then loaded the cargo we were to deliver into the carriages prepared by the kingdom. This time, instead of the dragons, the golems were going to be the ones to help us transport the cargo.
While we were busy on the transfer, Kuinas fox ear twitched.
"Oto-san, Kuina detects monster presence. Theyre watching us from afar. Theyve erased their presence to the point that even Kuina can barely detect them. Theyre dangerous."
"Yeah, be vignt. Assume that the royal capital as the enemy headquarters."
"Understood. But, Oto-san, also assume that in the worst-case scenario, Kuina alone wouldnt be enough."
The enemies who were strong enough for Kuina to say such words had entered the stage already at such an early point.
Which was all within expectations. Now then, lets move on to the next piece of work to do here in the royal capital.
Volume 7 15
I had journeyed to the Royal Capital of the Ax Kingdom.
Afternding, I put the Darkness Dragons into my [Storage], and then took a rather bumpy ride in the carriage provided by the kingdom.
Mypanion right now was just Kuina. This being her fist time in the capital, she was leaning her body toward the window and looking at the scenery outside.
"Oto-san, theres a lot of horsies here!"
From the outskirts of the city until the entrance, arge number of horse-drawn carriages were line up.
Golem-drawn carriages had already be the norm in Avalon, so it wasnt often we get to see so many horses in one ce.
"Do you like horses?"
"I do! Theyre so delicious! Unlike piggies, they can be eaten raw as sashimi!"
I see, I thought as I smiled wryly.
Dishes employing horse meat were one of thetest trends spreading around in Avalon. And as Kuina said, eating it as sashimi was truly delicious.
"Anyway, Ill be counting on you for whatever happens today, Kuina."
"Yeah~ ?! Leave it Kuina!"
I had taken precautions against the worst the case scenarios.
I had three trump cards for this asion:
First was Stss abilities.
Second, the silver watch I received as a reward from the [Time] Demon Lord.
And third, the reward I received from the Creator for winning my [War] against [Viscosity], [Evil], and [Steel].
"...So, the time to use it has finallye, huh?"
Thest trump card I listed carried great risks, so I had tried to avoid using it as much as possible. However, if pushes to shove, I would not hesitate to use it this time.
At any rate, the carriage that we rode had entered the capital.
It feels like Im about to enter the belly of a mysterious beast.
It was quite lively inside the capital.
If in terms of just liveliness, Avalon was the much better one. However, the capital had a certain organized and systematic beauty to it that the ever-developing Avalon did not have.
"Oto-san, its such a beautiful city!"
"Yeah. The streets areid out in a perfect grid pattern, and buildings too are perfectly regted. Its a view that you cant see in Avalon."
Most likely, the buildings here were being regted to conform to quite rigid specifications so as to not disrupt the already established beauty of the city. After all, a royal capital must be beautiful.
While talking like that, we arrived at our destination.
By destination, I didnt mean the royal castle already. We had to stop by a facility which dealt with guiding guests from foreign nations first.
We stayed there for short a while before being guided to a room.
"Woah! This rooms so big! The beds so soft!"
Kuina immediately dove into the bed.
It was nice room. At least for now, it seemed we were properly being treated as guests of honor.
A servant then appeared and informed us that should we need anything, all we had to do was ring a bell and he woulde running at any time of the dayor nightto attend to that need. He also informed us that Prince Leonard would be arriving soon.
ording to the schedule for today, after a short talk with Prince Leonard, we were to meet with the king and the other princes to inspect our newly built church wherein we would be holding a meeting. After that, Prince Leonard was supposed to give us a warm reception.
For the day after, together with the prince, we were to go to the [Dragon] Demon Lords dungeon.
I had hoped that this whole trip would be over without any single incident, but I knew that was impossible.
<>
Rurus voice then came from my water-containing ss earing.
Being a Rlyeh Diva, she was able to use water as medium tomunicate from the other dimension.
"Yeah. Loud and clear."
<>
"Just as we suspected. Kuina felt them too. How about Aura? Have you gotten in touch with her?"
<>
Oh, interesting. First Kuina said she alone might not be enough for the enemies, and now, Auras this cautious.
The question now was where and when they would strike.
It was hard to imagine the attack on us would happen while we were negotiating with the royal family. The [ck] Demon Lord treated the royal family as convenient pawns, so he shouldnt want to get them caught in the crossfire.
If so, the attack might happen while taking a break after the negotiation. Or perhaps...
A servant then invited us to a reception room. We followed him there and then sat at afy sofa while we waited.
By the way, Kuina and I had changed into our formal attire. Furthermore, she had switched into her dy" mode.
"Procell-dono, wee! I have been so looking forward to meeting you again!"
Eyes full of enthusiasm, Prince Leonard rushed into the room and said such things.
"I should be the one saying that, prince. Thanks to you convincing the proper figures, the Holy Grail faith can now spread even in Ax."
"But it was the natural thing to do! In fact, I have made the spreading of your teachingthat humans and demi-humans are equalmy lifes mission. In my eyes, the doctrine that says humans are the superior beings is just wrong. For our nation to develop, we must employ individuals of talent, regardless of their birth. So, you see, I did it more for my nation than to do you a favor. Theres no need for thanks."
At that, I smiled wryly. It seemed like I had influenced him more than I thought.
<
>
Ruru contacted me again and reported so.
When the prince first came to Avalon, he was under the effects of the [ck] Demon Lords magic. We had dispelled it, but there was a chance it could have been reapplied to him upon his return.
Anyway, as scheduled, the prince and I talked for a while. I asked how he had persuaded the king and the other important individuals. I also asked how he got everyone to attend the meeting that we would be havingter.
We chatted for a while, uneventfully.
Once we were finished, the prince guided me outside. We rode a carriage and then headed to the newly built church. When we arrived, I saw a remarkably wonderful carriage that was surrounded by a group of knights.
There were only a few people who could have that much security on them.
When we exited our carriage, the other party also exited from theirs.
"Its a pleasure to finally meet you, Procell-dono. I thank you for the enormous amount of wealth youve provided us. Of course, I am also deeply grateful for your medical treatment of our wounded soldiers and your intermediation with the [Dragon] Demon Lord. You have been a great help."
Although the middle-aged man that exited the luxurious carriage didnt lower his head, he said words of thanks.
For the leader of a country to say such words to the leader of a mere city in most remote of regions, it was unprecedented. It goes to show how dire things were for the Ax Kingdom.
"Oh no, I should be the one thanking you. I am very grateful for allowing us to build our church and conduct our religious rites."
"...Just to be clear, I only gave you permission. I and the kingdom are not bound by any oaths to promote or protect your religion."
In thetter case, the king probably was referring to protection from the disturbance to be caused by the believers of the [ck] Demon Lords religion.
ording to Rurus reports, we had already been receiving some kind of harassment from them. Now that our church was finally built and our activities about to go full-swing, their harassment would probably only grow worse.
"Yes, we are clear on that. If I may be candid, we have no need for half-hearted believers who became believers only because the kingdom told them to. Our desire is not to simply gain more followers, it is to gain more followers who believe and practice my teachings."
At my reply, the king let out an ohh.
I had no need for donations or superficial believers. What I really wanted was devotion.
"I think its better to see for yourselves what my teachings are all about."
ording to Ruru, preparations for the mass were all done. Soon, she would step out from the other dimension to participate in the mass.
Aura was also in position. If anything so much as a shadow seem suspicious to her, she was ready to shoot it down.
The former swindler turned priest also seemed ready, looking very much the part.
And so, I guided the king and the princes to our prized church.
The mass was then over.
I was surprised at how great the swindler that Conanna referred. He was able to tell my teachings better than I ever did, embellishing it with fleshed-out narratives. His speech patterns, his intonations, and application of emotions were all very skillful. Impressive. One should not make light of a professional who used neither magic nor medicine, but just the art of conversation to coax people. Nevertheless, we still employed Rurus song and Auras [Gods Smile] to have a 100% sess.
"...Wonderful, Procell-dono."
"Father, you see now that everything I said was true, dont you??"
"Hmm, how to say it. Frankly, I have a bit of prejudice against new religions that are too good to be true. As the leader of my country, I still cant provide you any aid, but as an individual, I think I will take your teachings to heart and abide by them for the rest of my life. Leonard says you have holy books. Wont you give me one?"
"It will be my pleasure."
The priest descended from the stage and handed over copies of the holy book. He passed it to the king and Prince Leonards brothers.
Counting the king as a supporterif not a believerwas huge.
At this rate, the next meeting will go well. ...now then, lets use that insurance here. It feels a bit awkward to deceive myself, but it might just decide victory or defeat.
We changed location once again, this time back to the facility earlier. Thanks in part to the effects of the mass, the atmosphere of the meeting was rather calm.
Everything was going smoothly. We quickly settled the specifics like how many injured soldiers that Avalon was going to take and when.
Just when we were about to end the meeting though, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
I felt a shiver down my spine. All of my instincts were roaring wildly, telling me to escape.
"Procell-dono"
"Procell-dono"
"Procell-dono"
The king, the princes, and the other statesmen then immediately stood up and jumped at me. The other party being who they were, I couldnt carelessly shake them off.
And due to my order not to harm the royal family, Kuinas response was a little dyed.
"What has gotten into you?"
I tried to ask so, but no answer came.
Their eyes were unfocused. It was clear that they were being controlled even though I was sure we eliminated all possibilities of it happening.
However, rather than how, the question was why they were being controlled at this moment.
There was just no sense in restricting me like this.
For better or for worse, the answer came right away.
"Oto-san, outrageous magic power ising from the sky. Its a ceremonial magic done by hundreds of people!"
Kuina said so as she concentrated all of her magic power into her hands that she had pointed upwards.
"It cant be. Does he intend to blow away this building even though the royal family is in here too!?"
We had expected that there would be an attack, but not such an extreme one where everyone in the same buildingincluding the royal familywould be annihted.
Nevertheless, the attack came. It was a pir of light that had the holy attribute.
It punched through the ceiling like it was nothing.
"I wont let you kill Oto-san!"
Kuina erected a barrier of me. However, mes were originally not geared toward defense. Moreover, the attack in question was a ceremonial magic that needed to be prepared beforehand by several hundreds of individuals. There was no way her barrier would hold.
She then used her golden red mes and d herself in it. Even with that though, there was no way the pir of light would be pushed back. But then, as though fully aware of that, Kuina looked and smiled at me with a face full of resolve. She then leapt leaping toward me, brushed away the royal family members that were restraining me, and pushed me down herself.
"Even if Kuina dies, Kuina will protect Oto-san. Oto-san, sorry, I dont think Kuina can keep our promise of being together forever."
Right after she said so, she transformed into a giant fox that covered all of me. Using what magic power she had remaining, she hardened her golden furs.
Shortly after that, the pir of light made a direct hit.
The ceremonial magic finally stopped and the pir of light gone.
The sky, its visible even though Im inside a building. No, wait... I have to check something first.
"Kuina, are you alright?"
There was no answer.
Unconscious and back to her humanoid form, sheid on top of me. Her body was covered in wounds and her face had gone pale.
"Kuina, answer me, please, Kuina"
No matter how much I begged, there was no response. Not even so much as a twitch. At that moment, a grave thought crossed my mind. No, no, no, I will not ept that.
ept it or not though, particles of light were rising from Kuinas body. Soon thereafter, the particles and Kuina herself were gone.
"Kuinaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!"
I screamed so as loud as I could. I tried to reach for one particle of light, but all I grasped was air.
Kuina was my first monster as well as my most beloved.
We were supposed to always be together, but now, she was gone.
"Miserable, thats the only word to describe you right now, wouldnt you agree, [Creation] Demon Lord?"
The moment I heard that voice, two angel-type monsters pinned me down and bound my arms behind my back. Soon after that, the [ck] Demon Lord himself appeared.
"You! Why, why involve even the royal family!?"
Due to the situation, I waste in realizing that the members of the royal family that were present for the meeting had all perished.
"Haha. How should I put it? Theyre nothing more than mere pawns. Easily receable. But isnt it normal to do whatever it takes to catch your opponent unprepared?"
"Even so, dont you feel anything for your believers? As imperfect as you are, they worship you. Doesnt your chest hurt at the very least when you kill your believers!?"
"You do say the strangest of things. Wait, dont tell me you actually believe what youre saying. These so-called believers are nothing more than livestock. Expendable livestock that will believe whatever convenient thing you say. So, no, my chest did not hurt. Well, expending the livestock with role of royalty was a bit wasteful, I admit, but you know what? Humans are unexpectedly clever; Ill have a recement soon enough."
The [ck] Demon Lord said so and thenughed heartily.
Surveying the field one more time, I finally epted defeat. It would take considerably less time to kill me than for Aura and Ruru to mow down the group of angel-type monsters.
It was over. There was no use resisting.
"Kill me already, [ck] Demon Lord"
At least this way, I would die with honor, for whatever that was worth.
"Now, why would I do such a wasteful thing? Youre a fool, true, but you have an excellent ability. With my ability, I could dye your heart [ck] and make you useful for once."
ording to the [Time] Demon Lord, in exchange for a huge amount of magic power, the [ck] Demon Lord could dye his targets heart ck and control them. This worked even if the target was a Demon Lord. That meant that no matter how much a war was progressing badly for him, he could still turn the tides in just one fell swoop. Worse still, there was no direct defense against it.
Considering that it was a fate worse than death, I tried to break free, but the angel-type monsters hold was just too strong. Furthermore, they reached for the silver watch hanging from my chest and snatched it off.
That watch was awarded to me by the [Time] Demon Lord. If I used it to stop my own time, the [ck] Demon Lords ability could be prevented and because of the high magic power consumption of his ability, it was unlikely he could use it on me again so soon. s, with the watch stolen from me, this was no longer possible.
"Now, be mine, [Creation] Demon Lord"
"Fuck off. For taking Kuina, theres no way... theres no way..."
I wasnt able to continue my sentence. My heart grew darker and darker. And then, I vanished.
Who am I? Thats right, Im...
"Your wish is mymand, [ck] Demon Lord-sama."
I am the [ck] Demon Lords loyal servant.
"Fuhahahaha! Ive obtained the ultimate power! I should be able to win against [Dragon] and [Time]!"
The [ck] Demon Lordughed heartily.
"First order of business. [Command] all of your monsters to swear loyalty to me. You probably have some deployed nearby. Lets start with them. Summon them here and make them swear their loyalty to me."
"As youmand, [ck] Demon Lord-sama."
Like he was ordered, Procell called Aura and Ruru.
Riding the wind, the first to arrive was Aura. With a thump, shended by Procells side.
"So, this is the rumored Ancient Elf. I see, such a beautiful monster. Ive always wanted a monster with such talent and beauty. Lets see, why dont you demonstrate that talent of yours? Using your weapon, shoot the clock tower two kilometers away in that direction. If anyone can do it, its you, right?"
The [ck] Demon Lord ordered Aura so. Procell had alreadymanded her to be obedient to the [ck] Demon Lordsmands.
And so, she readied her prized anti-materiel rifle and pointed it toward the aforementioned clock tower.
"Then, please observe my shooting."
Aura said so and pulled the trigger three times. However, rather than the clock tower, her actual targets were the heads of Procell and the two angel-type monsters that restricted his movements.
At the sight of what should have been an impossible thinga monster attacking their own Demon Lordthe [ck] Demon Lord was wide-eyed.
"Phew. Even though its a fake, it still bothers me to shoot master."
After saying so, Aura then looked at the [ck] Demon Lord with cold eyes full of disdain.
"What- wha- you, what are you doing!?"
"What, you ask. Im eliminating the enemy, duh?"
At that answer, the [ck] Demon Lord was confused.
Before he could say anything else, the water beneath his feet surged and formed a cage. Right after, Rlyeh Diva, the beautiful, blue-haired otherworld songstress, appeared.
"Aura, everythings A-OK on my end too. The capture has been safelypleted."
Ruru said so and then gracefully smiled.
"You! How dare you! Release me this instant!"
"Eh. Even if you say that, Im under no obligation to obey you."
"Yup. Me too. Our masters the only one well listen to."
The two girls responded so and then smiled.
Right then, the sound of footsteps could be heard and everyone turned to see whom it belonged to.
"Did you have a good dream? Frankly speaking, your cowardice and arrogance has made your moves readable. But I guess I have to thank you for that interesting speech. Youve awakened a lot of people to the truth."
The one who spoke was none other than [Creation] Demon Lord Procell. By his side were the supposed-to-have-perished royal family and Kuina the Celestial Fox.
At that moment, the [ck] Demon Lord finally realized who was doing the trapping and the one getting trapped.
Volume 7 16
The [ck] Demon Lord, caged by Rurus water prison, looked at us with eyes full of hatred.
"It seems youve splendidly turned the tables on me."
The [ck] Demon Lord had blown up the entire building "I" was in. This resulted to multiple coteral damage including the members of the royal family I was meeting with at the moment.
The attack used was a ceremonial magic prepared way beforehand.
By gathering as many of his followers in the three churches he had in the Ax capital, making them and his angel-type monsters pray a certain prayer, and gathering the required magic power from the many believers, they were able to ready and fire such a magic attack.
Even when on guard, we shouldnt have seen iting. And yet we had.
There were actually many things that tipped us off.
Aurawho had been to the capital beforehad known of the existence of the ceremonial magic, for one. Couple that with the unusually high number of humans gathering in the churches of the Rigdolg Faith that day, it was almost certain.
The question then was where and when that magic would be activated. If I was in his shoes, I would aim for when the target would least expect it. Like that, we had expected the unexpected.
"Youre a far better actor than I thought. You fooled even a great Demon Lord such as myself."
"Its not that they acted like they knew nothing, its that they actually didnt know anything."
We knew his source of information was the humans, but we didnt know how information was leaking to them. Given that, we moved forward assuming we were always being watched. For that reason and to be more convincing, the bait we used was a version of myself and Kuina that didnt know anything.
"You see, the one you targeted werent the real us. They were illusions of us."
To be more precise, they were copies made by Stss [Omnipresence].
Quite a bit earlier, these copies changed ces with Kuina, me, and the royal family. The copies themselves were left unaware of this switch, so they really thought that they were the real ones.
By the way, since they were copies made by [Omnipresence], their capabilities were all lowered. So, because her golden red mes became imperfect and her [All Magic Nullification] became weaker, the copy Kuina wasnt able to defend against the ceremonial magic. Had it been the real her though, she would have withstood even that attack.
"So, it seems youve outsmarted me. One question then: why am I still alive? If it was me, I would have ordered that elf to blow the enemys head off. Its rare for me myself to go to the battlefield, you know? And outsmarting me like this is rarer still. You wont get another chance like this."
Just as he said, a chance like this didnte often. The only reason he showed up today was to ensure that I would turn. Unless he himself was nearby, he couldnt dye his targets heart ck and control them.
Of course, there was the option to capture me first and then turn meter, but that carried the risk of me being rescued on the way.
"I can kill you at any time. But first, some people that want to talk to you."
"Hmp, what a trivial reason. First of all, dont think youve won already... remember, this is my backyard."
Right when he finished saying so, countless humans appeared in our surroundings.
Each one was most probably on par with an A rank monster. Most likely, they were artificially made heroes.
"Oh, is that so? Well, sorry to break it to you, but this ce is also my backyard."
When I snapped my fingers, ten gigantic silhouettes rained down from the sky and caused a thunderous sound when theynded.
When the dust settled, it became clear that the silhouettes were Avalons prized, tide-turning weapon-the Avalon-Ritters.
Equipped with an improved [Burst Drive] System, they could match an S rank monster even though it was only for a short moment.
They were a war potential that could take on not only the artificial heroes, but also the [ck] Demon Lords monsters that were lurking nearby.
"Oh no, Procells elite golems. Whatever shall I do?"
He sarcastically said so and thenughed.
"Bm, lets be at each others throatster; I have a little show prepared for you."
Hearing me say his cue, the king of the Ax Kingdom walked closer to the [ck] Demon Lord and spoke.
"Bm-dono, we thought we were getting along well, being helpful to each other... but why did you deliberately get us caught in the cross-fire? If it were not for Procell-donos n, we all would have been killed."
Right in front of the king, the [ck] Demon Lord sneered.
"It was time to discard cards, so I discarded what I should, what I didnt need. Just what else do you think you are other than a mere pawn? Do you dare think you, a human, and me, a Demon Lord, are equals? King or no, a human is nothing more than livestock to me!"
Perhaps due to desperation, the [ck] Demon Lord was speaking frankly.
Or could this be arrogance brought by having a means to escape?
"I get what youre saying, [ck] Demon Lord. So much so, I think everyone should know your thoughts as well. And so, let the show begin."
The preparations were done; all thats left was to begin.
And so, I retrieved and operated a small camera with an audio capturing mechanism. I had made such devices before, but they served little to no purpose within a dungeon, given that dungeon rooms and floors were each on a separate dimension and that only devices with certain magic could function between dungeon rooms as well as floors.
In this instance though, by transmitting whatever it had captured to the proper audience, it was doing wonders.
"Whawhat is this!? Is this your doing, Procell!?"
"But of course. I thought it would be best to reveal the true face of their exalted god"
"You bastard!"
Being disyed in the sky was the recording of the [ck] Demon Lord showing his ugly side:paring humans to livestock and dismissing even the royal family as mere pawns. He had also repeatedly referred to himself as a Demon Lord.
To be more precise, we were using the [Divine Revtion]. I had sent the recorded video to the Dwarf Smiths that were on standby in another location. They then edited those recordings into the more streamlined version being disyed.
At any rate, this was sure to lower the faith of his believers.
His fanatics might not fall for it, but it should be enough for the regr believers.
This worked in favor of making the citizens of this city hate and hopefully abandon him and his Rigdolg Faith. Which would then eventually lead to the spread of my Holy Grail Faith.
"Master, Ive been observing the city with my wind. Everyone seems to be in a daze. Except for some believers of the Rigdolg Faith, that is. They seem to going half mad."
As expected, the impact of the transmission was great. Having information distribution abilities and persuasiveness unlike anything else in this world, this thing that Rorono made was truly amazing.
In just one moment, everyone in the capital knew of the [ck] Demon Lords cruelty and true nature.
Alright, time for the final blow.
"And now, his majesty would like to make a speech."
I said so and then pointed the camera and mic to the king.
Right away, the video in the sky shifted from the [ck] Demon Lord to the king. At that, many of the capitals citizens were surprised.
"My beloved countrymen, I imagine you all surprised at what you are seeing in the sky. This is the work done by the Holy Grail Faith. Through a mysterious method, I am able to send my form and voice to all of you at once. As for why I ammissioning their help, its because I have something that I would like to tell you all."
Right after saying those words, the king took a pause. As expected of a king, he had a way with words.
"For so long, we have followed the Rigdolg Faith as our state religion. For so long, we have revered its god, Bm-samno, just Bm is more than enough. When in fact, he sees each and every one of us as livestock and usable pawns. He will kill us alleven nobles and royaltyif it fits his liking. I think such a being does not deserve to be called a god, but rather a demon! And I cannot let such a demon control our lives any further. So, from this day forth, I, as the king of the Ax Kingdom, hereby dere our separation from the Rigdolg Faith!"
I didnt expect the king to go so far in his speech. I thought he was just going to assert his rule while still utilizing the Rigdolg Faiths ability to unite his people.
Instead, he separated from them, even at the risk of making enemies out of them. But then again, if one ever wanted to break ties with royalty, attempting to murder them should be on the top of the list.
After the kings speech, the [Divine Revtion] ended, and the [ck] Demon Lord, who had remained silent all that while, spoke.
"So, the reason you didnt kill me right away was so that you can draw such ill remarks from me. Youve done it now, you little shit."
"Well, Im not done yet, actually. Did you really think it will end after just one city?"
We had gathered enough materials.
After some refinement, we could produce an even more shocking video that would be enough to bring his influence to the gutter. In an information war, this video was going to be far more persuasive than any rumor I could spread. After all, his own face and voice was going to be in it. At the very least, it was going to sow doubt into the hearts of the humans.
"I wont let it end like this. Procell, I am going to make you pay for your crimes."
Those words of his served as the cue for the artificial heroes to take action,unching their attacks all at once.
"Kuina, protect me. Aura, take the royal family and withdraw from here."
Hearing mymand, Kuina readied her shotgun.
Meanwhile, Aura took the royal family into a carriage, told the driver to go, and served as its escort.
And then, I issued out one moremand.
"Ruru, kill that scum."
"Leave it to me, patron."
Ruru extended a hand forward and then closed it tight into a fist.
Right when she did, the water cage holding the [ck] Demon Lord copsed inward,pressing itself and all within it. The water cage became the size of a sugar cube. A bloody sugar cube.
"Sorry, patron, he escaped. His flesh has been crushed, but somehow, his soul was pulled elsewhere."
"I was told his abilities were very versatile, but I didnt think he could do even this."
Inferring from what Ruru said, it seemed like that by dying, the [ck] Demon Lords ability activated and his soul was transferred into another body. In my opinion, there was no way the [ck] Demon Lord would be in perfect condition after that. And since it was such a risky move, the ce he transferred to shouldnt be too far.
As if to prove my guess, even though there was such a vast difference between our forces, the angel-type monsters were swooping down from the sky to aid the artificial heroes instead of withdrawing. The fact that they werent pulling back suggested they were doing their best to grab our attention so that the [ck] Demon Lord could fully escape.
When I was thinking of such things, I felt something from my shadow.
"You have a lot of nerve to do this, Procell. No other idiot has ever sullied my reputation like this."
Hes sending his voice through my shadow? Talk about versatility.
"Well, I did say before that I hated you, didnt I? In the first ce, wasnt it you that started this all by harassing me?"
He was the first one to escte things by sending his believers to Avalon. Someone like that shouldnt issue anyints.
"...dont you have any respect for your seniors?"
"I do. Youre just not worth it."
Who would respect such scum?
For a moment there, his voice stopped. Most likely, he had distanced himself far away enough that his voice didnt reach me through my shadow.
"No more half measures. Wevee this far, lets see this to the end... until either one of us falls, Procell."
"Fine by me."
It was practically a deration of war. He was going to start attacking seriously from now on. If so, I had a proposal in mind.
"[ck] Demon Lord Bm, we could both do without the esction of harassments. So, why dont we settle this like the Demon Lords that we are: through [War]. Or are you scared? Are you only good at scheming things and not in head-on battles?"
"What a poor provocation, but Ill y along. However, I would be the one to decide when it will be held. And I say we do it nine dayster. The winner will be the one to destroy the others crystal... wait. Youre a new Demon Lord and would have your crystal reced if its broken within the year. That doesnt sound fair, does it? So, as an additional condition, if I win, you shall serve me for the rest of your life."
"That seems disadvantageous to me. In that case, Ill add a condition of my own. How about this?"
And so, Iid a trap. The best part was I knew he would ept.
"Very well. In 9 days, we would have our [War]."
Once a [War] had begun, there was no going back. After all, we couldnt exit the white space our dungeons were going to be transported to.
After we both agreed to the terms, I heard a voice in my head. It belonged to the Creator.
<>
When I looked at my surroundings, the angel-type monsters and artificial heroes that didnt leave were hunted down. In the end, the only ones left standing were Kuina and the Avalon-Ritters.
"Oto-san, Kuina contributed a lot!"
"Great job."
I praised her so and brushed her head. While I did that, I also wondered how stronger I could get within nine days.
The [War] being nine days away was most likely not a random choice. After all, it was just enough to deny me of making a new [Creation] medal. It seemed like he actually knew that detail.
"Normally speaking, it wont be in time. Normally, that is... but if he does know things about me, he would know that my weakness is the other dimension and exploit it."
For things on the other dimension, I primarily relied on just Ruru. And though she was strong, she was more geared toward intelligence gathering than battle. Moreover, she couldnt use her trump card anymore. Since if ever she did, her body, along with her mind, would transform into something elsesomething grotesqueand never revert back. I just couldnt let that happen to her.
Hes surely going for that. And because of that, I could catch him off guard using the reward from my previous [War]. At any rate, I should return to Avalon and prepare as soon as possible. The [ck] Demon Lord is a formidable enemy. I have to do my best to prepare in the short span of nine days in order to win.
Volume 7 17
The [ck] Demon Lord hadunched a surprise attack against us. Fortunately, we were able to defend against it. Not only that, we even turned the table against him.
Even so, I should have been protected in the first ce by the rule of the Creator that forbade old Demon Lords from attacking us new Demon Lords. And yet, not even a penalty was issued out.
This convinced me more than ever that he had some of his monsters mixed in with the enemy forces we fought and killed when we were rescuing Marcho. In other words, I had attacked him without knowing and gave him an excuse for attacking back.
I mean, I expected it... but hes really that kind of guy, huh. Well, anyway, everythings going well so far.
Even though he escaped, our original objective was still aplished: to obtain a card that would help us shake his influence over the humans.
To that end, we put on a little show. Using [Divine Revtion], we yed the footage we obtained over and over again to the royal capital which was a city full of his believers.
"Kuina, lets go join up with Prince Leonard and the others, alright?"
Earlier, Aura had taken the members of the royal family away and acted as their guard.
Now that the fighting was over, we had to meet up with them and continue our initial meeting.
"Yay~ ?! And then, this city will be Oto-sans!"
"Haha. Not quite."
I responded to Kuina with strainedughter.
Many of the humans that had lost trust for the Rigdolg Faith were most likely going to enter our Holy Grail Faith. Since time immemorial, humans who had undergone a painful experience were more likely to switch faiths rather than abandon religion altogether. They were simply not strong enough to continue living without anything to believe in.
Without doubt, our Holy Grail Faith was going to spread quickly and widely.
Thanks to that, our dealings with the Ax Kingdom was bound to be much smoother.
The king and the other royal family members might not notice right away, but they were bing more and more dependent on my help. Soon enough, they would be like the weak-hearted humans that would rather switch religions than abandon it altogether.
"Avalon-Ritters, gather and load the corpses into the container."
In response to mymand, the Avalon-Ritters promptly gathered the corpses.
Unlike monster corpseswhich turn into particles of light and vanish after a certain amount of timehuman corpses remained well after their death. What this meant for us was that we could bring home the corpses of the artificial heroes we slew and have them be resurrected as undead monsters by Dukes [Enhanced Resurrection].
By default, these artificial heroes were more or less as powerful as A rank monsters, but through Dukes ability, they would be reanimated to be stronger than when they were alive. Furthermore, thanks to another of his abilities, [Ruler of Death], friendly undead monsters were strengthened even more.
It wasnt often one could gain A rank or higher war potential and I didnt intend to waste it. Itll be a nice souvenir for Duke.
"Alright, Kuina, lets hurry. We still have work to do, but once all thats finished, Prince Leonards going to give us a tour to the fun ces here in the city. Were going to eat a lot of delicious food too."
"Yay~ ?! Sounds fun!"
Kuina replied so with her fox tail swinging back and forth. Above all else, it was important to me that she and the others were happy.
I instructed the Avalon-Ritters to return to our church after they were finished gathering the corpses. After doing that, Kuina and I began walking.
We had joined up with the royal family in a venue specified beforehand. The meeting progressed swimmingly, and more importantly, it ended peacefully.
We had obtained permission to build our churches and practice our religion not only in the royal capital, but also the other major cities of the Ax Kingdom. This was all toward the goal of spreading the Holy Grail Faith. After all, if we had spread it enough and we could call Avalon a holy capital, believers with strongand deliciousemotions would travel to Avalon. There was a chance some might even chose to live there.
However, even if we were to adapt a rotation system, there was still a limit to the number of cities Ruru and the Ocean Singers could travel to. Because of that, it was necessary to choose carefully which cities to build a church in.
Another concern with additional churches was that we also had to increase the number of priests we had. Thankfully, I could always ask Conanna to refer to me another swindler or maybe an actor. I was now convinced that they performed even better than a real priest.
During the meeting, we also agreed on the of the schedule for the amodation of the kingdoms soldiers that were injured in their war against the [Dragon] Demon Lord. ording to the schedule, about a thousand soldiers were going to stay in Avalon for 2-3 months.
That increase of poption for that long of a period was undoubtedly very appealing to any Demon Lord, considering the proportionate increase in DP and in the emotions we could consume.
Another thing from the meeting was the lending of 3 Avalon-Ritters. In case those that still believed in the Rigdolg Faith were desperate enough to revolt against the kingdom, three Avalon-Ritters should be enough to maintain the peace.
Along with those, I also handed over the rest of the financial aid I promised before.
"And with that, all agendas have been tackled. I dare say this meeting was very productive. Thank you, Procell-dono."
"Oh no, it is I who should thank you. I am very grateful for the friendship formed between the Ax Kingdom and Avalon."
The king and I then stood up and shook each others hand.
Considering that my general objective was the prosperity of both humans and monsters, I was d to have formed a friendship like this with the Ax Kingdom. I was a firm believer that coexisting peacefully with humans and forming a symbiotic rtionship with themted more long-term DP and strong emotions than outright killing them.
"One more thing, Procell-dono. Id like to ask a rather impudent request. Its about that mysterious method you used to project your form and voice to the sky. Would you be willing to let us use it too? No matter how much I try using the methods currently at our disposal, it is just impossible for my voice to reach each and every citizen. But, using your method, no citizen would uninformed or misinformed. Its usefulness is tremendous, to say the least."
It was only natural for any statesman to see the appeal of the [Divine Revtion]. Especially so in this day and age where broadcasting an unignorable message to a wide audience could easily be ssified as an act of god.
"I dont mind letting you make use of it. However, this secret of our Holy Grail Faith could only be performed by a high-ranking believer of ours. If you submit a request, we wont mind dispatching a high-ranking believer who would ry your message to your people. Those are my conditions. Do you ept?"
"Are you sure thats all youre going to ask in return, Procell-dono? Theres no need to be modest. We are willing to give much more for that method."
"No, this is already enough. Asking for too much is a source of discord between friends and what I truly want is to maintain this rtionship we have. Just treat this as a token of our friendship please."
This was actually a windfall for me. Like so, people would be further exposed to the [Divine Revtion], which in turn would hopefully lead to a quicker growth of our believer count. Decreasing the [ck] Demon Lords influence was a wee effect as well.
Right when the meeting was going to be adjourned, Prince Leonard spoke.
"Procell-dono, please take care of us tomorrow too."
By tomorrow, he meant the meeting with the [Dragon] Demon Lord.
Unless the [Dragon] Demon Lord swore in front of them to not retaliate, the leaders of the Ax Kingdom would never have peace of mind.
"Of course. Ive already exined things to the [Dragon] Demon Lord. All thats left is for us to do our best tomorrow."
There were very fewif any existed at allcauses of concern for tomorrow. In all likelihood, it would progress and conclude peacefully.
"Youre as reliable as ever, Procell-dono! Now that our work for today is finished, let me be a good friend and show you around the royal capital. Ill try my best to entertain you as much as you have entertained me in Avalon."
It was a wee prepared by a prince, so it was most likely going to feature the best of things.
This rare chance to experience culture outside of Avalon was very valuable indeed.
Lets have plenty of fun.
"Yeah, Im looking forward to it."
"Then, lets get ready right away."
The prince said so and then proudly led the way.
Excited as I was, I knew I shouldnt let my guard down since the [ck] Demon Lord was still atrge.
After a fun night in the royal capital, I joined Prince Leonard in his meeting with the [Dragon] Demon Lord the next day.
Without any demands of his own, the [Dragon] Demon Lord promised to not retaliate even if the kingdom pulled their forces out. He didnt demandpensation either. If anything, he was actually kind of sad that the soldiers were going home. Such a shame to lose a stable source of ie, he said with augh.
Hearing that, Prince Leonard made a stiff smile. I found that reaction to be quite understandable. After all, they sent their forces to the [Dragon] Demon Lords dungeon with the intent of destroying it, but now he was being thanked as though he had delivered a snack.
At any rate, there was officially no more reason for their forces to be on standby near the [Dragon] Demon Lords dungeon, so those forces should be withdrawn soon.
All of my scheduled work done, I decided it was time to return to Avalon.
Thankfully, nothing else of note happened during this trip... which could also be perceived as kind of ominous.
Three days had passed since my return from my trip to the Ax Kingdom.
During these three days, we had been preparing for the [War] and bolstering our fighting force. Without being stingy, I used as much of my saved-up DP as needed. I was also using my [Creation] to create things that couldnt be easily procured in this world round the clock, even using our still-not-fully-replenished-stock of golden apple potions to increase my magic power recovery rate.
Anyway, today, I went to Marchos dungeon. I was currently waiting in a special dungeon room for guests that Marchos subordinates guided me to.
"Oto-san, its been a while since weve been here!"
Kuina said so in a cheery voice while restlessly looking around.
"Sure has. I hope Marchos well."
Right after teaching me how to use [Awakening], Marcho left Avalon to return to her [Beast] dungeon.
We have been exchanging letters now and then, but it has been a while since west saw each other in person. Because of that, I was a little tensed at the moment.
"Geez, Oto-san, you seem so excited to meet with her again."
Kuina said so while puffing her face as though to suggest she was jealous.
By the way, she was currently not in her grown-up form. ording to her, her young girl form consumed less energy and thus allowed her to save up more magic power in the furs of her tail. Saving up 9999 furs worth of magic power so that she could evolve was a herculean task, so every bit of economizing helped.
"Yes, I am excited, but this kind of excitement isnt limited to Marcho, you know. I mean, if ever the two of us were apart for a long time, Ill feel just the same as I do now, if not more."
"Kuina too!?"
When I answered her like that, Kuinas eyes brightened up and she jumped into an embrace.
As always, she was a very adorable girl.
While we were like that, I heard the sound of footsteps. When I looked at its direction, I saw an approaching woman with brown skin and white wolf ears & tail.
"Hey there, Procell. Been a while"
"Yeah. Ive missed you, Marcho."
I was d she was fine. Aside from general concern for a close friend, I was worried that [Rebirth] might have some side effect on her.
"Im d to see youre well and lively. Perhaps a little too lively though, getting involved in all sort of things."
"Well, you know."
While smiling at my reply, Marcho extended her hand toward me. And when I took her hand in mine, I felt magic power and something else flow into me.
"Kay, thats this months earnings. Thankfully, adventurers have returned to my dungeon."
"Thanks for this."
The other thing I received was DP.
Through [Rebirth], Marcho had be my monster. Because of that, it wasnt against the rules anymore for her to give me DP.
We had decided that it was more convenient for her dungeon to remain independent from Avalon and still be under her full control. That being said, the both of us also decided that she would hand over DPwhatever was left to her after deducting any necessary expensesto me once a month.
"For a new Demon Lord to earn as much DP as a top-ss Demon Lord, my, you really are a cheat Demon Lord."
"Noment."
Just as she said, my DP ie from both Avalon and her dungeon wasparable to a top-ss Demon Lord even though I was still considered a new one.
Actually, DP wasnt the only thing I was getting from Marcho.
From time to time, we received corpses of adventurers that died in her dungeon. These were then resurrected by Dukes [Enhanced Resurrection]. Thanks to this, the graveyard dungeon room in my dungeon was very popted.
Furthermore, we sent golems which were rather subpar as war potentialsuch as Iron Golems, Silver Golems, and Gold Golemsto her dungeons [Mine] to dig without rest for resources. I had a mine of my own, but since a mine scaled ordingly to the Demon Lords level, hers offered far better resources.
Through all these things I gained from her dungeon, my fighting force and DP stock were increasing by the day.
"With this much DP, the world is practically your oyster, right?"
"Well, actually, this much isnt quite enough. Ill need huge amounts of DP to win against the [ck] Demon Lord, dont I? Right now, the priority is to do whatever I can to earn more DP."
This was going to be a [War] against an old Demon Lord.
No amount of precaution would ever be enough. Even so, I needed to create the best possible defense I could using not only the DP I saved up until now, but also using the DP I was yet to earn.
"Hmm, then, how about using the DP I have saved up?"
"No, its fine. Theres no need to go that far."
On the other hand, all the DP that I let her give me were just DP she gained after bing my monster, nothing from before. It might seem suboptimal or even irrational, but it was my resolve to somehow manage without fully relying on Marcho.
"I like that determination of yours. Its kinda childish, but I like it."
"I sorta have to. Its all over once I stop being determined, after all."
"Well, Im rooting for you, you hear?"
Having received the DP, my task here was done. That being said, it has been a while since Ist met Marcho, so I decided to idly chat with her for a while.
Just as expected, I had a st chatting with her.
But then, there was suddenly a pause in our conversation.
<>
The interruption was caused by a voice in my mind. More specifically, the Creators voice.
An important announcement? There should only be days left before our war begins. Its unheard of to have any changes thiste in the game.
<>
"Wha-"
I unconsciously let out a voice.
Such a thing was supposed to be impossible. Once a war has been started, no Demon Lord should be able to stop it.
Just what could have happened?
<>
The [ck] Demon Lord has died? That tenacious and scheming [ck] Demon Lord?
"Theres no way thats true! Theres definitely something else going on here!"
He was a very crafty person who always had insurances to his insurances. There was no way he would be killed that easily.
And then, it dawned on me: this death was staged. It made perfect sense. He waged war on me so that I would not chase after him in our previous encounter. Under the assumption that it was impossible to pull out of a war, I thought we would sh against each other soon enough anyway, so there was little to no reason for me to chase him.
It was all conjecture at the moment, of course, but there was just no way he was dead. At least, not permanently.
"This is quite a mess, isnt it?"
"Yeah, sure is. But what I have to do doesnt change: make Avalon stronger. In a way, I guess I should be grateful. I earned some more time to make Avalon grow stronger. Ill just keep at it without slowing down."
Time was my ally.
The growth rate of both myself and Avalon was much faster than any other Demon Lords.
Im going to make him regret stalling.
With that resolve in my heart, I returned to Avalon with Kuina.
There were countless things I should and must do to prepare and retaliate against his unforeseeable attack.
Volume 7 18
The [ck] Demon Lord has died.
Because of that, my [War] with him was cancelled.
Needless to say, I was pretty upset upon hearing the news.
"This timing cant be just a coincidence."
I wasnt optimistic enough to think that the cancetion was all a matter of luck.
He was a crafty and cautious individual. Even if he was heavily injured, it shouldnt be enough to kill him.
"Hes definitely alive. Either that or he has be someone else."
Either way, there was no way he would let me be for long, especially after the shame I put him through. After all, he was as tenacious as a snake.
"Its no use thinking about it. Ill just do what I gotta do."
And what I had to do was to make Avalon and my monsters stronger in earnest. It was in and unexciting, but it was important regardless.
That being said, the next day was a cause for celebration, so taking a break once in a while wouldnt hurt.
After a long while, I returned home. Not to the carriage near the First Tree, but rather to my estate in the city. Although my stay in the carriage was fun, I had fully recovered so it was no longer necessary to stay there.
At any rate, I changed my clothes and then headed out. I had no one guarding me today. Apparently, Kuina, Rorono, and Aura each had their own things to do.
The ce I was headed to was the clock tower recently built in Avalon. Many people had been using it as a meeting ce, and today, I was too.
"Hey, youre quite early, Sts."
"Well, so are you."
Today, I was going on a date with Sts.
Her magic power and Demon Lord powers had returned to her just in time for my visit to the Ax Kingdom, but she was still in a pretty bad shape back then. As of the moment, however, she was well enough to go back home to her dungeon. In fact, she was going hometer in the evening.
When I suggested that we celebrate her recovery, she suggested back that we do it with just the two of us. In other words, she wanted a date. Of course, I granted her request.
Enlil, who was always with her, was left to house-sit today.
It might not look it, but hes surprisingly good at reading the mood.
Or so I initially thought until I saw him, Kuina, and Rorono hiding somewhere behind me. Perhaps it was due to her excitement, but it didnt seem like Sts had noticed him. By the way, he was adorably perched on top of Kuinas head.
Its best to pretend I havent noticed.
If it had been just Kuina, I probably wouldnt have known, but with the addition of the two, it was almost impossible to not notice.
Well, at the very least, Enlil seems to be getting along well with the girls.
"Is there something wrong?"
"No, its nothing. Shall we go? I want to enjoy touring around Avalon as a simple guest today. I guess we can say Im more excited than you about todays date."
Ever since I used [Divine Revtion], everyone in town recognized who I was. Because of that, I was currently wearing a disguise. Well, it was just a casual clothing and a pair of sses though.
"I doubt it. Ive been looking forward to this date more than you think. Fufu, so, properly escort me, okay?"
"Yeah, leave it to me."
Like that, I grabbed her hand and officially began our date.
I have to do my best to entertain such an important friend.
To start things off, we watched a y.
Because it was done by a famous and talented troupe, it was quite good. Originally, troupes like this would stay for only a couple of days in one city and then move on to another. Nowadays though, due to the high poption of Avalon and thus the profits it gave, several popr troupes had decided to stay, bing one of the citys main sources of entertainment.
Furthermore, Avalon also offered them stories and sometimes even screeny from all over the world. Thisbined with their profits, made our city the best possible environment for them.
Anyway, the y we saw this time was about a sage that was reincarnated into a slime.
While concealing his true identity, he did his best to watch over and protect his daughters, sometimes toical effect. The climax scene deeply moved me. I envied the strong bond the sage had with his daughters and wished I had the same with my girls.
Overall, it was a great y.
After watching it, Sts and I exited.
"That was interesting, wasnt it, Procell? Fufu, how do humanse up with stories like this?"
"There are many of them, so meetings and farewells are amon urrence. And these stories are drawn from those experiences. At least, I think so."
I respected them for these kinds of things that us Demon Lords and monsters just couldnte up with.
"Hmm, I guess you of all Demon Lords would know since youre so fascinated with humans. Wait, whats that line for?"
"Lets see. It might be interesting."
It seemed like a line for a food cart.
All kinds of food from all over the world had made its way to Avalon. Stores that offered cheap yet delicious food were numerous too. Given all the options a consumer has, for a store in Avalon to have such a line, it had to be extraordinary in some way or another.
Giving in to our curiosity, Sts and I fell in line. Thankfully, the transaction speed was good and before we knew it, we were the next ones.
From the sweet scent I could smell, it seemed as though it was a baked sweets store.
"Tasty, tasty frog-shaped cakes, hey ? get your tasty, fragrant frog-shaped cakes ?"
When we approached, the man who seemed like the shopkeeper greeted us with a song.
His way of talking seem familiar. Nah, must be my imagination. Theres no way that fellow would be here.
"Wee. What would you like to order, dear customers? Ah! Aaaaaaaa!?"
When I looked closely, the shopkeeper had a surprised face.
More to the point, he had a bipedal frogs surprised face.
Moreover, his was a face I recognized. But then again, I knew just this one humanoid frog.
"What are you doing here in my city, [Viscosity] Demon Lord?"
"Wa-wa-wa-wait. Please dont call me by that name. Hey, can you take care of the rest? Im going out for a bit."
"Yes, sir."
The frog man, [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove, said so to an employee, put some of the frog-shaped cakes his store was selling in a paper bag, and then pushed Sts and I toward back of his store.
After pushing us to the back of his store, Ronove then gave me the paper bag of frog-shaped cakes.
"Before anything else, I want you to try these, Procell."
"How do I know theres no poison in it?"
"I wont dare do such a reckless thing. If I ever try to aim for you, one way or the other, I wont be able to live in Avalon anymore. Right now, theres no ce I can go but here."
While still doubting him, I reached inside the paper bag. The contents were really hot and also fragrant.
The frog-shaped caked he was selling resembled something in my [Memory of the]: a taiyaki. Only these ones were shaped to resemble a frog instead of a fish.
I took a bite and discovered that the light-brown outeryer held within lots of red bean paste.
Finding it safe enough, I handed one to Sts as well.
"Delicious, isnt it, Sts?"
"Yeah. Really. The custard cream in mine is so delicious."
"The nuts mixed in is irresistible, yeah?"
"I sorta see now how it can have such a line."
After eating some of the frog-shaped cakes, I looked toward Ronove.
"Alright, we ate some like you asked. Now, mind telling me why youre in Avalon?"
"...I, well, after our [War] with you, Ive been to many towns. I dont have my Demon Lord powers anymore, so I had to frighten and terrorize humans myself. I tried my best, I really did... but I just wasnt strong enough. Ive lost count of how many times I almost got myself killed... And then, I remembered you, Procell, and what you said... that you make humans happy instead of frightening them. So, I thought Id tried it myself. That way, I could get emotions with less risks of being killed."
Ronove replied so, shyly and in bits and pieces.
If ones crystal was broken, it meant they could no longer make medals and use DP. Which in turn meant they could no longer make monsters to assist them.
The hardships Ronove went through certainly werent average, to say the least.
"I tried all sorts of things, you know. But the best thing I did was cooking. Humans enjoyed my cooking, and I was able to enjoy their emotions. So, I did my best to cook the most delicious food I could every time. But whichever I town I go, my disguise as a human gets found out eventually and I get attacked for looking like a frog."
It was a believable tale. After all, in most human towns, demi-humans were being persecuted for just being demi-humans. Needless to say, arge humanoid frog would cause an even more intense reaction.
"Back then, I even thought of killing myself, but then, I heard of city where demi-humans arent being discriminated against. So, I wondered if that ce would ept even me."
Avalon was a city where humans and demi-humans coexisted peacefully. Here, Ronoves outer appearance wouldnt have mattered.
"I was surprised when I got here. Everyone epted me even though I didnt put on any disguise. Business was great too. Everyone happily bought my sweets and found it delicious. The happier they are, the better emotions I enjoyed. So, I tried harder and harder until I came up with the frog-shaped cakes. Say, Procell, you liked the cakes, right? Wont you at least consider letting me stay here in your city? Please!"
Before answering, I looked at Sts. The small smile on her face suggested she felt the same as I did.
"Do as you like. Until you get another crystal, I dont mind if you stay here in Avalon. All are wee here, so long as they dont cause trouble. Be they human, demi-human, or monster, they are epted here. Demon Lords are no exception."
It was clear to me that he didnt have any ill will or anything like that toward me or my city, so even though he was a Demon Lord, there was no need to chase him away.
Above all, his frog-shaped cakes were delicious.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Theres no need for thanks. Your frog-shaped cakes are beneficial to Avalon, so Im just using those in my favor. Also, I dont mind if you consume some of the happiness that youve induced, but since this is my dungeon, I think its fair that I have some of it too."
The more wonderful attractions my city had, the better.
"Yes, deal, deal! Oh, thank you, really, Procell! I promise, once I get another crystal and be a proper Demon Lord again, Ill repay you for this kindness. I promise!"
"Ill look forward to that, but no pressure. Well, shall we go, Sts?"
"Yeah, okay... Ronove, your frog-shaped cake was really delicious."
Before leaving, Sts praised Ronove. Upon hearing it though, his frog face turned incredibly red.
"Procell, Sts,e again! Im making the cakes better and better. The next time you try it, youll love it even more!"
He said so as he was waving us goodbye.
The frog-shaped cakes are gonna be improved?
"Letse here again sometime, Sts."
"Yes, lets. When we get hungry on our next date."
Sts looked me in the eye, replied so, and then smiled.
There was still time left, so we decided to tour Avalon some more.
And then, all of a sudden, it was already evening. Touring around it, I remarked that I built a truly charming city.
Thankfully, Sts seemed to have enjoyed the city as well.
That being said, it was now time to end our date.
When we exited the citys gate, someone was already there to pick her up. Atop a high-ranking griffon was Rozelitte, Sts angel-type [Monster of the Covenant].
Also...
"We meet again, Procell"
Also, there was a middle-aged looking man: [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth.
"I didnt expect wed meet again so soon though."
"I came here today to talk with you two, Sts and Procell. It had to be both of you at the same time or else there would be no meaning. So, forgive me for this sudden visit."
With a face that seemed like he had chewed on something sour, the [Dragon] Demon Lord uttered so.
"Sts, from here on, I forbid you to go near Procell."
"Wha-what are you saying, Astaroth-sama? Do you really expect me to follow that?"
Both Sts and I were flustered at what he said. I would rather he matched the two of us than separate us.
"I imagined you would say that... its fine to not follow what I said, Sts, but you need to be prepared. Right now, young Demon Lords are forming factions so that they could crush Procell. And, once youve both be independent and not anymore protected by special rules, he will be hunted down full force. He simply stands out too much. It cant be helped that the young Demon Lords are scared of him."
After he said so, I understood why he forbade Sts froming near me. If she was perceived as my ally, those against me would target her too.
"...I see. Then, I just got to be part of Procells faction, dont I? As his close friend, I cant turn my eyes away from those vicious fellows."
Sts dered so without a hint of hesitation.
In response, the [Dragon] Demon Lord ced a hand on her shoulder and then looked her intimidatingly straight in eyes.
"Listen to me, Sts. When you be independent, I would no longer be around. I would no longer be able to protect you. Even so, do you still think it wise to intertwine your fate with his?"
"Yes. A Demon Lord who has so little pride that they would abandon a close friend for only this much could never be the strongest. That is what I learned from you, Astaroth-sama."
That answer astonished him and made himugh a thunderousugh.
"Thats my daughter, alright! Hahaha. Very well, you do what you want to do."
Satisfied with her answer, he then turned to me.
"Procell, I entrust Sts to you. Take care of her after Im gone."
"...Yes, I wont let harm befall her after believing in me so much."
"Thats not really what I meant, but, oh well, thatll do. Also, a word of advice. You might be doing well so far, but there is a limit to fighting alone. If your enemies are making a faction, you should too."
"Yes, I intend to do so."
I had thought about it before.
Once the special rules protecting new Demon Lords were gone, it would be hard for me to continue alone.
Along with making Avalon strong, I needed to gather allies.
"That said, the faction of young Demon Lords right now are... strangely strong."
The image of the [ck] Demon Lord then suddenly came to my mind.
It was nothing more than a theory, but it was possible that in order to not only escape from me but also prolong his life and boost his war potential, he had dyed a promising Demon Lords heart ck and possessed them.
Following that theory, in order to assure my demise, he had made an anti-Procell faction. And once the rules protecting me was gone, like the [Dragon] Demon Lord feared, the younger Demon Lords he had trained and guided would crush me with their numbers.
If its that guy, its definitely possible.
"Thank you for the advice. Ill look into various things."
"Good, you do that. As for me, Ill do my best to bequeath Sts as much things as possible in the time I have left."
After saying so, the [Dragon] Demon Lord rode on one of his subordinates and left.
The thing he said to us was a good piece of information. Once again, I was indebted to him. I nned on repaying that debt before he was gone.
"What a mess weve gotten ourselves into, huh, Procell."
"Yeah... but thank you for joining me in this mess."
I did not give her an apology because I knew that wasnt what she wanted. Instead, I conveyed my feelings of gratitude as her close friend.
It was a fairly unpleasant situation to be in, but it wasnt all bad. After all, it was hard to imagine that they would risk punishment for breaking the rules and attack me in half a yearthe time it would take for me to no longer be a new Demon Lord. I would have plenty of time to get stronger.
"Well, things are about to get more hectic now."
TL note: I screwed up on thest chapter. Procell didnt refer to Marcho as a close friend. That was entirely me during edit. Sorry. Every instance of close friend in this chapter though is as seen in the raws.
Also, the slime story in this chapter most likely is a reference to Tsukiyo Rui-senseis other work, . I dont know really know the story of that one so if the description found in this chapter is off, do let me know.
Volume 7 epilogue
Several days after I saw Sts off, I spent time to think on what to do next while also improving my war potential.
Young Demon Lords had formed a faction focused on going against me. That being the case, I had no intention of dealing the first blow. So long as they havent actually done anything, there was no need to be more cautious of them than I would with other Demon Lords.
But as to be expected, a faction being formed against me is worrisome.
A young Demon Lord wasnt the same as a new Demon Lord like me. For one, after living a few decades, their ambitions were burning hotter than ever beforeand perhaps ever will.
Catching up to them in half a year was a tall order, but if things were to go as I feared, I had to do it regardless. I could form my own faction, but unless it was very strong, it would be useless. To be blunt, putting together war potential that could barely match the strength of multiple older Demon Lords would ordinarily be impossible.
...which is why I should do something not ordinary.
The very first goal I should do is make a new S rank monster.
S rank monsters, including Kuina and the others, were worth at least 10 A rank monsters which most other Demon Lords would already consider their trump cards. Even one could potentially change the tide of battle.
And the only one that could make them almost freely was me.
Soon, the 1-month cooldown restriction would be over and I could then again make another [Creation] medal which I could use to make another S rank monster. Considering that I would make that monster be able to level up, it was best that I make it as soon as I obtain the new medal. After all, without anyrge-scale battles that Kuina and the others were able to gain massive amounts of experience points from, it would take some time before the new monster caught up in levels.
The first question is: which medals do I use?
For me to make an S rank monster, I needed at least one other original A rank medal other than my [Creation]. And at the moment, the only A rank medal I had was the [Time] medal. Aside from it being my only one, it was a very powerful medal, so I saw little reason not to use it for the new monster. The question then was what to use as thest medal.
Whatever medal it is, the new monster has to have the ability to fight in the other dimension.
I said so while remembering what Ruru did during our campaign to save Marcho.
Ruru was my only S rank monster that could fight in the other dimension. Because of that and the overwhelming amount of enemy forces there, she was forced to use a risky ability of hers. By doing so, she was able to hold the line, but it was at the cost of corrupting herself.
ording to her, she could still revert after a second use, but a third use would definitely cause her to lose herself forever and be someoneor somethingelse. So, for her to not have to use it another time, it was imperative that I make monsters that could help her in the other dimension.
But how could I obtain more medals?
It might be fine for now, but I needed to find a reliable source of original A rank medals. One way was to destroy another Demon Lords crystal. By doing so, I would gain the ability to make that Demon Lords medal. It wouldnt increase how many medals I could make in a monthwhich was still limited to one per monthbut it would increase my options.
In my case, other than my [Creation], I could also make [Evil], [Viscosity], or [Steel] medals if I wanted to. However, those 3 were just B rank medals, so I wasnt excited in using them.
If they were A rank medals though, that would mean that I could use them with my [Creation] medal to make an S rank monster once every two months.
I should aim to break the crystal of a Demon Lord who has an A rank medal. Is it time to break the crystal in the [Crimson Cavern]?
Marcho had already given me permission to do so.
Should I go with it, the [me] medal would be added to my pool of options when making a medal. On the other hand, I would then lose such a convenient hunting ground for leveling up my monsters.
No, wait... Marcho still has [Demon Lord Powers], right? Is it possible that other than still being able to manage her dungeon, she could also still make medals?
Despite bing a monster, Marcho still retained her Demon Lord abilities through a skill. If she could still make medals, I could ask her to give it to me.
I need to verify this as soon as possible.
If things went as I imagined, the new monster would be made using [Time], [Beast], and [Creation]. It would be a monster very simr to Fel the Celestial Wolf, but also be entirely different.
[Time] had great affinity for different-dimension monsters. The [Beast] medal, meanwhile, was very versatile and could work with almost allbinations. And, if I changed my [Creation] medal into one that could provide excellent different-dimension abilities, I just might be able to make an ideal different-dimension monster. Needless to say, I was looking forward to it.
But before anything else, theres something that I have to do. She should be arriving soon from the royal capital. It wouldnt do to make her wait more than she already has. Alright, I should finish all the remaining work.
I said so and tackled on the remaining paperwork.
I had finished the paperwork atst.
With just enough time to spare too. Todays the day shesing back to Avalon. I bet as soon as shees back, shes going to go to my estate andin about how much of a ve driver I am. Shes going to slip the idea of a bonus for her work too.
While I was thinking of such, a bell notified me of iing visitors.
Master, the preparations in the assembly hall are going well!
A surprise party truly is quite the tasteful choice, my lord.
The ones that entered were Aura the Ancient Elf and Duke the ck Dragon of Death Siegwurm.
They were the ones I entrusted with the preparations for the surprise party.
Thanks for your hard work. I just thought its the kind of thing shell like... on another note, Duke, how are the souvenirs I gave you?
Upon hearing my question, the middle-aged dragonewt showed a broad grin on his face.
When I said souvenirs, I meant the corpses of the artificial heroes that attacked us in the royal capital.
They have been turned into my subordinates, my lord. They have further strengthened our undead corps. There is one issue though: the graveyard dungeon room is now too popted. It seems the number of corpses from Marcho-sama was more than we have anticipated.
I didnt foresee such an issue happening. Without doubt, the number of adventurer corpses from Marchos dungeon were a lot, but I didnt think it would be this many.
Okay, I understand. Ill make a new dungeon floor. The original graveyard room will now be used for the bread factory and the weapons factory only. Meanwhile the undead corps will be moved to the two graveyard room Ill add in the new floor. As for thest dungeon room in the new floor, Ill add a valley so that the Darkness Dragons can fly around freely there... hmm, no, before that, I should add another [Mine] instead. Half of all the golems, except those in charge of the citys defense, will remain in the original [Mine] while the other half will be moved to the new one.
That will be a great help. Im sure everyone will be delighted with this news.
The undead corps wasnt the only force that had exploded in numbers.
Through the two [Maelstrom] I bought, the number of my Darkness Dragons increased automatically by two each day. There were also the low-ranking golems made daily by the Dwarf Smiths, and of course, the Avalon-Ritters made by Rorono.
Coupling this daily increase in war potential with the fact that my dungeon only had two dungeon floors and also the increased risk of being attacked, increasing the number of floors in my dungeon could be said as an inevitable task.
Master, I have a proposal in regard to our goal of increasing our war potential.
It was pretty unusual for Aura to say such a thing.
Naturally, I was quite interested in any method to improve our war potential besides those that I had already tried.
Tell me. What is this proposal?
Lets use the [Evil] skill youve obtained and make a child! If you make a child with an S rank monster, S rank will be the leastC
Proposal rejected.
I interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. In response though, she puffed her cheeks.
Breaking another Demon Lords crystal not only allowed one to make that other Demon Lords medal, but also use their Unique Skills. As a sort of limitation however, one could only use up to three Unique Skills other than their own.
In my case, however, [Steel] was pretty much just an inferior version of [Creation], [Viscosity] was frustrating to use, and [Evil] waspletely out of the question.
I thought it was a good idea though...
Sorry for saying it like that. Its just contradicts with my set of values. You girls are my important daughters, you hear?
The [Evil] Unique Skill allowed its user to impregnate humans and monsters, with the child bing stronger than the mother.
It wasnt that I never thought of using this ability, it was just that I didnt want to use it on them. I wasnt inclined to assaulting adventurers either.
What a shame. Oh, hmm, it seems Ruru-chan hase back.
Thanks to Aura monitoring the surroundings using her wind, she was the first to know that Ruru hase back.
Soon enough, the door to my estate opened.
Im back. Im finally home after going around three cities. Patron, youre such a ve driver! I should be asking for a bonus now.
Ruru has just returned from a tour to the three new cities we built a church in. Since Prince Leonard no longer needed to be guarded, she was free to focus in the worship meetings.
The n was for her and the Ocean Singers to visit each of the three cities and the royal capital once every week. They were to sing while those that would attend the worship meetings enjoyed a special wine called [Gods Smile].
ording to the reports, we were a hit in every city.
Very well. For your hard work, your sry would be increased from next month onward.
Ah, I was just kidding. But if youre willing to give, Im not going toin. Thank you, Patron.
As money-grubbing as always.
Also, sorry to be sudden, but I have an important task for you in the dungeon proper. Lets go there right away.
Eeeeehh. But I just got back. Im tired. I wanna rest instead.
Are you sure? Even if I say youll regret it if you dont follow me? Ive prepared a special reward and all, you know.
Say that sooner, Patron. Well,e on, lets go already!
In aplete 180, Ruru leaded the way.
At that, Aura and Duke both chuckled.
Alright, time to do what I should have done long ago.
After some time, we arrived in the graveyard dungeon room. There, most of the monsters in Avalon were gathered.
Food and drinks were aplenty. The High Elves yed instruments, the Ocean Singers sang to that tune, and the Mythological Foxes danced, gleefully shaking their tails.
Patron, whats going on here?
Its a celebration.
A celebration for what?
For you, of course.
After replying so, I took her hand and led her to the prepared stage.
Sorry for beingte, everyone. But, atst, the star of our show hase!
The monsters cheered.
Meanwhile, Ruru was pretty confused with what was going on. It would seem that although she normally had good intuition about things, when it was about her, she was rather slow on the uptake.
To recognize your distinguished service and devotion to Avalon, I am going to give you a name and make you a special monster. However, know that this namees with the duties and responsibilities expected from a member of Avalons top executives. Are you ready for that?
I asked her so and stretched out my hand.
I couldnt give her a name unless she was ready for the responsibilities it entailed. As a special monster, she had to be ready to support and protect Avalon with me.
Oh, so its that. Ahaha. Youre so sly, Patron. What a surprise attack. But, thank you. This has made me so incredibly happy.
Now fully knowing what was going on, Rlyeh Diva smiled and then continued speaking.
But asking me whether Im determined enough for that is kind of a silly question, dont you think? I love this city and you, Patron, and I would do everything to protect you all. If I didnt, I wouldnt have gone so far as to use that power, right? So, I swear that even after I receive my name, I shall continue to protect Avalon and you at whatever cost.
Ruru answered so with a smile before taking my outstretched hand and shaking it.
I have confirmed your resolve. Rlyeh Diva, from here on, you shall be known as... Ruhe.
The moment I said her name, tremendous amounts of magic power flowed out of me along with my Demon Lord powers, and into Ruhe.
Upon naming a monster other than their would-be [Monsters of the Covenant], a Demon Lord had to one-sidedly bear the burden of the naming due to theck of a special connection present in the former.
That being said, even if it was only while my powers were flowing to Ruhe, I did feel a connection between the two of us. She was always joking around and teasing people, but deep down, she had the most affectionate and considerate heart out of all others.
After a while, the flowing out of my powers ended.
Unlike when I named Duke, I felt better. Or perhaps it would be more urate to say I didnt feel as weak. Naming S rank monsters truly was taxing.
Still, in order for her not to worry or feel guilt, I tried to hide my weakened state.
Just smile, I told myself, this is the time to show your willpower.
Ruhe... my name is Ruhe.
Yes. In an old and forgottennguage, it had the meaning of peace.
After much deliberation, I concluded that Ruhe was the most fitting name for her.
Fufufuu. What, are you serious, Patron? Peace is so not me.
It is my wish that someday, Avalon would be truly peaceful and free of conflict. In that dream of mine, I always picture you singing songs you genuinely love. Wont you help me aplish this silly little dream of mine... Ruhe?
When I said so, Ruhe, who had tears falling from her eyes, smiled.
Again, what a sly way to say things. But as I thought, youre hopeless without me, arent you? Alright, Ill support you, Patron. And, when this city is finally and truly peaceful, I promise Ill sing of love.
With her epting and appreciating her name, the ceremony was over. My monsters pped their hands and shouted their congrattions.
By the way, it didnt seem like she has noticed it yet, but the ck markings on her skinwhich she got when she used that powerlooked a tiny bit fainter than before.
Could it be that the naming allowed her to purify herself a little bit?
Ruhe, sorry to ask so soon but I have a request. Wont you sing us a song? Preferably one that matches what you are feeling right now?
Well, if you insist, Ill y along with your selfish wishes.
In contradiction to her words, Ruhe seemed happy as she began singing.
Meanwhile, my monsters and I were enthralled as we listened. By far, it was the most beautiful and heart-warming song I have ever heard. It was a song that could make anyone who heard it feel happy.
TL note:
1. Just as a sort of disimer, the Demon Lord Powers referred to when naming is ħ. The Demon Lord Powers all other times is ħ. I think I have tranted thetter as Demon Lord Authority before. To me, they sound to function pretty much the same so Im going to trante both as Demon Lord Powers until a distinction is made clear.
2. If you recall, Procell has also regained the [Bow] Demon Lords abilities by killing them. I dont see anything about that mentioned here though. I dont know how that fits into the whole mechanics of things either, but Im going forward with the assumption that it fits nicely.
3. Lastly, as far as I can tell, Ruhe is German. Its written as ` /Rue.
Volume 8 prologue
After I gave Ruru the name Ruhe, I lost my magic power and Demon Lord powers. Due to that, I decided to once again reside in the carriage near the First Tree rather than remain in my estate. It didnt seem like there was much need for me to be physically present in my estate anyway.
And speaking of the carriage built by Rorono, it was veryfortable to live in. Each day though, she would add something new to it. To be honest, I thought she was already going overboard. What is that girl thinking? Does she intend to fight with this thing?
Master, youve already recovered. Youve recovered much sooner this time than with Duke-san, dont you?
Aura the Ancient Elf said so after giving me medical treatment.
It goes to show how much outside of the norm Duke is. Well, Ruhe is outside of the norm too, just not as much. Compared to when I named Duke, I felt a very tiny bit lighter this time.
After naming Duke, I knew full well what naming another monster would entail.
However, even with those inherent risks and also the risks of naming at this timing, I decided to go ahead and name Ruhe to repay her for all of her service thus far.
Just please refrain doing anything too absurd. If you fall, Avalon would too.
I understand. Ill keep the absurdity to eptable levels. Anyway, now that Ive recovered enough, lets go to the next step.
I said so and reached for the [Creation] medal I put in my pocket.
Its finally your turn.
I had already decided on what kind of monster I was going to make next, and today was the day I was going to make it.
Youre going to go out this afternoon, right, master?
Yeah. Take care of things while Im gone.
Understood.
Aura answered so and then smiled before clearing her throat.
Ahem, actually, master, I have something else to report. A while back, I have undergone a powerup of my own which has allowed me to raise and sustain another golden-apple-producing tree. In fact, the new tree is ready for harvest by tomorrow! Please have a look at it some time.
The increase of trees that could bear golden apples was definitely good news.
We had many potent and useful potions that couldnt be made without the golden apples, after all. Not only that, even when eaten raw, they were delicious, good for the health, and provided a slight but noticeable enough strengthening effects.
Im looking forward to it. We could never have too much golden apples, what with it being used for my and Stss recovery as well as the wine being given weekly to the [Time] Demon Lord. Our production of golden apples doubling surely is a great boon. Great job, Aura.
I had always wanted another tree that could bear golden apples. Unfortunately, for an apple tree to be able to bear golden apples, it needed to be nourished with a specially concentrated version of Auras [Water of Life] which consumedrge quantities of magic power to make. Try as she might, she could only make enough of the specially concentrated version for one tree. Until recently, that is.
Now that we have another tree, we could make more high-grade potions. This increase in production would most likely lead to an improvement to our war potential.
d to hear youre pleased. Kuina-chans excited about it too.
Oh yeah, thats right. Well, I want her to evolve as soon as possible too, preferably before I graduate from being a new Demon Lord. So, to that end, do help her by making high-grade potions that will elerate her magic power recovery rate, alright?
Of course. Ofte, I have been preparing for her some apple juice; she seems to like it. Im also studying the book titled Curaga, so I should be able toe up with a new and more potent magic power recovery potion soon!
After leveling up, Kuina unlocked a skill she had obtained when she became my [Monster of the Covenant]. It was called [Aether Fox Tribute Ritual]. As its name might suggest, it would allow her to evolve from being a Celestial Fox into an Aether Fox by first offering up 9999 tail furs worth of magic power.
Kuina who was already the strongest of my monsters would certainly y an even greater role once she evolved.
However, meeting the condition of that skill was easier said than done.
Each of the furs in her tail could store magic power and the most it could contain was equal to the magic power of a mage-type B rank monster. Without a doubt, gathering magic power worth 9999 mage-type B rank monsters was a tall order.
At her current pace, Kuina wouldnt be able to save enough magic power in her tail furs by the time I be a young Demon Lord. With the help of ample potions though, she just might make it.
Lets talk again when Ie back. Its time I head off.
I said so and then went outside. After collecting Kuina, who was to be my guard on this trip, and the crow monster, whom I was bringing to transport us via its [Transfer] ability, we departed for Marchos dungeon.
Upon arriving, we were met by one of Marchos monsters and were guided to a special room.
There, we were greeted by Marcho who was wearing clothes that were fluttery and cute. Needless to say, her current clothes were truly unusual for her.
All those frills and ribbons, is that what they call sweet Lolita fashion?
How is it, Procell? Does it suit me?
I think more mature clothing suit you better.
Even though [Rebirth] had made her appearance be youngeras though she was in thetter half of her teensshe was still the tall and cool type of woman. She was more beautiful than she was cute.
This kind of clothes just didnt suit her.
Aww, how mean. At times like these, even if its just ttery, you should praise the other person. You really dont understand a womans heart, do you? But then again, I should have taught you these things as your parent. Oh, how I have failed.
Marcho was once again teasing me.
To be frank, being treated like a child somewhat hurt.
Anyway, why are you wearing those clothes?
Oh, I was just trying to please you. I know youre a lolicon, so I thought, why not appeal to that side of yours. So, how is it? Does it do anything for you?
Marcho said so and then twirled around, the frills on her skirt fluttering along.
Oh, shut up. Like Ive told you a million times before, I am not a lolicon
What an awfully false usation. I have very healthy preferences. I am absolutely not a lolicon.
So you say, but look at your monsters form right now.
Marcho said so while looking at Kuina.
At the moment, Kuina looked like she was 12 or 13 years old. This was despite that until recently, she looked like a girl in thetter half of her teens.
Oto-san doesnt have anything to do with this! Its to conserve energy!
Apparently, her younger form consumed a bit less energy. So, to expedite her evolution no matter how little, she was staying in that form.
You sure?
For crying out loud, Marcho, what do you take me for?
To bepletely honest, I did feel more at ease with Kuinas younger form.
For one, hugging her in her younger form just feels better. Secondly, I dont get off bnce as much whenever she jumps at me for a hug. Her adult forms fantastic, but I just think this form is better... crap, I got sidetracked.
Well, anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit today?
I have something Id like to ask: can you still make medals with your [Demon Lord Powers]?
Upon hearing my question, Marcho smiled.
As I thought.
Yup, still can. Naturally, Ill give you all I have since you became my master. However, for those Ive obtained before that, Ill ask this just in case: will you ept them?
No. Much like the DP youve saved up before you became my monster, I will not ept those medals.
I thought youd say that. And like Ive said before, I like that determination-to-the-point-of-stubbornness of yours. Its kinda childish, but I like it.
Again, shes treating me like a child again. I have to prove to her Im adult one of these days.
Then, why didnt you tell me you can make medalsst time I was here, when I was collecting DP?
If she had told me then, I didnt have toe back here and do extra effort.
The answer to that is, well, if I had told you then, you wouldnt havee back here again. The next time I would have seen you was going to be next month, when I have another medal. Thats kinda lonely, so I deliberately stayed silent. I thought that if I did, youll meet with me one additional time to ask me about it. Call it the wiles of a womans heart.
She exined so and then roguishly smiled.
As I thought, I am no match against her.
Then, I promise that from now on, I will find, no, I will make the time to meet you whenever I can. Besides that, youre always wee to visit me whenever you want. Ill always be happy to see you.
When I said so, Marcho snickered in response and then proceeded to hug me.
Because she was taller than me though, my head became buried between her chest.
Ooh! Such an adorable thing to say! You were actually a mother-con all along werent you?
Stop. It hurts.
I was at her mercy.
If I have fully recovered, I might have been able to separate us peacefully. However, at the moment, I was left no option other than to let her do as she liked until she was satisfied.
Youre so cute, Procell. Oh, before I forget, here, the [Beast] medals I have. Come pick up another one next month, alright?
Thank you. Now I can make a new monster.
Also, just an fyi, I can make [Beast] medals, sure, but the medals Ive been able to make because Ive broken their Demon Lords crystals, well, I cant make them anymore. It seems like the [Demon Lord Powers] I have is limited to that of the [Beast] Demon Lord. I cant buy imitation medals anymore either.
Ill make note of it. Then, see you next time.
I gave my heartfelt thanks to Marcho and then left her dungeon.
With all the necessary medals at hand, I could finally create the new monster. If all went ording to n, I would have a monster that could act in the other dimension and also use [Transfer].
After I parted with Marcho, I returned immediately to Avalon.
At the moment, I was in theboratory of my estate, trying to focus my mind.
In just a few moments more, I was going to make the new monster.
This time, I had no intention of using [Person].
I had used it for all my previous [Syntheses] involving the [Creation] medal because it allowed me to make a monster that I could converse with and that was close to my own form.
I didnt need those qualities for this monster though. All I needed it to be was to be an extremely useful addition to my war potential.
When they heard I was going to make a new member of our family, Rorono, Aura, and Ruhe came along. Kuina havent left my side since our trip to Marchos dungeon.
Kuinas so excited for our new sister!
Mhm. I have to ascertain what kind of weapon will suit them.
Yeah, and Ill feed them lots of delicious apples
Patron, remember your promise, you hear? You said the child youre going to make next was one who can fight alongside me in the other dimension!
Though they said different things, each of them felt just as excited.
I know, I know. But anyway, once its born, you all shower it with a warm wee, okay?
I said so as I grasped tightly the three medals[Creation], [Beast], and [Time] in my palm.
[Synthesis]
As soon as I said that word, the medals became particles of light and intertwined with one another.
Countless possibilities then came and went in my mind.
For a while, I kept searching the possibility that I wanted, the one I wanted the new monster to be. When I found it, I smiled and grasped that possibility.
Volume 8 1
In order to create the new monster, I held three medals in my hand and began the [Synthesis].
Around me were Kuina, Rorono, Aura, and Ruhe who were eagerly waiting for the birth of the new S rank monster.
The medals I held were [Beast], [Time], and [Creation]. Upon the start of the process, the medals became particles of light which intertwined together within my closed fist.
During that, countless possibilities of what the monster might be flowed to my mind. After some searching, I found and selected the possibility that I wanted. And that was a hound that persistently hunted its prey across time and space.
The versatility of the [Beast] medal was truly extraordinary.
All sorts of monsters could be created with it. Unfortunately, due to the default nature of Synthesis which was being random, that versatility also meant a lower chance for the desired monster to be the result. But then again, that wasnt an issue at all with the [Creation] medal since the user could simply choose whichever oue.
Speaking of the [Creation] medal, the one I made it transform into was the [Subspace] medal. As its name might imply, it was a medal that specialized on the other dimension. Needless to say, itspatibility with the [Time] medal was spectacr.
"Youre the one I choose! Now,e!"
After saying so, the intertwining of the particles of light grew more intense. Choosing not to endure the heat caused by that anymore, I opened my closed fist.
The particles of light then, while shining brighter and brighter by the moment, gathered in one ce and formed a figure.
At that moment, I was given a choice and I chose for the new monster to be able to level up as opposed to having a static level. Although the monster would start at level 1, being able to level up allowed it to eventually achieve a higher level than the other choice.
The choice made, features of the monsters began to show as the intensity of the light decreased.
Before long, I felt the overwhelming presence peculiar to S rank monsters.
Its born. Without a doubt, its the monster Im wishing for.
I subconsciously smiled as I thought so.
"Woah! Its a doggy!"
"It seems strong. And quite fiendish."
"Its master, so I thought for sure itd be a new little sister."
"Ooh, it feels quite strong. Its reassuring to know that I will now be fighting with this child."
Each of my monsters expressed their impressions of the newly born one.
The new monster was a gigantic dog. It was so big, a fully-grown human male might seem like a child next to it. Its coat was beautiful and jet-ck. It also had a thick, zigzaggy, pointy tongue that was stretched outward.
It was Tindalos, the hound that persistently hunted its prey across time and space.
"Guruuuuuu"
Tindalos growled so. It seemed quite the energetic child.
"Nice to meet you. I am to be your master, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell. Ill be relying on you from now on."
I said so and then extended my hand. In response, Tindalos extended its paw too and shook mine. Its quite intelligent.
"Oto-san, why didnt you use [Person] on this child?"
"Well, for you girls to serve as leaders of Avalon, I needed you to be intelligent and be able tomunicate, hence why I used [Person] when I made you. On the other hand, all I seek from this child is for it to be powerful in a fight."
In addition, since neither [Time] nor [Beast] by themselves could make a monster capable of crossing to the other dimension, that duty fell to my [Creation] medal. In other words, there just wasnt enough leeway for a [Person] or simr medal.
"By the way, master, this child is a girl. And is actually just a pup."
"...but its already this big"
I was surprised by Roronosments.
Tindalos was already much bigger than I was, yet she was saying it could still grow.
"I was surprised a doggy was born, but it seems like a good kid. I dont know how, but I just know that it is."
"Leave this girl to me, patron. We will be fighting together often from now on, after all."
Aura and Ruhe both seemed pleased with Tindalos. It would be great if they grew attached to it.
After that, I thought I, as its Demon Lord, needed to confirm its capabilities. When I used my Demon Lord Powers to took a look at its stats, I was in disbelief at how great it was.
Race: Tindalos
S Rank
Name: Unnamed
Level: 1
Physical Strength: S
Endurance: B
Agility: S+
Magic: B
Luck: C
Special: A
Skills:
One who lurks in the angles
Supreme Hunter
Guardian of Time
Transfer
Human Transformation (B)
It had very offense-focused stats. The agility of S+ made it the quickest among my monsters, beating even Kuina and Aura on that regard.
Its skills were just as amazing.
One who lurks in the angles: Allows the skill holder to enter and exit the other dimension through acute angles (angles measuring less than 90 degrees). It is possible to exit the other dimension instantaneously from any acute angle within a radius of two kilometers.
In other words, so long as there were acute angles, Tindalos could appear from whichever one, attack, and then retreat, all in a very short span of time.
Supreme Hunter: Activated by selecting a target through sight. The targets stats are all lowered by a rank, with magic and physical strength being lowered (slightly) even further. Also allows the skill user to detect the whereabouts of the target even if the target is using concealment skills of any kind or is in the other dimension.
Even though the skills activation condition of simply seeing the enemy was extremely easy to fulfill, its effects of debilitating the enemy and tracking them downwhile they were still weakenedwere a big help. When used with [One who lurks in the angles], Tindalos could hunt its prey pretty much wherever they were.
Supreme Hunter indeed.
Guardian of Time: Allows the skill holder to control their own flow of time or that of a target selected via sight. Magic power consumption is proportional to the multiplier used. The greatest multiplier that can be used is 3.
This skill was simple, but undeniably strong. It practically gave a significant speed boost.
Transfer, meanwhile, was obviously useful, no questions asked.
From these skills, I could tell that Tindalos was more or less a monster that specialized in one-on-one fights. However, as great as its skills were for one-on-one duels, they didnt give much of an edge when facing many enemies at once.
That wasnt its only weakness though. Each of [Supreme Hunter], [Transfer], and [Guardian of Time] consumed a great deal of magic power. This was despite the fact that Tindaloss Magic stat was only a B. In other words, if it wasnt careful, it might run out of gas before the fighting was over.
"Tindalos, Ill be counting on you. Specifically, when taking down the enemys aces."
The basic n was to leave the small fries to my other monsters while Tindalosunches a surprise attack on the enemys trump cards.
Thats all well and good, but somethings bothering me.
It concerned Tindalossst skill: Human Transformation. None of the medals used should have given Tindalos this skill, and yet Tindalos nheless had it. Which begged the question: how did it get the skill?
Surely, Marcho can shed some light on the matter. I should talk to her soon.
While thinking so, I petted Tindaloss head.
I had petted Kuina and the others head so much, I was confident in my abilities, and as it would seem, it worked on Tindalos as well.
It was a gigantic dog, but it behaving this way made it look oh so cute.
"Gururuuu ?"
It showed me its belly, so I proceeded to brush it too. When I did so, it seemed even more pleased. Hahaha, what an adorable fellow.
Going with the flow, I proceeded to pet it more. In reaction, it leaned on me while shaking its tail, which unfortunately caused me to lose my bnce.
Pinned and my back on the ground, I was licked in the face by a very enthusiastic Tindalos.
"That tickles. Stop."
I can get used to this. Contact with an animal might just be what I have beencking. I mean, the girls are cute and all, but they were still girls, so I have to be discreet. With a dog though, I can just let go and beforted by all this cuteness.
Right when I thought so, Tindaloss body shone brightly. Moments after, her form became that of a cute but expressionless girl with ck hair and dog ears.
"Guruu ?"
In that form, Tindalos continued the licking she was doing earlier.
Whilepletely naked.
Of course.
If it was a dog licking me, there would be nothing wrongnothing criminalwhatsoever with this scene. And that was all Tindalos was: a dog in human form. Unlike Kuina and Fel who were more demi-human in nature, there was no way Tindalos would feel shame from such an act. For it, it was just being yful.
And then, at that moment, I felt the signs of a Transfer. Are you kidding me? Right now?!
"Yoohoo, Procell, Im here! You said I can visit anytime, right? Well, I cant any longer so I came as soon as possible. I brought some presents."
While saying so, Marcho opened the door.
Her dungeon and mine were connected by a pair of Transfer arrays and the one that led to Avalon was hidden here in my estate. To be more specific, it was hidden in the room adjacent to the research room where I currently was. In other words, I didnt have enough time to remove Tindalos away from me.
And so, Marcho saw the situation I was in: pinned to the ground and being licked in face by a naked girl of 10 or so years of age.
A smile was still on her face, but her eyes rapidly grew cold.
"Whatcha doing there, Pedocell?"
"Pedocell? Isnt that worse than Lolicell?!"
Pedocell?! Id rather be called Lolicell than that!
After making Tindalos step asideand also making her sadI exined the circumstances to Macho.
Although the misunderstanding has been cleared, I had a bad feeling I would still be referred to as Pedocell for quite a while.
By the way, Kuina had been spouting things like Tiro-chans so sly! Kuina too! If an animals fine, Kuinall be a fox!
Aura was teasing Kuina on while Rorono made a face that seemed to approve.
Things were getting out of hand.
Meanwhile, the cause of it all, Tindalos, was back in her hound form and was grooming herself.
At any rate, I had made a powerful monster.
There various of ways I could think of to utilize her powers. For example, making sure that the [ck] Demon Lord would never again be able to escape.
TL note:
Tindalos is derived from Lovecraftian lore. Wikipedia link here.Apparently, Kuina is nicknaming it as Tiro. I guess I can use Tilo, I dont know.Tindaloss Human Transformation has a B next to it in the raws. I dont know if this is a typo, but Im proceeding as though its intentional.
Volume 8 2
I moved from the room where I made the new monster to a nearby living room.
Together with me in the room were Marcho, Aura, and Ruhe. I had given Kuina and Rorono a special, important task.
It has been an eventful day, to say the least.
I had just made a new monster: Tindalos, the hound that persistently hunted its prey across space and time.
Through the use of acute angles, she coulde to and from the other dimension. Moreover, when exiting the other dimension, so long as there were acute angles within a 20-kilometers radius, it could instantly teleport to any of those acute angles.
It was a highly versatile and powerful ability, especially considering acute angles were everywhere. Even pebbles in the ground had them.
In other words, unless the enemy was aware of Tindalos ability and was countering them by being in a perfectly circr room, a surprise attack could beunched.
To make that surprise attack even more effective, Tindalos had another ability which allowed it to track any target it had seen once with its sight, regardless of whether the target was using any concealment skills or was in the other dimension.
So, if I so wanted, I could have Tindalos assassinate a hostile Demon Lord it has seen just once during a negotiation many days before.
"Such power, I cant believe shes a dimension-controlling monster."
In addition to her unbelievable skills, she had absurdly high stats.
Generally, a monster that had dimension-controlling abilities also had inferior statspared to other monsters of the same rank. However, due to the fact that Tindalos was made using three A rank medals, she was on par with even Rorono and Aura in terms of stats.
This perfectbination of skills and stats made Tindalos a very worthy addition to my war potential. I could offer noints in that regard. In others though...
"Oto-san! Weve finished putting on clothes on Tiro-chan!"
"It was a real struggle. Apparently, Tiro hates putting on clothes."
Kuina and Rorono entered the room like so, with a somewhat pouting Tindalos in tow.
For better or worse, Tindalos was a dog at heart. For that reason, the concept of shame was foreign to her. And yet, she possessed the skill [Human Transformation] which allowed her to transform into a young girl with dog ears.
In fact, just earlier, she pinned me down and licked me in the face while in that form and naked. The sight of a young girl licking me was bad enough, but a naked girl doing such things was worse still. It was borderline criminal.
And so, due to that, Marcho misunderstood the situation and christened me Pedocell.
"Garururuuuuu"
Tindalos uttered so and then rushed up to me to snuggle. It seemed like whatever reason she had for pouting was gone the moment she saw me.
Tindalos was adorable, but it was her adorableness that was troubling me, unfortunately.
"Tiro, you dont have to always be using [Human Transformation], you know."
Imitating Kuina, I referred to Tindalos as Tiro.
Calling a monster by a nickname wasnt the same as naming it. There were no risks but also no benefits. It was just a more convenient way of referring to the said monster.
Thankfully, Tiro seemed to like her nickname.
"Garuuu ?"
This child should have been smart enough to understand what I just said, yet she hasnt reverted back to her dog form.
She must have some kind of aim or something to remain like this. Oh well, whatever for now. Before anything else, I have to talk with Marcho. If theres anyone that knows how Tiro can use [Human Transformation], its gotta be her, the master of the [Beast] medal.
Speaking of, Marcho was busy drinking her ck tea in front of me when she suddenly broke into a smile and said something.
"My, my. Arent you quite popr with the little kids, Pedocell?"
The misunderstanding from before should have already been cleared, and yet here shes still teasing me with ridiculous nickname.
"For crying out loud, didnt I already exin that what happened earlier was beyond my control!?"
"Yeah, yeah. Im just kidding, alright? So, anyway, Im guessing you want to know how that kid can use [Human Transformation] despite the fact that the medals youve used to make her doesnt have anything to do with that skill, yeah? Well, the reasons simple, really: that kid is Tindalos."
I know that shes Tindalos; what I want to know is how she has [Human Transformation]. But its Marcho. Im she has a good exnation.
"Would you please borate?"
"Ive read about that kid in a certain book in the [Creator]s library. ording to it, a Hound of Tindalos is pretty much what you wanted, a hound that crosses over to subspaces and maniptes time."
I nodded to that. It was exactly the possibility that I wanted out of the countless possibilities offered to me, so I grabbed hold of it.
"However, that kid isnt a Hound of Tindalos. Its a being that transcends even that. What Im saying is, that girl is Tindalos itself."
"I... I see."
I finally understood.
Thinking on it, because I used the [Beast] medal to make her, I arbitrarily decided that she was a Hound of Tindalos despite her status clearly stating otherwise.
"As you might know, a Hound of Tindalos is pretty much a lump of iprehensible nightmare and Tindalos itself is even more so. That being said, only so much of it can manifest as a monster. In other words, its formbe it a dog or otherwiseis irrelevant. I mean, even stories about the Hounds of Tindalos didnt explicitly describe it as hound, merely a congregation of foulness. As for why it takes the form of a humanoid, its most likely responding to your subconscious wish. And thats why I was calling you Pedocell earlier. Get it now?"
"...its still not nice to hear."
I acknowledged and agreed with what Marcho said. However, my desire for Tiro to take on a humanoid form still didnt make me lolicon. All I wanted was apanion whom I could develop a bond with.
"Well, actually, theres been something thats on my mind. That girls [Human Transformation] might satisfy your wishes, Pedocell, but its much too weak. A monster of her rank should have something stronger, dont you agree? Maybe its a skill that evolves after some level ups. Who knows, it might be something amazing, like a skill that allows her to assume other forms. Or maybe even give her a special human-based weapon."
While Marcho said so, I looked at Tiro who was just tilting her head in wonder, oblivious in what was going on. Shortly after, she made a huge yawn, reverted back to herrge hound form, and then began to sleep.
What an awfully carefree child.
It was pretty hard to imagine her to be something so frightening when she was acting like this.
In any case, I noticed something when she transformed. Despite returning to her hound form, her clothes didnt get torn. On the contrary, the clothes even transformed to fit her hound body.
"Rorono, her clothes are amazing."
"Mhm, if I may say so myself. These magic-power-woven clothes are made using Kuinas clothes as reference. They exhibit the ability to change form based on the wearers current state. Due to theck of time, however, this is more of a rush job and thus has rather poor performance. I intend to make a proper er this evening. This child cant use weapons like us, so I want to give her good protective gear at the very least."
"How thoughtful of you. Thank you."
"Shes my little sister, so this much is only natural."
While saying so, Rorono petted dog-form Tiros head.
Thanks to Roronos caring and helping nature, I no longer had to worry about a nude young girl pushing me down.
"Rorono, Aura, thanks for everything. You may now go back to your duties. Kuina, Ruhe, and I will take care of the rest. Well be taking Tiro to the [Crimson Cavern]. Shell often be fighting alongside Ruhe and sometimes bemanded by Kuina, so I think its best to familiarize them with each other now. Well, how does that sound? Kuina? Ruhe? You okay helping Tiro to raise her levels?"
"Yeah ?!"
"Of course, patron. I kinda have to if I ever want an easier life, right?"
Great. It seems theyre eager to help.
Like that, Rorono and Aura left the room. Meanwhile, Kuina and Ruhe retrieved their weapons.
"Well then, I better head back too. I had fun teasing you, Procell."
"Sorry, you came all this way and yet I wasnt able to properly wee you."
"Oh, its fine. I just dont want to be a bother. Take care of that kid, okay? Without a doubt, shes gonna be helpful to you."
"Yeah, I know. Hopefully, she could fill in for whatever Avaloncks right now."
Tindalos was a monster that could help Ruhe fight in the other dimension.
She also had the strongest tracking ability which could sense anyone wherever they might be.
Furthermore, she also could use [Transfer], thus eliminating ourplete reliance to the crow monster that was sent as a spy by the [Time] Demon Lord.
Truly, Tindalos was everything I wished for.
There was also the monster that became avable for purchaseusing DPwhen I made Tiro. It was only at B rank, but it was still a powerful and convenient monster. So much so that I was already considering buying a [Maelstrom] for itter that evening. Like this, Avalon was bound to get even stronger.
"Well, it looks that you know what to do. Give it your all, okay?"
"Yeah, I will. Im running out of time, after all."
I was referring to the 1-year grace period that was protecting new Demon Lords like me. If I let it by doing nothing, that time would be gone in an instant.
At any rate, I saw Marcho off.
After that, I took a deep breath and spoke.
"Kuina, Ruhe, Tiro, lets go. Tiro, show us what you can do, okay?"
"Guruu!"
Tiro enthusiastically replied so. Hearing that, I couldnt help but smile a little.
And so, all of us ready, we walked toward the Transfer array that would bring us to the [Crimson Cavern].
Volume 8 3
Together with Kuina, Ruhe, and Tindalos, I went to the Transfer arrays hidden in my estate.
The one we were about to use was the one that would bring us to the [Crimson Cavern], the dungeon left behind by thete [me] Demon Lord. It was a ce I used to level up my monsters. Due to the innumerable [Maelstroms] present in the dungeon, it would neverpletely run out of monsters for us to defeat.
Speaking of which, because I had gathered just enough DP recently, I bought another one for the Darkness Dragons, increasing the total to two.
If a monster could be bought with DP, a [Maelstrom] could be bought for it for a price equal to 100 times the cost of the said monster. In exchange for that, the [Maelstrom] would forever produce one of that particr monster each day for no additional cost.
That was great and all, but I had discovered that [Maelstroms] had some shorings.
First off, the monsters it made could only have static levels.
Secondly, not all monsters could have [Maelstroms]. In my trials, I had found out that I couldnt buy a [Maelstrom] for the Mythological Foxes, Dwarf Smiths, High Elves, or the Ocean Singers. On the other hand, both the Darkness Dragons and Hippogriffs were eligible.
Based on those results, I had conjectured that [Maelstroms] couldnt be bought for humanoid races. By the way, this was another of the reasons I chose not to use [Person] when I made Tindalos.
"Oto-san, lets go call the crow!"
Kuina merrily announced so.
The crow she was referring to was the monster I received from the [Time] Demon Lord. It could use [Transfer], so we had been relying on it whenever we wanted to go to the [Crimson Cavern] or some other ce.
"Actually, we dont need to anymore. After all, we can just ask Tiro to help us."
As I had remarked before, Tiro was wonderful.
On top of being able to go to and from the other dimension and controlling time, she could even use [Transfer].
Thanks to her, we no longer needed to rely on the crow monster whom we knew was a spy for the [Time] Demon Lord.
He might be an ally for the moment, but hes the kind of fellow I cant let my guard down to.
"Tiro, would you please use [Transfer]?"
"Garuu!"
Tiro enthusiastically answered like that.
She was currently in her ck hound form. I much preferred it if she stayed in this form, but given her capricious personality, that was unlikely. Worse yet, there was no telling when she would transform.
At any rate, she approached the Transfer array, sat on top of it, concentrated, and then poured some magic power. The rest of us followed suit and entered the array. A momentter, the array shone and the floating sensation peculiar to [Transfer] enveloped my body.
Like that, we arrived at the Transfer array ced in the [Crimson Cavern].
It was pretty much a volcano dungeon, so it was quite hot.
"Everyone,e near Kuina."
"Gau!"
"Phew. Thanks. It was so hot, I thought I was gonna die."
"Yeah, thanks, Kuina."
It got cooler when I went near Kuina. This was made possible through her power over fire which, to put it crudely, allowed her to control the amount of heat of things.
On sultry nights, Rorono and Aura would even sneak into Kuinas room and sleep there. In fact, due to that well-maintained temperature, I too enjoyed sleeping beside her and hugging her like a pillow.
Even now in this volcano dungeon, her ability was proving mighty useful.
"Tiro, youre an S rank monster, but youre still at level 1. I prohibit you from attacking a C rank monster or above, you hear?"
"Gau!"
What a wise kid. Obedient too. It seems like she got what I was trying to say.
"Kuina, if ever a C rank monster or stronger appears, I want you to take care of it."
"Leave it to Kuina!"
Kuina, taking on her role as the eldest, energetically replied so.
For the most part, the strongest monsters in this dungeon were C rank monsters.
That was due to the fact that most monsters here were born from [Maelstroms], and as stated before, [Maelstroms] could only produce monsters that were eligible for purchase with DP. For a monster to be eligible for purchase, another monster that was at least two ranks above it and of the same lineage must first be made through [Synthesis].
Most Demon Lords could make only up to A rank monsters, so the most a [Maelstrom] could offer them were C rank monsters. Meanwhile, I could reliably make S rank monsters, so I had easy ess to B rank monsters.
As to be expected, the difference between B rank monsters and C rank monsters were huge, thus giving me an overwhelming advantage.
That reminds me, I bet Sts has already bought a [Maelstrom] for the monster unlocked by her Storm Dragon Knight Bahamut.
In my estimation, my ck Dragon of Death Siegwurm and her Storm Dragon Knight Bahamut were on par with each other. If I was correct, it stood to reason that the monster two ranks below her Storm Dragon Knight Bahamut was also on par with the Darkness Dragon Graphross.
If she had bought a [Maelstrom] right away, then in half a years time, she could possibly have nearly 200 B rank monsters at her disposal.
If I have Sts as an ally, well be quite powerful, wouldnt we?
I would say about 90% of all Demon Lords had B rank medals, which meant the most powerful monster they could make through [Synthesis] on their own was just a B rank monster.
Given the regr rules of [Synthesis], they werent even guaranteed that. If two medals of the same rank were used, there was only 2/3 chance the created monster would be of those medals rank. The other 1/3 chance, however, could make the new monster have one rank lower. And if they somehow obtained an A rank medal, a [Synthesis] using that and their B rank medal would only have 1/3 chance of yielding an A rank monster.
For those reasons, Demon Lords who had B rank medals considered B rank monsters as their elites while D rank monsters made by [Maelstroms]posed the bulk of their forces.
To be blunt, from Sts and my own perspective, most individual Demon Lords could be considered small fries already. The quality of our forces was just so great, it was more than enough topensate for the fact that they had years ahead of us in terms of preparations.
In retrospect, giving Sts that [Creation] medal was truly the correct decision.
Maybe its wise to also give the next member of our faction a [Creation] medal. That way, well all have [Maelstroms] that can mass produce B rank monsters. Alright, Im going to reserve the next medal I make for that purpose.
For whatever reason, [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronoves face popped into my head, and it just might not be the worst idea ever.
As a Demon Lord, he could make aquatic monsters and also slimes.
And slimes were the embodiment of potential. Its lower-ss species were pretty much synonymous with the term small fry, but the same couldnt be said about high-ss slime species. I had even heard of rumors saying there was an [Infinitely Evolving Slime] somewhere out there.
If I gave him a [Creation] medal, he could make an S rank slime and an army of B rank slimes. In my opinion, that was a reliable ally.
Of course, I knew that in terms of war potential, intellect, or whatever else, it was probably better to look for another Demon Lord to add to our faction, but the thing about [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove was that he was good people and incapable of treachery.
The worst that could happen was that he would sit on his hand, wasting away the [Creation] medal and all its benefits. If I could prevent that from happening, recruiting him to our faction was a valid option.
"Oto-san, you look serious. Whats wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. Sorry, I just got lost in thought. Now then, lets focus on Tiros hunt."
It was a bad habit of mine, to go from thought to thought.
Nevertheless, the idea of recruiting him was definitely something worth considering.
"Okay, lets move forward! Well be counting on you, Kuina."
"Gaugau!"
Kuina had oftene here leading others, so she had somehow grown ustomed to being a leader. In fact, it was fair enough to say that she was the one that trained both Aura and Ruhe.
The person herself felt she was next to useless outside ofbat, but these kinds of things proved exactly how useful she was.
Through Kuinas guidance, we reached a dungeon room where we could efficiently take down many monsters.
The dungeon room in question was the inside of a cave filled with many rock formations. These rock formations were as tall as I was and was littered all over the ce, creating blind spots.
However, thanks to theck ofva, thus the better footing among other things, it was quite easy to fight here.
The moment we entered the dungeon room, I felt many eyes staring at us.
"Theres lots of D rank monsters here. Theyll be great for leveling up Tiro-chan!"
Like that, Tiro took a step forward to sniff and look at the surroundings.
It seemed like the many monsters here were hiding behind the rock formations, waiting for their chance to strike.
One foolish monster had its tail jutting out, so I used my Demon Lord powers to look at its status.
Race: Fire Smander
D rank
Name: Unnamed
Level: 35
Physical Strength: C
Endurance: D
Agility: C+
Magic: E
Luck: D
Special: E
Skills:
Fire resistance
Camouge
Fire Breath
It was a small fry monster without anything worth mentioning.
However, the danger with them was their numbers. Once we got close to the rock formations, it was likely that the Fire Smanders hiding there would attack us all at once.
At any rate, seemingly done with reconnaissance, Tiro looked down at the rock at her feet. Not even a momentter, she jumped head-first into that rock and vanished.
Actually, she didnt vanish. To be more urate, she dove into the other dimension using the acute angle present in the said rock.
The next thing I knew, a Fire Smander hiding behind a rock a few meters ahead fell into the ground and died. Its head was missing.
Aside from using the ever-present acute angles as entrances to the other dimension, her skill used it as exit points as well. When exiting, the skill allowed her to pretty much teleport to any acute angles within a certain range.
In other words, it was the strongest ambushing skill.
Right after surprising and decapitating her prey, Tiro dove back to the other dimension using a nearby acute angle, repeating the process over and over.
The Fire Smanders, who were waiting to ambush us, had no clue on what was happening, and yet their heads were flying one after another. They werent even able to perceive Tiros presence.
Looking at the nightmarish scene unfolding before me, I gulped down my own saliva.
Her skill was much, much more terrific than I anticipated.
Coupling the teleportation blind spot attack with her insane statsPhysical Strength S and Agility S+it was a genuine one-hit fatal attack.
I couldnt picture a way to prevent such an unreasonable attack. Those that didnt know about it would be killed without much resistance. Those that knew about it would forever be on guard which was impossible as sooner orter there would be a miniscule gap in their defense and that would be all that was needed to kill them. Meanwhile, Tiro had the option to simply stay in the other dimension and wait until that opportunity presented itself.
After leveling up enough, she was going to be invincible. This hunt has reaffirmed that belief.
By the way, Tiros sense of smell was fantastic. Even though she wasnt able to use [Supreme Hunter] as it required visual confirmation of the target first, she was able to locate all of the hiding Fire Smanders with just her excellent sense of smell.
Anyway, after finishing thest of the Fire Smanders, Tiro returned to us via the acute angle in the pebble on the ground.
She was carrying the head of a Fire Smander in her mouth. When she was near enough, she dropped it in front of me.
"Gau!"
With her tail wagging and a triumphant look on her face, Tiro barked so.
She seemed like she wanted to be praised, so I petted her head. When I did so, she hummed sweetly.
"Youre so amazing, Tiro-chan!"
Kuina excitedly praised Tiro like that. An absurd battle like that was definitely worth a praise.
"Kuina, if ever you and Tiro fought, how would you go about it?"
Kuina was one of my strongest monsters, if not the strongest. So, it got me thinking of what kind of methods she would employ against Tiro.
"Hmm... First of all, Kuina will melt everything a few meters around me. That way, therell be no nearby angles. Im sure I can make it smooth and all curvy, even the ground. If I have a few meters of that, I have nothing to worry about cause then Ill have enough time to react with my [Ultra-rapid Reaction]."
I see. Removing all acute angles in the vicinity is definitely possible for a first-rate monster like her.
"Plus, Rorono-chan and Aura-chan can just fly up to the sky and make that the battlefield. There wont be any acute angles there."
"It seems its not as undefeatable as I thought, but she should still be extremely hard to counter if the enemy didnt know anything."
I decided that we should keep details of Tiros skills a secret as much as possible. Particrly the fact that she used acute angles to enter and exit the other dimension.
"Yup! Although, I think I can still win against her even if I knew nothing."
"How?"
"Lets see. The moment she bites my head, I can focus my magic power into my head to harden it. And then, before she tears it off, I would have shot her in the gut with my shotgun! So, yeah, Ill probably be fine!"
Kuina was impressive as always.
Contrary to her appearance of being a cute little girl, she was actually already a veteran soldier who has survived countless of battles before. Being one of Avalons strongest wasnt just for show.
"Anyway, good job, Tiro. Do you still have enough magic power to go on?"
"Gau!"
The person herself said she could still go on, so we hunted a little bit more.
Due to therge number of enemies defeated and also to the fact that she was still just at level 1, she leveled up a lot all at once.
At that point, I remembered Roronos request and made a digital camera using [Creation].
It was for recording the next battle.
ording to Rorono, if she was able to see how Tiro fought, an idea for Tiros equipment mighte to her.
After seeing Tiro fight myself, I thought she would like to have a close-range weapon with high offense capabilities.
Now, to properly record her next fight. Incidentally, why dont I record Kuina too? So that someday, far into the future, well have something to look back on and smile at.
"Kuina, Tiro, lets go to the next spot, okay? Lets go level up a whole lot more today!"
"Yay~ ?"
"Gaugau!"
Like that, we hunted in the [Crimson Cavern] until it gotte.
Afterwards, we returned to Avalon. Because of all that moving and fighting, we decided to eat.
To double as the celebration for Tiro joining our ranks, we should eat luxuriously tonight!
Volume 8 4
After leveling Tiro up, we returned to my estate.
Tiros strength was far beyond what I expected, making me excited about the growth she would have.
That being said, her fights had shown few of her weak points.
Whenever Tiro was exited the other dimension and appeared in this one, she exhibited no velocity. That was fine when she appeared on the ground, but for when she appeared mid-air and was attacking, she first needed to elerate herself to reach her target. And even if she could already reach her target, without any speed, her attack wouldnt have as much power.
For example, if ever she chose an acute angle in Kuinas shotgun as her exit point, she could appear suspended in mid-air, and that was the worst because she needed tond first which would cost her some time and perhaps even the attack. If someone like Kuina was the enemy, a punitive counter-attack was imminent.
I intended to discuss such things with Rorono. Hopefully, she could find a way to help Tiro elerate even when in mid-air.
That would doubtlessly lead to Tiro bing even stronger.
"You girls head back to the estate first. Ill go order something to be delivered there. Were gonna eat luxuriously today."
"Yay! Looking forward to it!"
"Gaugau!"
"Patron, dont forget about the booze!"
Kuina, Tiro, and Ruhe, all seemed merry, and I was happy for it.
This was going to be Tiros weing party, so going all out on the luxury was definitely the way to go.
That being said, even though I knew Kuina and the others favorites, I had no idea for what Tiro might like.
For the meantime, lets get her some meat. Shes a dog, so maybe some bone-in roasts.
After ordering a home delivery service at a favorite shop of ours, I headed home.
While waiting, Rorono and I studiously watched Tiros fights.
These footages were recorded earlier via the digital camera I produced using my [Creation].
At the moment, it was just me and Rorono in the room. In order for Rorono to concentrate more easily, the others were asked to stay in another room.
After a while, we had gone through all of the recorded fights.
"So, after watching, what do you think Tiro needs after watching how she fights, Rorono?"
"Hmm. I want to give her a way to elerate even in mid-air, or maybe a weapon thatll demonstrate tremendous power even from up close and without any wind-up."
"My thoughts exactly."
As I thought, Rorono also found it troubling that whenever Tiro exited the other dimension, she had zero velocity.
"However, the restrictions this time are pretty severe. Firstly, Tiro cant use hands in battle. Secondly, she uses her speed as a weapon, so as much as possible, I dont want to give her any heavy equipment. Furthermore, her skills by themselves use arge portion of her magic power already, so I also need to avoid anything that will consume more of her magic power. Its quite troubling."
Rorono said so and then took out herptopputer. Seeing that she was opening and browsing through many concept notes, I guessed she was choosing which was the best for Tiro.
As she was currently, she didnt need any advice from me. It might seem she was consulting with me, but in reality, she was just voicing out her thoughts and organizing them.
I hadplete faith that she would find the best possible answer. She was the worlds best alchemist, after all.
"Using both gunpowder and a magic power source will provide firepower without consuming the remainder of Tiros own magic power. A generator that used golem cores are no good because of the weight restriction. The battery made of Kuinas fur might work... It wont be much help in prolonged battles, but at least, the magic power and weight criteria has been solved."
Rorono chattered so as both of her hands moved quickly to type in notes and make diagrams on herptop.
"The foundation will be firearms, but because it is intended to be used from zero distance anyway, range may be safely ignored. How about shortening the gun barrel? That might lead to not enough time forbustion. Then, using only gun powder... if instead I change it to a mixture of that and mithril powder, it might work. But in the first ce, does it have to be a gun? No. A pile bunker? Hmm, interesting. If the metallic stakes it shoots out can be used again, enchanting the stakes themselves might increase the performance. Put those enchanted stakes into a revolver-type weapon and have it be fired using mithril powder and explosion magic. Tiro doesnt have hands, so fastening it to her underbelly and implementing an activation method......"
Rorono was deep in her thoughts.
She did pros and cons of the ideas she had, while still entertaining other approaches.
After about 30 minutes of staring at the screen of herptop pc, Rorono raised her head.
"Master, Ive finished a draft. Ill need perhaps a week to make a prototype out of it. If Tiro is pleased with that, I estimate another week to make an improvedhopefully perfectversion."
"Will this development process be new and all from scratch? If so, isnt a week too short toe up with a prototype? Will you be alright?"
"Mhm. Thanks to your consideration of me before, the top priority projects have been finished already. Kuinas new weapon was finished. The increased poption counter-measures, the infrastructure development ns, and other basic ns have also been finished. I have entrusted the rest to the Dwarf Smiths. All the Avalon-Ritters have been repaired too. So, its fine, you can leave this to me."
Rorono had done that much work in such a short span of time.
She was reliable as always. I was truly proud to count her as one of my [Monsters of the Covenant].
"Sorry for the hardships I have given you, Rorono."
"Its fine. I dont mind it. I actually enjoy them. Like with Tiros new equipment this time. It seems like itll be an interesting project. Look forward to it, master."
"I will."
Her face grew red when I brushed her head, so she tried to cover it.
A momentter, she decided to lead on me.
"Father, I think Im a little tired, after all. Let me rest like this for a little while."
"Rest as much as you want to."
"Thank you."
I answered her like that and then wrapped my arm around her shoulder.
If it meant Roronos fatigue faded away, I didnt mind staying like that for as long as she wanted.
After watching the videos and then the break Rorono had, we headed to the living room.
Upon entering the room, I noticed therge quantity of dishes lined up.
It was the home-delivered meals I ordered in the city earlier.
Kuina and Tiro, who were looking at the food, were unsurprisingly in high spirits.
"Wooaaaahhhhh, this bone-in meat is bigger than Kuinas head! And theres one for each of us!"
"Gaugau!"
Kuina was looking at the roasted spare ribs of a gigantic boar called Tyrant Boar.
The size of each one was so ridiculous, it mighte off as a joke, but their vor was the real deal. It was thoroughly cooked in a stone stove, so it was moist, juicy, and above all, delicious.
Originally, one of such was enough to feed an entire family, but due to the girls rather big appetites, I ordered one for each girl.
"There arerge shrimps too. You remembered that I said I liked them, master?"
"Yeah, you were in a daze eating them before, right? Its sauted with chili sauce which is a popr seasoning in the south."
The shrimps were as big as my arm. The dish was made by peeling off the shell, slicing it up, cooking it with chili sauce, and then putting it back into the peeled off shell.
"Thank you, master. This is my favorite."
Rorono said so,pletely happy.
"Patron, wow, Im impressed, you picked an expensive wine. When its my own money, Im usually reluctant to buy something like this. But when Im not the one buying, theres no need to hold back, is there? Today, well be drinking til we drop!"
"Well, you would haveined if I got cheap wine, right?"
Looking at Ruhe as she was rubbing her cheeks against a bottle of wine, I couldnt help but smile wryly.
I had ordered the bottles of wine especially for Ruhe who was quite the drinker. Additionally, I also ordered a great variety of other dishes to serve as hors doeuvres.
"Now, why dont we set the table?"
"Yay?! Kuina will help out."
"Ill show you my good taste, patron. Ones impression of the food mightpletely change depending on the way its presented, after all."
Kuina and Ruhe took charge and arranged the food to make it look more delicious than it already was.
While they were doing that, a sweet aroma began to drift in the room.
Curious, I looked for the source and found Aura. In her hand was arge apple pie.
"Ta-dah! Todays a special celebration to wee Tiro-chan, so I baked an apple pie using golden apples! Also, the golden apples used were from the new tree! Enjoy!"
Ohh, we finally have another tree worthy of being called a [World Tree]. Im looking forward to this.
After putting the apple pie on the table, Aura also helped out on the arranging.
And then, when the table was more gorgeous and appetizing than before, we all took a sit around the table. Only Tiro, who was still in her dog form, sat on the floor.
Like that, everyones attention was gathered on me.
"We are gathered here today to wee Tiro as the newest addition to our ranks. To that end, let us eat and drink grandly."
I said so and they replied enthusiastically.
Theyre such good girls; epting Tiro dly like this.
"Cheers!"
Kuina and Rorono were having juice; Aura, Ruhe, and I were having some wine; and Tiro had top-ss milk poured into her deep bowl.
Like that, weother than Tiro, of courseraised our sses.
""Cheers!""
We shouted so and then bumped our sses together.
After that, one after the other, we approached Tiro, crouched in front of her, and then bumped our ss into her bowl.
And so, the party began.
"These spare ribs are the best!"
"Garuu!!"
The meat-eaters, Kuina and Tiro, bit into their gigantic bone-in meat without dy.
"Theyre so juicy and delicious. As I thought, shrimps are great."
"Well, as for me, Im really liking this salmon carpio. Theyre light, so I can eat however much I want."
"Those are great and all, but its alcohol for me. Haaah, that hits the spot. I feel like I was born to drink this. Another!"
It seemed like Rorono, Aura, and Ruhe were all enjoying the party.
The party went on.
Kuina and Rorono had exchanged their juice for alcohol. Kuina preferred juice, but was still generally able to drink and enjoy alcohol. Rorono, meanwhile, loved alcohol, but had chosen to drink juice so as to not make feel Kuina left out.
The legal age of alcohol consumption in this country was 12 years old. Not that it mattered since they were monsters anyway, so there really wasnt any reason for them to avoid drinking.
Meanwhile, the number of bowls in front of Tiro had increased by one: one that was full of wine.
When I looked at Ruhe, she turned away and began to whistle.
Her suspicious actions sealed the deal: she was definitely the culprit.
By the way, Tiro was now ignoring the bowl filled with milk and was instead only drinking the wine. She even burped in satisfaction.
So, even though shes a dog, she drinks wine, huh...
And before I knew it, the food was all gone. Evidently, "overordering" was the right call.
"Now, everyone, time for dessert! Savor these new golden apples, okay?"
The main dishes gone, Aura took initiative and sliced up the apple pie.
The pie, while being sliced, made a crunchy sound that was music to my ears. The aroma emanating from within reached me and by that alone, I could tell it was delicious.
Obviously, I immediately took a bite. Its crunchiness and taste were the best. Eating this delicious pie was a privilege that perhaps only we in the world could ever have.
All of us were enthralled by the apple pie. Well, all except...
"Guruu..."
Staring at the slice of apple pie ced before her, Tiro issued out seemingly sad cry.
Are dogs not fond of apple pies? Rather, can dogs even eat apple pies?
When that worry crossed my mind...
"Guruu!"
Tiro cheerfully barked so.
She then transformed into her young girl form, grabbed the slice with her hands, and then stuffed it into her mouth. While still chewing, her face ckened in pure glee.
Aura, smiling wryly, then ced a second helping in front of Tiro. When Tiro saw that, she immediately grabbed it and ate it.
"Gururuu ?"
Tiro, who was now full, gave a seemingly satisfied sound. She then turned back to her dog form, rolled into a ball, and began to sleep.
What a carefree fellow.
When Tiro did that, Kuina, to amuse herself, crouched down and brushed Tiros head. And when the other girls saw that, they proceeded to do it themselves.
Good. It seems my monsters have truly epted Tiro as one of their own. Sleep tight, Tiro. The party will still be here when you wake up. Well party tonight with all our might, for tomorrow, we go back to working hard in order to make us stronger.
While thinking such, I inclined my wine ss.
Volume 8 5
It was the next morning after the weing party for Tiro.
Rorono had already began her work on Tiros equipment, and Aura had gone to her orchard to take care of the apple trees.
Meanwhile, Kuina, Ruhe, and Tiro resumed raising Tiros level.
As for me, I was staring at my Demon Lord book in astonishment.
"I dont have enough DP..."
I found out that my calctions were off.
Due to Avalons further growth as well as Marchos dungeon, my DP ie had skyrocketed. And thanks to that, I was able to buy two [Maelstroms] for the Darkness Dragons.
Darkness Dragons were B rank monsters, meaning each was worth a staggering 1,200 DP, and two [Maelstroms] for them was 240,000DP. That definitely was a lot, but it was well worth it.
I had spent almost none of my DP until recently, so between that and the tons of DP I earned during our Marcho rescue campaign, I had thought I would have well over 130,000DP after I bought the second [Maelstrom] for the Darkness Dragons.
That remaining DP would have been enough to buy a [Maelstrom] for the monster unlocked when I made Tiro: the Abyss Howl.
However...
"I thought I had enough, but I had to spend DP and remodel because my dungeon proper has be too crowded."
I added a new dungeon floor, and filled it with three dungeon room right away. One of those rooms was an expensive [Mine] room.
Furthermore, I added an additional Dwarf Smith to finish the construction of infrastructures in Avalon and also of the churches in other cities. I also added two High Elves to help Aurawho had been devoting most of her time tending to the two golden apple treesand the other High Elves tend to the issue of environmental pollution brought about by the increase of poption in Avalon.
Given those expenditures and maintaining enough DP for [Floor Swaps]...
"Yeah, I cant buy a [Maelstrom] now. Alright, heres the n. Ill think of a way to gain a whole lot more of DP. And then, alongside that, I ll buy one, and just one, Abyss Howl to test it out."
Considering the nature of [Maelstroms] where it made a monster once each day, the sooner I make one, the better. Despite the upfront cost, it was definitely better to save up DP to buy a [Maelstrom] than to buy one Abyss Howl at a time.
Until recently, there was always an impending battle on the horizon, so I didnt have much luxury to save up. However, now that it seemed like the next battle wouldnt be until I became fully independent in half a years time, saving up DP and buying [Maelstroms] were the more preferable choice than immediate war potential.
Moreover, thinking up of a way to increase my DP ie was something I should do anyways, even if I didnt aim to buy a [Maelstrom].
As for how, there were broadly two approaches that might or might not ovep one another. The first was simply to increase the time humans spent in Avalon. The other one was to raise the quality of their emotions.
The quickest of my options at the moment was to hold worship meetings daily. On certain days, worship meetings were able to increase my DP ie by almost 10%.
As tempting as that was, however, that required Ruhe to be part of the ceremony here in Avalon even though ceremonies in the major cities of the Ax kingdom also had to be held in order to get new followers and make them eventually make a pilgrimage toward Avalon.
In other words, it was a short-term solution at best.
"Then, I have to think up of a new attraction that will entice people. Hopefully, one that will increase both the number of humans in the city and the quality of emotions we can get. I guess theres only that then..."
By lowering the taxes in Avalon, it became a lucrative ce for merchants.
Even if I was to leave them alone now, I had no doubt they would think up of new and fascinating attractions they could profit from. In their effort to better their lives, they were turning Avalon into a more and more charming city.
And a market where extravagant items from all over the world was gathered and sold for cheap would always be crowded.
As such, all sorts of business had opened shop here. One could taste all sorts of food in the restaurants in our city. Thanks to the high number of audiences they get here, a famous traveling theaterpany had even decided to permanently stay.
Well, almost all sorts.
There was one that Avalon still didnt have. Due to certain reasons back then, I didnt allow for such a thing to be built here. Now should be fine though.
"Alright, I should go find some coborators. My and my monsters efforts alone will likely be not enough. Not without any significant difficulties, anyway. If we do this right, my DP ie might skyrocket in one go."
Conanna was the one I had most trust in among the humans. He had been with us since the beginning. He had even made Avalon be the headquarters of his firm.
At the moment, I was heading to that headquarters.
I was unaware that their headquarters, which was located in the outskirts of Avalon, was such a splendid building that it could rival even my estate.
"Wee, Procell-sama."
"It seems business is doing great as ever, if this fine building is any indication."
"Its all thanks to you and this city. It was quite the gamble moving our headquarters here, I must admit, but it was definitely the correct choice. As for this building, it costs to maintain and has no direct use, but it makes us seem sessful and that alone is enough to make the deals made here progress easier."
He greeted me so with a cheerful smile.
ck tea was served to me, along with tea-cake.
It goes without saying that the ck tea was of the highest quality. Also, the tea-cake served had the Arnold symbol in it, signifying it was from the bakery that even nobility and royalty favored.
It was the grandest of wees.
"At any rate, what might I be able to do for you today, Procell-sama?"
"I am thinking of adding a new public facility here in Avalon and I would like it if you participated in this endeavor."
"Ohh. That smells of profit, doesnt it? What do you have in mind, exactly?"
It was one of the very few things Avalon wascking.
"I want to open a public casino. I will handle its construction and, if you are willing, Id like you to take care of its management as well as personnel recruitment. Of course, Ill have a few conditions."
Conanna smiled so widely upon hearing me.
It was a pretty big deal for me to say I was building a casino. The insane profit to be had, for one.
"But Procell-sama, out of all our proposals, the building of casinos was the one thing you had always rejected. What changed?"
"Avalon was still in an unstable state back then, so I had severe reluctance about building one. However, today, I consider this city to finally be stable and safe. I think its about time."
In Avalon, before merchants could build their shops where they could freely do business, they needed to file an application first.
Normally, I approved these applications without much hassle. The one exception was when the business was going to be a casino. Now, there did exist some kind of gambling dens in the back alleys of Avalon because I turned a blind eye to individuals and small shops doing petty gambling, but none that could be recognized as casinos.
As for why I did not approve of any nned casinos, I had certain reasons, the first being that it was a threat to public order. Especially so back then when most of Avalons poption were ill-tempered and ill-mannered adventurers. If these adventurers lost, there was a risk they would turn to crime. If rumors that said Avalon was not a safe ce were to spread, people would be wary and thus be less likely to visit.
However, things were different now.
Public order was stable; the number of merchants and immigrant farmers had increased; and even the number of tourists had increased.
Now that the settlers here and those that had money to spare had be the majority, I no longer needed to hesitate on opening a casino.
"The first ever casino in Avalon, huh. Yes... without a doubt, theres a lot of profit to be gained here. I shall do my best in this endeavor. But Im getting ahead of myself. What are your conditions?"
Conanna leaned his body forward and asked so.
I was d that he seemed to be on board.
If it was possible, I would have much preferred it if my monsters and I could do it all by ourselves, but operating it required highly technical knowledge as well as manpower that could handle a great variety of tasks. For those, we needed the connection that Conannaspany had.
"Im d youve shown interest."
"If I refused, you would have just offered this tasty deal to anotherpany, wouldnt you?"
Conanna knew me well.
As far as I could tell, he was the most skilled and trustworthy merchant I knew, so I came to him first. However, if he was to refuse, I would have little choice but to find somebody else.
"Alright, on to my conditions. The size of casinos site will be about as big as the church. The maximum number of people it can contain is intended to be as much as 500. For the programs, performances, events, and whatnot, my only condition is that they be things that can only be found and enjoyed here in Avalon; everything else about that is up to your discretion. Also, I want you to recruit top-ss dealers and to gather whatever is popr. And then, I want the return-to-yer rate be maintained at 90%. I am going to be firm on this."
Upon hearing that I wanted the return-to-yer rate be at 90%, Conanna scowled.
"Thats quite unreasonable, isnt it? If the yers win back 90% of their bets, well be making just barely enough. One wrong step and well be out of business right away."
The return-to-yer rate was how much of the total wagered money were given back to the yers as winnings over time. For example, lotteries in the ancient times had a return-to-yer rate of 50%, while horse and ship races had 70%. Also, gambling dens opened in the neighboring territories and countries had about 60%.
So, when seen from the yers perspective, any ce that had 90% return-to-yer rate would be an overwhelmingly inviting ce.
Obviously though, the higher the return-to-yer rate, less profitable it would be for the house.
"I understand that 90% is harsh. In exchange for it, Im willing to give yourpany all of the casinos profits. Additionally, I will also give you 10% of what Avalon earns each month. Not its profits, mind you, but its total sales."
"...Then, what about Avalon? I thought for sure that we were going to split the profits, with you getting the lions share. But now, not only are you giving us all of the profits, youre also providing funds out of your own pocket. The 10% from the casino and the 10% from you is more than enough for us, but arent you one-sidedly losing money?"
To bepletely frank, I had no need for money. Gold and silver were practically the scraps from our excavation for mithril and orichalcum, and if anything, I had so much of it, it was beginning to corrode.
What I really wanted from this casino was for humans elsewhere be excited toe to our city.
I would have even offered a 100% rate if it didnte with any problems. One of those problems was that if the humans could live purely off of the casino, Avalons as a city growth would stagnate, if not outright halt.
"Well, I am opening the casino not for mary gain, after all. Its simply a means to attract new people to the city. These people might being for the casino, but they will still spend a portion of their money somewhere else in the city. The same can be said of the employees we will be recruiting from outside the city. Both will certainly stimte Avalon and its economy. So, you see, money is not really leaving Avalons pocket."
I said something believable which, for now, should hold.
"I see. So, its an investment. Avalons already the gathering ce of all kinds of delicious food and forms of entertainment, and also the worldsrgest marketce. Now, its going to be ce where people can gamble and reliably win. This is going to be amazing. People from all over the world will being to Avalon."
Conanna, now in an ted mood, fervently said so.
"Ill be counting on you. Oh, but the casino wont be the only thing inviting people to Avalon. Well also have shy shows. So, even if theyve lost, theyll still be satisfied and want toe back. Heck, I want them toe here just for the shows."
"That sounds fun. Ill take care of those while also recruiting those dealers as soon as possible."
He really was ecstatic. Like that, I decided to tell him one other thing.
"Theres actually one more project Id like to discuss with you."
"Oh, youre going to make me happier than I already am?"
"Avalon is sure to be more popr with these attractions, but the fact that the roads going here is in bad condition remains. Even if they wanted toe, only a few people ever will. I want to do something about that."
After all, the only properly maintained routes to Avalon were those going through the Ax Kingdom. It was rare to hear of people that came here via the paths that crossed areas not controlled by humans.
"We have been thinking about that problem as well. When weve gone somewhere via the Hippogriff and was about to return to Avalon after stocking up goods, we would often enough get requests asking to hitch a ride. So, yes, even though they want toe here, it just isnt an option for many."
Somehow, it seemed like Conanna was able to guess what I wanted to say.
"I am expecting to have an additional 100 tamed and trained Hippogriffs soon. Of course, my subordinates will make carriages for them too. However, these carriages will be specialized not for the transportation of goods, but of people. And, well also be building air transportation stations in various ces."
With a hundred Hippogriffs, the goal of transporting people as well as goods was more than a possibility.
The greatest hurdle, however, was arranging the construction of the stations in each city or town. It was another matter which me and my monsters were pretty much helpless while merchants and theirworks worked wonders.
Upon hearing what I proposed, Conanna began to tremble.
"Thats going to be good, no, fantastic! To be honest, Im more excited about this than even the casino. If this seeds, the number of peopleing to Avalon will increase threefold, fivefold even! Stations connected by the sky, hahaha, why havent I thought of that!? What a fool I am. Anyway, thank you, Procell-sama! Ill get it ready in three, no, two months. I swear it on my pride as a merchant!"
He was in higher spirits than ever before.
Though that was to be expected. After all, if these stations were built, he would be a merchant that went down in history.
"Since this will be a project for Avalon, funds will be provided for whatever is needed. Come byter to pick it up."
I then passed to him a contract that offered about half of what I gave to the Ax Kingdom as aid money before.
Building stations in cities and towns all over the world would be a massive undertaking, at least this much money was going to be needed.
"Thanks a lot. I dont think my savings alone would have been enough. With this much though, I can concentrate more on the project itself. By the way, Procell-sama, how much will you be charging for the ride on the Hippogriffs?"
"I dont mind if it ends up being free. Like I said, my goal is for the prosperity of Avalon, not money. That being said, well still earn revenue in the form of taxes."
Conanna then reached out his hand while smiling. In response, I reached mine out and shook his.
"Hahaha, Procell-sama, you truly are a god. My god, to be more precise. I am so d to have met you."
That was thest reason I entrusted things to Conanna: he worshipped me. He might be a merchant and thus be a little greedy at times, but he worshipped me and would never betray me.
Like that, the seeds have been sowed.
With the casino and Hippogriff transportation system, my DP ie would surely skyrocket.
Humans truly were convenient. They could do things that me and my monsters just couldnt do. Without Conannas cooperation, the casino and the stations would be next to impossible to aplish.
Now then, time to prepare for what will be in the casino. It has to be the shiest kind of game, plus it has to be something that only Avalon can offer. Its time to use those guys who are just lounging about when theres no emergency.
Those thoughts in mind, I walked to the hidden entrance to my dungeon proper.
Volume 8 6
In order to prepare a program for the casino, I used my Demon Lord Powers to Transfer to my dungeon proper. More specifically, the newly added floor.
I had told an undead monster to tell Duke to meet me here.
This new floor had three dungeon rooms. The first was a [Graveyard], and the second was a [Mine]. The third one was a narrow [Stone Corridor] where a weapon of mass destruction was deployed.
Basically, the [Graveyard] room was guarded by Duke, the Skeletons, and the undead monsters resurrected by Dukes [Enhanced Resurrection]. If ever any enemy somehow escaped the first floor of the dungeon proper, they were bound to be crushed here.
Meantime, in the [Mine] room, the Silver Golems and Gold Golems made by the Dwarf Smiths worked tirelessly day and night to dig up ores. Also, the Darkness Dragons birthed by the [Maelstroms] resided here. In case the fighting in the previous dungeon room got too close, I had instructed them to retreat here.
With the MOAB, which was formerly in the third room of the first floor, moved to thest room of the 2nd floor, that dungeon room became ourst defensive line. However, as much as I considered it as a trump card, it was still a card that I had previously yed and was thus known by others. To supplement this, I nned to also deploy in that room a more atrocious weapon.
But then again, considering that the replenishment of our stock of MOABs had just beenpleted as well as the fact that Rorono had just finished the blueprints for that new weapon, it would still be a while before the Dwarf Smiths finish making the parts.
Obviously, I could tell Rorono to help in the manufacturing process to speed it up, but I would rather she worked with her brain to make ns for other new weapons than for her to work with her arms.
Fortunately, unlike her, I could buy Dwarf Smiths with DP. In other words, if I so wanted, I could mass produce weapons of mass destruction.
"As it always has been, the first floor has solid defense. And, almost unbelievably, the second floor has even better defense than that. My dungeon proper is finally looking like a proper dungeon."
Thanks to these two floors, the defense of my crystal became stronger than ever.
The first room of the first floor was a straight path where the Mithril Golems and their heavy weapons were set up.
The second room was the site of the pastry and the weapon factories operated by the Skeletons.
As for the third room, it was an extremely cheap [Stone Corridor] as of the moment, but I was thinking of changing it to something more useful.
There have been a serious shortage of lumber recently, so turning it into a [Forest] room might not be such a bad idea.
While thinking of that, Duke arrived.
At his side was his adjutant who was also his wife. As ever, the two of them were really intimate.
"My lord, how may I serve you?"
Duke, the middle-aged dragonewt, said so and then bowed his head.
Like always, each of his actions was graceful.
"In order for Avalon to develop, theres something I want you to do. I want you to gather about 20 of the brightest and most docile Darkness Dragons."
"Yes, right away, my lord. I will summon Pochi and the elite unit he is leading."
Duke saluted and then proceeded to send instructions via telepathy.
By the way, Duke referred to the leader of the Darkness Dragons as Pochi. It wasnt an official name, but rather a nickname. My monsters had been using these nicknames to refer to each other. It would have been quite inconvenient otherwise, after all.
Still, for Duke to refer to a high-ranking and ferocious dragon with Pochi, it was like he viewed them nothing more than cute and adorable dogs.
"[Ruler of Death] sure is convenient, isnt it?"
"Yes, aside from strengthening all of my undead subordinates, it also allows me tomunicate with all of them at once via telepathy. For me whose duty is to protect Avalon, I rely on this ability a lot."
Aside from having the dragon attribute, the Darkness Dragons also had the undead attribute. That meant that they were also viable targets for Dukes [Ruler of Death] and were thus further strengthened. This was one of the many reasons I made two [Maelstroms] for them.
After a while, I noticed a bunch of medium sized western dragons flying in perfection formation in the sky. Soon enough, they swooped down andnded magnificently.
They arent considered elites for nothing.
"My lord, I present to you the cream of the crop among the Darkness Dragons."
"Yes, they do seem like it. So, listen, I n to open a big casino in the city. I want one of our main draws to be flying dragon races."
Upon hearing me, Duke ced a hand on his chin and began to think.
"Flying dragon races, is it?"
"For humans, dragons are objects of fear and reverence. Theyll surely go wild if they ever learned that those dragons were going to race in sky against one another. Everyone will be talking about it and will want to visit Avalon. Quite possibly, even non-gamblers will make a trip just to see the dragons."
I was certain of it.
After all, there was nowhere else humans could go to see such powerful monsters race one another and still live.
"I see. Certainly, humans wille rushing, but I do have some concerns. The speed of the Darkness Dragons exceeds that of the speed of sound, so unless the race course is at least 20 km, the race will be over in an instant. On the other hand, if the race course was indeed that long, it will then be much farther than what the human eye can see."
I had also worried about those issues. Because of that, I had thought up of a countermeasure.
"My n is to have one of the fastest flying Darkness Dragon fly ahead of the group and be in charge of capturing the race via a camera. Hopefully, that will give a sense of immersion to the guests who shall be watching the captured footage in arge screen indoors."
"Ohh, that is a good n."
"Moreover, we should implement a mechanism that makes the casinos ceiling open up to reveal the sky above. If we do that and also make the casino a part of the final leg in the race, even though it will only be for an instant, the guests will be able to see with their own eyes the majesty of the Darkness Dragons as they fly by."
Actual experience of seeing the Darkness Dragons race against one another, that was the enjoyment we were going to offer with this race.
That said, there were some necessary considerations to take into ount. One of such was that the Darkness Dragons had the skill called [Fear]. It might cause even instant death for humans just by being within a hundred-meter radius of the Darkness Dragons.
"Hmm, yes, I support this. Lately, the Darkness Dragons have been growing bored. This race should be a good distraction as well as exercise for them."
"Is that so? Well, thats not all. I also intend to reward them for their participation. As you know, the third room of the 1st floor of the dungeon proper was originally ourst line of defense. However, with the addition of the new floor, that role has been given to floor 2 room 3. So, I was thinking of turning that room into a [Forest]. If I do that, pigs, wild boars, and other animals will spawn from time to time. My point is, we can offer an all-you-can-eat for a whole day to whoever wins that race."
Like mentioned before, a [Forest] room would help in the lumber shortage.
Additionally, ording to my Demon Lord Book, much like a [Mine], a [Forest] would spawn rarer animals, fruits, medicinal nts, and many others as the Demon Lord became stronger. Aura could use these things to help her potion-making. Furthermore, we could also sell materials gathered there, hopefully attracting more humans toe to Avalon.
Given the guaranteed steady supply of boars and pigs, I could feed my monsters as much as possible. Although monsters didnt strictly need to eat, they enjoyed it nheless. The Darkness Dragons loved meat, so that should serve as a fine reward.
As though to confirm, when the Darkness Dragons heard me say all-you-can-eat meat, they gave a pleased roar. Now, Im sure theyll give their all in the races. And if they gave their all, the audience will be fascinated even more.
"A [Forest]? Yes, thats fine idea. The [Forest] will hinder the movement of our enemies as well as their fighting capabilities. Furthermore, there are many among us who have an aptitude to fighting in a forest. If pushes to shove, the High Elves and Mythological Foxes can turn it into their hunting grounds and annihte our enemies. I think well see their real talent shine there."
The High Elves, Mythological Foxes, and the Abyss Howlswhich were the monsters two ranks below Tirowould certainly thrive from the many obstacles as well as rough footholds that a [Forest] provided.
Alright, its decided, Im going to make a [Forest] room.
"But my lord, where will the casino be located? Avalon has grown quite crowded recently, hasnt it?"
"Itll be built in the [ins]."
My dungeon had a dungeon proper where my defenses were ruthless and a city part where Avalon was located.
The city part had one dungeon floor which was filled by three rooms. The first room was the [ins], the second was the city of Avalon itself, and thest one was the [Mine] room.
It was hard to cram in the casino, which was a going to berge facility, into the already cramped Avalon, so I nned to build it in the [ins]. The [in] room was 20 km by 20 kmrge. That should be enough for the Darkness Dragons to fly around happily.
"I support this too, my lord. The Darkness Dragons will enjoy flying around there."
"Thats good to hear. Alright, notify the brightest of the Darkness Dragons first, but also let them all know that everyone may participate. Once the casino is in full swing, I expect there to be about 8 races in a day, so well have to alternate the participating members often."
"Understood."
"Also, Im thinking of holding a mock race tomorrow evening. Itll be a demonstration to the merchants Im going to invite. We absolutely must not have any mistake. Ill leave the task of selecting the participants to you Duke. So, pick six racers and one that will be in charge of the camera."
To that, Duke nodded.
Knowing him, the participants would have been chosen and given instructions in no time.
That over, I spoke to the Dwarf Smith beside him.
"Dwarf Smith, would you like to help us break free from this state of overreliance on Rorono?"
At first, the Dwarf Smith was bewildered by what I was saying, but after a while, she smiled as though she understood my meaning.
"Procell-sama, is it fine for me to assume that us Dwarf Smiths shall be taking over the construction of the casino and racing grounds?"
"Yeah, thats it. I also want you guys to assign colors to the Darkness Dragons and decorate them with that color. If the guests cant tell the dragons apart from one another, they wont be able to choose whom to cheer and bet on, right? Actually, give them not only distinguishing features, but also their own identity. Additionally, I want you to prepare the race course itself. I want it to be at least 100 km long. Plus, even though its in the sky, I want the race course to be as clear and recognizable as possible."
Surprisingly, even details as the colors were important.
"Leave it to us! Well do our best to not let Rorono-samas workload increase anymore."
"As youve guessed earlier, youll also be in charge of the construction of the casino. We need it finished in a weeks time. The minimum requirements are detailed here. Read it and then tell me if you can do it without any help from Rorono. Its fine if you cant, but in that case, Ill ask Rorono to supervise."
After receiving the paper containing the requirements from me, the Dwarf Smith then began to read it.
The most important requirements of the casino listed there were: the instation ofrge screen monitors as well as the mechanism for opening the ceiling; a building big enough to amodate at least 500 people at once; excellent audio equipment; and air conditioning systems.
All of that and more had to be finished in a week. Needless to say, it was a lot to ask. However, I believed that the Dwarf Smiths being the powerful and skilled monsters that they were, as well as with the help of their golems that would act as their limbs, such an endeavor was possible.
Especially so considering their work on Avalons infrastructure development and the churches. Sure, Rorono improved on some things, but the basic design and the construction was thanks to the Dwarf Smiths.
In fact, Rorono had been saying to entrust more and more things to them, that the less dependent they were on her, the more they could grow. And I agreed with her. This casino was going to be the perfect opportunity for such growth.
"You bet! I mean, yes, we can do it. However, Id like to request the aid of the golems being used for mining ores as well as the Darkness Dragons. That and the use of Avalons limitless funds. I believe these to be necessary."
"Granted. Ill be counting on you all."
"Yes, please do!"
Im sure they can get it done. Hmm, I should go talk to Roronoter.
Rorono was extremely helpful to others, but was rather poor on being helped herself. That would normally be a good thing, but relying on others from time to time was necessary. I hoped this would be good experience for her too.
"Moving on, Procell-sama, Duke-sama, I have a proposal. Since we have such a vast plot ofnd and a spectacr main draw in the form of the race, I think limiting the building to amodate only up to 500 people is a waste. So, why dont we construct the casino to be able to hold a thousand or maybe even 2,000 people? We can finish it in time either way, so why not go for more!"
I was involuntarily dumbfounded.
2,000? I cant imagine that many wille... no, by the time the airports are built, were really going to need that much space. After the mock race tomorrow, I should go discuss it with Conanna.
"I ept your proposal. Go build me a casino that can amodate 2,000 people."
"Leave it to us, Procell-sama."
She looked very motivated, so I couldnt help but be excited for it.
Alright, Ive made all the necessary preparations. Tomorrow, Im going to meet with Conanna and discuss the recruitment of personnel that will manage the casino, among other things. Theres also that mock race tomorrow. Im sure everyone will be stunned.
Volume 8 7
Despite the unreasonable deadline, the Dwarf Smiths were working hard to build the casino and also to prepare for todays exhibition event. They had only received the requestst night, and yet I had been informed that they were already finished with the ns for the casino building.
The ornaments for the Darkness Dragons were finished too. ording to Duke, test flights with it on seemed to have been sessful.
Everything about the casino was going well.
At the moment, I was heading to the [ins] room.
I wasnt alone though. With me were Conanna, the top members of his Curtrude Company, as well as executives from otherpanies that were present in Avalon.
Last night, I made it known that I was looking for participants in the demonstration today. Along with that notice, I also notified them that the casinos volume limit was now going to be 2,000 people instead of the initial 500.
It was a sudden notice and yet so many people arrived. Excitedly, I might add. Everyone was anticipating my every movement.
After a while, we arrived at the site where the casino was going to be built. When I turned to face them, I found them all to be surprised.
"Hooh, theyre making a building of this size..."
"This is but a glimpse of what Procell-sama is capable when hes serious."
"...how many thousands of gold do you think this all cost?"
The golems were alreadyying the foundations. There was even a sign denoting that this site was going to be the casino.
That said, it was far from finished. For the demonstration today, since we couldnt use the actual facility, there was a makeshift building that was furnished with tables, chairs, and various equipment that an actual casino might use. There was even a simple mechanism for opening up the ceiling.
"Everyone, please take a seat. Please enjoy the alcohol and light snacks weve prepared."
They all sat down, but their attention was focused onto one point. And that point was arge screen disy.
In order for lots of peoplehundreds or even thousands once the casino was fully operationalto be able to watch the race simultaneously, we were going to use [Divine Revtion]. Not only could it project 3-dimensional holographic images into open space, it could also project 2-dimensional images via a screen. I had thought of using the former, but decided against it in the end because using a screen disy provided better image quality.
"Procell-sama, just what is that thing?"
Conanna asked me the question that was on everybodys mind.
"Youll know once you see it running."
I patronizingly replied so.
Seeing it for themselves would have better impact anyway.
Taking that answer as my cue, I stood in front of the screen and spoke.
"Thank you for participating in todays event to see the casino and its main draw, the flying dragon races. Well then, lets start watching as soon as possible!"
Right after I moved to the side, the screen became lit with a peculiar glow.
With just that, the merchants leaned their bodies forward in curiosity.
The screen then vividly disyed the images of the majestic Darkness Dragons.
To say that the merchants were in awe was an understatement.
"And so, let us proceed to the race. It wont be an ordinary race though. After all, its not often we see flying dragons race against each other. Please, take a look up. Do you see those balloons?"
Floating in the sky were a great number of balloons that were attached together with wires. They were of special make, were of varying colors, and were much bigger and more durable than ordinary.
Even the wires holding them together were coated with special fluorescent paint. This paint absorbed surrounding energy, thus allowing the wires to shine and be noticeable at any time of day, whether it be at night or noon.
These made up the race course that the dragons were going topete in.
"The dragons will fly between those balloons, and you will get to see this as though you were right there through thatrge screen. The course will be over a hundred kilometers long, but it wont even take the dragons five minutes to finish it. Now, rejoice, you shall be the audience members of the worlds first flying dragon race! ...But before that, simply watching will be rather dull, wont it? Lets bet on it. As of now, each dragons odds of winning are the same, so lets do it like this: the house shall match your bets fivefold."
Originally, minor details like poprity and whatnot could be used to estimate the odds of winning. However, since this was going to be the very first race, there was no data whatsoever to use.
Upon hearing my proposal, the merchants became wide-eyed, and then earnestly, naively looked at the dragons through the screen.
"Alright, to introduce the dragons participating in the race,"
The screen then disyed a close-up image of one dragon after another.
At the bottom were the nicknames the Dwarf Smiths assigned to them. Looking at it, I smiled wryly.
Red Rouge
Blue Sky
Green Woods
Yellow Gold
Argent Silver
ck Darkness
There were six participants in total.
Each wore ornaments rted to their assigned name.
The merchants talked among themselves on which to bet on, using only dragons countenance, physique, and whatever else the image might tell.
After a while, the merchants lined up to a table, gave the maid Mythological Foxes their wagers and were then given tickets corresponding their wager.
Them being who they were, the bets they ced were staggering. It was a matter of keeping appearances. Their pride wouldnt let them ce a low bet no matter what.
"It looks like everybody has chosen their dragons. Now, please direct your attention to the screen. Soon enough, the race will begin."
Music was ying from the speakers beside the screen. It was a rousing tone, one that would incite a rush of blood. This wasposed by Ruhe.
It wasnt just the music that was being yed though. There was even the sound of winding from the speakers. The intent was to give a better sense of immersion via stereophonic sound.
When the countdown being disyed reached zero, a loud sound was heard. That signified the start of the race, and with that, the dragons simultaneouslyand majesticallypped their wings.
Everyones eyes were fixed on the dragons as they acrobatically flew through the race course in the sky. In the lead were Red Rouge and ck Darkness. Not too far behind though was Blue Sky.
Each of the dragons were serious and giving it their all. After all, an all-you-can-eat buffet was waiting for them in the Forest as a reward if they came in first.
Three minutes in and the end of the race was already in sight.
The merchants kept on watching the screen with their full attention. They even forgot to blink.
"Alright, the race is about to reach its climax. Aftering out of the series of curves, the dragons wille into a long, straightforward path. That also means that soon, the dragons will fly over our heads. In ten seconds, look up and see them fly with your own eyes."
As I said those words, a mechanism activated and began to open up the ceiling, letting the rays of sunlight in.
It was just a makeshift casino, but this gimmick or a variation of it would be used in the real one as well.
When the merchants looked up...
"Woaaahhhhhh"
"Go, go, my Rouge!"
"Dont lose, Darkness!"
"You can still turn this around, Woods!"
Up in the sky, the Darkness Dragons passed through.
In order to turn efficiently in the series of deep curves they had just exited from, the dragons had to decelerate. I say decelerate but they were still quite fast. They passed through the makeshift casino in an instant.
However, that instant was priceless to the merchants. To be able to see with their own eyes such majestic creatures flying in the sky, it was grandest of luxuries.
The race course made the dragons fly as low as possible, but also far enough that their skill called [Fear] wouldnt affect the merchants. And since the dragons were now flying in a straight, uplicated path, idents were unlikely to ur, though we had the High Elves in standby just in case.
Seeing the dragons up close, the merchants were unable to hide their excitement and deep awe.
After all of the dragons had passed, the ceiling was closed and merchants returned their attention to the screen.
There was only three kilometers remaining. The next part of the race course was another series of deep curves. Red Rouge was currently in the lead but then touched one of the balloons, rendering it out of bounds and was thus eliminated in the race.
Seeing Rouge being disqualified, the merchants that bet on it groaned.
A few momentster, the remaining dragons were entering thest straight path of the race course. The merchants, even more excited than before, cheered for their respective dragons.
That being said, with Red Rouge eliminated, everyone thought ck Darkness had the first ce for the taking.
However...
"My Blue Sky, Its your time!"
One merchant, clutching his tickets tight, stood up and shouted so.
Blue Sky, who was always a step behind ck Darkness, did a mad dash and overtook thetter.
Red Rouge and ck Darkness had beenpeting to be the lead right from the start, costing them their stamina. Whereas Blue Sky chose to preserve his strength and wait for the perfect opportunity to grab the ultimate win.
Like that, Blue Sky finished first and ck Darkness second. The runner-ups were Yellow Gold and Green Woods. Red Rouge and Argent Silver both went out of bounds and were thus eliminated.
The roar of the victors and the groans of the defeated echoed in the ce.
While some Mythological Foxes awarded the winners five times the amount of their bets, some served more alcohol.
"Everyone, did you enjoy that? That was the flying dragon race which shall be the main draw of the casino. Much like you have experienced, people will be able to watch the race through gigantic screens and then see the dragons for themselves as the dragons pass by. We aim to feature all this and more in the uing casino."
There was a round of apuse after I said that.
"Magnificent! This will certainly attract people!"
"Theres nowhere else in the world we can get to see dragons racing."
"And those speeds and those maneuverings! As expected of dragons!"
"This can be marketed even to non-gamblers. This is a show that one will never forget seeing!"
The merchants voiced out their impressions. If even these merchants who were at least by now used to extravagance and luxury were this excited, the sess of the casino and the races were guaranteednot that it wasnt already.
Afterwards, I was asked many and various questions.
When will the casino beplete? More importantly, when will it open?
Can we open our own restaurants and gift shops within the casino?
Is it ok to cooperate with other cities and make the casino part of a tour?
How often will the flying dragon races be held?
There were many other questions they excitedly asked. This much was expected though. After all, the tiniest hint of money was enough to set merchants off hunting for clues.
"Conanna, the casino itself will be finished after a week. Take a look at this sketch. How long do you think you can get all the necessary personnel? I want to open soon, but I think it depends on that."
Everything on our end was going to be ready in a weeks time, but since there were other factors to consider such as Conannas arrangements, the decision wasnt entirely up to me.
Other than the races, the casino was also going to have other popr features. For things like games, we needed first-rate dealers. I had asked Conanna to take care of those, but obviously, that would take some time.
"Procell-sama, a casino that can amodate 2,000 people is reallyrge-scale. I expect there will be guests close to that number too on a regr basis, so I think were going to need at the very least 20 first-rate dealers. Other than the dealers, were also going to need over a hundred staff members, which should be first-rate too. An ordinary merchant will say they need at least two months to get it all done."
That seemed about right. Rather, a merchant that could aplish that in two months would already be considered first-rate.
"The way you said that, are you implying that you can do it much sooner?"
Conanna was the best of the best.
"Ill be able to recruit them in 10 days. And after 4 days, all other preparations like training should have been done. Like that, lets open the casino in 2 weeks! Hahaha! After seeing the dragons race today, my expectations have risen by three times. Well be gaining lots of visitors and gold! ...Also, Procell-sama, do you think you can spare some Hippogriffs for ten days? Even ten of them will be plenty fine. Im thinking of using it to transport the celebrities were going to invite. If we can make a good impression on them, Im sure theyll boast of their experience to their acquaintances. That way, word of mouth about Avalons casino will spread like wildfire!"
Conanna would only say such things if he was confident of sess. Doubly so for asking something of me.
For those reasons, I figured it was worth the risk.
"I understand. Ill lend you 10 Hippogriffs for ten days. Youll have to wait your turn in the list if you need more though, is that ok?"
I was nning on buying a [Maelstrom] for the Hippogriffs anyway. Being D rank monsters, a [Maelstrom] for them was about half as much cheaper than one for a B rank monster. Considering that and the expected demand for them, I could afford to buy one for them with the DP I currently possessed.
"Ten will be enough to transport the celebrities. The influence of these celebrities wille in handy when building Hippogriff stations in their cities where my own influence might not be enough. We might not be able to take advantage of it right away, but since were going to need it anyway, we might as well do it now."
To make it in time for the opening of the casino, we were going to prioritize building Hippogriff stations in ces where there Conannas influence was quite significant, thus requiring little to no preparations.
From another point of view though, the more Hippogriff stations there were, the wider hiswork would be. It was really impressive.
"Im counting on you, Conanna."
"Please do. If I cant invite people after all these means at my disposal, I have no right to call myself a merchant. Also, about the merchants in Avalonsmercial sector, well, they have been submitting business proposals for the casino. To stimte the casinos growth, please consider helping some out."
I had entrusted the administrative tasks of the casino to Conanna. There was a slight worry he would monopolize it and its profits, but evidently, it was needless worry.
He handed me a document detailing the proposals that would expand the features and services the casino offered. Such proposals included restaurants and shops that would be built within or near the casino. There were also some proposals for the establishment of new inns that would be primarily for the casinos guests.
Honestly, I had overlooked some of those. In hindsight, it was so obvious that the increased traffic would result in higher demand for restaurants and inns. Perhaps higher than what Avalon could provide. Avalon almost copsed in itself there.
Thanks to the exnation Conanna gave to the other merchants to make their proposals more focused on satisfying the guests rather than pinching everyst coin, Avalons development n that was centered around the casino wasplete.
There were so many things my monsters and I would absolutely never have thought of. I was so d I entrusted things to Conanna.
In two weeks, the casino was going to open.
Given that, the operation of the Hippogriff stations, and the advertisement campaign weve asked Avalonsmercial sector to do, there would be a rush of peopleing here in two weeks.
I couldnt help but be excited with the overwhelming amount of DP and excellent emotions I would get. Those would make me stronger and one step closer to being the strongest Demon Lord.
Volume 8 8
About a week had passed since the construction of the casino began.
I was currently at the [ins] dungeon room to do an inspection.
With terrific momentum, the construction was progressing well.
The scene of the Dwarf Smithsmanding the golems to build therge casino was undoubtedly a sight to behold, but the merchants shouldnt be discounted so easily.
Right after receiving my permission to build in the [ins]or more urately, near the casinothey had been frantically working hard to finish the new inns and restaurants just in time for the casinos opening. To help them make it in time, I had lent them some Hippogriffs.
One such Hippogriffnded. Instead of materials though, the carriage carried a multitude ofborers.
It must have felt quite ufortable to ride that carriage, considering its not made for people. Is there even any space they can sit down in there?
The Dwarf Smiths were more focused on thepletion of the casino at the moment. So, even with their increased numbers, the production of carriages for human transport was still not finished.
As for the existing carriages, they were made with parts that used Roronos [Materialization].
[Materialization] was Roronos ability to produce out of nothing but magic power a material that had exactly one spell that she herself must be able to use. And the function in most parts of the carriages was anti-gravity which Rorono was also using on her [Mechanical Warmaiden].
The Hippogriffs had very little magic power though. So, instead of the Hippogriffs own magic power, the carriages were powered using the surroundings mana.
Because of that, however, the performance of the anti-gravity materials dropped drastically. Still, it was enough to transport about a hundred people.
True, it did ce a bit of burden on Rorono to make the parts, butpared to the work that the Dwarf Smith had spared her from, it was nothing.
Anyway, tagging with me on my inspection was Conanna. Hispany, the Curtrude Company was fullymitted to the realization of the casino.
"Conanna, youre not going to try a monopoly of things? Wouldnt that earn you a bunch of profit?"
"Hahaha, even with mypany, theres just too much work to do. Weve got our hands full just from the casino. If we add in the inns, the shops, the restaurants, we wont have enough manpower. A merchant is greedy, and thats good, but one should always be able to discern what they can and what they cant handle. Otherwise, they can never be anything more than third-rate. Aside from that, even if I did try to do a monopoly, it will just invite the jealousy and ire of the otherpanies. They might choose to sabotage even the operation of the casino. So, rather than be blinded by greed and risk the casinoa potential golden eggying gooseId rather do my best and help it grow."
What Conanna said was correct.
Building all the facilities that would wee and serve the guests of the casino was a huge endeavor. If he tried to monopolize things, it would undoubtedly cause amotion, at the least, which we just couldnt afford.
Honestly, the otherpanies were doing great.
Becauseborers from nearby cities had mostly been recruited by others already, eachpany had to use their connections, recruit people from cities that were farther away, and transport them here using the Hippogriffs.
Thanks to that, they were able to obtain a wealth of talentedborers cheaply and swiftly.
It was unexpected, but because the many hiredborers that would build the facilities as well as the employees that would work in those facilities were going to work far away from home, a lot of them had already decided to immigrate to Avalon, increasing our poption count by the thousands.
The casino hasnt even been built, much less opened, and yet my DP ie had skyrocketed already. It was a happy miscalction indeed.
Also, with the increased poption, the market naturally became livelier. It was abuzz with expectations and hopes for the soon to open casino, resulting in stronger, more delicious emotions.
To encourage this trend even more, I provided thepanies some financial aid which would be used for hiring workers.
"Procell-sama, you really are amazing. The casinos intended to draw in guests, but the construction of it itself is bringing in a lot of people already, stimting the citys economy."
"Well, you know, tourists are great, but immigrants are the ones truly necessary for the citys growth."
I reflexively told him a lie. After all, I couldnt tell him this was not intended and was just a happy miscalction.
At any rate, I was truly d I decided to ask for help from the humans. I couldnt stress that enough. If it was just me and my monsters, the whole endeavor might have ended up a failure, or worse, a disaster. If it was just us, we might have not hired enough staff, causing the flying dragon races to be our only real feature and thus resulting in the guests being immediately bored and deciding to nevere back.
"Conanna, is the recruitment for the casino staff going well?"
"Yes. Ive hired 30 famous dealers, and about 60 second-rate dealers to act as the first groups support. We also have about 50 staff members that can lead the 200 that will purely be the working force."
It was nothing short of amazing.
In just a week, he had gathered that much famous and talented dealers.
ording to him, these dealers were well-versed in the popr features in the other casinos, meaning we could implement some of them here in our own. In addition to the theaters for viewing the flying dragon races, people were now going to enjoy all the popr things like gambling games from the casinos all over the world right here. Obviously, we were going to hold back on some others, especially the more notorious ones.
In fact, the Dwarf Smiths were already modifying their ns for the casino building so that they could incorporate the ideas from the earlier recruited dealers.
Also, with the more than 300 non-dealer employees, it was more than enough to run the casino.
"Impressive. You really are the Merchant of Avalon."
"I am honored for such praise. But if I am the Merchant of Avalon, then certainly you are worlds greatest lord."
Without any boasting, Conanna gracefully epted the title Merchant of Avalon. It was self-confidence, not conceit.
I then looked up in the sky to see two Darkness Dragons that each carried a container flying by.
Soon enough, those dragons descended enough in a space near the casino, dropped down the containers, and then flew back up.
After that, a Dwarf Smith came along and made an announcement through a megaphone.
"Everyone, the additional materials have arrived! Please fall in line!"
Upon hearing that, carriages rushed toward the container.
While waiting for that to finish, the Dwarf Smith undid the manytches of the container and then opened it. Among the items inside were lumber, stone materials, and steel materials.
The lumber was from the [Forest] room. Meanwhile, the blocks and steel materials were gathered from the [Mine] room and were then processed by the Dwarf Smiths present there for easier use.
No matter how much manpower there might be, a building still wouldnt be built without enough materials.
Some merchantpanies did manage to purchase materials from nearby cities, but it would take time before those were delivered. For the others, there just werent enough to meet the sudden rise in demand.
And so, I decided to support them via providing Avalons resources.
While that one Dwarf Smith distributed most of the containers contents, another was epting requests from theborers to modify the shape of the iron to make such things like nails.
Meanwhile, another one diligently turned cement into concrete. Theborers did not know of concrete before, but after being shown it, it was instantly popr and was now being actively incorporated in the construction process especially due to the time it saved.
"Procell-sama, to provide so much resources for free, my, you truly are generous. Just how bottomless are your pockets, I sometimes wonder."
"Well, this is for the building of the casino, so this is a one-time only exemption."
As to be expected, doing so much was, well, doing too much. There was a real risk of making the humans feel like they didnt have to earn their keep.
In this instance though, to make sure the casino and all the rted facilities were built in two weeks time, I had little option but to do so.
"Procell-sama, once the casino is finally open, will you be sharing to the general public those materials? Those nails, for example, its astounding how theyre all of the same size and quality. The steel materials too are of so high quality. And then, theres the concrete... to be honest, I think its a very revolutionary invention."
Conanna said so, smiling with his whole face.
Anyone who had seen the materials here would surely recognize that they were all high-quality items.
"How shrewd you are. Ill think about it. I do intend to make the recipe of the concrete public. It wont be hard from there, but Ill leave it up to you all how you use the recipe."
"We are so blessed to live here in Avalon where money-bearing trees grow one after the other. Theres never a dull moment around you, Procell-sama."
Laughing a little, Conanna remarked so.
Just like that, the materials that were delivered by the Darkness Dragons had all been distributed.
That wasnt an issue though. Avalons resources were limitless, especially those that were from the [Forest] and [Mine] dungeon room which only needed a set amount of time to replenish.
In fact, the next delivery was already scheduled.
Once again, I was reminded how good of an affinity city building and dungeon making had.
That all being said, we were supporting the merchants not only through those materials.
Ahh, speaking of.
Almost as if on cue, Mythological Foxes that were driving golem-drawn carriages came from the direction of the city.
"Everyone, the provisions are here! Get your delicious meal and refreshing cold drinks! Keep doing your best!"
""Woooooo!""
In the carriage, there was a great number of sandwiches made with white bread, salty sausages, and tomatoes. The luxurious white bread was made using high-quality wheat grown in thends blessed by the elves. Just by sandwiching salty sausages and tomatoes between the bread, it was already plenty delicious.
Additionally, we were also offering a cask full of cold apple juice.
It was made with just the regr apples, but even so, it was potent enough to get rid of theborers fatigue. These regr apples were the first special product Avalon had and was still supporting Avalon even now.
Theborers lined up and receivedwith a lovestruck look on their facestheir sandwich and juice from the Mythological Foxes.
I had instructed the Mythological Foxes to give out provisions three times a day. In the morning and at noon, they were to serve sandwiches and apple juice. In the evening though, the apple juice was to be reced by ale.
Just by offering a delicious meal and a fatigue-remedying cold beverage, the work efficiency hadpletely changed.
"The Mythological Foxes sure are popr, arent they?"
"Why are acting so surprised, Procell-sama? Didnt you make them distribute these provisions because theyre the idols of Avalon? There really is nothing better to motivate a man than a beautiful woman. Impressive as always, Procell-sama."
Most of the Mythological Foxes were working in Avalon-owned shops.
Because they were well-mannered, beautiful, stylish, and perhaps above all, were close in proximity to the citizens of Avalon, each of the Mythological Foxes had garnered many fans. One smile from them was enough to make their fans worries vanish.
ording to Kuina back then, the Mythological Foxes were being courted by the humans, but they only found it troubling and was not at all interested. Kuina quoted:
"Humans are a definite no. Theyre weak and dont have any tail. It goes without saying, the guy has to have a fluffy tail... Ah, but that doesnt matter at all if its Procell-sama. Kyaa! Kuina-sama, ow, ow!"
Still, looking at the humans and the Mythological Foxes interacting with one another, I thought it wouldnt be that surprising for a romantic rtionship to emerge.
"Everything seems to be in order, so Ill be heading back."
"Ill look around for a little bit more. This is a good opportunity to ascertain eachpanys capabilities. Procell-sama, I swear to you, were going to make this casino seed."
"But of course."
I had invested quite a significant amount of DP in this project already, there was no way I was going to let it fail. Not that DP was the only parameter I was concerned with. It was important, but Avalons growth was important too. So, if this casino improved at least one of those, I would have considered it a total sess.
But enough of that for now.
I had received a message from Rorono that said she had just finished her prototype weapon for Tiro.
In perfect timing, Tiro would be back from her level grind with Kuina soon.
I absolutely want to see Tiro test out her new weapon.
Volume 8 9
After leaving the [ins], I headed back to my estate.
There, I waited for Tiro and Kuina toe back from their level grinding. Once they have, we were going to go to Roronos workshop and test out Roronos new and never-before-seen weapon for Tiro. First, we needed to let Tiro try it out, check to see if it has aplished its design goals, and whether it was usable in realbat. After that, we needed to determine if this was the right approach for Tiros weapon.
In truth, I wasnt so confident in it.
I knew that what Rorono made was a pile bunker. It was a close proximity weapon that would shoot out via an explosive st a gigantic metallic stake.
It was very impractical as a weapon, in my honest opinion. Due to its weight, it would have immense offense, that I didnt doubt, but that wasnt saying much considering the offense that firearms could offer.
It was Rorono, so it was going to be diligently and properly made, but there was no denying that this was going to be more of a novelty weapon than anything.
At that moment, I remembered something. Some time ago, I essed the [Memory of the] and used [Creation] to produce a copy of a certain robot anime. Rorono watched that anime, and when a pile bunker appeared in the show, I saw a glimmer in her eyes.
"Nah, everythingll be fine. The Avalon-Ritters Twin Drive Golem Cores were inspired by an anime too, and yet its exactly what was needed. This time too should be alright."
I decided to stop thinking on that for the moment and think instead of what I needed to do next based on the results of my inspection of the casinos construction.
First off, I wanted to build an outer wall in the [ins] much like the one the city had.
I was also thinking of dispatching Mithril Golems and resurrected artificial heroes to maintain public order. There was a need to prepare against attacks by bandits and monsters, but that was doubly so for ces like ours where many people with money and resources have gathered.
It would also be a good move to build infrastructures in the [ins]. Perhaps something like the water and sewer system present in the city. There were wells and the like built there already, but those were makeshift infrastructures at best and were not at all going to be satisfactory to our would-be guests. So, as soon as the casinos construction wasplete, I was of the thought that I should have the Dwarf Smiths begin building infrastructures there.
"Oh, theyre finally back, huh?"
I felt strong magic power which I guessed to be from the activation of a Transfer array.
Momentster, my guess was proven correct by the sound of footsteps of two people.
"Oto-san, were back!"
"Guruu!"
All of a sudden, a fox-eared girl and a giant ck dog jumped at me.
If it was just Kuina, I might have been able to withstood it, but with the both of them, yeah, it was a bit too much.
And so, the two pushed me down and buried their faces in my chest.
I couldnt help buy smile wryly; the two were so much alike.
"You two seem to be full of spirit. Now, will you two please move? I cant stand with your weight on me."
"Kay ?"
"Guruu"
After the two finally let go of me, I used my Demon Lord powers to look at Tiros status.
"In just a week, youre already level 30, huh. Things are going quite well, havent they."
"Tiro-chans amazing! Even if shes by herself, she wont lose to any monsters in the [Crimson Cavern] anymore. Plus, with her excellent nose, not one enemy can escape!"
"Thats amazing."
"Shes a really capable kid!"
Her leveling was indeed progressing well, but the end goal was still far away.
If an S rank monster was made to have a static level, it would be born around level 71-80. On the other hand, even though a monster that could level up had the ability to grow as strong as a monster of a higher rank, it came at the price of having to start at level 1.
So, the current goal was for Tiro to reach level 71 so that she could be at least as strong as an S rank monster with a static level. Indeed, it was still far from realization.
Kuina, Rorono, Aura, Duke, and Ruhe were fortunate in a way because they had been able to participate inrge-scale battles and thus were able to earn enough experience points to reach and exceed level 71. Such a chance didnt seem likely to appear for Tiro though.
Whatever the case might be, I had to think of another way to level her up. I wanted her to be at least level 71 by the time the rule protecting us new Demon Lords was no more. Otherwise, I wouldnt be able to use her as a true trump card.
But as it stands, Tiro wont make it in time. Should I challenge a fellow new Demon Lord into a war? If we massacre all their monsters... No. This isnt who I am.
"Kuina, Tiro, there are some snacks in the kitchen. After youve eaten and rested enough, lets go to where Rorono is. She has just finished making a prototype for Tiros weapon."
"Wow, Rorono-chan sure does work fast!"
"Gururu ?"
Upon hearing my news, their eyes lit up with excitement and expectations.
Surely, what Rorono made wont betray these expectations... I cant help but feel anxious though.
After they finished their snacks, we headed to Roronos workshop.
I knocked on the door and out came Rorono.
Her silver hair was unkempt, and there were shadows beneath her eyes. No matter how I looked at it, it was clear that she pulled another all-nighter.
I had thought that her workload had finally lightened up to the point that she could squeeze the development for Tiros equipment into her schedule, but...
"Im sorry, Rorono. I made you overdo it again."
Unsurprisingly, asking her toplete the development in just a week was asking for the unreasonable. Despite that, I still let her do it after hearing her saying it was manageable.
"No, its not your fault, master. The faults all mine. I got a bit greedy."
"Greedy?"
"Actually, I finished Tiros weapon yesterday morning. But while I was working on your request, the gravity-halving tes for the Hippogriffs carriages, an idea for another equipment for Tiro struck me. But to make it to the deadline, I decided to stay up all night."
Upon hearing that, I connected that to be the reason why she didnt show up for dinner the previous evening.
"Thanks to that, I made it in time. Just barely though. I finished it just 30 minutes ago."
"Really, to finish that in a day, thats really amazing. Great job. But take it easy today, ok?"
"Ill take a break after weve done the tests. And, its my turn to have [Fathers Day] today, so Ill be sleeping soundly with you tonight, master."
She seemed embarrassed, but she said such things filled with her expectations nheless.
It was her turn to spend the day and night with me, and I intended to spoil her lots.
"Master, please lead Kuina and Tiro to the workshops garden. Ill go get the equipment first. Lets do the testing there."
Rorono then went to the interior of her workshop.
Therere two weapons. Im absolutely excited to see both.
"Rorono-chan, waiting, waiting, waiting for Rorono-chan ?"
"Gaugau, wau, wau ?"
Kuina and Tiro were both singing a rather questionable song.
More noteworthy though was the astonishing level of closeness the two had. As of the moment, Kuina was riding on Tiros back.
Which reminds me, where could Ruhe be? She should have been back from her tour in the Ax Kingdom, but I havent seen her today. Because Tiro and her are going to be fighting together in the other dimension, I want the both of them get along too.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Ive brought Tiros equipment."
Rorono said so after arriving.
The first of the equipment she brought was a revolver mechanism that would fire gigantic metal stakes. One such stake was not yet loaded and it was easily twice Tiros size.
The second equipment was a set of boots made to match Tiro. The ones for the forelegs each had these three ws the size of daggers attached to them.
"Woah, so cool. These gigantic stakes, Kuina wants some too!"
Kuina had taken a liking more on the pile bunker than the boots.
Tiro, on the other hand, made a grimace at the pile bunker, but wagged her tail and even gleefully barked when she looked at the boots.
"Youve got your shotgun already, Kuina. You dont need a pile bunker like this. Anyway, Tiro, lets try on the boots first, ok? Can you put them on yourself?"
"Gau!"
Finding it good that she was going to try the boots rather than the pile bunker, Tiro barked joyfully and then skillfully put the boots on while still in her dog form.
While still wagging her tail, she then turned around and did a pose, thus prompting Kuina toment youre so cool, Tiro-chan!
"Mhm. I know this is sudden, but lightly put equal amounts of magic power into the boots."
"Gau!"
Tiro replied so and then did as she was instructed. When she did, she was suddenly blown away. It was no exaggeration to say that she wasunched to a height three times that of Roronos workshop.
"Kyaun!?"
Tiro was understandably surprised by this, but quickly regainedposure. She then bnced herself and somehow did a gracefulnding.
Not taking a liking to beingunched without warning, she looked at Rorono reproachfully.
"Mhm. Im d its working as intended. Tiro, this is the [Tria]. As you saw, the boots generate a localized force field which pushes things in the other direction. The strength of this repelling force is proportional to the amount of magic power you pour into it. With this equipment, you could gain tremendous speed from zero distance. Also, assuming you are somehow stranded up in air, you only have to kick on the force field and you will be moving toward the other direction. Do it enough and you can even run in the sky."
Ohh, interesting.
Sold on the idea, Tiro once again poured her magic power into the boots. This time, she jumped a little bit lower than before. Holding back as much magic power as possible, she took another step and then another. Considering she had S+ Agility, she had movement speed far beyond norm even without relying on the explosive boost that the boots provided.
After a while, Tironded with an ted look on her face. Great, it seems shes pleased with it a lot.
"Mhm, the localized force field doesnt seem to have an issue. But as for the magic power consumption, I see that it needs further improvement. If I optimize it with Tiros wavelength and do other improvements based on this test, the magic power consumption can be improved by 30%. It will improve reaction speed too."
Rorono said so, mostly to herself, while quickly typing away at herptop pc.
Meanwhile, Tiro was looking around restlessly as though searching for something.
A momentter, she approached a wall in the workshop. And in the moment after that, the six dagger-like ws in her forelegs boots shone and made a sort of clinking sound.
She then raised a foreleg and swung it down.
That cut through the wall like a hot knife through butter.
Delighted by this, she then proceeded to stand on her hindlegs and w the rest of the wall much like a cat would.
In no time at all, the wall was ruined beyond recognition.
Roronos workshop housed Avalons important weapons and equipment, so it was built to be considerably sturdy to the point that it could withstand a full-power physical or magical attack from even an A rank monster. So, for Tiro to tear it down so easily, it was nothing short of amazing.
That being said, a vein popped in Roronos temple.
"Each of those six ws is made from orichalcum alloy. They also have an enchantment of [Rending]. By pouring in magic power, any shing attack done by it is improved. It is specialized solely in cutting things, and as you can see, it is terrific in it. it still depends on how you do it, but it is possible to sh even an Avalon-Ritter with it."
It was a simple yet convenient piece of weaponry.
"...but you didnt have to test out its sharpness on my workshop, Tiro. For behaving like a naughty child, you must be punished. Ill ask Aura to not make you any desserts for a while."
Tiro, who was repeatedly doing wing movements, stopped suddenly upon hearing Rorono.
Even though she was like a dog, she loved desserts.
"Kuuuun"
Facing Rorono, Tiro issued out a pity-inducing cry.
That wasnt all. She approached Rorono and then rubbed her body against Roronos legs.
At that, Rorono sighed.
"...Fine, itll be just for today."
Tiro continued her act, but it didnt seem like Rorono was going to concede any further.
"To decrease Tiros consumption of her own magic power, I can add in Kuinas tail fur to act as a battery. Additionally, to improve fuel efficiency... Mhm, ok, Tiro, please test the localized force fields performance some more. Why dont you go all out using it this time"
"Gau!"
As instructed, she leapt once again. It might be because she had better grasp on how to use the boots, but she was moving more fluidly than before. She was making absurd turns in almost every step, yet she was going faster and faster to the point she was as fast as a Darkness Dragon.
In just a short amount of time, she had gained mastery over the [Tria]. It was as though making the force field for each leg and then kicking it at the best timing became second nature to her.
It was a splendid sight to behold.
But then, she fell.
It seemed like she ran out of magic power, which wasnt surprising given that the pace she was going was truly absurd.
However, she wasnt exhausted to the point that she would faint. A few moments before making contact with the ground, she generated force fields which negated a significant amount of her falling velocity. Rather than a crash, she did a splendidnding instead.
That being said, she still was critically low in magic power, so she felt groggy.
"Mhm, that should be enough performance tests. Ive seen the things that need improving."
"That so? Tiros affinity with the [Tria] is spectacr. She might be invincible with it, especially after youve improved it."
The [Tria] had everything Tiro might need in a weapon: the ability to create footholds anywhere; the ability to elerate her tremendously and instantaneously, the attack power provided by the ws, and the fact that it was light and thus didnt negatively impact Tiros agility.
"Rorono, its amazing to think that youve made this in just a day."
"Most of the functions in this are already present in my [Mechanical Warmaiden]. I just put them together after making a few minor adjustments, so it didnt take much time, especiallypared to developing new technologies and techniques. Anyway, all it needs now is a better fuel consumption and a few other little things."
"Okay, Ill leave it to you."
The [Tria] was just something extra that Rorono made overnight, and yet, in my opinion, it eliminated the need for the pile bunker.
"Kuina, please give Tiro a potion for magic power recovery."
"Kay. Tiro-chan, drink this!"
Like I asked, Kuina took out a potion from her pocket and gave it to Tiro. Tiro drank it and theplexion on her face became better.
Seeing the exhausted Tiro, I recognized one of her weak points: herck of self-control. If she was to exhaust herself again and no one was nearby to help her, she would be in grave danger.
"Gaugau! Gauuuuuu!"
"Oto-san, Tiro wants to go home. She says she wants to eat. Also, she says thank you, Rorono-chan, for the amazing weapon youve made for her. Tiro-chan, Im so d you got a great weapon!"
"Garuu ?"
It seems like the two have reached a mysterious level of mutual understanding. Well, it seems like a good point to end a hard days work, anyway...
"Wait, you two. The [Tria] is just the opener. The real show has yet to begin. Next up is this... the pile bunker [Motelius]. Its an amazing creation, if I may say so myself. Now, hurry, try it."
"Kyuuuuun...."
Tiro made a clearly disagreeing face.
Perhaps it was her beastly instincts, but she seemed to have the same misgivings as I had.
Rorono loaded the giant stake into the pile bunker, but even then, it was still as long as Tiro. She then brought it near Tiro. At that, Tiro took a step back.
I had a feeling about it, but it was still a weapon Rorono was proud of making.
Sorry, Tiro, but Im really excited for this trial.
Volume 8 10
Rorono sidled up to Tiro and then attached the pile bunker to Tiros body via a hide armor that was dedicated for the said task.
Tiro seemed to be immensely more massive than before. The metallic stake, even though it was loaded into the pile bunker, still seemed to be about the same size as her.
"Wow, Tiro-chan, you look so cool!"
Kuinas eyes glimmered as she looked at Tiro. It seemed like the weapon had tugged on her heartstrings.
"Guruu..."
On the other hand, Tiro had aplicated expression on her face.
Moreover, she was leaning into her right side, which seemed to suggest that it wasnt just an issue of weight, but of bnce as well.
"If the [Tria] was the opener, this is the main event. I present to you the [Motelius]. In terms of simply power, this will outperform even Kuinas shotgun. Moreover, this has the advantage of not consuming as much magic power. Each shot of the triple-barreled revolver uses Kuinas tail fur as battery to power the explosion magic which then triggers the sting powder within, resulting in the metal stake to be pushed out with tremendous force."
Its appearance was intimidating. Its massiveness screamed of incredible power.
"Its meaningless to use a medium sized target to test its power, so lets use this: the damaged and core-less body of an Avalon-Ritter. It has been damaged in a previous battle and is scheduled to be melted down and repurposed, so it is the perfect test dummy."
When Rorono whistled, Mithril Golems serving as the help brought the said damaged body of an Avalon-Ritter.
"Rorono, are you seriously saying that this weapon can punch through even an Avalon-Ritter?"
"Mhm. In theory, it should be capable of such."
An Avalon-Ritters body was made of Roronos own mix of orichalcum alloy. Even an S rank monster would find it hard to pierce through its body.
"Now, Tiro, try using it. As for how, its simple. Just channel a small amount of magic power into it, and the stake will shoot out."
"Tiro-chan, good luck. Kuina wants to see things go boom!"
Expectations in their eyes, Kuina and Rorono watched as Tiro walked closer to the Avalon-Ritter. Or rather, as Tiro hobbled closer.
"Kuun..."
While issuing another pity-inducing cry, Tiro pointed the barrel toward the target.
"Ahh, Tiro-chan, when using something with gunpowder, you should cover your ears before the thing goes boom! If you dont, itll go ring ring in your head!"
Kuina gave a good advice for monsters like them who had excellent ears.
She demonstrated it by shutting her fox ears down. Tiro copied her and it was awfully adorable.
"Gau!"
And so, Tiro readjusted her aim and then poured magic power into the [Motelius]. When she did, a clinking sound was made and the stake was readied. In the moment after that, a roaring sound that shook the ground was made.
Like that, we saw the fired-off stake obliterate the Avalon-Ritter into many small pieces upon contact.
All it took was one hit. At such a tremendous power, I unintentionally dropped my jaw.
"Its far better than what I expected. I didnt imagine it would have this much power."
"Mhm, all are actually within calctions. Its thanks to the two enchantments that [Motelius] has. The first of which is [Hardening]. This is so that the whole thing can endure the overwhelming power it outputs. The other one is [Pulverization]. Normally, the moment the stake makes contact with the target, there will be a counteractive force that will try to repel the stake. However, [Pulverization] will convert that force into offensive power instead, making the attack even more powerful. Of course, the recoil that happens when firing the stake is also converted into attack power. With these, there is next to nothing that it cant pierce."
Rorono was being more talkative than usual, which wasnt so surprising given the unimaginable weapon she made. In terms of just attack power, it was almost unrivalled.
"Rorono-chan, that was amazing! Kuina really wants one now. The stake going boom really fits to how Kuina wants to fight: up close and personal!"
As ever, Kuinas preference leaned toward close-ranged battle.
"Ill think about it."
Rorono replied with an indifferent sounding tone, but her joy in the sess of her creation was palpable.
Thinking Tiro would be pleased as well, I looked at her direction. When I did so, however, I found her limping in a swaying manner before finally falling down.
Her tongue was out and her eyes were rolling up. It was horrible.
"Kyaun! Kyaun! Kyan, kyan!"
Before any of us could get to her, she stood up and then trashed around. She kept rubbing the hide armor she was wearing into the ground in a desperate effort to remove the [Motelius].
"Tiro-chan!"
Kuina rushed over to Tiros side and helped remove the armor.
"Kyankyan!"
Upon merely seeing Roronos face, Tironow free of the weaponhid behind Kuina while crying out loud. She was gravely frightened.
"Whats wrong, Tiro-chan?"
"Kyuuun, gaugau, guruu"
Tiroined so in a pained voice while Kuina repeatedly nodded in response.
"Uh-huh, uh-huh. Oh my, Tiro-chan, you poor thing."
"Garuu..."
"Okay, Ill let them know. You dont have to be afraid anymore. Kuina will make sure you dont have to anything you dislike anymore either."
After that, Kuina came over to our direction. Meanwhile, Tiro moved to a somewhat hidden area of the workshop.
"Oto-san, Rorono-chan. Tiro-chan says she doesnt want to use the [Motelius] anymore. She says shed prefer using just the [Tria]."
That much of a reaction was natural from that dangerous incident.
Looking like she wasnt satisfied with just that for an exnation, Rorono spoke.
"But why? It deals unbelievable damage, converts recoil and collision counterforces into more attack power, can be used even in the air due to theck of recoil, and more. It should actually be an ideal weapon."
Just as she said, the [Motelius] did expertly satisfy those criteria.
It had immense firepower, boosted further by its enchantments, and was apetent choice even in sky where there was no foothold. Perhaps above all, it didnt use much of the users own magic power.
Tiro who could teleport instantaneously and [Motelius] that could kill in one hit did seem to have excellent affinity.
"Well, you see... Tiro-chan says that its too heavy for her. Plus, the weight is unevenly distributed, so it messes with her bnce. And, even with her ears down, the sound of the explosion it made was too loud. She almost fainted. The smell of the gunpowder was unbearable too. What else? Ah, even though it was fired just once, the gun barrel got too hot that it felt like a searing iron was pressed against her stomach. She says that if she were to keep on using it, shell go mad."
At a loss for words, Rorono fell to her knees.
......well, Im at a loss for words too. Who knew Tiro could put so much detailed and well-thought-out exnations into those guruus of hers?
"...I have nothing to say in my defense. This has been aplete blunder. Honestly, I made this pile bunker because I was fascinated when I saw one in the anime that master has produced. I have made it more for myself than for Tiros sake. For that, I have no right to call myself a master cksmith."
I honestly couldnt me her. Seeing the pile bunker would surely inspire one want to make it. Besides, even though it didnt fit Tiros preferences, the fact of the matter was that Rorono still made a high-performance weapon.
"Everyone makes mistakes, Rorono-chan! The [Tria] more than makes up for it!"
"Mhm. Then, Im going to improve that to best I can. I have done a bad thing to Tiro. I wont make her go without desserts anymore. In fact, Im even going to buy her a gigantic bone-in meatter."
One of the good things about Rorono was her ability to admit her faults immediately.
The [Motelius] wasnt aplete waste of time though.
"Ahem... Rorono, sure, Tiro didnt like the [Motelius], but its far from useless. I was thinking it will be a good weapon for the Avalon-Ritters. Perhaps even turning their right arm into the [Motelius] itself. Wouldnt it be amazing if they close the distance with some kind of booster, and then deal the killing blow with the [Motelius]?"
"......that will be incredibly cool. You truly are amazing, master. Ill begin modifying the [Motelius] to bepatible with the Burst Drive of the Avalon-Ritters right away. If sessful, they might be able to defeat even Kuina in one shot."
"Why does the example enemy have to be Kuina!?"
Kuinas tail rose up in her protest.
Well, even as a joke, I could see why she wouldnt want to be the target of such a fiendish weapon.
"At any rate, given that we have found the best possible weapon for Tirothat being the [Tria]I would consider this weapon testing session a huge sess. Now, why dont the three of us go shopping and then eat back at the estate. I think a reward is in order for Tiro who had a tiring and awful day today, and for Rorono who worked hard to make these weapons. Lets go buy your favorite food."
"Guruu ?"
"Giant prawns, please."
Before I knew it, Tiro was back with us again. Upon hearing the reward, she gave a hearty response.
Rorono too seemed to have recovered and even suggested her own favorite.
Meanwhile, Kuinabeing the only one to not receive a rewardlooked a tiny bit crestfallen. Of course, if ever we came across a food stall that sold delicious-looking food, I intended to buy some for her.
Like that, we headed to the city to shop.
Nevertheless, that surely was unexpected. To think that the [Tria]a mish-mash of already existing techniques and technologieswould be loved by Tiro while the [Motelius]Roronos highly anticipated masterpiecewould be a total flop.
No matter though. The [Motelius] would still y an integral role, just that it would be as the Avalon-Ritters decisive weapon instead.
Most of all, thanks to this failure, Rorono had learned an invaluable lesson.
Once again, Avalon had grown stronger. Just imagining how much stronger we could be in half a years time was enough to put a smile on my face.
TL Note: The Tria (wikipedia link) are those winged sandals worn by Hephaestus in Greek mythology. As for the Motelius ( `ƥꥦ ), I dont know what it is a reference of. If you have any idea, feel free toment.
Volume 8 11
After our meal, Kuina, Rorono, Tiro, and I headed to the theater room downstairs to rx and watch one of the anime movies I once made via my [Creation].
When the shoes that raised kicking power and the very durable, very stretchy suspenders were shown in action, Roronos eyes lit up in excitement.
Meanwhile, Kuina had fallen asleep halfway through the movie and was using Tiro as her pillow. It would seem she would quickly fall asleep once there werent much shy scenes going on.
After a while, the movie ended and the end credits began to roll.
Right then, I remembered what happened earlier. On how we conducted tests on Roronos new weapons: the [Tria] and the [Motelius].
Tiro was in love with the [Tria], what with the mobility and attack power that it provided her.
However, the same couldnt be said about the [Motelius]. She disliked it, to put it mildly.
That being said, it was still a magnificent weapon that boasted overwhelmingly high destructive power. Throwing it away just because it didnt suit Tiro was a waste, to say the least, so we decided to incorporate it into the Avalon-Ritters. Given that it was them, they wouldnt mind the weight and all the other issues as much as Tiro.
"Master, the movie today was very interesting, indeed."
"Rorono, Im saying this just in case, but I hope youre not nning on making shoes that ups the wearers kicking power or those incredibly stic suspenders."
At that, Rorono turned her gaze away.
So, you were nning on it!
Those were cool and all, but even if monsters did use them, it was unlikely that they would contribute much to the monsters.
Rorono was more impulsive than not, so the warning was rather necessary.
"Leaving that aside, lets talk about imnting the [Motelius] and the Avalon-Ritters. I had gathered lots of realbat data for the twin drive system from our past battles. Thanks to that, I was able to finish a new design which should resolve most of the problematic points."
"So, youre telling me that the Avalon-Ritters who could be as strong as S rank monsters albeit temporarily are going to be even stronger? If thats not amazing, I dont know what is."
I unconsciously leaned myself forward in my excitement.
For Avalon that wanted to continually get stronger, there was no better news.
"Mhm. I expect it to be far more stable and, in theory at least, be able to output 40% more than before. However, the new design demands a stricter matching between the two cores. Ive tested all of the golem cores that we have at the moment, but only three pairs in total can adapt to this new system. I suggest that we make the new type of Avalon-Ritters first and gather data on them before worrying how to mass produce them."
The stricter matching aside, the Avalon-Ritters being able to output 40% more power was truly marvelous. And that wasnt taking [Burst Drive] into ount yet. But then again, there wouldnt be much point if the Avalon-Ritters couldnt endure that much power.
"How about [Burst Drive]? Have there been improvements there?"
[Burst Drive] was the trump card of the Avalon-Ritters.
In addition to their twin drive cores, they employed a sort of capacitor for magic power. By making this capacitor overload and discharge the stored magic power, the Avalon-Ritter could attain powers that could rival even an S rank monster.
However, there were two downsides to this.
The first was that the whole process put too much stress into the golem cores. That meant that the Burst Drive could only be used for a short time and that the cores performed way lower than normal afterward.
Secondly, due to the immense magic power flowing through their bodies, their magic circuits get busted up, rendering the Avalon-Ritters themselves nothing more than big, unmoving scraps of metal.
So, in my opinion, even though an increase in the cores output was great, improvements on the Burst Drive would be better.
"Yes, ourbat data has also led to improvements on the durability of their magic circuits. Ive also attached a stabilizer to the core. Whenever theres magic power that the circuits couldnt bear, that magic power will be directed to external parts like the boosters, thus reducing the burden within."
"Its simple, but definitely a good idea."
Magic power that was beyond the capacity of the circuits was nothing more than poison, anyway.
After hearing my reply, Rorono fiddled with the tablet I had made using [Creation] and then showed me some ns.
"Actually, both the improved magic circuits and stabilizer have just passed the designing stages. Once Ivebined them with the new type of twin drive cores, it wont be long before testing begins. If that goes smoothly, everything else should follow."
"I see. Im looking forward to a new Avalon-Ritter that employs all those improvements."
"As Ive mentioned before, the new twin-drive design can only be used with three pairs of golem cores so far. To maximize the data gathered, Im going to make the three new Avalon-Riiters have as much stuff as they can. Worries about mass production cer. At the same time, Id like to add in variety between them. For example, look, Ill have one of them have the [Motelius] as their right arm. This one will primarily be fighting in closebat. The basic n is for it to dash inprotected by its armored bodyand then defeat the enemy in one hit. It might not be effective against multiple enemies, but it definitely will work as a means against enemy aces."
"I dont doubt the firepower, but wont it be too heavy and slow, especially if with heavy armor?"
No matter how I looked at it, this new model would be just as crudeif not morethan the current ones.
After all, what use was firepower if the enemy could easily just evade it.
"It will be fine. I will affix gravity-halving units to it, enabling it to hover despite its weight. After that, itll dash in using its boosters. In terms of dashing in a straight path, it should be second to none. It will be the ultimate charge."
"...such romanticism."
It waspletely like a young childs fanstasy. Still, it was interesting.
"By the way, its armored body is also a newly developed material. By making use of the orichalcums high affinity with magic power, not only does it function as an armor, but also as a battery. Thanks to that, even without activating [Burst Drive], the power they can output is beyond absurd. And when it is activated, excess power will be stored there before being dispersed externally. In other words, they can still somewhat operate after activating Burst Drive."
"One stone, three birds, huh."
Upon hearing my reaction, Rorono shook her head.
"Four birds, actually. The magic power gathered in it will also fuel the [Hardening] enchantment, making their already impregnable defense even better. This child will have both the ultimate spear and the ultimate shield. Offense, defense, speed, theyll have it all."
Not fit for prolonged battles,ck of turning ability, weak in long distance battles... these were just some of its weaknesses. Even so, there truly was something romantic about taking down an enemy no matter the cost.
"If the development of this armor bes a sess, itll revolutionize the Avalon-Riiter. Itll be more a leap than a step."
"...Mhm. But the problem in building the new Avalon-Ritters is that it will require a great deal of focus and time. I think Ill need about three weeks to finish and make it."
That made sense.
There was no way such a technological marvel would be made so easily. In fact, three weeks was a very short time for such a task.
While thinking of such, Tiro had approached without me taking notice. It would seem Kuina too didnt notice that her pillow had snuck away.
"Gururuu"
She petitioned something while looking at both Rorono and I with what I could only describe as puppy dog eyes.
At that, Rorono smiled wryly and patted Tiro in the head.
"I know, Tiro. Ill give the [Tria] maximum priority. Ill finish it in a week."
"Gaugau! ?"
It would appear that when Tiro heard the new Avalon-Ritters were going to take three weeks to make, she had feared that the development of her own toy would have to give way.
Now relieved by what Rorono had said, Tiro lied on the ground, showed her belly, and invited Rorono to brush it.
...I sometimes think this, but can Tiro actually be the most cunning and sly of all my monsters?
As though fully aware of her charm, Tiro changed positions until she could be properly andpletely petted.
"Master, Ill finish Tiros [Tria] in a week. And then, Id like to devote myselfpletely into the development of the new Avalon-Ritters for three weeks."
"Devote yourselfpletely? May I hear your reasoning? Youre a very integral part of Avalons war potential and three weeks is a long period of time to spend on just one project."
Rorono could do a lot of other things in three weeks. While the new Avalon-Ritters design that she had shown seemed amazing, there wasnt any guarantee yet that it would be. Without that guarantee, I couldnt approve quite so simply.
"Those three weeks wont be spent on just one child. Alongside the close-range one that Ive shown you, I will be developing and making two other variants: a long-range specialist and an all-rounder. Making all the parts for them all at the same shouldnt increase the total project time. Perhaps the most important point of all, I need to do this to be able to see how mass production will be feasible. Because as of the moment, I just cant."
The prospect of mass producing those prototypes excited me.
Avalons war potential would increase by a grand margin just from this.
My worries still remained, but it was going to be well worth it.
"I understand. After finishing with Tiros weapon, I order you to devote yourself into making those new models. Do not worry about us; Avalon will figure out a way to make do without relying on you."
"Thank you, master. I swear by my pride as the worlds best cksmith, I will exceed your expectations."
I had high expectations of Rorono, and yet here she was, saying she would exceed even that.
"Im excited, then. Once youre than with that, Im thinking of giving you a reward. Another date, perhaps? I did say before that well have another one."
"Mhm. Ive been really, really looking forward to that. Ill definitely work my hardest now! Just wait for the red, white, and ck knightsthe three musketeersthat will protect both Avalon and you, father! They will be amazing!"
Rorono said so with a blinding smile.
In response, I patted her head.
"Now, I think its about time to go to bed. Sorry to keep you up all night just to watch a movie with me."
"Dont be. I love spending time together with you like this, father. In fact, I find just sleeping to be a bit of a waste. But then again, I am starting to get sleepy."
I then stood up and linked arms with Rorono. Like that we headed to the bedroom to sleep while Kuina and Tiro headed to theirs.
Tomorrow was another day of hard work, but for now, we would sleep soundly.
I feel like Im forgetting something though. Ah, the letter!
Before finally closing my eyes, I attached a letter I had written earlier to a blue bird monster and sent it flying.
With the golem corps receiving a significant upgrade, I thought the aerial corps should too. And so, I had written a proposal to Sts on how to strengthen both of our aerial corps.
Surely, Sts will see the advantages of my n and ept.
Note: Previously, Burst Drive was described to be the cores working in tandem with a battery instead of a capacitor. This is extremely trivial in the grand scheme of things, yet I felt I needed to point this out.
Volume 8 12
The days had passed quickly.
Just as she promised, Rorono had finished Tiros weapon in just a week. Right afterward, she began working on the development of the new Avalon-Ritters.
She had dubbed them the Three Musketeers.
Obviously, I was beyond excited.
"Oto-san, were going now!"
"Gaugau?"
Kuina waved at me while riding on Tiros back.
Meanwhile, Tiro walked purposefully, almost as though she was showing off the [Tria] equipped on her legs.
Compared to the prototype she testedst week, this one was more powerful, lighter, and had far better fuel consumption. Furthermore, it also used Kuinas tail fur as battery.
Tiro loved her [Tria]. She loved it almost as much as she loved food. Almost.
"Kuina, Tiro, you girls be careful on your hunt, alright?"
"Yeah, sure thing!"
Today as well, they were going to the [Crimson Cavern] so that they could raise Tiros level.
And just like that, they were off.
Some timeter, I decided to leave my estate as well.
When I reached the center of the city, it felt like the number of unfamiliar faces had increased.
The effects of building churches in the cities of the Ax Kingdom are already beginning to show, huh.
I could tell just by the air around them which humans went to Avalon as pilgrims visiting a holy ce.
In terms of quantity, there werent any significant increase in DP and emotions yet, but the overall quality definitely became better.
Day by day, their numbers tended to increase. It hasnt even been a month and yet things were already like this.
"They really made it in ten days."
After a while of walking, I arrived at the [in]. There, I issued such words of astonishments.
The day before, the Dwarf Smiths had finished building the casino without incident.
It was this magnificent white, two-story building.
Without holding back, the Dwarf Smiths used all techniques present in this world that were applicable.
It was highly me resistant and sturdy. It also had excellent acoustics and sound instion.
Furthermore, air conditioners and sound equipment were installed at various strategic locations.
The first floor of the building would be where the dealers we had recruited from all over the world could show their skills.
Meanwhile, one half of the second floor would be for the theaters where gigantic screens would be installed so that hundreds of people could simultaneously watch the flying dragon races.
As for the other half, it was going to be leased out to hopeful applicants. These would-be tenants were going to charged a fair bit. For if otherwise, those that were opening their shops around the casino instead of within might see it as unfair.
Unfortunately for some though, the application window for that had already ended some days ago.
As for selecting which ones we were going to ept from the many that applied, I had decided that the best way was through lottery instead of an auction.
If it was an auction, the merchants would drive the rent up in hopes of getting a spot. And the higher the rent was, the more the prices of their goods and services had to be and, in turn, the lower the guests satisfaction would be. That was not at all what I wanted.
On the other hand, there was a real chance that the winners of the lottery might be toocent and thus result in a drop in the quality of their products and services. To prevent this, I decided to impose a condition to the tenants: each month, they were to submit to me a report of their revenues and whoever performed the poorest, all things considered, would not be given an extension on their lease.
Upon seeing me, one of the Dwarf Smiths rushed in my direction.
She then guided me to the front of the building where many of the casinos officials awaited. Today was the casinos unveiling and everyone was going to take a look around.
It was the scheduled time, so I signaled to them that the tour was going to begin.
From the exterior alone, I could already say that the building was a thing of beauty, but once I got inside, I was astonished even more. No effort was spared in making everything as finely detailed as possible.
"Dwarf Smith, you guys really did a fine job. This has exceeded my expectations."
"We really did our best! Even though it was close to the deadline, we were confident that what we built was to your liking."
I was aware of the hard work they were doingcontinually using earth magic, operating the golems which were more powerful and more urate than heavy machinery, and many other thingsand yet I still didnt imagine the casino would turn out to be this amazing.
Apparently, I wasnt the only one to think so.
"H-how?"
"It feels like something out of a dream"
"...this impressive building was built in just ten days?"
"Even several years of construction wont normally be enough to build something like this."
"Hahaha, if those fes from the kingdom hear about this, theyll soil their pants!"
Some of the staff were even at a loss for words.
They had seen the buildings exterior during the construction, but it was the first time they had entered and explored it.
After a while, a group of workers and dealers carried in arge quantity of luggage. Within were chairs, desks, gigantic roulettes, musical instruments, paintings, vases, and many others.
Spearheading this operation of unpacking and arrangement was Conanna.
"Everyone, we dont have much time to ce and arrange everything! We only have three days. I dont expect us to get any sleep until then, but in exchange for that, your sries for the following days will be tripled. And if we do finish on time, you will also receive a bonus! Alright, lets do our best to make it to the deadline!"
""Yes, sir!""
The workers enthusiastically replied so, and then began their work.
Meanwhile, the dealers gave out suggestions to make their own work easier.
All the Dwarf Smiths could do was prepare the building. It was up to Conanna and his workers to give the casino the finishing touches. To that end, Conanna and the selected tenants were shown the blueprints of the building during the construction and were asked to give their opinions.
Simrly, while the casino was still under construction, Conanna had consulted workers and dealers on what additional things and personnel they thought was needed so that he could ready those and make the finishing of the casinos interior design be as soon as possible.
When Conanna noticed me walking around, he smiled and then rushed to my direction.
"Conanna, will you guys make it to the opening next week?"
"Of course. And I dare say, we will not only make it in time, we will exceed expectations."
He truly was reliable.
If he promised it, he would certainly deliver.
After talking some more with him, we parted ways.
I then continued my inspection. Not one issue popped up, especially on the marvelous second floor.
We had used a simr theater before in the trial run, but this one had an incredible ambiance. The quality of the screens and sound equipment was utterly superb.
The ceiling gimmick too was perfect.
"Dwarf Smith, it seems I have underestimated you guys. I didnt think youd be able to do this much without relying on Rorono. For that, sorry and thank you. Ill hand out special renumerations for you allter. I hope that money can help you find some amount of happiness."
"Thank you very much! Ill ry it to everyer. Im sure theyll be as happy about it as I am."
Now that I knew they were capable of this much, I thought it might be a good idea to entrust all of the construction work in Avalon to them.
Just by doing that, Roronos workload would decrease significantly. And the more Rorono could devote herself to her research, the more Avalon would grow stronger.
"Now that I think about it, where are the other Dwarf Smiths? With the casino finished, shouldnt you guys be free now?"
"Actually, no, we still have a lot of work to do. Before the casino opens, wed like to finish the water and sewer systems here as well as the outer walls. Right now, were busy on the overall ns for those infrastructures. There are some of us that has to wait until those ns are finished, so in the meantime, they are helping the humans build the facilities that will be around the casino. They are also building prefabricated houses in the same property as Duke-samas inn. Hopefully, these outbuildings will mean less humans who have no choice to camp or squat, especially those that havee here for work."
"How considerate of you guys."
Those infrastructures were absolutely vital.
Under the assumption that there would be a few thousand people here in the [ins], waste of all kinds was sure to pile up if left undealt with, making the casino filthy in no time at all. After all, there was only so much cleaning could do.
the many workers.
Meanwhile, even though the inn managed by Duke was the ce these workers could stay for extremely cheap rates, it became full and unable to ept more guests. Because of that, workers that were hired to build the facilities around the casino as well as those that were hired to attend to those facilities were forced to either sleep in tents prepared by the merchants or freeload at an acquaintances ce. The prefabs the Dwarf Smith mentioned should dramatically improve the housing situation faced by those workers.
"...just dont do too much of a good job, okay? We dont want topete with the merchants. So, tell Duke to lower the rent of the prefab houses to half of normal, but also that only the casinos personnel may stay at those."
"Understood! Well arrange for things to go like that."
While having a cheap inn that could amodate arge number of people was great, there were the merchants that built their own inns to consider. Their target guests were the touristsing for the casino, while our inns were those that worked there.
There was no need for us steal each others guests.
Besides, the prefabs were, at best, a stop-gap measure. The end goal for these workers was to get them to buy their own house and reside here in Avalon. Even if I had to hand out financial assistance, that must happen. Hopefully, the house construction boom happening at the moment would help too for that.
"You really thoughtful to what the humans need, Procell-sama."
"Well, we do need their emotions in order to live, after all. Its just a matter of respecting them."
This wasnt the only time we were considerate of the humans.
For example, I had ordered the Dwarf Smiths to not ept anymissions other than cksmithingmissions from the humans. If they really wanted to, they could easily snatch away all construction, cksmithing, alchemy works and more in the city. But if they did that, that would result in less business and thus less humans in Avalon.
Managing a city wasnt easy.
At any rate, it seemed like the casino would be operational next week as nned.
The day this dream-like facility would manifest its ability to bring prosperity to Avalon was near.
Along with the opening, I was expecting the influx of arge number of humans with high-quality emotions for us tovish. I am going to get stronger again!
And then, something else I was looking forward to had arrived.
"Finally. She didnt reply as soon as I had hoped, so I was getting a bit worried there."
A blue bird had perched itself on my shoulder. It carried a letter from Sts.
"So, shes epted... thank goodness."
Previously, I had sent her a letter that proposed an activity that would make both of our forces stronger.
Thankfully, she epted it. So, I nned to go to her dungeonter.
If this thing worked, it could eliminate a weakness of the Darkness Dragons while also giving a tremendous boost in attack power to Stss side.
Volume 8 13
It was finally the day for the casino to open.
There was going to be an opening ceremony wherein I was to cut the gorgeous tape that was hanged in front of the casino building. Honestly, I was quite excited.
Since a while ago, Hippogriffs werending one after another. And each time onended, finely dressed people exited from the carriage it carried.
This was thanks to the airports for the Hippogriffs being operational. That being said, the number of airports outside of Avalon was still too few. Of course, we aimed to increase that number, but that would have toeter.
Simrly, golem-drawn carriages that ferried humans from other cities wereing and going one after the other. We had opened this service to the public in ordance to the casinos opening.
"Not a bad showing for the first day."
Including Conanna and his Curtrude Company, merchants had been actively advertising about the casino, and thanks to their invited guests, its first day of operation would be a huge sess.
Soon enough, I would be delivering the opening speech.
To calm my nerves, I took a deep breath.
And when I took a look around, my face ckened.
Those girls really did it.
Through the efforts of the Dwarf Smiths and the High Elves, both the water and sewer systems as well as the outer walls in the [ins] were already finished.
The humans deserve credit too, for they had filled the area around the casino with numerous food carts, inns, restaurants, and souvenir shops to name a few. They had made the ce bustling with activity.
I had no idea things would be like this in such a short amount of time.
Incredible, truly incredible. What a happy miscalction.
A short while after, I looked at my pocket watch and saw that it was time to begin the opening ceremony, the thing the many guests that had gathered at the admission gate was looking forward to.
And so, I took the mic and spoke.
"Good day, everyone. I am Procell, the head of Avalon and the owner of this casino. At longst, I can unveil to you Fafnir, the amazing casino that we from Avalon are so proud of. Here, you can y casino games from all over the world, conducted by famous dealers. We also offer the chance to see flying dragons race against one another, something Im sure you wont find anywhere else but Avalon. For now though, please look up to the sky! May these flying dragons bless you!"
Following my instruction, the humans looked up. When they did, five Darkness Dragons each wearing an ornament of a unique color appeared, flying in perfect formation.
With just that, cheers of wonder arose from the humans.
However, that wasnt all. The Darkness Dragons then put on aerial acrobatics show. They flew high in the sky and then swooped down. Then, without slowing down one bit, they ascended and did loops three times. To finish the looping off, the dragons did a Cuban figure eight.
It was awe-inspiring, beautiful, and majestic. Not surprisingly, the humans gave thunderous apuse to it.
And then, the dragons broke formation. Two of them used the smoke res they carried under their bellies to draw red-colored lines in the sky. Like that, the two dragons flew in a symmetrical fashion until they had drawn a red heart in the sky.
At that, the people pped harder than even before.
As for the other three dragons, they rose higher and used smoke res that matched the color of the ornament they were wearing.
And then, by performing a series ofplicated aerial maneuvers at high altitude, they have drawn characters in the sky that stated:
<>
After reading the message, the humans smiled and yelled in excitement.
For the humans who were going to gamble, this message was perhaps the best gift.
Their work done, the dragons returned.
"Did you like the blessing from the flying dragons? As you saw, our flying dragons have excellent flying ability and are well-behaved. Go and watch them race, maybe even bet on them. If you do, who knows, their dinner might just be extra delicious today."
When I said so, the humansughed.
"Well, thats enough talk. It will be better for you to experience the greatness of the casino yourselves. And so, I hereby dere Fafnir to be open!"
Using the scissor that a Mythological Fox handed to me, I cut the ribbon ced on the casinos entrance.
That Mythological Fox and I then ced a hand on each part of the double doors, pushed forward, and beckoned the guests toe inside. They rushed inside almost as though it was a stampede.
I guess the Darkness Dragons demonstration was effective.
I could tell because many powerful emotions were flowing to me already.
"Lets go check how things are inside after a while."
Once I have confirmed that the rush had settled down, I nned to walked inside together with the Mythological Fox.
And so, we began walking around.
The interior design of the casino had beenpletely finished. It inspired both greed and aspiration.
To set the mood, the orchestra hired by Conanna was ying wonderful and pleasant tunes one after the other.
This being their first official day of work, I half expected them to be quite rattled, but the dealers approved by Conanna were truly amazing. Whether it be the roulettes, the card games, the dice games, or whatever gambling game we had, the ying guests, each and every one of them, were in a daze.
The serving crew was top-notch too. A lot of the senior staff were doing their own job while not forgetting to support the less experienced ones.
All this would have been impossible for me and my monsters. I was so d I relied on the humans again.
The bar in the first floor seemed to be doing quite well. The Mythological Fox with me seemed entranced by it as well, actually.
"If only we can try that out right now."
"Yes, it looks so much fun."
Unfortunately, I couldnt let the guests see me just ying around on our opening day. But maybe some other time, as a guest myself and not as the owner, I could... taking a breather once in a while was important too, after all.
After surveying and enjoying the first floor, we decided to move to the second floor.
As soon as we arrived on the second floor, we noticed an awfully long line.
Once a guest had paid for their bet on the dragon race, they would be given a ticket. By showing this ticket to the proper staff at the theater, they would then be given permission to enter. After the particr race had finished, they would then be asked to temporarily asked to exit. If they had tickets to the next races, the process was then repeated. That was our system.
By the way, in order for the guests to chose on which dragon to bet on, another screen showing the dragons participating on each race was prepared outside of the theater.
It had been only been about 15 minutes since the sale of the tickets for the first race went live, but it had already sold out. The line was for the seats of the seeding races.
"Are the theaters too small? But that cant be the case; never mind the second race, were already selling the tickets for the third race."
Limited by the screen size, the maximum number of guests that could watch a screen at once was 500.
Furthermore, the otherrge screen was already disying the odds for the first and second races. The odds were supposed to be disyed only when the seats had all been sold or when it was at most an hour before the race.
Given that it was far too early for the second racethe first race hasnt even startedit could only mean that even the seats for the second race has already been sold out.
It could be because it was the first day of operation and people were just excited of the unknown, but if this kind of traffic continued, it might be necessary to add another theater.
Our next stop was the space for the tenants.
The merchants that were lucky enough to be picked to be tenants had all opened their respective stores.
As to be expected, there were many gift shops and restaurants. The restaurants made full use of the fact that almost any ingredient from all over the world could be procured here in Avalon and thus prepared dishes that could not be eaten in most other ces. Some were new variations of existing dishes, while some were even entirely new.
Furthermore, in anticipation of the rich people that were bound toe, there were quite a few jewelries stores as well as stores for expensive but high-quality clothes.
"Frog-shaped cakes, frog-shaped cakes! Avalons specialty product! Oh, but we dont offer just the regr frog-shaped cakes, were also selling golden frog-shaped cakes that will bring you good fortune!"
A frog was selling frog-shaped cakes. My guess for why the golden colored ones were like that was that due to the increased amount of egg yolk rather than anything extraordinary.
Anyway, I knew who that frog was. It was [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove. He was lucky enough to win a spot in the tenant lottery.
It might not be case in terms of being a Demon Lord, but as a merchant, he had quite the talent. The peculiarity of the frog-shaped cakes, the sweet and delicious-seeming aroma it gives, the strategy of saying that the golden variant would bring fortune, and the convenience that it could be eaten while walking all contributed to his shop attracting more guests than the others.
As I passed by, our eyes met.
After saying that he was taking his break to his assistants, he walked toward me.
"Business seems great, Ronove."
"All thanks to you! Thebination of humans greed for good luck and their happiness from eating my delicious frog-shaped cakes, oh, its so exquisite. This is the first time Ive tasted such emotions. I am truly grateful to you, Procell."
"Keep up the good work. The more delicious emotions you get, the more I get too, after all."
"But of course! Ill work hard until these frog-shaped cakes are famous all over the world! Someday, Ill have branches in every city of the country!"
He definitely seemed enthusiastic.
After bowing repeatedly and then forcing me to take some golden frog-shaped cakes, he returned to work.
I might as well taste it. I see, the color really isnt just because of food coloring.
Considering my rule for the tenant spotthe one about having the lowest-earning merchant being evictedhis cheap frog-shaped cakes put him in a disadvantage. For that reason, it made sense that he increased his prices, but in exchange improved the quality. He even added the allure of good fortune.
My estimation of him had grown slightly better.
Before continuing on, I decided to grab some more cakes so that I could give them to Kuina and the girlster.
Lets see, I think the first race should start some time soon.
My next stop was the theater. More specifically, the VIP room in it. It was a very spacious ss-sided room.
In there pleasantly chatting while enjoying alcohol were Conanna and the VIP guests he had invited. There were a fair number of VIP guests today because, again, it was the casinos opening day. Among them were lords of cities which didnt have Hippogriff airports yet, foreign royalties, and many others of simr caliber.
Perhaps recognizing me from the opening ceremony earlier, these guests greeted me upon my arrival.
To that, I responded with a wide smile.
These people had the power to influence one way or the other the establishment of the Hippogriff airports as well as the promotion of our city in their territory. So, to attract more people to Avalon, I was willing to socialize with them as much as they wanted to.
"So, youre the famous Procell-sama of Avalon Ive heard so much oftely."
"To turn this once empty plot ofnd into a metropolis like this in just lifetime must take amazing talent, doesnt it?"
"Procell-sama, is it true that youre really a sage, and that you use that power of yours to make miracles happen?"
"Do you have any ns to settle down soon? If so, I actually have a daughter..."
While forcing myself to keep smiling, I interacted with each one of them.
What a pain, the people here are greedier than even the onespletely into the casino.
It wasnt just my imagination. It was very evident that to them, I was already just a being that they could use to further themselves.
Thankfully, Conanna was there to support me.
He had sessfully helped me to avoid making any promises to these influential people in such a way that they didnt feel slighted.
This level of finesse made me reflect on how inexperienced I still was.
"Everyone, the race is about to begin soon. Why dont we all enjoy that for now?"
Just a while after Conanna said so, the whole theater got dark and the figures of the Darkness Dragons were seen on the gigantic screen.
The dragons exuded intensity that was leagues apart what they had shown in the mock race before.
The high-resolution of the screen allowed us to see each and every scale on the dragons while the stereophonic sound system allowed us bask in their presence.
Naturally, even the humans around me changed their focus to the dragons.
Before the actual race began, the Darkness Dragons were introduced in a detailed and passionate manner. So much so that it made the understanding of each dragons characteristics and strengths easy to grasp.
...wait a minute. This voice, isnt it Ruhes? Good grief, does that girl love festivities so much that she forced her way into doing that?
I wanted toin, but it couldnt be denied that her exnation did liven the ce up.
And then, a background music began ying. It was the kind of tune that amped you up whether you wanted to or not.
The crowd ready, the race finally began. Five hundred pairs of eyes were fixed to the screen, watching as the Darkness Dragons pped their wings.
Much like the mock race, one dragon flew ahead of the rest to handle the camera and shoot the others.
In the next moment, thepeting dragons crossed the starting line. They raced through theplicated course, performing aerial maneuvers more difficult than the ones they pulled off during the opening ceremony.
All the while, Ruhementated on the race and thus made the crowd even more excited.
I could feel their excitement flowing into me and it was delicious.
And then, just like that, the dragons were halfway through the course. Aftering out of a series of turns, they were to fly in a long and straight path.
At that timing, while Ruhe asked the audience members to look up, the ceiling opened up and the screen turned off.
And what the audience members saw was the Darkness Dragons flying as low as possible without triggering the effects of the dragons [Awe]. Anyone that saw those dragons were speechless, some even forgot to breath.
Once all of the dragons had passed through, the ceiling was closed and everyones attention returned to the screen.
After a while, the dragons reached the final straight pathway. The background music and Ruhesmentary only got more intense.
Giving it all they had left, the dragons raced at the speed of sound. In the next moment, the winner was determined. That honor went to Red Rouge.
A chorus of cheers and screams erupted.
The moment the dragons crossed the finished line, the unbelievably powerful emotions of the 500 people watching flowed into me. It was nothing like earlier. It felt like my chest would explode. It hurt. It physically hurt.
This is supposed to happen six times a day? Haha, this is going to drive me mad. Its so intense, yet it doesnt show any sign of calming down any time soon.
Everyone in the VIP room seemed to have forgotten about everything else too, entirely entranced by the ecstasy the dragons race had brought them.
Nheless, I had to return to working. So, I looked up to the ceiling and calmed down even if by only a little.
"And that,dies and gentlemen, is Fafnirs dragon race. To those that won in the first race, congrattions. To those that didnt, go get revenge on the next ones."
When I said so, the VIPs finally snapped back to reality.
"I had no idea the dragon races can be this amazing."
"I have to boast about this once I return to my country."
"Theyre more fascinating than what the legends say."
"I lost this time, but Im surely going to win in the next one!"
In their excitement, they forgot about me and talked about the race among themselves.
Conanna saw that chance. While pretending to engage in idle chitchat, he pushed his demands.
Meanwhile, I saw that chance as the opportunity to take my leave. Things might have turned ugly if I stayed.
And so, I rushed to the toilet of a private room.
"Geez, its like my strength is leaking out of me... My Demon Lord powers are going haywire."
From the moment the race ended, the excessively strong emotions had been driving my powers out of control.
I was familiar with this sensation. I had felt this before when the Darkness Dragons bombed the group of knights in my war against the humans.
In other words, I was on the verge of unwillingly activating [Awakening].
Needless to say, it wasnt the time nor ce to expose my true nature.
"...until Ive settled down, I mustnt meet with Kuina and the others. Theres no telling what might happen."
On top of emotions I would get from the races six times a day, there was also the strong emotions from the casinos first floor flowing constantly into me. And this was to happen each and every day.
Indubitably, I had made the step forward in the right direction with opening a casino.
From then on, while still trying to calm myself, I made the rounds and inspected some other things.
Halfway through it, I was surprised to see some of my monsters that were off-duty ying. It would seem that even they were interested in the casino.
Especially Ruhe.
"Im thementator, so I know best which ones the fastest!"
While confidently saying such things, she paid arge amount of money to bet on one of the dragons. Everything was going so well until the dragon she betted on went out of bounds. In an instant, she was at the verge of tears.
I sat down somewhere, looked over my shoulders to see that no one would notice, and then summoned my [Demon Lord Book]. While taking a sip of my wine, I opened the book.
"This much in just one day?"
When I looked at my DP, I found that I had earned several days worth of DP in just one day.
Such was the effect of more than a thousand people giving off exceedingly strong emotions.
Thanks to that, I had earned enough to buy a [Maelstrom]. And if this was to go on, I estimated that I could even buy one Maelstrom every fortnight.
Of course, I could do various other things with DP such as directly buying monsters from the book.
Speaking of which, I should buy an Abyss Howl. If it performs like expected, Ill buy a Maelstrom right away.
Volume 8 14
Ever since the casino opened, a great amount of activity could be observed in Avalon every day. Our rate of acquiring repeat guests was high and so was our rate of acquiring new ones that heard of us and our casino through word of mouth.
One reason for such increases is the improved essibility to our city given by the additional Hippogriff airports.
However, there was one problem arising from this.
"Wow, our casinos overflowing with guests. It seems my estimate was indeed na?ve. Im so d now that we didnt build the building for just 500 people."
Fafnir was built under the assumption that it would entertain an average of a thousand guests. Although it could host up to a maximum of 2,000 people, there were also the dealers and the staff members to consider.
The closer we try to go to the limit, the less the guests satisfaction would be.
For the moment, I was considering either rearranging the currentyout, recing some staff with more capable people, or just simply adding more space. Whichever we go with though, it would take some time before they would be implemented.
Because of that, I decided that whenever the guest count would reach a thousand, further admission would be halted. We would only admit additional guests when either current guests had exited or when several staff members would take a break.
It was a delicate bncing act. Thanks to this system and Conannas decision-making, we were somehow able to satisfy our guests.
That being said, this did raise other concerns.
For example, some of the guestsafter all the trouble they went through to get to Avalonwould asionally find themselves unable to enjoy themselves in the casino. To counteract this, the merchants and I needed to put extra effort in thinking up of other ways the guests could pass their now plenty free time.
Which shouldnt be hard considering Avalon was already full of fascinating things gathered from all over the world even before the casino.
Another way to think about it was that it gave the other things in Avalon a good chance to develop.
"Its surprising to see how much those wanting to immigrate here has increased after the casino has opened."
The more recreational facilities were in Avalon, the more employees were needed to man them. Also, there were some people too into gambling in the casino that had chosen to settle down here. Whatever the case might be, they ultimately decided that it would more convenient to just settle here than to travel back and forth.
Because of that, the number of those wishing to permanently reside here were greatly more than anticipated.
"Things are going so well. Its almost too good to be true, sometimes. There are miscalctions here and there, but theyre mostly for the better. Well, no use thinking about it for now. Its better to focus my attention on testing the capabilities of an Abyss Howl."
Abyss Howls were the monsters unlocked when I made Tiro. I was certain they were above norm, but what I wanted to find out was how above the norm they were.
Depending on todays results, I could also include them in my deal for tomorrows meeting with Sts where we would help each others forces grow stronger.
For the testing, I went to the [Mine] room.
It was devoid of humansthey would not be allowed entry even if they found the entranceand it was spacious, thus making it a good ce to go wild.
Even so and the fact that it had always been useful, I was thinking of removing this dungeon room in the near future. The [Mine] room was located in the same dungeon floor as the city, and Avalon had been bing cramped. There was no easy way to deal with the increased poption, so I thought why not relocate the [Mine] room in the newly added floor and in its stead ce another [ins] room.
"Oto-san, Im so excited to see the new kid!"
"Gaugau?"
"Fufu, the new kids would be fine. Yeah, no need to worry... ugh, I wish I had some money for alcohol right now. Hey, hey, when the new kid gets here-"
"...Ruhe-sama, please keep your gambling to a moderate level. Youre making even our lord feel dismayed."
Four of my monsters were with me in the room.
The Abyss Howls could potentially form another main force of our war potential, so Kuina, the top monster, was here. Simrly, Duke was here because he was themander of my monsters. Meanwhile, Tiro and Ruhe were present because they would be the ones working together with the Abyss Howls in the other dimension.
Additionally, a few Mithril Golems were here as well. They were to be the Abyss Howls test dummies. ording to Rorono, so long as we dont break the golem cores, we could go as wild as we wanted.
The always cheery Ruhe wasnt so cheery today.
She had gambled and lost all of her wages and bonuses in the casino, leaving her penniless.
Being penniless wasnt a real, life or death problem for her, considering that she was a monster and thus didnt need food to live. But then again, without alcohol to enjoy, she was in a rather bitter mood.
I felt sorry for her, but I knew I mustnt help her. For if I did, she would only get more and more addicted to the casino.
"Once I get next months sry, Im going to win it all back! With interest! Its just a couple of days more of waiting. Im so excited!"
After hearing her say she say she was going to win back her losses, I knew Ruhe was the type that shouldnt gamble at all.
Ruhe wasnt the only one of my monsters that woulde to the casino to take a breather.
For example, Rorono had also gone to it. Out of curiosity, she went to see the building made by her followers, the Dwarf Smiths, despite being busy with the development of the Avalon-Ritters. And even though she just intended to have a bit of fun, shepletely dominated on the card game that was much like ckjack using her incredible memory and calction skills.
One could theoretically be unbeatable in some card games like ckjack if they memorized the cards that had been yed and then calcted the odds of the other cards showing up. But then again, memorizing and predicting which of the 312 cardsfrom 6 decksprising of 52 cards eachwas going to be drawn next was no easy feat.
By the way, the chips used in our casino could be turned into cash or into gift prizes, depending on the guests preference. The gift prizes included things that could be procured in nowhere else but Avalon, making our casino even more popr.
"Ruhe, keep it in moderation, ok?"
"...but maybe bribing the Darkness Dragons beforehand might be the ticket..."
"Ruhe, listen, dont do that, you hear? Itll ruin the races for everybody, including you."
"Ahahaha. I was just joking, patron. Just joking. I will never do such a thing, you know."
I was absolutely serious. Meanwhile, Ruhe just looked sideways.
Well, whatever, its not like theres anything she can offer the Darkness Dragons that is worth more to them than the prize of the race.
For the Darkness Dragons, there was no prize better than being able to feast on the wild animals of the [Forest] area as much as they wanted for a whole day.
In other words, even if I left her alone, Ruhe couldnt find a bribe that the dragons would ept.
"Why dont we get started on todays agenda? Were going to make a newrade, right?"
"Yes. Thanks to a certain someone, we got a bit distracted."
Unless we moved on, it would be dark before we even began.
Alright, lets start.
"[I Shall Compose]"
Upon reciting the words of power, my [Demon Lord Book] materialized.
And when I thought of the Abyss Howls in my mind, the book opened to the page that was about them.
Featured on the said page was an image of an Abyss Howl, some simple description of them, and the cost for buying them with DP.
They looked a size smaller than Tiro, but they gave off the impression that they were just as ferocious.
When I read the description on the page, I had confirmed that on top of having excellent physical capabilities and sense of smell, they also possessed [Transfer] and an other-dimension-rted ability.
"Now, show yourself, Abyss Howl!"
I paid 1200DP and summoned the demonic dog.
"Gau!"
From the magic array in the air, a huge dark-blue dog appeared.
It had fangs protruding from its mouth that matched its fiendish eyes.
Its ears were rtively small which suggested it didnt have outstanding hearing. On the other hand, its nose was big which suggested it had the disposition of a hunter.
"Woah, its a tiny Tiro-chan!"
"Guruu ?"
"While it is a tinier Tiro, isnt it more the case that Tiro is just too huge? This one will be generally regarded as huge itself."
"Hahaha, it looks fierce, doesnt it? It looks reliable, alright."
The Abyss Howl seemed to have made a good impression on my monsters.
At any rate, being dog-like, the Abyss Howl seemed to be a monster that understood the concept of hierarchy. It obediently sat down in front of me and waited for my instructions.
I took that opportunity to use my Demon Lord powers and look at its stats.
Race: Abyss Howl
B rank
Name: Unnamed
Level: 57
Physical Strength: B+
Endurance: D
Agility: A
Magic: D
Luck: E
Special: B+
Skills:
Dark Roar
Transfer
One Who Lurks In The Shadows
One with the Pack
As was normal for a monster that had other-dimension type abilities, the Abyss Howls stats were low overall. However, given its specialization in Physical Strength and Agility, it would still be pretty easy to utilize.
Its skills were overall easy to utilize too.
Dark Roar: Launches a roar filled with magic power. If the target is sessfully inflicted, its body will be stiffened and weakened. Chances of sess will be halved for Monsters of A rank and above. When this skill is simultaneously used by a group of skill-holders, there is a bonus to the sess rate.
Do note that the potency of the weakening and stupefying effects dont receive any bonuses, just the sess rate.
Transfer: Allows the user to relocate to any location of their home dungeon. By preparing a pair of transfer arraysone for the port of origin and one for the destinationthen and only then can transfer outside of the dungeon be possible.
One who lurks in the shadows: Allows the user to enter and exit the other dimension through a shadow that isrger than the user. It is possible to exit the other dimension instantaneously, but when doing so, the shadow to be used for exit must be within a hundred meters of the shadow used to enter.
One with the Pack: When at least ten skill-holders of the same race are present in the same dungeon room (or within a radius of 1 Km when outside of a dungeon), this skill will activate, thus granting those skill-holders the ability to share senses with one another while also increasing their Physical Strength and Endurance by one rank.
There was no further need to state the usefulness of Transfer.
Meanwhile, entering and exiting the other dimension through shadows was wonderful. Despite the requirement of the shadows having to be bigger than the Abyss Howls themselves, the fact that shadows were almost always present made it easily essible.
However, their skill was different from Tiros in the way that theirs needed the exit point to be within 100 meters of the entry point. The Ocean Singers skill too was limited in such a way when instantaneously exiting from the other dimension. Maybe for monsters whose rank is lower than A rank, such limitations are applied.
As for Dark Roar, if the enemy was a small fry, it was great. It could be used to disrupt the activity in a wide area via sound. However, against A rank monsters and above, it was a skill that could bring ruin to the user. But then again, I never had thoughts of making the Abyss Howls battle against such monsters.
Lastly, One with the Pack. This was, in my opinion, the centerpiece. It improved their already impressive Physical Strengthen alongside their rather questionable Endurance. And, by sharing their senses with one another, they could not only eliminate their blind spots, but also be able tounch perfectly coordinated attacks. If they were to form another main force, I needed to prepare many of them anyway, so this skill was basically just a very delicious cherry on top.
"...But as expected, they had the same weak points as Tiro did."
The Abyss Howls had very little magic power.
For the sake of todays experiment, I had summoned this Abyss Howl to have a static level, meaning it was already level 57. Even then though, its Magic stat of D meant it could use [Transfer] about only four times a day. Transfer consumed a lot of magic power, after all.
And considering the magic power consumption of going to the other dimension, it was probably better to limit the use of Transfer to two times a day. Such a strict limit could be worked around though by just making more of the Abyss Howls, which once again I was going to do anyway if they passed todays experiment.
Well, thats enough looking at the specs. Its time to test it.
"Abyss Howl, it seems you have exactly the abilities I was hoping youd have. Its time to show me your speed and strength. You see that Mithril Golem? That will be your enemy. Show me you can defeat it."
"Gau!"
The Abyss Howl barked so and then took distance.
Meanwhile, the Mithril Golem readied itself. Being a Mithril Golem, it had powerparable to a B rank monster. With it as the opponent, we should be able to have a better understanding on how effective as a monster the Abyss Howls could be.
A momentter, the Mithril Golem fired the Browning M2 heavy machinegun it had hanging from its shoulder.
Its base form was so good and popr, it was used even by the American army. The one fired by the Mithril Golem, however, was a model mass-produced by the Dwarf Smiths to be the Mithril Golems standard weapon.
It spitted out ten 12.7mm bullets per second, and the speeds those bullets flew travelled were at three times the speed of sound. Basically, it was one hell of a weapon.
In reaction to the rain of bullets sent its way, the Abyss Howl ran away from the line of fire using its Speed stat of A and headed toward the shadow of a nearby building. Using that shadow, it entered the other dimension.
...yup, other-dimension monsters sure are great. So long as they stay there, theyre pretty much invincible from attacks made in this dimension.
And then, as the golem was searching for the Abyss Howl, thetter jumped out from the formers shadow. Thanks to the current time of day, that shadow wasrge enough to be used for the Abyss Howls skill.
In the air like that, the Abyss Howl went for a bite at the back of the Mithril Golems neck, thrusting its fang into the golems heavy armor. The golem swung its arm, but the Abyss Howl simply did a flip before it could be hit.
After the Abyss Howl adjusted its posture in mid-air andnding safely, I interrupted the fight.
"Alright, Abyss Howl, Mithril Golem, you can stop now. Weve seen enough."
Now that I had seen not only the Abyss Howls stats but also its performance in actualbat, I no doubt had a deeper understanding of it.
It was definitely a monster that could benefit a lot from the numbers that a [Maelstrom] would provide.
That said, I also found some ws. One was that they could use more attack power. When the Abyss Howl thrusted its fangs into the golems neck, the bite was rather shallow. Ideally, I would like them to have enough attack power to destroy even the Mithril Golems.
Maybe when shes done with the development for the Avalon-Ritters, Ill go ask Rorono for some help.
"So, what are your impressions?"
I asked so to my monsters who had been watching.
"They pass! Kuina has no objection to making them be another main force!"
"Gaugau!"
"Well. theyre not bad. If they were to cooperate with the Ocean Singers, our dominance in the other dimension will be secured more than ever."
"My lord, I think we can use them even outside of the other dimension. Theyll make fantastd units with their mobility. Moreover, having monsters that can use Transfer will surely widen the range of strategies we can employ."
I was of the same opinion as them.
So, the pros far outweighing the cons, I decided to buy a [Maelstrom] that would continuously produce Abyss Howls. In fact, once Ive earned enough DP, I intended to buy one more [Maelstrom] so that the Abyss Howls could be used both as other dimensionbatants andnd forces.
120,000 DP per [Maelstrom] was indeed arge expenditure, but even with just the casino, I could swiftly recover it.
And so, following the Darkness Dragons which were our aerial forces, I had obtained a main force in the form of the Abyss Howls. From here on, it was just a matter of steadily increasing their numbers and using their powers for the future of Avalon.
Volume 8 15
Riding a Darkness Dragon, I traveled to Stss dungeon.
In order to make both of our war potential stronger, I proposed an idea to Sts, which she thankfully epted. This trip was to make that idea a reality.
"Oto-san, its so great that air trips are somon now!"
"Well, travel via the sky is the fastest, after all."
Kuina, my guard, said so with a merry voice.
In the old days, the mere sight of a dragon would cause an uproar, but now that they had be famous enough to be another symbol of Avalon, I could openly fly out on top of one and no one would be surprised.
In fact, because they were much faster and stronger than the Hippogriffs, I had even received requests that asked if they could use the dragons to transport their stuff. I turned down such requests though, not because we didnt have enough Darkness Dragons, but rather because their [Fear] skill would mean instant death to the humans who dared get close.
"Ah, Oto-san, have you heard from Rorono-chan?"
"Hmm? About what?"
"Well, apparently, while investigating the [Forest] and [Mine] rooms for materials to be used for the new Avalon-Ritters, she had made some discoveries. What she basically told me was that we now have a self-sustainable supply of raw materials for our explosives."
"Thats definitely the first Ive heard of it. Once I find the time, Ill look into it."
The raw materials for the bombs the Darkness Dragons use for aerial bombing as well as the MOAB prepared in the deepest floor of my dungeon couldnt be found in this world, forcing us topletely rely on my [Creation] to produce such things.
Basic gunpowder and such could be procured, but the power of those just werent enough. Because of that, about 90% of my use of [Creation] was dedicated to supplying those unprocurable rare metals and chemicals, like RDX for example.
If we could find a self-sustaining supply of those materials, that would mean I could use my [Creation] more freely than before.
...there are a lot of things Ive been wanting to make.
"Its Rorono-chan, Im sure shell make amazing things with those materials!"
"Yeah, youre right, Im looking forward to it."
If, in the end, Rorono could only make things of inferior qualitypared to the things we were currently using in Avalon, I wouldnt mind at all. It would still be quite exciting.
I was so d to hear of this good news before my meeting with Sts.
"Kuina, hold on to something. Were going to descend soon."
"Yay ?"
After I confirmed that Kuina had held on to me from behind, I pulled the dragons reins and made it swoop down.
Atst, we were at Stss dungeon.
Upon arriving at Stss dungeon, we were guided to the usual room.
And after a while of waiting, Rozelitte the angel-type monster guided us along.
Actually, there was one other monster I didnt notice until I looked closely. It was a miniature jade dragon. In other words, it was Enlil the Storm Dragon Knight Bahamut.
His original form was toorge, making it hard for him to enter rooms and thus hard for him to protect Sts. But in this tiny form, he could always be near her.
Kuina raised her hand and greeted him with a yo. Enlil, meanwhile, acknowledged her back.
Seeing these two kidsmunicate like that, it seemed like Kuina and Enlil had gotten quite close.
"Sorry for making youe all the way here. Ive just been a bit too busytely."
Until very recently, Sts had lost her Demon Lord powers and stayed in Avalon to recover.
As to be expected from that absence, the work she needed to do had piled up.
"Dont worry about it. I was the one that proposed this matter. ...by the way, your new dress suits you. And it seems youve changed your perfume too. It smells nice."
"Fufu, thanks for noticing. Im going for something a little adult-like."
Sts bashfully said so.
She had always been attentive to how she dressed. In fact, each time we met, she wore something new. I was actually looking forward to what she was going to go with today.
"Well, lets get down to business, shall we? Im guessing youve already bought a [Maelstrom] for the monster two ranks below Enlil..?"
"Naturally. Theres no way I wouldnt want one B rank monsterwhich normally can only be made through medal synthesiseach day. So much so that I actually bought it as soon as I regained my powers as a Demon Lord."
Having an unbelievably strong monster wasnt the only advantage of making an S rank monster.
Demon Lords who could make only up to A rank monsters were allowed to buy with DP only up to C rank monsters. On the other hand, if one was somehow able to make an S rank monster, up to the B rank monster in the same lineage could be bought with DP. Mass production via a [Maelstrom] became possible too.
"Being able to mass-produce B rank monsters is indeed powerful, but its not foolproof. Especially if your forces are leaning too much on one aspect."
This issue was present even in Avalon.
Preparing a lot of a certain B rank monster was great, but there were other things to consider such as attribute affinities.
In the Darkness Dragons case, they had the Death attribute and that made them extremely frail against attacks that were of the holy attribute. In other words, if the Darkness Dragons fought against enemies of the same rank that could use attack of the holy attribute, there was a real risk of them being annihted one-sidedly. So much so that it would still be the case even if the Darkness Dragons outnumbered the enemies.
And if the Darkness Dragons do get annihted, our air defenses, which relied heavily on them, would be in trouble.
Sure, Aura and the High Elves could somehow cover up for it, but that might make aplishing their own task harder for them.
So, if possible, I would like B rank flying monsters that were not weak against holy attacks.
For that reason, I needed to cooperate with Sts.
"I think so too. The monster two ranks below Enlil, the B rank Tempest Wyverns, are undeniably powerful monsters, but theyre quite frail and arecking in attack power. So, I want monsters that have fight-deciding strength, like your Darkness Dragons."
Sts shared my worries.
As a main force, the Tempest Wyverns were powerful monsters. Their speed exceeded even the Darkness Dragons. And with their wind and lightning magic, whether long-range or short-range, they had an answer.
However, in exchange for the swiftness of their attacks, itcked weight and therefore power. If and when a durable enemy appears, they would have a hard time dealing with it.
So, I wanted flying monsters not weak to holy attacks and she wanted flying monsters that had high attack power. Considering we had what the other wanted, there was just one thing we needed to do.
"Sts, do you have a ce nearby where the dragons can fly around freely?"
"Yeah, its been prepared. Go show me the power of your Darkness Dragons, okay?"
"Thats my line. Let me confirm the ability of your Tempest Wyverns."
"Sure thing. And, if we both are satisfied with what we see, we go with what we nned?"
"Yeah. Lets start with five per month."
We were nning a regr exchange of monsters.
Because each [Maelstrom] produced one particr monster per day, we could exchange dragons without much cost. And by doing it regrly, we could hopefully solve the issue of our troopposition being uneven.
That being said, it was just natural for us to have reservations on this deal until we had seen the actual performance of the others monster.
To confirm the performance of the others monster and then make a contract if everything was satisfactory, that was the reason for todays meeting.
"...Procell, I just want to ask: will you also be willing to exchange your Abyss Howls? I do want air units that have high attack power, but more than that, I want mobile ground units as well as other-dimension units. The Abyss Howls will certainly strengthen my dungeon in those two fronts."
The truth was, I had anticipated this development and thus brought along in my [Storage] one Abyss Howl. After all, if I was in Stss shoes, I would unquestionably ask for them.
Her Tempest Wyverns were alluring.
Monsters that were of the holy attribute usually had low defenses, making the Tempest Wyverns low attack power a non-issue. Then, factoring in their speed and other abilities, holy monsters wont be a problem.
Perhaps most of all, having them would make taking full control of the sky much easier than if we only had the Darkness Dragons. Their ability to manipte the wind made them one of the best support units.
But then again, the point of this deal was to diversify our troops. If I were to exchange two kinds of monsters to get just one kind, I couldnt help but feel I was on the losing side of this deal.
"I understand. If we both find the monsters abilities and performance to be satisfactory, I will give you a number of Darkness Dragons and Abyss Howls equal to the number of Tempest Wyverns you will give me. Im willing to do this, but know that you will owe me a favor that I will someday surely collect."
"Oh, thank you. I will keep that in mind. It seems I keep finding myself owing you. Someday, I will definitely repay you properly.
I smiled a little at that.
This is Sts were talking about. When she bes the superpower shes definitely going to be, Ill be d to be on her good side.
After that, we began walking to the ce she prepared so that our monsters could demonstrate their capabilities.
I was a little shocked to see that her dress had a huge opening at the back.
"You know, if you want, I wouldnt mind at all if you paid me back with your body."
With an ah, Sts stumbled and fell.
When she turned around to face me, I saw that her face was bright red.
And then, as though startled and shaken, her mouth kept opening and closing, over and over.
"Wha- wha- what do you think youre saying?!"
"Its a joke. Dont take everything I say to heart. Anyway, lets get a move on. I want to see the abilities of your Tempest Wyverns as soon as possible."
"......A-a joke? ......then please stop joking like that and be more serious."
After saying that, Sts stood up and then walked briskly toward our destination.
And then, I felt Kuina pinching the back of my hand, her face all swelled up.
"Oto-sans a pervert"
"...Im sorry. And not just to you. Ill go apologize to Stster."
Obviously, what I said to Sts was just crazy.
Recently, due to the explosive amounts of high-quality emotions I was getting every day, strange things had been happening.
One of which was that my dark side was unconsciously surfacing.
If this keeps up, I was liable to do something really crazy, like that time Iid my hands on Fel...I should probably visit a brothel soon. Things might settle down once Ive released these pent-up urges.
After a while of walking, we arrived at a [Valley] room.
A lot of Stss monsters possessed the ability to fly. For them, a ce like thiswhere steep cliffs were plenty, decent footholds were few, and the sky vastwas the ideal hunting grounds.
And so, there, we released the monsters we had in our [Storage].
"Sts, your Tempest Wyverns are amazing. So, dragons that can control the wind are able to fly this fast, huh. And that lightning strike too. To be able attackwithout the use of explosivesthe enemies on the ground while still high in the sky, its quite enviable."
"Your Darkness Dragons deserve praise too. Having such high specs, its cheating I say. This is the attack power Im looking for! But it isnt just them. The power of your Abyss Howls in and battle is breathtaking! Its almost impossible to believe that theyre also other-dimension monsters."
Our monsters demonstrated their abilities without holding back.
Sts seemed to have taken a liking to my monsters.
Likewise, I was pleased with her Tempest Wyvern. It exceeded even my expectations of it being good support units for the Darkness Dragons.
Like that, Sts and I looked at each other and smiled.
"I want to have your Tempest Wyverns at all costs."
"And I want your Darkness Dragons and Abyss Howls"
"Then, it seems we have a deal."
Sts and I then shook each others hand. However, perhaps thinking on the tactless remark I made earlier, her face got red again.
Still, the deal was made.
Each month, we were to give the other ten monsters: 10 of her Tempest Wyverns for 5 each of my Abyss Howls and Darkness Dragons.
From beingposed wholly of Darkness Dragons, Avalons aerial corps was now a mix of the two dragons. This was a huge step forward.
"Hey, look, it looks like the dragons are trying to do something."
"I wonder what those kids are up to"
While flying in formation, the Darkness Dragon and the Tempest Wyvernmunicated through roars. After a fair bit of that, they began.
The Tempest Wyvern flew at full flying speed and took the lead. Then, it used its wind magic to create a path. By using that path, the Darkness Dragon was able to follow at a speedparable to the average speed of a Tempest Wyvern.
They can do even this? I cant wait for the day theyll dance in the sky of Avalon.
"Amazing. If they can do this, they should be able to do more, right? But, hey, Procell... do you have any ns after this?"
"I do, but I can easily clear my schedule. Why?"
There was always work to be done, but thankfully, there was none that needed to be finished today.
When I answered like that, Sts suddenly became fidgety. A few moments after that, it seemed she had somehow found her resolve.
"We-wel-if you want to, do you want to have dinner here? I did my best to make it. I-I just thought its not fair to let you keep treating me to a feast without me ever returning the favor. Besides, I made youe all this way, its the least I can do."
With anxious, upturned eyes, she tried to guess my answer from my facial expressions.
A homecooked meal by Sts? How can I say no after hearing that? ....wait, is it possible that this is the real reason she asked for our meeting to be here in her dungeon?
"Itll be my honor. But I must say, I didnt know you cooked."
"Yeah, its actually just recently that Ive finally reached the level where even you wontin after eating the meal. Im so happy right now. I poured my heart and soul into making it, you know."
Sts smiled as she said so, and I thought it was extremely adorable.
In the background, I saw Rozelitte making a victorious pose while Enlil was going wild in her arms.
...I have a feeling shes the one behind all this.
It was just the kind of thing Stss self-appointed sister would do. But as ever, Rozelitte was such a caring monster.
And so, I stayed and enjoyed Stss cooking.
In terms of just taste, a professional chefs cooking in the restaurants of Avalon would most likely be better, but her cooking had other pleasant things going for it.
In end, I ate a bit too much to the point my belly swelled.
Im so d I came here today. Not only did I get ess to Tempest Wyverns, I was also able to spend a rxing time with Sts. In my books, that makes it all worth it. Thanks to this, I can face tomorrow with a smile.
After that, I decided to return to Avalon.
She had asked me to stay for a little while longer, but there was a growing risk that Ill say something awful like the joke from earlier, so it was best I leave before that.
Upon our departure, Sts was somewhat disappointed while Rozelitte clicked her tongue. In contrast, Enlil seemed to be in good spirits based on the roar he gave.
On the way back, I remembered something interesting that Sts talked about.
Apparently, due to not having that much time left to live, [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth had begun divvying up his monsters and other assets to the members of his faction. However, his real treasure would only be for the one that would triumph over the Dragons Trial he would be hosting.
"Well, whatever, it doesnt involve me."
For Sts, this was most likely a very important matter, but it was not so much for me who was nothing more than a friend to the [Dragon] Demon Lord.
Still, I was curious as to what that real treasure could be.
I guess I should ask Sts about it after. And then, I should also go drink one more time with the [Dragon] Demon Lord before hes gone.
I was indebted to him, but more than that, I just wanted to talk to him about a lot of things. I wanted us to talk andugh as we enjoyed superb alcohol and extraordinary meals.
This was the only thing Ithe one being left behindcould do for himthe one leaving.
Volume 8 16
When I went to exchange monsters with Sts, we had talked about how the [Dragon] Demon Lord was starting to distribute his monsters and assets before his remaining time was up. So, before it was toote, I thought we should go eat and drink at least once.
However...
"I didnt expect to have that chance so soon."
"...Sorry about this, Procell. Yesterday, he just came to my dungeon and said we should go to yours. I did try to tell him to not go as that will be a bother to you, but he just wont listen."
[Wind] Demon Lord Sts, my ally and friend, said so with an apologetic look on her face.
In contrast with her, [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth had quite a merry look on his face instead of his usual serious countenance.
"So, this is Avalons casino, huh. Ooh, its giving me the chills."
"Ast, curb your enthusiasm. I dont think I need to tell you that its inappropriate to be so excited."
Chiding the middle-aged Astaroth was the fine-looking young man, [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian.
"Dan, Id say its more inappropriate to try to act cool and adult-like in a ce like this. Besides, those clothes youre wearing, arent you the one most excited?"
The [Time] Demon Lord was exquisitely dressed with a very stylish suit. It nicelyplemented his beautiful and mature form.
And, toplete the line-up...
"Really, this kid. Why would you build such an amusing thing and not invite me? Can you imagine my surprise when I came and saw this?"
"...like I said countless of times before, dont treat me like a child."
...was [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias, the brown-skinned beauty with white wolf ears and white wolf tail.
Yes, all together in front of the casino were the three strongest Demon Lords.
"Procell, well, lets save why we havee here forter. First, why dont we enjoy your casino?"
"I didnt have much choice ining here as Asts chaperone, but being a wet nket is another matter. So, I say, we go have fun... I hear you have Carulet and Banyatta here in your casino. Why dont you show us those first?"
Dantalian seemed excited.
The Carulet he mentioned was a card game where the yers try to build a winning hand. Much like poker, psychological warfare was vital to sess in this game.
As for Banyatta, it was a dice game where yerspeted not against the dealer, but against other yers. It was a very popr gambling game at the moment.
"Dan, you seem well-versed in gambling games."
"Only as much as someone with a small interest in it."
"...I see"
When talking with [Dragon] and [Time], I didnt use honorifics anymore. Instead, I called them Ast and Dan respectively.
To save Marcho back then, I didnt ask them for their help, I offered fair trades to them. Since then, the two had asked to not be addressed so formally.
"As for me, I want to see the flying dragon races first. I hear its the most popr one."
"Ohh, you have that kind of thing here? Well, as the [Dragon] Demon Lord, I have to go see that."
"Marcho, Ast, the next dragon race isnt until two hours from now. Until then, why not y inside to your hearts content? Dan seems to prefer that, and I think its better to be together."
Marcho and Astarothughed when I pointed out that Dantalian was already walking toward the casino.
These are very important guests. I have to do my best to please them.
"Gahaha, Dan, this casino thing sure is fun"
"Its just beginners luck. Dont get carried away!"
"Fumu, despite calling yourself a first-ss gambler, youre just losing this whole time."
"Its not over yet. Its only just begun."
After enjoying card and dice games, they were now ying roulette.
Employing no strategy whatsoever except perhaps relying on blind luck, Ast had been winning bets one after the other. So much so that piles of chips had umted up in front him.
On the other hand, Dantalian was constantly losing. He observed, calcted, and predicted, but it ended up backfiring on him. Out of the many, many chips he bought, only one remained in front of him.
What an unlucky guy.
"Turn these to chips, please. All of it. Im going to turn things around starting now!"
Dan took out a pouch full of gold coins from his breast pocket and handed it to a female staff member. Considering his luck, that was a terrible way of using money.
Anyway, there were various chips in use here in the Fafnir casino, and the ones Dan exchanged for were the highest valued ones: the tinum chips. Each tinum chip was worth 10 gold coins. To give an idea, 10 gold coins would be what a higher-ranking blue-cor worker would earn in a month in Avalon. It was a chip almost entirely for VIPs.
After receiving his tinum chips, he then ced 30 in one spot.
Two and a half years worth of sry wagered just like that. Unsurprisingly, the dealer and the staff members faces became somewhat stiff.
Nheless, the dealer had no choice but to spin the roulette.
"Dan, if you dont mind my asking, how do you make money?"
I was slightly curious so I asked.
One way a Demon Lord could earn money was through gathering the belongings of the fallen adventurers that came to their dungeon. They would then ce these items into chests and use that to lure even more adventurers, repeating the whole process.
Still, even for a dungeon asrge as Dans, spending money like this should make a significant effect on his finances if that was his only means.
"There are lots of ways. Once you be a veteran Demon Lord, its easy get rooms like [Treasure Vault] and [Mine] rooms, and once you got one of those, money isnt an issue anymore."
Dan said so as the dealer made clear no more bets could be ced.
I once read about the [Treasure Vault] room in the Demon Lord Book when I was checking out all the possible dungeon rooms I could install in my dungeon.
I wasnt exactly able to verify it at the moment, but what I remembered about it was that it costed 500,000DP. Very expensive. As for its effects, it produced one treasure per week. The quality of the produced treasure depended on the Demon Lords level.
For 500,000DP, I could buy 4 [Maelstroms] for B rank monsters and still have some left-over DP. I had the opinion that it was foolish to spend that much DP just for some treasure.
But now that I think about it, to be able to make once a week a treasure that even a top-tier adventurer would risk their life for, a [Treasure Vault] room might actually be useful.
Just when my interest for the [Treasure Vault] had grown, the dealer began spinning the roulette. And so, around and around the ball went.
A first-ss dealer would have been able to manipte the oue, but due to Dans absurd way of betting as well as his intimidating presence born from the belief that he would somehow win, the dealer was too overwhelmed to be able to.
So, Dan who originally couldnt win now had a sliver of a chance.
After a while of nail-biting suspense for everyone involved, the ball stopped.
Looking at the result, the dealers face went ghastly pale.
Dantalian won.
Considering where Dan put his chips, his winnings amounted to 27 times the original amount.
I felt pity for the dealer. Because he let the casino lose an absurd amount of money, his earnings would most likely be significantly lower for several days.
All in all, it wasnt such a big deal for the casino, but it was still enough for Conanna to give a stern lecture to the dealerter.
"Alright, a reversal! Weve agreed to go drink until the dragon race begins, so this will have to be thest match. In other words, Im the winner, Ast."
"...Psh, one fluke and the tables are turned. But dont get ahead of yourself; theres still the dragon race itself. This time, itll be my reversal. With my discerning eye for dragons, I think that ones already my win."
"I do have dragons too, you know. You dont have a monopoly of them or this discerning eye youre talking about."
The two were really close. If I hadnt known beforehand, there was no way I would have believed they werent talking with one another for more than a century.
While the two argued which of them was going to win, I noticed Marcho and Sts werent in sight.
Maybe I should go look for them...
"Procell"
Astaroth called out to me.
Not in his merry-old-man-excited-about-the-casino voice, but in his majestic-veteran-Demon-Lord tone.
"As you might have already guessed, I came here today not just to y around. Procell, I value you. And that is why I want to entrust my dragons to you and Sts. Fumu, lets talk more after the flying dragon race. But Procell, what kind of Demon Lord do you want to be? You can tell me your answerter... until then, Im gonna go drinking with Dan! The alcohol in Avalon really are delicious. Im excited!"
Saying they wanted to recharge before the races begin, the two parted ways with me and headed to the tenant area in the second floor of the casino.
What kind of Demon Lord I want to be...? I probably should give a proper answer. Im also curious as to what he meant with entrust my dragons to you and Sts.
While thinking what to answer, I began my search for Marcho and Sts.
Volume 8 17
[Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth told me that he was going to entrust his dragons to me as well.
But why not just to Sts and his faction? Why me too? Surely, hes going to tell me reasonter, right?
I thought of that as I scanned the first floor of the casino to look for Marcho and Sts. Thankfully, it didnt take long. I found them exchanging their chips for some gift prizes.
"Ah, Procell, youve finally gotten away from those old men, huh? Are you tired?"
"Marcho, youre from the same batch as those two..."
Those old men would most likely be devastated if they heard Marcho call them that.
As for Sts, she was so absorbed on picking gift prizes, it seemed like she didnt even notice me arrive.
"Found something you like?"
"Kyaa!? ...dont just out of nowhere call out to people like that. That surprised me"
"Ok, but isnt your surprise a bit too much?"
"Th-thats cause you..."
...why is she so conscious of me? Can it be because of that tactless joke I made a few days ago?
I had properly apologized to her afterward, but no matter what I do, once something had been said, it couldnt ever be unsaid.
That mustnt happen ever again. Or at the very least, notter when the explosive emotions brought by the dragon racese flowing into me.
For now, I cleared my throat and changed the subject.
"...ahem. Looks like you won a lot, what with you visiting this gift corner and all."
"Yeah, I had great luck."
If a yer wins in Fafnir, on top of the chips that could be exchanged for money, yers also gain a proportional amount of special chips that could be exchanged for gift prizes. These gift prizes couldnt be obtained anywhere else but Avalon.
The reason we were going to so much trouble was to safeguard against those that wish to obtain the prizes purely through the purchasing power of money. If someone could just buy those prizes without ying, there would be no point to having prizes. So, to get more people to ythus giving me more emotions to feed onI proposed this method.
asionally though, there would be yers willing to sell their special chips to non-yers. However, these yers generally return again to the casino, so I dont especially mind.
Sts carried a lot of these special chips. Judging by sight, I reckoned she had enough to get almost any of the prizes.
"I cant seem to choose... oh, these earrings are pretty."
"You have exquisite taste. Those earrings are made by Rorono, you know."
It was the kind of earring that could be clipped on without the need for ear piercing.
It had a beautiful blue gem that looked like a drop of water.
A majority of the prizes we offered consisted of the different kinds of potions made by Aura as well as the various things made by Rorono and the Dwarf Smiths.
We generally viewed these items as subpar, if not failures, so it was alright to let the humans have a chance of obtaining them.
"That girl made this? Then, this isnt some ordinary earring, is it?"
"Youre right. This is a magical tool made with Roronos [Materialization]. That skill allows her to make objects that hold one magic she could personally use. And as she had demonstrated whenmunicating with the golems, she is capable of using some form of telepathy. So, by wearing this, anyone canmunicate with others via telepathy."
The ability tomunicate with others in real time within a dungeon was an extremely powerful ability to have. Just by improving the rate at which information was transferred, an army became much more powerful.
"Is it alright to offer such a powerful thing as a prize here?"
"Its not as powerful as I might have made it sound. It has some shorings. First is that it works only in the same dungeon room or at most 300 kilometers when used outside of a dungeon. Its greatest fault though is that an earring can onlymunicate with its pair. That being the case, we have other, more convenient tools at our disposal. For the humans though, it should be a miraculous thing, and thats why its one of the prizes."
If the range was going to be limited to one dungeon room anyway, themunication devices I made with [Creation] would be plenty enough. At least those things wouldnt be limited to one-to-one transmissions.
By the way, all of my humanoid monsters had been given thesemunication devices I made so that they could coordinate with one another better.
"Ill be taking these."
Sts said so as she exchanged her special chips for the pair of earrings. As soon as she got them, she immediately broke the seal it had.
"Are you sure youre fine with that?"
"Yeah. I fell in love with it at first sight. Its just so beautiful. Say, Procell, do you want to have the other one?"
While averting her gaze, she thrusted one of the earrings toward me.
"I think its better to give it to one of your subordinates."
"I dont really need a tool formunicating with my monsters. We have Rozelitte for that."
Oh yeah, Rozelitte did have that absurdly powerful ability.
Regardless of the physical distance or distance in terms of number of dungeon rooms, she couldmunicate via telepathy with anyone belonging in the same army as her.
"Then, why choose the earrings?"
"Were in same faction, arent we? If we get into trouble, its better to have one more way of contacting one another, right? I mean, sure, the range is limited, but it can still prove useful. More than that, I just want a way to be connected with you, Procell."
Sts informed me so in a very thin voice.
She wants to be connected with me? What an incredibly adorable thing to say.
"I understand. Ill gratefully ept. Thank you."
"No, no, thank you for epting."
She said so and then put one of the earrings on me. To return the favor, I wanted to put the other one on her. When she raised her face to make it easier for me, I was reminded of just how stunningly beautiful she was.
"Fufu, its kinda bizarre for us to be wearing the same essory, right? But Im d we are."
"You know, if a stranger saw us, they might mistake us for lovers."
After I said so, the two of us motionlessly stared at one another.
We both felt awkward and turned away our gazes. Finding it amusing that we both did that, weughed at our silliness.
But then, I heard someone clearing their throat.
"Ahem... Procell, thats some balls you have, to be brazenly having an affair right in front of me."
"A-an affair? Sts and I are not like that"
"Exactly. Marcho-sama, that isnt the case between us!"
Sts and I hurriedly denied the usation.
Marcho, meanwhile, red at us with disdain.
"Ill take your word for it. But for the record, Id much rather you be open to me about it than you go sneaking behind my back. If it turns out that you like each other or even that you two have be lovers, Im fine with it so long as youe and inform me. If you dont, be ready to be punished. Nobody makes a fool out of the [Beast] Demon Lord."
A chill went down my spine. I didnt even want to imagine what Marchos punishment would be like.
<>
Its time for that already? Dan and Ast would probably go to the theater by themselves. The VIP coins I handed them should get them VIP seats.
"Well, lets go"
"Yeah, lets. If we dont hurry, we might miss the main event."
"Tsk, found a way out. Fine, but dont forget what I said, you hear?"
Sts and I somehow managed to escape.
...I didnt doubt that Sts cared for me, but even so, I firmly believed that remaining as we were was for the best.
After a while of walking, we reached the VIP area.
Other than us, many high-profile personalities like high-ranking nobles and sessful merchants were also in the VIP area.
As ofte, many people like Conanna woulde here often and chat with the others so that they could build up their personal connections. But then again, perhaps that was to be expected from such a ce.
It was a bit bold of me to bring everyone to the VIP area while the ce was like that, but it was still much preferable to the crowded general admissions area.
And because this was the VIP area, bets could be ced here at any time before the corresponding race began.
Dan and Ast took advantage of that. They sat on a sofa, drank alcohol, and read thetest newspaper about the flying dragon races before finally deciding on which dragon they would bet on.
Their usual majesty was long gone. They were now just two old men.
By the way, they also seemed to have purchased some frog-shaped cakes.
As for us, we proceeded to sit down.
When I saw the old mens alcohol, it gave me the desire to drink some too. So, I called on a staff member and ordered us some high-quality red wine.
Dan and Ast did the same because apparently the alcohol they brought in was already gone.
Theyve been drinking beforeing here and yet they still want more?
Like that, we passed the time with some idle chat.
After a while, the race began. It would seem the races ability to excite the crowd affected even the Demon Lords.
Especially Dan. Far from his usually calm and collected self, he clutched his ticket really firmly and cheered loudly for his dragon.
At that moment, I understood why he didnt bring along Fel, his beloved daughter. He would never want to show her this, only the side of him that was a majestic and cool Demon Lord.
But hes fine showing it to Marcho?
"Kyuuuuuu! Gau, gau!"
Burning with a sense of rivalry toward the Darkness Dragons shown on the screen, Enlil cried out from atop Stss shoulder.
"Enlil, do you perhaps want topete too?"
"Gau!"
...quit it. Please quit it. If you join, it isnt really a race anymore. At most, itll be a race for second ce. The Darkness Dragons will surely be devastated.
Just a few moments after that, the race ended.
Apparently, Ast wasnt bluffing when he said he could tell which Darkness Dragon was the best. His bet was spot on.
"Yes!!! I turned the tables on you this time!"
"Damn it"
Astaroth, the winner,ughed loudly while Dantalian, the loser, hang his head.
"Hahaha! Procell, I had a lot of fun today. The gambling, the food, the alcohol, they were all great. They almost make me want to spend the rest of my life here!"
"Thats great to hear. I hope you use your earnings and splurge on extravagant things in the city tonight."
"Of course, of course. Everything is on me tonight. Everyone,e along with me to the city, alright? Lets go have fun!"
Upon hearing Astaroths generous offer, I started thinking of the most exquisite stores I could rmend. There had been a number of high-end stores geared toward nobles and wealthy merchants that were opening in Avalontely, after all.
The race over, the VIPs exited the room.
The only ones that remained were us Demon Lord. As such, we could now talk as Demon Lords without worrying that anyone would overhear us.
"Now then, shall we get down to business? I believe there was a reason on why you guys came here...?"
"Fumu, right. Procell, Sts, there is something I have to tell the two of you. As you know, I am not long for this world. For that reason, Ive been bequeathing the things Ive umted over the years to others. However, there are some things that are too much to handle for even the Demon Lords in my faction."
Astaroth paused for a bit before continuing on.
"Originally, I wanted to entrust it only to you, Sts, but by yourself, its just beyond you right now. And so, I want both you and Procell to take on the dragons trial. By oveing the trial, one of you shall inherit my strongest dragons. Moreover, either Enlil or Duke shall receive [Dragon Emperor] from Caesar, my trump card, and be a true dragon emperor. I realize that giving you new Demon Lords such things will incur a penalty and I am fully prepared to receive whatever that might be."
The sound of the beating of my heart grew loud. The strongest dragon army and bing a true dragon emperor, those were doubtlessly great inheritance.
"So, are you two prepared to undertake the dragons trial?"
However, there was no way that the trial to ascertain whether we were worthy of such an inheritance was going to be an ordinary ordeal.
I wonder what the trial is going to be like.
Bidding my loud heart to be silent, I nodded.
TL note: this chapter gave new context on Fafnirs special chips. As such, Ive made slight changes to
Volume 8 18
The 3 strongest Demon Lords hade to my casino. It wasnt just to hang around though. Their real purpose was...
"Hey,e on now. This is the true dragon squadron and the true [Dragon Emperor] were talking about. Be more excited."
Of course, I knew of his true dragon squadron. During the campaign to rescue Marcho, Astaroth had used this group to attack the [ck] Demon Lords holy capital.
It was an elite force that wasprised of one S rank monster and 19 A rank monsters.
The absurd strength of an S rank monster didnt need any further discussion, but the strength of the other 19 was beyond the norm too.
First off, each of the 19 were made to be able to level up. Upon leveling up to their fullest, their base capabilities wereparable to an S rank monster.
Each of them was also made using the [Dragon] medal, which meant they had the skill [Berserk]. Essentially, [Berserk] had the tremendous effect of raising a monsters stats by one rank, but it was at the cost of the monsters sanity, turning it into a broken being that attacked anything it saw.
However, thanks to the S rank monster in the group, Caesar the Emperor Dragon Tupon, this drawback was rendered null. His skill, the [Dragon Emperor] allowed him to subdue any dragon in the same army, even if that dragon was under the effects of [Berserk]. It also allowed him to strengthen the dragons hemanded to the utmost.
As a whole, there might not be a fighting force that could rival their might. Even if the Avalon-Ritters were assisted by the Darkness Dragons, they would most probably be annihted pretty easily.
"Ast, Im grateful for the offer, but I dont think Im qualified to receive your dragons. I mean, Im neither your child nor part of your faction."
Inheriting such things would surely make me powerful, but I wasnt convinced that I should.
"Fumu, maybe I didnt exin it well enough. I can entrust my true dragon squadron only to Sts and you. No one else. After all, without [Dragon Emperor] to control the dragons, the squadron will just go wild and make ones army copse from within."
Such was the horror of [Berserk].
A monster possessing such a skill was borderline unusable. Normally, Demon Lords would keep such a monster in their [Storage] and release it only in situations where it could attack more foes than allies. In the middle of enemy territory, for example.
In fact, Enlil was constantly kept in Stss [Storage] until [Rebirth] was used on him.
"But shouldnt inheriting the monster that has [Dragon Emperor] along with the rest solve the issue?"
"It should solve the issue, but thats not going to happen. You see, Caesar, the one with the skill, has expressed his desire to go to the afterlife with me. ording to him, hell use his ability to turn into a spirit and follow me after my death. At any rate, when the timees, the other dragons will need looking after. For that reason, I turn to the two of you and your dragons. Its still undeveloped right now, but both Duke and Enlil do have the skill [Dragon Emperor]."
Duke definitely had the skill, and ording to Sts, Enlil too.
Perhaps its a skill that S rank dragons have?
"Ast, what exactly is [Dragon Emperor]? As far as I can tell, its just a strengthening skill that works toward dragons."
In numerous asions, I had tried to verify what the skill [Dragon Emperor] actually does.
The degree to which it strengthened dragons was pretty insignificant, so it didnt strike me to be an excellent leadership skill.
I had thought it to be a dud skill.
Moreover...
"I want to know too, Astaroth-sama. Enlil has it too, but its not as strong as Caesars. I dont think Enlils can suppress the dragons under the effects of [Berserk] as much as Caesars either."
Sts shared the same sentiments. There has to be more to it. It cant just be a dud.
"Well, thats because [Dragon Emperor] is a skill that grows. When an ally dragon falls or when the skill-holder kills another dragon, the strength of that fallen dragons soul is consumed to make the skill grow stronger. Caesar has seen tens of thousands of dragons fall, making his skill far different from a fledglings."
I see. So, thats how it is, huh.
Duke has never had a chance to kill a monster from the dragon race, nor has he been in the unfortunate situation to see a Darkness Dragon fall. Due to those reasons, his [Dragon Emperor] has never grown stronger.
Enlil was in the same boat.
After all, meeting a dragon in itself was quite rare.
As for Astaroth, he was operating a proper dungeon, so he was using his monsters as bait to lure in adventurers. Throughout the many years, he doubtlessly had lost a lot of monsters. And because he was the [Dragon] Demon Lord, many of those monsters were likely to be dragons, making Caesars skill grow stronger.
If I were to make Dukes skill grow stronger, I could make him purposefully kill some Darkness Dragons. I didnt want to do it that way, though. I just couldnt.
But then, if I was really unwilling to improve Dukes skill by ourselves, the only alternative I could see was to steal an already fully improved [Dragon Emperor].
"Ah, I see now why youre asking the two us... You want our dragons, Duke and Enlil, to defeat Caesar and take his [Dragon Emperor] for themselves. And then, whoever gets the true [Dragon Emperor] shall be the one entrusted to lead your elite dragon force."
If it was impossible to consume the souls of ten thousand dragons, then one should aim to consume the soul of one that had already consumed that amount.
That sounded straightforward enough, but because none of the Demon Lords in his faction had a monster with [Dragon Emperor], Sts and I truly were the only candidates.
"Correct. Like I said earlier, I originally wanted to entrust this to just Sts. However, Im afraid Enlil alone is not capable of defeating Caesar. Enlil and Duke together might be able to, though. And before you ask, yes, Caesar has to fight with all his might. Otherwise, his [Dragon Emperor] cannot be transferred. That is where Danes in. If you undertake the trial in his [Time] arena, even if your dragons get injured or worse, get killed, they will be just fine afterward. That sums up the gist of the Dragons Trial."
I gulped down at the prospect of fighting one of three strongest Demon Lords trump card. Even if there was no other benefit, I might have wanted to give it try anyway.
"Then, Id absolutely like to give it a go. How about you, Sts?"
"Of course, me too. I want to preserve as much of Astaroth-samas legacy as possible... but thats not the only reason I want to do it. I want him to know just how strong I am. As his child, I am going to give my all in doing this trial."
Looking pleased with our answers, Astaroth nodded.
"There you have it, Dan. Were going to be inconveniencing you."
Astaroth said so to his close friend and then chuckled.
In response to that, Dantalian smiled wryly.
"Geez... if only youve epted my offer of using my [Time] on you, youd be living longer and you wont be pushing this bothersome business to me. Why, Why does my friend have to be this stubborn and shameless?"
"And yet you agreed anyway. That is so you, Dan."
"Because I owe you a favor and this seems to be the only chance Ill ever get to repay that. Bothersome indeed."
I waste in realizing this, but Dantalian was actually a good guy. Deep down.
Due to his [Time] ability, Dan was going to live much longer and wont disappear anytime soon.
Considering those things, I wanted to build a better rtionship with him.
"Procell, youre quite cunning, so you might have already thought that with my [Time] powers, even if you fail the trial, you can simply try again, right? Or better yet, once either Duke or Enlil has received the true [Dragon Emperor], they can just fight Caesar again so that the other dragon can receive it too."
"Yeah, I have thought that."
It was the first thing that popped into my mind. It was the [Time] arena, so it was certainly usible.
"Dont expect that to happen because the trial cant be done again. Once a fight between dragons that have [Dragon Emperor] has concluded, the strength of the losers [Dragon Emperor] shall be absorbed by the winner. Once absorbed, it is impossible for the loser to get it back. Not even Dans [Time] can restore it."
It was an all-or-nothing fight. Once we lose, it was over, our dragons could never attain [Dragon Emperor] this way.
The thought of that sent shivers down my spine.
It wouldnt have been exciting otherwise anyway.
"Sts, let me tell you this in advance: whichever dragon receives the true [Dragon Emperor], dont be upset."
"I know that, Astaroth-sama. Looking for a way to get ahead will just get both our dragon killed. By themselves as they are right now, neither Enlil nor Duke stands a chance against Caesar. Cooperatingand cooperating fully at thatis our only chance."
It was exactly that.
From the tales I had heard from Marcho, Caesar was that much of a monster. Two above average S rank monsters on our side and we only barely stood a chance.
"Ahh, how nice it is to be young. Go and dazzle us, eh?"
Astaroth said so beforeughing heartily, kakaka
Like that, it was decided that we would undertake the dragons trial. Also, it was revealed to us that the trial would take ce one monthter.
Until then, strengthening Duke should take top priority. To that end, we could enlist the help of the Darkness Dragons and the Tempest Wyverns.
Getting Duke to learn how to fight with Enlil should be a priority as well.
Im sure that these two can do it.
At any rate, it seemed like todays agenda had been dealt with.
Ast and Dan gave off the feeling that they were readying to go back home.
"If this discussion is done, then lets change venue, shall we? Youvee all this way to Avalon, you deserve some more fun. There are a lot of other interesting things outside of the casino, you know. Come, let me guide you."
However, I wouldnt let them go home just like that.
I only had so much time left to be together with Astaroth, so I should strive to entertain him to the utmost each time we meet. That was the least I could do as someone who owed him a debt of gratitude.
"Fumu, yes, lets go, lets spend all this money Ive won. As usual, my son-inw is very thoughtful. Oh, how it gives me peace of mind to entrust Sts to such a person."
"...enough with the son-inw stuff please."
"You dont have to be so rigid. By the way, have you and Sts done it yet?"
Not matching his calm demeanor, Astaroth made a vulgar gesture.
"Astaroth-sama!!"
Bright red, Sts shouted so.
Seeing that, I as well as the other Demon Lordsughed.
"Astaroth, like weve been saying, Sts and I are just friends. We dont have that kind of rtionship."
......even though I told her that ridiculous thing yesterday.
"What? How boring. Sts, as a Demon Lord, youre top-notch, but it seems in these kinds of things, youre a bit inept. You should be more aggressive. Why not try pushing him down sometime soon? See what happens. But, bah, whatever. The two of you are young. You have time. Perhaps taking it slow is indeed the way to go."
Towards the end of his speech, his facial expression made me feel the weight of his experience. The weight of his years.
And so, to the best of my ability, I guided and entertained them. After that tour around Avalon and a dip in the hot spring, I saw them off.
I had received an unforeseen chance from Astaroth.
I should do whatever I could to seed.
I must also do whatever I can to repay him for this favor and all that came before it. Perhaps the best way I can aplish that is by protecting Sts even after hes gone. I should also continue to coborate with her. And grow with her too.
Volume 8 19
~???s Point of View~
"Is the intelligence gathering going well? The previous defeat against the anomaly that is Procell has shown... that we have vastly underestimated his power. We will not be making that mistake again. We shall be investigating him down to the littlest detail, exposing all he has to us. And then, we crush him."
The Demon Lord leading the anti-Procell alliance asked so to his subordinates.
The five Demon Lords that gathered here were all rtively young. The oldest would only be at around a hundred years old. As such, their ambition was still at the peak.
The youngest among them was actually their leader. He was a humanoid Demon Lord that wore an elegant obsidian-ck mantle.
It might seem odd for the youngest to be at the top, but he wasnt actually himself.
This was an open secret to the group.
A few days ago, he had fought and defeated a certain Great Demon Lord. In ordance to the stiption of their fight, he inherited everything that belonged to that Great Demon Lord. In exchange for that though, his identity, his very being was snatched away.
This was of course all part of the Great Demon Lords schemes. That Great Demon Lord had the ability to make anyone his new vessel by looking at them directly.
However, this situation was also not ideal for the Great Demon Lord. At best, it was tolerable.
Originally, he wanted [Creation] Demon Lord Procell to be his new vessel, but due to several unforeseen failures, he did not have much choice but to use the spare.
Moreover, he had lost all functions of his Unique Skill except for one.
Still, because the spare had an A rank medal, a strong body, a useful ability, and, above all, allowed him more time, he couldnt reallyin.
"I shall nowmence with the report. It seems like our sworn enemy is improving his war potential everyday......at a terrifying pace."
[Ice] Demon Lord Crocell read out loud the report.
"Of note are the number of the powerful golems that we had encountered in the war against the [Beast] Demon Lord as well as the number of the B rank dragons that unleashes powerful explosives from above. It seems the B rank dragons are being produced via [Maelstroms] now. It cannot be stressed enough how dire the situation is."
"We already know those things. The question is, is there any way to counter them?"
The other Demon Lords remained quiet.
Procells golems were unfair, to say the very least.
Normally, they held power equal to an A rank monsterwhich was absurd enoughbut for a limited time, they could exhibit power equal to even an S rank monster. Just to handle one full-powered golem, they would need to allocate perhaps at least 5 average A rank monsters.
"As long as those golems continue to be produced, we do not stand a chance. It is of utmost importance that we crush their production line."
ording to their investigations, the Avalon-Ritters, the aforementioned powerful golems, were being produced at a rate of four per month. That was very roughly equal to 20 A rank monsters a month.
As if that wasnt enough, Procell also produced Mithril Golems that came equipped with powerful weapons called heavy machineguns. These Mithril Golems were produced at the rate of 20 per month. Assuming that each machinegun-wielding Mithril Golem was as strong as three A rank monsters, it would take about 7 A rank monsters to match all of the 20 made in a single month.
Adding it all, at least 27 A rank monsters were required to deal with a months worth of golems made by Procell.
Meanwhile, the [Synthesis] of two A rank medals only had a 2/3 chance that the oue would be an A rank monster. So, even a Demon Lord that produced an A rank medal would have, on average, only 4 A rank monsters per year.
"Without even using a single A rank medal, he can build up 6 years worth of war potential in just a month in the form of those sted golems. And thats not even factoring in his genuine S rank monsters yet!"
The reason behind Procells suddenlyrge war potential was that a good number of it didnt need medals to be made.
And because of that, the anti-Procell faction saw the need to conspire together and nip Procell in the bud. If given even just a few years, Procell could be an unstoppable force.
"With all due respect, it isnt just the golems we have to contend with; his dragons as well. That explosive magic they fire from high in the sky is more powerful than an A rank monsters advanced magic."
The [Ice] Demon Lord spoke again.
Procells Darkness Dragons were strong, both in terms of stats and skills. Outshining even that though was their wide-ranged, high-powered aerial bombing. It was just ridiculous that a B rank monster could fire off such an attack.
"They are a threat, yes, but one that we have an easy countermeasure for. We just have to shoot them down before they drop their explosive attack. His dragons are of the darkness and undead attribute. That means they are twice as weak against an attack of the holy attribute. Even holy-attribute C rank monster should be able to swiftly take them down. Fortunately, we have [Maelstroms] that produce holy-attribute cranes. On top of our monsters being able to take down the dragons in a one on one fight, our monsters also outnumber them. Clearly, there is no need to be wary of them."
Monsters that had either the darkness or undead attributes had great power, but that came at the cost of being vulnerable against monsters of the holy attribute.
Procells Darkness Dragons had both and were thus even more vulnerable against the holy attribute.
So long as there were enough holy monsters, the Darkness Dragons shouldnt be a worry.
"To reiterate, our absolute top priority in our mission to defeat [Creation] Demon Lord Procell is to stop the production of his golems! Now, does anyone have a good idea on how to aplish this?!"
The leader shouted so.
However, the other Demon Lords only kept their heads down.
None of them had a good idea.
Or so it seemed until a Demon Lord that resembled an orca race of big, bipedal pigsraised his hand.
"I have idea"
"Hoh, you have an idea, do you, [Pig] Demon Lord Agares? Speak then."
"I investigated. Golems many. But monster making strong golems just one."
It might not seem like it based on his appearance, but Agares was rather smart. He had used a hero-ss human adventurer as a spy rather than sending a monster. Through that, he had found out that the Avalon-Ritters and Mithril Golems were made by just one monster: Rorono the Elder Dwarf.
That analysis of theirs was correct, but to be more specific, Rorono would create a golem core each day and see if it waspatible for the twin-drive system with any of the golem cores she had made previously. If it matched with another core, the pair would be put into an Avalon-Ritter. If it didnt, it would be made into a Mithril Golem until a match could be made.
On average, four Avalon-Ritters were made each month.
By the way, even though the Dwarf Smiths also made golem cores, theirs could only be used for up to C rank equivalent Gold and Silver Golems.
"That monster make not just golems. That monster make weapons Procells monsters use and explosive dropped by dragons. Procells war potential, almost thanks to that monster."
All of the other Demon Lords present were visibly shocked.
Procells strength came not only from his powerful monsters but also his peculiar weapons called guns.
Until this moment, the Demon Lords in the alliance thought that he had made those weapons through his [Creation]. Nobody ever imagined it was made by his monsters.
Upon hearing this new information and thus seeing Procells lifeline, the leaderughed maniacally.
"Then, if we kill that monster, the Procells war potential should be reduced by more than half... but if we were to snatch her away, the powerful golems, those weapons, all of it, we would be able to gain ess to those things too."
"I investigated a lot. I sure. Monster is Elder Dwarf. Name is Rorono. Rorono not just make golems, Rorono also controls. All golems can be stolen. That monster, Rorono, humanoid wench. Tasty."
"Wonderful! Not only will we finally crush Procell, we will also be able to improve our own war potential."
When the leader said such things, the other Demon Lords became excited.
Normally, to gain possession of a monster, approval of its current Demon Lord was necessary.
However, [Pig] Demon Lord Agares had a means of snatching away such right of control so long as the monster in question was a humanoid female.
And so, the leader began formting their strategy to snatch away Rorono and gain Procells war potential for themselves.
All that being said, they were overlooking four points.
The first was that they gravely underestimated Rorono. The strategy they were making was focused on how to break through Avalons defenses as though actually taking away Rorono was a foregone conclusion.
They were applying the general perception that production-type monsters were weak to her despite her being an S rank monster, being a [Monster of the Covenant], and having experienced multiple battles and wars already. Such estimation was simply too na?ve.
Their second mistake was their belief that the C rank holy birds were enough to take care of Avalons aerial forces. They arbitrarily concluded that Procell neglected to deal with the Darkness Dragons weakness.
The third point was that Procell and Rorono themselves recognized that Rorono was Avalons lifeline and thus have set every possible kind of defense avable to them to protect her.
Finally, they misjudged how much love Procell had for his daughters. To him, his daughters were the most important things in the world. If anyone dared to hurt his daughters, he was willing to be the devil and use the inhuman weapon he had prepared but hoped to never use.
Unaware of these four points, the alliance continued to make their ns.
It might not be too far off though for them to be forced to realized their mistakes.
TL note: [Pig] is what Ive decided for the time being. is the one used in the raws. It can trante to tremendous, huge. That kanji uses the radical which by itself can mean pig. This leads me to think this might be some kind of wordy that doesnt trante well. Its very possible that Im wrong, but for now, thats how Im gonna address Agares. Thanks for your patience.
Volume 8 20
I was at the new [Mine] room in Avalons dungeon proper.
Two dragons were dancing in the sky. One had jade green scales and was d in wind, while the other was jet-ck and was shrouded in miasma.
After directing roars at each other, the jade-green dragon conjured up a thunderstorm and sent it to the other dragon. Meanwhile, the ck dragon replied with a breath attack of ck mes.
In front of me was Aura who was protecting me with all her might using her barrier of wind. If ever one attack somehow managed to get pass her barrier, it could mean my death.
That was how destructive the attacks they were sending each other were.
For a moment, the two just stared at each other.
That was until the wind dragon moved. Still d in his wind, he ascended higher and higher. When I thought I couldnt see him anymore, he swooped down. Using gravity as his ally, he descended at speeds several times that of sound.
While the wind dragon ascended, the ck dragon chose to go down to the ground and gather his strength. A spherical force field of darkness then expanded from his body.
In the next moment, the sound of collision was heard. The jade-green dragon smashed into the force field of darkness.
Due to the force field, the wind dragons descent slowed down. It wasnt enough to fully stop the descent though. And the destructive kic energy that came along with the descent was soon to hit the ck dragon.
The ck dragon didnt mind though.
From the start, he never intended to stop the charge with the force field, just to dy it enough so that he couldunch an attack of his own.
And so, he opened his mouth and unleash a breath attack. Unlike the previous one, this breath attack was made with the intent to kill.
The ck mes of the breath attack was going to make a direct hit on the wind that surrounded the jade-green dragon.
The jade-green dragon didnt mind though.
He changed his wind into the shape of a spear, did whatever else he can to give it more propulsive force, and used it to break through the breath attack.
Seeing that, the ck dragon raised his miasma-covered fist.
Like that, the ck dragons punch collided with the jade-green dragons charge.
Both of the dragons were thrown away by the impact. After the two rolled in the ground for quite a distance, hitting some rocks and boulders along the way, they stood up and red at each other as though to say they were ready for more.
"Thats enough! Enlil, Duke, you did well!"
I shouted so.
I wanted to watch a little bit more, sure, but at their current rate, they were bound to kill each other.
Nevertheless... a fight between 2 S rank monsters truly was epic.
Their fight had transformed the very topography of the [Mine] area.
Even the Darkness Dragons who were nearby at first to watch the fight took some distance because they got scared of the twos power.
Enlil was superior in terms of speed and Duke in Firepower. However, because this was a head-on battle, Enlil took more damage than Duke this time. It would seem we needed to teach Enlil this way of fighting more.
At any rate, after I shouted, the two dragons shrunk in size.
Duke assumed his middle-aged dragonewt form while Enlil became like a child dragon that was the size of kitten.
These forms were their less power consuming forms.
"Enlil-dono, you did really well. I thought I had you when I slowed you down with my darkness field."
"Gaugau!"
"Hahaha, oh you tter me."
The two wereughing together so much it was hard to believe they had a fierce fight just a few moments ago. Which I guess would be a great advantage when cooperating with one another.
I wasnt the only Demon Lord audience though. Enlil was here, so his master was too.
"Amazing, isnt it? A fight between S ranks, I mean. I was shaking just watching it."
"Yeah. But imagine, these two are said to be just barely enough of a challenge for that Emperor Dragon Typhon. How much of a beast can that one be?"
Enlil and Duke fighting one another wasnt just for entertainment. They were actually doing this as a part of their special training.
In order for them to win against Caesar, their team needed to be greater than the sum of its parts.
That necessitated advanced teamwork which in turn necessitated that they understood each other really well. And the simplest way to achieve that was to make them fight like they just did.
"But, yeah, like I thought, Enlils quite absurd. That condition to hold back his [Berserk] just being you only need to be nearby is just so damn easy to fulfill."
"In my opinion, even though Duke can only use his [Berserk] for a limited time, the fact that he can be deployed elsewhere is quite envious."
Sts and I expressed our opinions about the others dragon.
The ability called [Berserk] was one of the strongest skills a monster could have in that it increased that monsters overall capabilities by a full rank. In other words, it allowed an A rank monster to somehow go toe to toe with an S rank monster. However, it came with a heavy cost: the monsters sanity.
My Dukes [Berserk] could be turned off and on at will. Moreover, he had the skill [Valor] which gave him mental resistance (maximum) as well as morale and offensive capabilities boosts. Because of this, when he did activate his [Berserk], he was still somewhat sane.
As much as he was holding it off though, [Berserk] still gnawed at his mind and sanity. By leveling up, Duke was able to stretch the time he could be in his dragon form and thus activate [Berserk], but at most, it was only for 15 minutes. Any more than that and he might not be able to deactivate it ever again.
In his dragon form, Duke was one of the strongest monsters in terms of pure fighting strength. In his dragonewt form though, he was a lower-tier S rank monster that specialized inmanding others.
"I guess the grass really is always greener on the other side."
"I guess so too"
As for Enlil, he had [Chivalry] which allowed him to retain his sanity and gave him some stats boosts so long as the one he must protect was nearby.
Obviously, that meant that as long as Sts was nearby, the adverse effects of [Berserk] were nullified. Another way of looking at it though was that if Sts was not anywhere nearby, Enlil would go fully mad.
That wasnt all. If ever there came a time that Enlil would no longer regard Sts as the one he must protect, [Chivalry] would be pretty much useless.
"Master, Im done concocting the potions!"
"Many thanks, Aura. Now, please give those potions to Duke and Enlil right away."
The two dragons received considerable damage in this mock battle. To ensure that the rest of their special trainingter wouldnt be affected, treatment was necessary.
And so, Aura gave them potions. After drinking it, the two headed our way.
They werent in perfect condition right away, but considering the efficacy of Auras potions and a dragons high rate of self-healing, they should be within an hour.
"My lord, Enlil-dono truly is reliable. I look forward to the day we fight side by side."
"Gaugau!"
Looking at the two and their closeness, it warmed my heart.
During the war between Sts and the [de] Demon Lord, Duke used his [Dragon Emperor] and gave Enlil a little bit of help. Thanks to that and, of course, Enlils own efforts, Enlil managed to get Sts out of that dire situation.
Enlil felt indebted to Duke for this. Meanwhile, Duke was quite fond of Enlil.
"Duke, I believe this is the longest youve ever activated your [Berserk]. I worry that there might be some kind of abnormality. If you feel something, no matter how trivial, tell me, okay?"
"Thank you for your concern, my lord. However, there is no issue at all... if anything, I feel its still safe to assume my dragon form for a bit longer."
Duke wasnt just putting on airs.
If he says hes fine, hes fine.
And so, with the extended time for Dukes transformation in mind, we began formting our strategy. That extended time would surely be a great boon.
"Great, then. Anyway, after your break, I want the two of you to try out working in tandem. Sts and I have some ideas and strategies in mind, but because you two have fought each other and have seen how the other fights, maybe something else wille to you. If that happens, you dont have to wait for our approval. Just try it out."
"Certainly, my lord. Enlil and I will do our best to meet and exceed your expectations."
As ever, Duke was quite the reliable fellow. I had lost count of how many times he had helped me out.
When I turned to look at Enlil, I saw him perched at Stss shoulder while making a very cute cry.
Sts was petting him, prompting him to make those purrs.
It was so cute.
I wanted to pet him too, so I stretched out my hand, but was only greeted by a screech. Enlil didnt want me to pet him.
By nature, monsters didnt want to be held by Demon Lords except for their master. Theres that, but it might also be the issue of him thinking I was trying to take Sts away from him.
We passed the time together until the potions took full effect.
We deemed the break over and began the next phase.
"One more push, Duke."
"Enlil, go show me something cool again, ok?"
The two dragons nodded in response.
And so, the two assumed theirrger forms and flew to the sky.
While staring at them and the sky, I spoke with Sts.
"We must do all that we can for them. Allotting a time and ce for them to learn to coordinate with each other, raising their levels as much as possible, and more if possible."
"Yeah, they surely will be helped by some extra levels. Thats the greatest shortcut, isnt it?"
[Resurrection] was used on both Duke and Enlil. As such, their previous levels were carried over when they became S rank monsters.
It hasnt been long since Enlil was reborn from being an A rank static-level monster, so his level was almost unchanged.
As for Duke, he was previously a B rank Wight with a static level and thus was reborn at level 56. Since then, he had earned arge amount of experience points, especially during our campaign to save Marcho. Right now, he was also around the level of an A rank monster with a static level.
Whenpared with Caesar, the level gap was huge.
Despite that, at their current level range, they couldnt raise their levels dramatically just by defeating C rank monsters born from [Maelstroms]. So, in conjunction with grinding for levels in the [Crimson Cavern], we were also making the dragons defeat the copy of monsters made by Stss [Omnipresence].
All that said, reaching the level of an S rank monster born with a static level within a month would surely be a tall order.
"Hey, Procell"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Once the dragons trial is over, theres something I want the two of us to talk about. When everythings over, can you make time for it?"
"...alright, I promise Ill make time for that. When you make that face, its kinda scary, you know."
I teasingly said so, but her face remained serious to the point she looked in pain.
I could imagine what she wanted to talk about, but right now, we should be focusing our attentions on the trial.
No matter what, we had to ovee the trial. It was our duty and obligation to inherit what our esteemed predecessor was leaving behind.
I fully believed Duke and Enlil had the capabilities to aplish this. All that was left was to figure out how to use those capabilities.
This dragons trial, we will absolutely ovee it.
Volume 8 epilogue
Duke and Enlils special training was going well.
Both were on the verge of having the standard levels for an S rank monster.
They were tirelessly power leveling by making use of the [Crimson Cavern] as well as Stss [Omnipresence], but in the short span of just one month, that was the most they could do. If anything, that was amazing already.
As for their cooperation, it was perfect.
This was the only way we could stand a chance at winning. For if we challenged Caesar head on, it would be our massacre.
"Ive also gotten a new [Creation] medal."
Between setting up the casino, taking care of Tiro, and Dukes special training, a month passed by just like that.
It was a little perplexing how to use this new medal, to be honest.
Along with the earnings of her dungeon, Marcho had also given me this months [Beast] medal.
Combining [Beast], [Creation], and even just an imitation medal, I could make an S rank monster and bolster my war potential.
However, no matter how versatile the [Beast] medal was, how useful would a new S rank monster be right now without a purpose in mind?
Even if I made a new monster now, I couldnt afford to level it up because most of the limited monsters that could be turned into experience points were being given to Duke and Tiro to defeat.
On the other hand, making an S rank monster with a static level was unappealing to me and I would rather avoid it if I had a choice. I wanted my S rank monsters to be true trump cards and the only way to achieve thateventuallywas giving them the ability to level up.
"Just holding onto it makes sense too."
My [Creation] medal was highly valuable.
It could prove itself useful as a bargaining chip.
I wanted to increase the number of Demon Lords in my faction even by just a little. The [Creation] medal would surely be useful in convincing them. Moreover, trading my [Creation] medal to them so that they could buy B-rank-producing Maelstroms would be more meaningful to us as a faction than using it myself.
There was also a chance I could obtain some other medalter, giving me the choice to make a powerful monster that I couldnt with the medals I had at hand.
Besides, I could always make an S rank monster with a static level anytime. Since it had a static level, it shouldnt matter much if I did it now orter. Like I said, I didnt prefer it, but in times of emergencies, it might just be the key.
For those reasons, I decided to hold back on using the [Creation] medal. A wait-and-see approach, so to speak.
Anyway, today, I was taking a walk around Avalon.
Soon enough, I would be gone for two days. My destination was the [Time] Demon Lords dungeon.
The [Time] Demon Lord was hosting a sending off party and invited [Beast] and [Dragon] as well as myself and Sts. On the second day, we were going to have the Dragons Trial.
"Oto-san, Avalons peaceful today too!"
"Yeah... but Im quite concerned about Rue and the others reports."
"Youve remembered our reports properly, huh... thats right, patron, Avalon is being targeted!"
While imitating some kind of sound effect, Ruhe pointed at me.
...this girl, is she imitating the anime she saw?
A while ago, Rorono got stuck in a rut in the development of the new Avalon-Ritters. As such, she requested that we watch nothing but robot anime for a while during our after-dinner bonding time.
Kuina really enjoyed gctic pretty boy; Rorono liked absolute obedience; Aura was pleased with the vision; and Ruhe loved blueet.
"Theres no way youre joking, is there?"
"Im absolutely serious. Numerous spies have been sent to Avalon to gather information. Without killing any of them, we have managed to capture them. We have tried to turn the tables and get information from them instead, but somehow, each of them has actually, genuinely forgotten who their Demon Lord was... I can see how this can be helpful for intelligence gathering, but I hope you, patron, dont copy this tactic."
It was very much possible that among the enemy forces was a monster that could manipte memories. And when we captured the spies, it must have triggered the wiping of their memories.
"Dont worry, I wont copy it. I love all of you too much to do that."
"Ill believe you. Patron is an overly soft Demon Lord, after all. Well, that aside, the abyss puppies sure are very helpful."
Recently, the Ocean Singers, Ruhes subordinates, had been partnering up with Abyss Howls. Thanks to that, our intelligence corps was stronger than ever.
Many monsters could conceal their forms or the sound they made, sometimes even both, but rarely if ever could these monsters hide their scents as well. For that reason, the Abyss Howls and their excellent noses proved useful inside and outside of the other dimension.
"Ruhe, can you confirm that the number of spies being sent here is increasing by the day?"
"Yup, thats our assessment of things."
The Abyss Howls noses were so good that it could pick up an intruders lingering scent as well as ascertain how many days had passed since the intrusion. So, even if they couldnt catch the intruders, they could still find clues.
"I see..."
"And no matter how we look at it, theyre definitely targeting Rorono-chan."
"Will the intelligence corps be able to provide enough security for Rorono?"
"Yes, and we already are. Rotating teams that each consist of two Ocean Singers and 8 Abyss Howls are watching over her from the other dimension. Meanwhile two Abyss Howls guard her in the surface world. After getting her approval, a golem that has a function to produce light and water is also near her. Because there will always be a light and water source near her, the rest of us will be able to reinforce her and her guards in case something does happen. But I think the 10 puppies will be enough for most cases."
It would seem that the enemy forces were particrly interested in Roronos workshop.
They might have realized that I relied heavily on Rorono to the point that she was Avalons lifeline.
If we lost her, Avalons war potential would be decreased by half. From the enemy forces perspective, she would be the monster they would want to kill first and foremost.
As part of my war potential, she was valuable, but she was much, much more than that: she was my precious daughter. There was no way I was going to lose her.
With several Abyss Howls guarding her, I was able to have some peace of mind. Their ever-vignt ears and noses would make it hard for any intruder to get close, much less slip through.
But if the intruders were somehow able to, a group of ten Abyss Howls meant that their [One with the Pack] would activate. They were high-end B rank monsters to begin with, but with improved attack power and endurance as well as shared senses which allowed for better teamwork, they should be able to deal with most monsters.
And, if ever they still couldnt take down the intruders, at least they could help stall for time.
I would be gone for two days.
For the sake of security, I hadmanded Ruhe, Kuina, Rorono, and Tiro to stay in Avalon. That was four S rank monsters that would be supported by Avalon-Ritters and B rank monsters. As long as they could buy some time, all the rest would be manageable.
At the very least, they would be able to prevent the assassination or the kidnapping of Rorono.
"Ruhe, thats an impressive setup."
"Well, you know... Besides, we owe Rorono-chan for the good number of new assault rifles we made her make for us. Wed like to repay that favor, at least... we, Avalons intelligence corps stake our pride on keeping her safe."
Ruhe, who was usually quite aloof, looked very serious as she said so.
Being so resolved to protect Rorono, I was convinced she cared deeply for her allies and had a strong sense of responsibility.
"Then, Ill entrust the protection of Rorono and Avalon to you."
Looking at both Ruhe and me, Kuina swelled up her face and spoke.
"Kuina will be guarding too! Oto-san can rest assured all will be fine!"
It seemed like she was slightly jealous.
Seeing her all childish like this was so cute too.
"Yup, thats right, sorry. With you here, I have peace of mind. I really wanted to take you with us, though."
Kuina, being Avalons strongest monster, was my bodyguard. She was supposed to be always by my side.
However, there was a clear threat of military action against us and what better opportunity could they find than my absence. Duke would usually be in charge of our defense while I was away, but he was the reason we were going in the first ce. So, for insurance, I was forced to make Kuina stay behind.
As for the duty of my bodyguard, I could entrust that to Marcho.
"Kuina will protect Avalon as much as Oto-san and Duke will. So, be at ease and go."
I brushed Kuinas head and she squinted her eyes as though she was pleased.
So long as Kuina was here, Avalon wouldnt fall.
Alright, its almost time to go. But before that, theres a girl I have to greet first.
The next ce I headed to was Roronos workshop.
When I entered, I was greeted by two Abyss Howls. While swinging their tails, they were rubbing their heads against me, so I decided to pet them. When I did so, they seemed nothing more than just oversized dogs.
After that, I entered theboratory room where Rorono was.
She was so absorbed in using her LCD tablet to draw a blueprint, she didnt notice mee in. Beside her, aputer that was running some kind of simtion was whirring.
Seeing how much she was concentrating, it felt bad to disturb her and thus I decided to just watch her work in the meantime.
While waiting, I thought to myself that it was clearly a good idea to assign Abyss Howls to guard her while she was like this. She was an S rank monster and had the ability to protect herself, sure, but when she focused on something, she tended to ignore everything else, even her surroundings. Even if I tried to hug her from behind, there was a real chance she wouldnt notice until we had made physical contact.
After about 30 minutes had passed, Rorono raised her head and took a sip of her now-cold coffee.
"Rorono, is the development going well?"
"Ah! Master. Wee."
She finally took notice of me.
"I wanted to see you before I left."
"Im d to hear that. I wanted to see you too... its just a shame I cant show anything before you leave."
Thepletion of Roronos new models had been dyed. Which wasnt surprising considering she was developing three technologies at once. Their base parts were simr, but for each of the unique parts the three would have, she had to design those from scratch. That was definitely time consuming.
"I look forward to seeing them after my return, then."
"Mhm, please do. Theyre the three strongest knights. Actually, Ive just finished the framework for ck, the most versatile of the three."
That was a nice surprise.
"Are the initial concept ideas still being followed?"
"Mhm. Red is still a heavily armored, one-hit kill unit. White is a long-range attacker with high mobility. It can shoot down its targets before they evere near... actually, Ive made it participate in one of the dragon races recently and it won by arge margin. White haspletely corrected the preconception about golems."
When I thought about it, I remembered that there was amotion in the races recently. Reportedly, the fastest among the Darkness Dragons, the dubbed as the king, had lost.
I was realizing now that it was due to Rorono.
A long-range attacker that could move faster than the Darkness Dragons, of course I was excited to see it.
"Meanwhile, ck is the best in terms of versatility. Its features include humanoid joints, tenacious internal structure, and many high-powered posture-adjusting thrusters, allowing it to move its body in all sorts of ways. It has no fixed armament loadout, instead using whatever fits the situation best. This childs intellect differs vastly from the others in that it can learn. Theres too much it can do that programming it all beforehand is just impossible."
If it was going to choose and use skillfully the most appropriate weapon for the situation, a more advanced intellect would indeed be necessary.
"Thats amazing. They have flexible movements, plus they have good mobility and maneuverability. It might be simple, but it has all the things important in a fight."
Like what a man who had returned from Jupiter once said, what was important in a mobile suit wasnt firepower or transformation capabilities, but rather a highly operable and reliable body.
"Please look forward to how ck will perform. Right now, my n is to put the three knights into the trial phase, analyze the data, and put into mass production the one that performs the overall best."
When I heard that, it kind of made me want to set up a stage where the three knights would shine.
The one-year grace period given to us new Demon Lords was soon to end and we would be forced into wars with the others. When that timees, I would entrust my first war to them.
...but then again, there was a chance my enemies wouldnt wait that long.
"When I return, I want you to show them to me right away. Prepare with that in mind."
"Mhm, I will... and should the results please father, may I get a reward?"
While her face was bright red and turned away, she spoke out loud that she wanted something.
Before replying, I brushed her head.
"Yeah, its a promise. Whatever you want."
"Mhm. Ill concentrate harder for the uing two days then."
Shes more eager than ever. ...Oh, wait, I almost forgot the most important bit.
"Rorono, I think you might have heard from Ruhe already, but youre being targeted."
"Mhm, Im aware. Thats why Ive taken on guards and have made the necessary precautions. Monsters and adventurers dont know of electronic devices and thus arent vignt against them. Ill make them regret underestimating the defenses of this workshop too much... to that end, I want to fight myself and see the performance of the [Mechanical Warmaiden] Ive continuously been working on. It isnt that often that I get a chance like this."
Rorono seemed to have given it a lot more thought.
And so, the anxiety I felt before leaving have lessened.
At that timing, I heard a knock from the workshops door.
"Come in."
When Rorono said so, the door opened.
"Ive been looking for you, master! Im here to pick you up. You better be grateful!!"
It was Fel. A Fel that had a crow monster perched on her head, to be more exact.
It would seem the [Time] Demon Lord had sent them to get us.
"Oh, its time to go? Just give me a minute."
I wanted to talk some more with Rorono, but it was time to go, so I went with Fel.
Its finally here, the dragons trial. Lets clear it with flying colors. And then, when I return, Ill marvel at Roronos newest models. Now, lets go!
TL notes:
These are just my guesses, but I think these are the anime the girls liked: Kuinas is Star Driver, Rorono liked Code Geass, Ruhe liked Blue Comet SPT Layzner, while Aura liked The Vision of Escaflowne. If you think there are other works that fit the bill better, feel free to let me know. Thank you.Also, I believe the line Ruhe said, Avalon is being targeted,es from Blue Comets "The earth is being targeted". I googled and skimmed an episode or maybe it was a movie, I dont know, and sure enough, a character warns the others that the earth is in danger from outside forces.In the raws, Aura liked "Heavens". For those that dont know, "The Heavens of Escaflowne" is the Japanese title for Visions.Finally, the man from Jupiter is likely referring to Mobile Suit Zeta Gundams Paptimus Sciro. I havent found the episode being referred in this chapter, so I just tranted as is. The actual quote might be different.
Volume 9 prologue
Prologue: The [Time] Demon Lords Party
After we arrived at the [Time] Demon Lords dungeon, we were brought via Transfer into a dungeon room prepared specifically for entertaining guests.
Master, Kuina didnte?
Fel, the [Time] Demon Lords monster with white wolf ears and a white wolf tail, asked me so.
She was an S rank monster created using the [Creation] medal who viewed Kuina as a rival.
She was also the one that picked me up from Avalon.
Its a shame, but she has to house-sit. Theres something she has to do in Avalon
I-its not like its really a shame or anything. Its just that it frustrates me to be the one on the losing side and thought using my new special move to get even!
Even though she said such things, I could feel she was a bit lonely.
I was very grateful to Fel. Through her invitation, Kuina was able to do dangerous training and sparring methods at no risk in the [Time] Demon Lords arena where time could be rewound.
Originally, one couldnt use such a ce freely, but because it would help Fel as well, the [Time] Demon Lord had given his consent.
Thanks to that, Kuinasck of actualbat experience was being offset.
Having a rival was certainly making Kuina stronger.
Im looking forward to that. Ill be watching when you two fight again.
Definitely do! Watch how I kick Kuinas ass down!
At that, I could only smile wryly.
As much as I was happy that Fel and I were close, I was ultimately on Kuinas side.
Ill do my best, so cheer for me, okay?
After saying so with such a wide smile, Fel unted the top of her head toward me.
When I indulged her wish, she issued out a funyaa as her facial expression became meeker.
She really is a good kid.
But then, I suddenly felt a gaze trained on me.
Fel-tan, my precious Fel-tan, shes being deceived by that green horn. Un-uneptable. Even though Ive lived for much longer and have had more life experience, even though I have such a dandy appeal, why?
The piercing gaze belonged to an old man wearing a white robe.
For some reason, he was gnawing on a handkerchief while tears fell from his eyes.
His real identity was the [Time] Demon Lords dragon. Despite what his temporary humanoid form might suggest, when it came to fighting, he was a force of nature.
He was one of the monsters that possessed the most amazing [Time] powers. He outshone even Fel in this regard.
He was the ace of the [Time] Demon Lords winning hand, the [Chronos Knights]. The Chronos Knights were so feared by the other Demon Lords, it was said that once they appeared, one better escape right away or all was over.
Or at least that was how it was supposed to be... right now, he was nothing but an idiot grandparent that was doting on his grandchild.
Ragna-jii, youre so annoying. Ive told you, stop following me around. And stop with the my Fel-tan, please. Fel isnt yours!
Fel, having noticed Ragnas presence, scolded thetter off.
M-my Fel-tan, my precious Fel-tans gone astraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!
Losing the respect of his grandchild, the time dragon who had made a name for himself in numerous battlefields ran away while crying.
What did hee here for anyway? Speaking of dragons, its about time I let him out.
Phew, finally out. My lord, as to be expected, being in the [Storage] is rough on the shoulders.
Duke, the middle-aged gentleman, appeared.
Today, he decided on wearing a ck tailcoat suit.
You seem more pumped than usual, Duke.
Hahaha. Because my wife knew today was my big day, she tailored for me this special item. Thanks to her, I am ready for whatevers toe!
As ever, Dukes family life seemed to be going well. How stupidly happy he and the Dwarf Smith were would show whenever he talked about their married life.
Except for them though, I dont think any of my monsters are in a rtionship.
It wouldnt be strange for my monsters to have a romantic rtionship with humans, but...
Mythological Foxes: A mans merit is in his tail. If he doesnt have a fluffy one, then forget about it. Ah, but if its Procell-sama, its perfectly fine.
Dwarf Smiths: a weak man is a hard pass. At the very least, the man has to be stronger than us for us to feel charmed.
High Elves: Elves are long-lived beings, so being in a rtionship with a man of a short-lived race is more trouble than its worth. At the very least, the man has to live 300 years.
Their preferences were quite strict.
Out of my monsters, perhaps only the Ocean Singers had the possibility to form a rtionship with the humans, but being part of our intelligence corps, they had duties that required them to be away from Avalon a lot.
To be in a rtionship with their fellow monsters was also possible, but for some curious reason all of my humanoid monsters except from Duke were all female.
Can it be that Im cursed? But whatever, Ive let my thoughts wander for too long already. Its time to get back on track.
Fel, is everyone already here?
I dont know. For the time being, lets head over there. Thats what father told me.
Like that, Fel led me by the hand. I just smiled wryly and let her.
The ce where Fel led me to was a garden where flowers of all colors were in full bloom. For a second, I forgot we were still within a dungeon.
And, in a roofed terrace, I saw [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian and [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias enjoying some tea.
Ah, Procell, youre finally here. You sure took your time. I was so tired of waiting, you know.
Marchosias, or Marcho as I called her, waved at me and then greeted so.
Sorry, I got caught up in something.
Well, thanks to that, Dan heres making some moves on me. If you neglect me for too long, I just might get stolen away, you know.
Marcho said so in jest.
She was just joking, but it was pretty much an indirect appeal for us to spend more time together.
I had no intention of ignoring that, but as it was, I was too busy for anything special and only had time for the bare minimum which was nothing but meeting up with her.
Well, I dont want that. Alright, Ill free up more time to spend with you. Actually, why dont youe to Avalon next week? A very famous troupe will being to the city. The Meteor Theatrical Company, I believe they were called. It seems like theyll be performing a program about the fight between a hero and a Demon Lord. Lets go watch it from special seats.
On days that we didnt hold a worship meeting, the hall made to be our church was open for rentals.
These kinds of events were always very much wee. Not only do they have the effect of attracting more guests, they also improved the quality of emotions the guests were feeling.
And because of therge aforementioned hall as well as the Hippogriff stations we had built which allowed more people toe to Avalon, people in the entertainment business were holding our city in high regard. So much so that the next vacancy for the hall was half a year from now.
Moreover, should the shows prove sessful, Avalon would turn even more entertainment peoples heads, repeating the cycle over again.
The Meteor Theatrical Company, you say? Yeah, Ive seen them before, and I remember them being quite amusing. That program seems interesting, too. As expected of my ward, you know me so well.
I was d she liked the idea, but when she brushed my head like I was a child, I got a little angry.
Suddenly, I felt Fel tugging on my arm.
Could she perhaps want to see the show too? Even if that was the case though, I obviously cant just casually invite her in front of her father, can I? Wait, I just thought of something good.
Dan, I still haveplimentary tickets left. How about you and Fel watch it too?
Thank you. Fel, if youre interested in it, lets go watch it together.
At that, Fel had aplicated expression on her face.
She might have originally wanted to watch it together with me, but the idea of watching it with Dan was something she liked just as much.
Thank you! Lets go enjoy it together, father! And then, lets go y those things youve been telling me about. You know, that game with that spinning wheel and the flying dragon races!
Now with a bright smile on her face, Fel said so and nodded.
She really is good kid. Only, I fear that when she sees Dan gambling, she might be disillusioned.
At normal times, Dantalian was a young-looking and beautiful [Time] Demon Lord who had a mysterious air around him, but when gambling, he was just Dan the old man.
Anyway, I took my seat and sipped some ck tea. I then tried the snack served with the tea. At first nce, it looked like a in cookie with some nuts, but upon tasting it, my eyes became wide open.
Can these perhaps be Arnold cookies?
Yes, they are. We asionally buy some. Theres just no shop that sell better pastry than them. Not even in Avalon, I think.
Arnolds, the globally recognized pastry shop. Certainly, not even Avalon had a pastry shop that exceeded their products.
Yeah, its vexing, but their pastries are just so good. ...too bad its tough to buy them. Not only is their shop two continents away, theres also the issue of the ever-present long queue.
Are you making light of my ability? For the sole goal of being able to buy their pastries, I had sent my subordinates to their main shop via a dragon and made them set up a pair of Transfer arrays that links that ce and Eba. And then, monsters that could disguise themselves as humans would asionally be tasked to use those Transfer arrays and queue in those lines for as long as it takes.
Youre putting too much effort for those pastries.
Arnolds pastries were great not because they were made using special ingredients, but rather because of the patissiers skills. That being said, the ingredients used were not subpar.
In fact, we had received a request from Arnolds asking for them to open a branch store in Avalon. It seemed like they were interested in the golden apples that could only be found in Avalon. With the present conversation with Dan in mind among other reasons, I would be reviewing their request favorably.
While we were chatting idly like that, [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth and [Wind] Demon Lord Sts arrived.
As ever, Enlil was perched on Stss shoulder. Upon noticing Duke, Enlil issued out a gau, to which Duke responded with a greeting of his own. They definitely had be close.
Sorry for beingte, Dan. There were some things I had to go over with Sts in order for her to be fully ready for tomorrows fight.
Ast, you sure you can fight seriously tomorrow? You care for that daughter of yours too much.
What a silly question. Theres no way Ill go easy on her. Its precisely because I love her so much that I will fight seriously tomorrow. This is her first andst chance to fight with me, so Ill do my best to make her understand what it means to be one of the strongest Demon Lords.
Astaroth said so and thenughed.
What drive. Im getting goosebumps. Were supposed to challenge such a monster tomorrow? Im scared, but also very excited.
I stand corrected. Apologies. I should have known better. You are that kind of guy, after all... anyway, now that everyones here, lets begin. I have prepared a grand banquet today. So, let us end this tea party, and drink alcohol until we drop!
When Dan said so, his humanoid monsters appeared. They brought out arge table and some chairs, set those, and then brought out dish after dish.
And then, before I knew it, there was an orchestra in the corner. When Dan held his right hand up and snapped his finger, the blue, sunny sky became a starry one and a beautiful melody began flowing.
In the banquet Procell hosted, he prepared dishes that can only be eaten in his Avalon, so this time, I prepared dishes that only I can prepare. I shall spare no expense to give my dear friend, Astaroth, the sendoff he deserves. By my honor, I am certain you all will enjoy this party.
Dan proudly dered so.
And then, sses were lined up and filled with red wine. Just by their scent, I could already tell that it was high-quality wine.
Now, Ast,e give us a toast.
Umu, very well,
Ast stood up and purposefully cleared his throat.
For hosting this event dedicated to me and foring today, I would like to express my gratitude to Dan and you all. I am so happy to be surrounded by my close friends and our sessors. Today, I shall enjoy this happiness, and tomorrow, I shall disy my might. Sts, Procell, my greatest wish is for me to able to give you my beloved dragonschildren. So, please defeat me tomorrow and grant this wish. And then, Marcho and Dan, my dear friends, it has been a st to live a life alongside yours... now, cheers!
We raised our sses, bumped it into the others, and drank the delicious wine.
Looking at Ast, I said to myself that I want to be like him when I reach the end of my days: to be able to dere with full confidence that I have lived a full and happy life. I wonder, how hard would that be?
He also asked us to inherit and take care of his dragonschildren. I was sure that Sts was also thinking that it would be serious stain on our honor if we couldnt do that. Like that, Sts and I looked at each other and then clenched our fists.
But for now, we should enjoy the party as much as possible.
This was ourst chance to drink with Astaroth, after all. This was a miracle thatsted for only one night.
TL note:
In this chapter, its be more emphasized how Fel speaks. She refers to herself in the third person much like Kuina does. Moreover, she adds desu(Ǥ) to the end of her sentences even if it isnt supposed to be there.
Id like to think she has enough personality as is, so Im not going to change her way of talking to this. I just find it annoying, more so when in English.
Thank you for your understanding.
Volume 9 1
It was finally the day for the dragons trial. I was currently getting ready in the room lent to me.
The previous day, we had such a great party. The alcohol and food were all first ss.
I was especially surprised about the food.
In terms of cooking techniques, Avalons chefs had the edge. Instead, the reason behind why even I, someone who was so used to delicious food, was surprised was the quality of the ingredients used. They were definitely of finer quality than those found in Avalon where the best things in the world have gathered.
When I asked how that was so, I was surprised again.
Apparently, the meat used were item drops from monsters.
A fixed time after a monster has died, it would turn into blue particles of light. There would be nothing left of the deceased monster except for items that could drop at fixed rates.
Among these item drops were meat items.
Basically, these meat items were categorized into pork, beef, poultry, andmb meat, while some rare monsters dropped uniquely named meat. They were also graded as inferior, average, superior, and first-ss.
Naturally, the higher the grade of the meat, the better tasting it was. And the vor of the first-ss meat items, which unsurprisingly could only be dropped by B rank or higher monsters, was enough to make any gourmet feel ecstatic.
Because nobles and other wealthy people were willing to payrge amounts of money for the first-ss meat items, adventurers would often dive into dungeons looking for such things. A lot of the time however, before these adventurers could get out of the dungeon with their loot, they be exhausted and die.
ording to what I heard, the food served to us used what was recoveredandter preservedfrom those adventurers.
"I guess I should have known that unfamiliar vor."
A Demon Lord that ran a so-called orthodox dungeon would surely be familiar with the deaths of their monsters within the dungeon as well as with item drops.
However, I didnt run such a dungeon.
In fact, I built Avalon primarily so that I could avoid the deaths of my monsters as much as possible.
...and then, it hit me. I finally understood why [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian said thatst nights feast was something only he could have prepared. Certainly, I wouldnt have been able to serve the same food.
While arriving to that conclusion, I used the water from a water jug in the room and washed my face.
Good, my eyes look perfectly awake. Lets go.
Next, I went toward the [Time] Demon Lords arena.
Already rushing to the audience seats were the [Time] Demon Lords monsters. Their excitement for the fierce fight between S rank dragons were visible on their faces.
A few moments after I arrived, my dragon did too.
His name was Duke, and he was a ck Dragon of Death Siegwurm.
Just like yesterday, he was wearing the tailcoat suit that his Dwarf Smith wife had made for him.
"Good morning, Duke. Were you able to get a good nights restst night?"
"Not really, my lord. I cant stop picturing defeating the worlds strongest dragon and taking its ce."
"Youre as reliable as ever, Duke."
A few moments after that, Sts and Enlil the Storm Dragon Knight Bahamut came along.
Enlil dropped down from Stss shoulder and reverted to his true form: arge, jade-green flying dragon.
Each of his scales were filled with astonishing amounts of magic power. So much so that each one glimmered like an emerald.
Sts standing side by side with Enlil while he had a stoic countenance in that form, it was truly a sight to behold.
"Enlil, what good wind we have today, right? I hope youll fight well together today and emerge victorious."
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
Enlil replied with a forceful roar.
Seeing that, I could tell Duke also wanted to transform into his real form, but his had a time limit and that vexed him.
At any rate, the challenger side wasplete.
Now, all we needed to do was wait for the champion.
And right on cue, they arrived. With their appearance, the [Time] Demon Lords monsters cheered. The whole ce shook because of it.
Three Demon Lords climbed up the stage.
One was a beautiful looking young man, one was beautiful brown-skinned woman with wolf ears and a wolf tail, and thest one was an old man whose body was thoroughly trained.
They were the three strongest Demon Lords. [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian, [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias, and [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth.
If these three were together, there was nothing they couldnt do. Even world domination would be easy.
The [Dragon] Demon Lord then walked toward the center of the stage.
He then crossed his arms and assumed an imposing stance.
"Come!"
When he shouted so, dragons that each had crazy amounts of power appeared from all directions. Each of them had been made with the ability to level up and had been trained to the utmost. As if that wasnt enough, each of them had [Berserk], allowing them to go against even S rank monsters. Each was a monster capable of destroying a country.
And there were 19 of them.
Theynded in such a way that they surrounded the arenas stage. They then roared. It wasnt meant to threaten, but rather to revere something, to request for somethings affection.
As if to answer those roars, a crack appeared in the sky. That crack was then pried open from within.
And what emerged was Caesar the Emperor Dragon Typhon.
Standing at over 20 meters tall, he wasrge even by dragon standards. His reddish-brown body was wrapped in some kind of golden light. There was something malicious but at the same time holy about it.
Just with his arrival, the battle has already begun.
He didnt nce at the other dragons. He simply looked from above at Duke and Enlil to evaluate them.
Enlil let out a growl. The fear in his voice was quite apparent.
To make someone like Enlil be afraid, Caesar definitely was a dragon among dragons.
Duke was somehow able to maintain a calm face, but I could see that his hands were shaking.
"This is the apex dragon... the true [Dragon Emperor]"
As for me, I leaked out such words with a dumbfounded expression on my face.
This is the kind of monstrosity were going against?
I knew Caesar was going to be a formidable enemy from the get go, but when I got another look at the thing we were challenging, I froze.
...no, stop.
As Dukes master, I knew I must snap out of it. As it was, my fear was already being transmitted to Duke.
Duke believed I was a superb Demon Lord, so I should act like one.
Like that, I took a deep breath, walked a step forward, ced a hand on Dukes shoulder, and said:
"Duke, hes strong, stronger than any monster youve fought before. However, I have one thing to say: Imand you to win."
Duke once said to me that whatever I ordered him to do, he would aplish it. ording to him, I wasnt some ipetent Demon Lord who would give him amand that I knew myself to be impossible to aplish. Believing I knew for a fact that he could do what Imanded him to do, he would do everything to make it so.
Duke didnt turn back to face me, but his back told me enough.
Meanwhile, Sts faced Enlil and reached out her hand. When Enlil lowered his face enough, she petted the tip of his nose.
Just like that, whatever anxiety Enlil had was brushed away.
Such was a knights disposition, I guess. He couldnt stomach letting hisdy see what he considered an uncool sight.
And so, Sts and I nodded at each other and then went up the stage with our dragons. Once there, the [Dragon] Demon Lord spoke again.
"Fumu, so, youve chosen to stay and fight my [Dragon Emperor], have you? That alone deserves recognition. Truth be told, I was worried youd get cold feet and back out."
What he said was incredibly condescending, but if anyone had the right to say such things, it would be him.
Before replying, I just smiled thinly while Sts just stared at him.
"We came here to defeat you and inherit Caesars [Dragon Emperor], and thats exactly what well do."
"Were going to surpass you, Astaroth-sama. Here and now."
Echoing our resolve, Enlil roared while Duke yelled.
Seemingly satisfied by that, Ast nodded.
"Good, youve got drive... The audience for this grand fight isnt just Marcho, Dan, and his monsters. We also have my [True Dragon Squadron]. They are here to ascertain whether their new leader is worthy or not. You better keep that in mind."
The 19 dragons that appeared earlier werent here to simply watch the fight. They were here to evaluate their possible new leader.
The bar had been raised even higher, but I hadplete trust that Duke and Enlil would pull through.
"Ast, Procell, Sts, no matter what happens, rest assured that I will rewind time. So, feel free to go as wild as you want."
"Ill also provide magic power to the barrier, so you dont have to worry about the audience either. Its been a while since Ive broken a sweat. But holding back the attacks of three S rank monsters might tire me out more than Ive hoped."
This was the reason these two were here.
For a battle of this scale, if an ordinary barrier was used to surround the ring, that barrier would be dissolved by just the aftereffects of the dragons attacks. Only truly tough monsters would remain in the audience.
To prevent that, Marcho decided to participate. By pouring her magic power into the barrier, not a stray attack would get pass.
As for Dan, he was going to turn back the time for those within stage after the fight had reached its conclusion. Even if a monster has died, they would be as fine as they were when the fight started.
What that meant was that both sides could fight with the intent to kill without any repercussions.
Everything was set, all that was left was to formally begin the fight.
"Then, let us begin. My lord, I assure you, we will achieve victory."
"Yeah, I believe in you, Duke."
Like that, I sent Duke off to battle.
His form then changed into arge ck dragon whose body was d in dark miasma.
In this form, he could exhibit his full potential.
"GRYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUR"
"Ill leave it up to you, Enlil. I love you."
Enlil roared like that and dyed the wind whirling around him turn jade-green.
The golden dragon was now standing opposite the jet-ck dragon and the jade-green dragon.
For some reason, that made the [Dragon] Demon Lord smile.
And then...
"I hereby dere the dragons trial begun!"
The [Time] Demon Lord loudly announce that the fight to determine the new [Dragon Emperor] has begun.
TL note: Please remember that this is the start of a new volume/book. That means there will be details such as character and skill descriptions that must be told again so that readers who havent read the previous chapters and volumes in a while would be reminded. If youre binge reading this, I ask that you show some patience. Thank you.
Volume 9 2
Standing within the arenas stage were three dragons.
An Emperor Dragon Typhon which was the one that had reddish brown limbs and was d in a golden aura.
A ck Dragon of Death Siegwurm which was the one d in dark miasma.
And a Storm Dragon Knight Bahamut which was the one d in jade-green wind.
Just from the aura projected by the three, anyone would be overwhelmed and have goosebumps.
Such was the fight I, Sts, and the three strongest Demon Lords were about to witness.
"Dan, the ring seems to be muchrger than when Kuina and Fel fought. Is it?"
Previously, the ring had at most a radius of 30 meters.
Right now, the ring had a radius of about 500 meters.
"If its dragons that are fighting, a stage of this size is only proper, dont you think? It was a lot of work, but weve manage to prepare this specially-made arena. And because its simply impossible for me alone to cover an area of this size with the powers of [Time], I summoned all the members of my [Chronos Knights] to help me today. That should be enough to enable the rewinding of time."
I see, therger the area, the exponentially greater the time powers needed. Theres also the issue of how long its going tost.
When I asked how much time could be rewound for an area of 30-meter-radius arena, I was told a couple of hours.
Surely, even with all of the [Chronos Knights] to help, the time that could be rewound for the current arena would be less.
But then again, that might be more than enough for the dragons.
In the first ce, the maximum distance of 1 kilometer was actually rather short for them. Considering they could all exceed the speed of sound, they would be able to traverse from end to end in about 2 seconds.
Moreover, each dragon boasted incredible attack power.
And so, the fight began.
The one to make the first move was Caesar. He stomped the ground, opened his mouth widely to produce a golden ball of energy, and then fired it.
Rather than a violent breath attack of golden light, it was more of a thick, concentratedser.
In response to that, the two dragons flew and split up left and right.
The only thing that Caesars attack made direct contact with was the protective barrier being strengthened by Marcho. When it hit, there was cold sweat flowing from Marchos temple.
"Geez, what absurd raw power. If I wasnt my current self, this attack would have definitely pierced through."
Marcho had always been strong but after being reborn via [Rebirth], she was significantly stronger now than when she was a Demon Lord.
And yet, she still said such a thing.
Actually, the aftereffects of the blocked attack were so strong, part of the ring being used got obliterated. It didnt just break, it got obliterated.
Had Duke and Enlil not managed to evade that attack, they would have been killed then and there.
"GRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"
Enlil, who had flown high up in the sky, unleashed a rain of lightning bolts.
Each one was capable of wrecking even an A rank monster.
Caesar, after ring at Enlil, surrounded himself with a golden light and flew up, pushing his way through the rain of lightning bolts until he got close to Enlil.
It was hard to believe, but it didnt look like Caesar got hurt from Enlils lightning attacks at all.
The distance between the two shortened, Enlil flew as fast as he could to escape the charge. He even used the wind around him. s, he was still grazed.
It was just a graze and yet Enlils magic-power-enhanced scales were smashed, leaving him bloody.
Despite that, it gave the chance Duke was looking for. Almost at the same time that Caesar ascended to charge at Enlil, Duke flew up as well.
After the moment Enlil was grazed, Duke activated his skill, [Netherworlds Miasma], and fired off a darkness breath attack full of miasma. In addition, Duke also activated his [Valor] skill to boost his attack power. With this attack, even Caesar would be deeply hurt.
Even so, there was no sign of being perturbed from Caesars face.
Much like what Enlil did to evade earlier, Caesar pped his wings harder and even converted the light he was d in into propulsive force in order to boost his speed.
Unlike what happened with Enlil however, Caesar was unscathed.
Dukes full-power breath attack did nothing but slice the sky.
Not deterred, Duke tried to give chase, but Caesar was able to get away in an instant. Caesar was so fast, he soon was the one giving chase to Duke instead.
In the next moment, Caesar was able to catch up and smashed Duke into the ground.
Intending to provide support to Duke, Enlil engaged in a dogfight with Caesar. In terms of speed and maneuverability, Enlil had the upper hand. However, his attacks were not doing damage despite of hitting due to the golden light around Caesar.
"......this is not good. Caesars too powerful."
"Yeah, hes quick, tough, and strong. But all thats within expectations."
Sts and Imented so while watching our respective dragons.
In order for Enlil to beat Caesar in their dogfight, he needed to be able to do damage to thetter. However, with his attack power, he couldnt punch through Caesars protective golden light.
On the other hand, Dukes attacks could prate through, but his problem was that he couldntnd a hit on Caesar.
In other words, neither Duke nor Enlil couldnd a telling blow.
Meanwhile, thanks to using a-like technique over a wide area, Caesar was able to make up for Enlils superiority in terms of speed andnd attacks on thetter repeatedly. There were no decisive blows yet, but it was only a matter of time at the rate they were going.
"Fumu, Sts, Procell, your dragons are strong, but I guess its still too early for them to challenge Caesar."
As though taunting us, Ast said so and then chuckled.
"No, were just getting started"
"Dont make light of our dragons, Astaroth-sama"
Just as Sts said earlier, everything was going as expected.
The fight up until now was just a preliminary test.
We had made Duke and Enlil gather as much data about Caesar without receiving any fatal wounds.
And there were a couple of things we had noticed during the fight.
One such thing was that golden light around him. He was using it to boost his attack power, his defense, and even his movements.
However, thinking the other way, without that golden light around him, Enlils lightning bolts would deal damage and Dukes attacks would hit. Without that golden light, we had a chance at victory.
As far as I could tell, Caesar couldnt use that golden light for attack, defense, and maneuvering all at the same time. Once Enlil and Duke realized that as well, their course of action should be clear.
In my opinion, that course of action should be doing Formation 2 of the five formations the two dragons had prepared for this fight.
Looking like he thought the same, Duke signaled Enlil.
The two flew and formed a line.
Enlil took the lead, made his wind form an aerodynamic shape, and sliced through the air in front of him. That way, Duke who was following close behind was able to slipstream and thus fly at an increased speed.
Caesar sensed the potential danger this formation presented and tried to create some distance. However, unless something happens, the two dragons would eventually catch up with him.
If Caesar used his golden light to boost his speed, Enlil would have to leave Duke behind in order to fly as fast as he could and catch up. In this case though, Caesar then would be susceptible to Enlils lightning bolts.
So, what Caesar chose to do was keep the golden light around him and rush toward Enlil instead.
Right before impact though, Enlil suddenly ascended. When Enlil vanished from Caesars field of vision, Caesar found himself opposite Duke.
As for Duke, he already had a darkness breath attack filled with [Netherworlds Miasma] primed and ready to fire.
Caesar epted that he couldnt evade in time and instead converted the golden light into a breath attack of his own.
The breath attack of light and darkness collided and pushed each other, both refusing to give way. ck and white light shed in alternating order. It was a blinding spectacle.
At the point where the two breath attacks met, energy from both sides gathered and then swelled until it finally exploded.
The one that was able to push farther and receive less damage was... Caesar.
Duke meanwhile fell to the ground.
He was in tatters. After using his left arm to protect his body, it was now gone. All of his scales were also scraped away. His wings were blown away too.
Hes alive, but only barely. Hes certainly in no condition to fight anymore.
However, his attack was not in vain.
Although Caesar wasnt as close to the explosion as Duke was, Caesar was still heavily wounded.
Moreover, he had used up his golden light. Dukes breath attack had forced him to. From the start, this was Dukes true goal.
It would take some time before the golden light was back online.
"GRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"
Enlil who had flown upwards earlier was now charging downwards while being d in lightning.
Numerous lightning bolts then descended upon Caesar, making him shriek.
Now that the golden light was gone thanks to Duke, Enlils lightning bolts were able to inflict damage to Caesar. And so, while Enlil chased after Caesar, he kept firing his lightning bolt attacks.
Caesar tried to shake Enlil off, of course, but due to the lightning bolt attacks he received, his body had gone fairly numb and thus was unable to function as well as he wanted to.
And then, finally, Enlil caught up with Caesar and the two wrestled while falling downward.
Sts and I watched with bated breath. We hoped, prayed even, that we would win. Just a little bit more and its our win.
But then...
"Your n was good, but too bad... its paper-thin, but it seems Caesar has already reconstructed a new one. This is checkmate. Your Duke and Enlil fought well. However, it seems theyre no match for my Caesar."
Ast confidently dered his victory when Caesar was once again d in a golden light.
What?! While he was getting hit by all those lightning bolts, he was storing power!? At this rate, unless Enlil can tear that down soon, its over...
"No, its not over yet!"
I shouted so.
I had felt a strong heartbeat. It was Dukes.
Its not over yet. As long as Enlil notices Duke, theres still a chance. I guess the question now is, how much does Enlil trust Duke?
And then, Enlil began acting oddly.
Instead of lightning, he began using his wind again.
No matter how much he tries, hell never get through that golden barrier with his wind. The most he can do is m Caesar to the ground... wait, hes noticed it!
"Push through, Enlil! Remember, you are my knight!"
Having received his masters encouragement, Enlil exerted even more power.
He produced a powerful downburst while biting down on Caesars wing, causing the two of them to descend swiftly toward the ground.
"nning for a crash to the ground, are you? Sorry to tell you, but that amount of damage wont be enough to down my Caesar."
"No, were aiming for something else. And Enlil believes that Duke will get them there."
Enlil had put his faith on Duke. He believed that Duke would persevere despite his injuries and do what must be done.
And so, careful to not expose Dukes form, Enlil plunged himself down along with Caesar.
Dukes injuries had left him immobile, missing an arm, and even unable to do another breath attack. Even so, he could still stand on his feet.
So, while looking up at the sky, he poured whatever remained of his magic power, miasma, and everything else into his remaining arm. He was hoping and believing that Enlil would notice him and bring their enemy near him so that he could unleash this attack. This was literally going to be hisst shot.
When Caesar noticed Duke on the ground, he got startled, but it was already toote.
Of course, he tried to break free, but he just couldnt when Enlil was going all-out in bringing him toward Duke.
And when they were really close to the ground, Caesar decided to take a risk and convert the golden light from a barrier into a propelling force. However, the moment the barrier went down, he became numb from the lightning Enlil attacked him with and was thus unable to resist further.
"GUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Duke roared like that as he raised his right fist that contained everything he had.
Upon contact, there was thunderous crash and the surroundings was wrapped in a ck sh. When the sh was no more, I discovered a cloud of dust.
For a moment, everyone forgot to speak. Everyone watched and waited for the cloud of dust to clear so that they could know the oue of this fight to the death.
And when the cloud of dust no longer obfuscated the arena, we saw lying on the ground a barely alive Enlil.
Near Enlil was Duke who, almost like a statue, had his right arm firmly raised up.
As for Caesar, he could be found impaled by Dukes arm.
"We won... Procell, we won! Enlil and Duke won!"
Tears in her eyes, Sts embraced me.
I embraced her back and expressed my own joy.
Our dragons had bested the strongest dragon. What a truly terrifying monster he was though. If Duke or Enlil had challenged him alone, there wouldnt have been any chance for victory.
Thepletely silent audience then erupted in apuse.
That was soon followed by the roaring of the 19 other dragons. I was not familiar with the dragonsnguage, but I knew what that meant: they approved of Duke and Enlil.
"Sts, lets go to the two."
"Yes, we have to praise them."
Our arms linked, Sts and I headed toward our dragons.
I was quite curious on who inherited Caesars [Dragon Emperor], but more than that, I just wanted to praise Duke for the excellent job he had done.
Volume 9 3
Right when the dragons trial had concluded, the powers of [Time] were activated.
Considering the size of the arena, Dan had to enlist the help of his most elite force, the [Chronos Knights].
Like that, arge magical array shone brightly and hummed.
I had seen such a spectacle before.
It was back when Sts and I had an exhibition war as part of a side show during the Creators Evening Party. Back then, Dan had received support from the Creator and was able to rewind the time for the temporary dungeons Sts and I made.
To reiterate, Dan had to rewind time for a total of 6 dungeon rooms and an area of more than 20 kilometers squared.
Needless to say, that was amazing.
I wonder, if ever I am supplied power by the Creator, just how much could I do with my [Creation]?
While toying with that idea in my head, the destroyed portions of the ring were slowly being repaired through the powers of [Time]. Moreover, Caesar who had perished after being impaled by Duke was brought back to life and was healing alongside the previously near-death Duke and Enlil.
When it was all clear, Sts and I rushed toward our dragons.
"Duke!"
"Enlil!"
We each called out to our respective dragons.
Duke was now in his dragonewt form and Enlil was currently the size of a kitten.
"My lord, weve somehow managed to pull off a win."
"Gaugau!"
The two were fairly fatigued.
It seemed that even though the power of [Time] could heal their wounds, their mental state remained as it was.
And it was one intense fight. It onlysted for a few minutes, but even I was mentally exhausted.
A littleter, Ast appeared as well.
He looked at Caesar, smiled, and exchanged two to three words with his dragon.
After that, heughed.
Caesar still had a rather intimidating presence, but his facial expression became somewhat softer. The two shared a faith cultivated over a very long period of time.
And then, Ast walked toward us.
"I wanted you guys to defeat Caesar, but to be honest, I didnt imagine at all we would lose. Well done, you guys have bested me and Caesar. Thanks to this, I can rest easy knowing my dragons will have a ce after Im gone."
After Ast said so, he extended a hand to me.
I firmly grasped and shook it.
Ast then shook hands with Sts.
Now that I think about it, Ive been forgetting about something important.
"In the end, which between Duke and Enlil became a true [Dragon Emperor]?"
By defeating Caesar, one of our dragons should have inherited his [Dragon Emperor] which had been made strong after absorbing the strength of tens of thousands of souls.
When I asked the question, Duke and Enlil had aplicated expression on their faces.
...Considering the immense power that the two both had after the fight, I was able to form a guess, but I thought it was infinitely better to ask and confirm.
The one to answer my question was Ast.
"This is the first time Ive encountered a case like this. It seems Caesars [Dragon Emperor] has been split exactly in half. Apparently, Caesar has umted so much power that even when split in half, each half would still be enough to make a true [Dragon Emperor]. As to why that happened, my guess is that its because Caesar thinks he didnt lose to either Duke or Enlil, but to Duke and Enlil."
At that, I unintentionally smiled.
To think that the supreme leader of dragons was being pedantic over such things.
"Caesar doesnt like losing, does he?"
"Neither do I. I mean, Im d you were able to beat Caesar, but being the one on losing side leaves a sour taste in my mouth. So much so that I want a rematch right now."
...please stop kidding.
Our tacticposed of surprise attacks worked this time, but given that we had exposed a lot of our hand already, we likely wouldnt win another time.
While I was thinking of how to refuse, help came from somewhere unexpected.
"Spare me and my [Chronos Knights], Ast. We just did an absurd time rewind. Were far too tired for another one."
"Im pretty much on the same boat. If you fight again so soon, I might not be able to maintain the barrier."
The two dead-tired, unsung heroes of this battle approached and said so.
If it was not for Dan, Caesar would have stayed dead while Duke and Enlil would be wounded beyond any hope of recovery.
Simrly, if it was not for Marcho, the audience monsters and us Demon Lords would have been hurt by the dragons attacks.
"Dont worry, I was just kidding. I wouldnt do anything to soil this great battle. Well, moving on, now that we have two dragons capable of leading my True Dragon Squadron... one half can go to Sts and the other to Procell. What do you two say?"
The original n was for the one to inherit Caesars [Dragon Emperor] to be the one to take care of the strongest dragon army there was.
However, because both Duke and Enlil both qualified for that, the issue of which dragon to lead the squadron arose.
Fortunately, I had a solution to that.
"I think Sts should inherit them all. She is Asts sessor, after all."
I had decided that it should be as it should have been from the start.
I would be lying if I said I didnt want the True Dragon Squadron, but even so, I firmly believed this to be the correct choice.
"Wait a minute. Wouldnt that be too unfair to you, Procell?"
"Its fine. The fact that Duke became a true [Dragon Emperor] is more than enough for me. Besides, if I ept them, I feel like Avalon would be too different too quickly. Its like it wont even be Avalon anymore."
"Even so, are you sure its ok?"
"Absolutely."
"Alright then. But Ill only be borrowing them. Ill give them back someday."
"And when that dayes,e and stay a while in Avalon, ok?"
Like that, Sts and Iughed.
As Asts sessor, I had no doubt she would use the True Dragon Squadron masterfully.
I didnt say it out loud, but this decision of mine was a bit more calcting.
When the rule protecting us new Demon Lords have expired, I was of the opinion that it would be better for us as a faction to have an even spread of our strength than just me having incredible power.
With the True Dragon Squadron, Sts wouldnt be defeated so easily by most threats, thus eliminating the need for me to back her up in a lot of situations.
And then, somebody hugged me from behind.
"That was really astonishing, Procell. Thats the first time Ive seen Asts Caesar get defeated. As expected of my ward!"
It was Marcho.
Her chest pressed against my back, I felt strange.
"Stop hugging me, please"
"Woah, how mean. Youre so cold to me and yet so happy when Sts hugged you."
Marcho said so in an effort to tease me.
Meanwhile, Stss face grew bright red.
"That was just a spur of the moment thing."
"Fufufu. You and Sts really are obstinate, huh. Its fine for Demon Lords to practice concubinage or bigamy, you know. Its just my own opinion, but I think that its a crime for an excellent man to make only one person happy. If you can make a lot of people happy, then you should make a lot of people happy."
"...what an absolutely absurd opinion"
I didnt understand what Marcho was thinking.
In any case, I broke free from Marchos embrace.
At the moment, there was something more important. As such, Duke and I stood opposite one another.
"You did great Duke, my prized monster."
"It makes me happy to hear I fought befitting a monster under yourmand."
"It is my hope you continue supporting me and Avalon."
Duke smiled and kneeled in ce.
"So long as you have need of me, I shall follow you anywhere, my lord. I hope this new power of mine will help you be even stronger."
Dukes stylish gestures and words really suited him well.
We might not have gained the True Dragon Squadron, but his [Dragon Emperor] maturing this much was already a great boon.
In fact, it wouldnt be such a bad idea to mix my next [Creation] medal with another A rank medal and an imitation of the [Dragon] medal. The resultant monster wouldnt have [Berserk], but the strengthening effects of Dukes [Dragon Emperor] was plenty enough.
Moreover, we would have another kind of B rank dragon added to our war potential.
Like that, Dukes role would be greater than ever before.
Meanwhile, Sts was giving Enlil plenty of petting. Enlil was purring.
But then, for some reason, he looked at me and acted all haughty.
"Well then, its time to dere the dragons trial officially over. Sts and Enlil, Ill introduce each of the members of the True Dragon Squadron to you twoter. Their strengths, personalities, all that. I have no doubts that youll be able to employ these children skillfully."
"Yes, Astaroth-sama."
After all was said and done, it looked like Ast was really d that the one he would be entrusting his dragons to was Sts, his daughter.
It was proof that I made the right decision.
"Hmm, its a bit lonely if we all go home now, right? So, Dan, go whip up another of your parties."
"As ever, you say the most ridiculous of things. Ive used up my magic power and Im tired. Even staying awake is an effort now. I want to go lie down and sleep as soon as possible. Not to mention, because I prioritized the preparations for the dragons trial, theres also all the work that has piled up to worry about."
"Dont be so uptight. Come on, just do it already."
"...Geez, what a stubborn fellow you are. Alright, alright. Ill do it if I must."
While looking exasperated, Dan still replied with a voice full of affection.
He might seem aloof, but deep down, hes really apassionate guy. Anyway, maybe theres something I could do to help.
While I was thinking that, an Abyss Howl appeared from my shadow.
An Abyss Howl was a blue, giant dog monster that could use Transfer as well as travel to the other dimension.
In case of an emergency, I had instructed it toe to me via Transfer. Originally, without a Transfer array at a targeted location thats outside of ones dungeon, one couldnt use Transfer to go to that location. However, the neor more specifically, the jewel in the nethat Rorono made acted the role of a Transfer array. Through it, Abyss Howls could contact me or bring someone to me anytime regardless of wherever I was.
Once used, the jewel would break, but it was undoubtedly an extremely useful device.
On the cor the Abyss Howl wore was a blue gem that could project moving images with sound into the air. The one being projected right now was Kuina.
"Oto-san, Avalons been attacked, Rorono-chan, she, shes in danger! Come back quickly!"
Roronos in danger? To the point that Kuinas panicking? No way, can she have been kidnapped?
"Sorry, everyone, its possible that one of my monsters has been kidnapped. I have to go back to Avalon right away."
Everyone approved of my early departure.
They all understood how serious of a matter an emergency about ones [Monster of the Covenant] was.
Did they really get past our tight defenses? No, I dont want to believe it. But it seems to be the case. Whatever it is, we have to save Rorono. No matter what.
I was sure my monsters wanted to do the same.
We had insurances put into ce too, but returning immediately was still the best course of action to protect my beloved daughter.
Volume 9 4
Just when I thought I could rx, an Abyss Howl showed up after the dragons trial.
He arrived here using a single-use tool Rorono made that functioned as a Transfer array. This allowed the Abyss Howls toe to me like this in times of emergency.
And the emergency this time, ording to Kuinas message, was that "Rorono-chans in danger".
For her to be that panicked, it surely cant be trivial.
And so, I spoke to the [Time] Demon Lord and asked him for permission to set up a Transfer array within his dungeon so that the Abyss Howl could take me home swiftly.
Thankfully, Dantalian approved.
The Abyss Howl worked as fast as it could, but I just couldnt help but feel impatient as it drew the point-of-origin Transfer array we were going to use.
After what felt like an eternity, it was finally done.
"Be safe, Rorono."
Whispering that prayer, I, along with Duke and the Abyss Howl jumped to Avalon.
The destination Transfer array was in the basement of my estate.
In case something unforeseen was to happen within the city, most of my top monsters were to meet in a room in the basement that could serve as amand room. It had all kinds of equipment prepared, likemunications as well as surveince equipment.
It was almost like being in the crystal room in the deepest part of my dungeon.
When I opened the door...
"Kuina, reflect. You shouldnt have jumped to a conclusion right away."
"Im really sorry, Rorono-chan, but if anyone saw you like that, theyd misunderstand too."
...Rorono, who was supposed to be in danger, was pressing her knuckles to Kuinas temples.
Meanwhile, Kuina was teary-eyed and profusely crying.
"Because of yourpse in judgement, not only did you waste that mobile Transfer arraywhich I worked hard onyouve also summoned master toe home even though hes in the middle of undertaking the dragons trial. Youck calm, Kuina. Reflect on that."
"Uuuuuuu, Im sorry, I didnt mean itttttt."
Kuina was actually in a bit of pain. Even her prized tail was in bad shape.
After all, despite Rorono being a production-type monster, she still had extremely high physical strength as well as the skill [Herculean Strength]. It was more than enough to hurt Kuina.
I dont know what happened, but at least it seems that Roronos safe. Thats a load off my chest.
"Why dont you two tell me what happened first?"
"Oto-san!"
"Master,"
When my two daughters saw me, they ran up to me right away.
"I understand the situation now. When an adventurer controlled by a Demon Lord used a mysterious item, arge number of monsters suddenly appeared in the city. Am I correct?"
Monsters aside, adventurers were free toe and go in Avalon.
The rationale behind that was that they were just adventurers, so the threat they presented was small and manageable.
Unfortunately, that was taken advantage of today.
An unknown seal was carved in the said adventurer. When that seal shone brightly, a lot of monsters poured out.
It sounded like it was a magic spell that was simr to [Storage] or maybe even [Transfer], but I had never heard of magic spells that could replicate those things.
My next guess was that it was a Demon Lords skill. If so, it was a truly troublesome skill because it would essentially turn humans into pack mules for transporting monsters.
The point where this ability would shine the most was perhaps when that Demon Lord allied themselves with other Demon Lords. And with the monsters of several Demon Lords pouring out of the humans, even a dungeon with as much defense as Avalon would be put on the back foot.
But then again, in the attack just now, there were only about 20-30 monstersmost of which were C ranksmaking me think there was some kind of limit to that ability.
I would be happy if that was the case, but that might be too good to be true. If they intended to kidnap Rorono, they would need a force of at least 10 times the previous one to get past the Ocean Singers, Abyss Howls, and golems protecting Rorono.
"Mhm. Each of those enemy monsters headed to my workshop. It would have been easy to defeat them, but the humans in Avalon would have been caught in the middle. Obviously, that was not ideal... but then I remembered that they were after me, so we gave them a false target."
"Youve prepared something like that?"
"Mhm, a moving doll. Its appearance is exactly like mine. It even gives off the same scent as well as touch as me. And to a point, even the same magic power signature. Its very hard to tell us apart at first nce."
By giving the moving doll to the enemy monsters, they would think they had aplished their mission and leave Avalon as soon as possible. And thanks to that, a battle didnt have to take ce.
"It not just a doll though. So long as its not in another dimension, it would periodically send signals telling us where it is. Soon, we will know the enemys headquarters."
"Ohh, thats interesting. What is the maximum range it can support?"
"Up to 200 kilometers."
By "another dimension", that included a Demon Lords dungeon.
Because each dungeon room of a dungeon was on a different dimension,munication devices that used radio signals couldnt breach through.
Even so, it was more than enough to know the dolls location before it entered a dungeon. Because then, we would be able to confirm who the enemy Demon Lord was.
Of course, there was also the chance their dungeon was more than 200 kilometers away, it would at least give us clues.
"By the way, if they tried to dismantle the doll or a day have passed after it left Avalon, it is set to explode. It has as much explosive power as can be fit in a humanoid sized body. At point nk range, even Kuina would be in trouble."
"Why does Kuina have to be the example!?"
"Because youre sturdy and youre the most familiar to me."
"Rorono-chan, youre mean!"
Teary-eyed, Kuina protested so.
"Its that strong, huh."
"Aghh, you too, Oto-san?"
This time, Kuina was also puffing her face.
A bomb that had enough power to heavily injure even Kuina certainly was reliable. It was enough to kill most average A rank monsters and even Demon Lords. If it detonated in the center of an enemy formation, the damage to them would truly be major.
"When did you make such a thing?"
"Quite a while ago. It was in preparation for the possibility that our enemies would target your [Monsters of the Covenant]. As such, I have also made dolls resembling Kuina and Aura."
"Interesting. Mind showing them to me?"
"Mhm, alright. Its in my workshop, so please follow me."
At any rate, Rorono was safe.
And apparently, it was greatly thanks to a Dwarf Smith. That same Dwarf Smith was about to exin in more detail what happened.
She had noticed that the attacking force was too small if their true intention was to kidnap Rorono. So much so that if they ever seeded, it would alle down to miraculous luck.
And so, she theorized that the attacking force was most likely an expendable force sent to assess how we were going to protect Rorono.
So, in order to not only suppress the damage to Avalon as much as possible but also to not expose our hand, the decision to give the enemy a fake was made.
It would be most wee if we could identify the Demon Lord behind the attack. If that happens, we would immediately go to [War] and eliminate them.
If we couldnt formally go to [War], we could always simply dive into their dungeon and break their crystal.
As I currently was, I believed that to be more than possible.
They had dispatched monsters to Avalon as well as stolen property from us in the form of the Roronos doll.
In other words, the other side raised their hand first and we were only exacting what we were due.
"Master, you seem lost in thought...?"
"Oh, yeah... Im just thinking how amazing my monsters are."
The reason we did a great this time was because the Dwarf Smith thought of this strategy and also because Rorono made the doll that fooled the enemy monsters.
"...Oto-san, Kuinas very sorry. Kuina misread the situation and thought Rorono-chans been kidnapped. Plus, Kuina wasted the valuable mobile Transfer array thingy."
Teary-eyed once again, Kuina apologized like that.
"No, its fine. You were just doing your role. You wanted me to know that Rorono was in danger as soon as possible, right? I cant fault you for something like, now can I?"
I replied like that and then patted her head.
Even though we won this time, it was unlikely the enemy Demon Lord would give up just like that.
Of course, it would be ideal if that Demon Lord was somehow caught up in the explosion Roronos moving doll was going to cause, but that might be asking for too much.
What could their next move be? Well, whatever it is, well smash it too.
"Dwarf Smith, has the corpse of the adventurer who released those monsters been preserved?"
"Yes. The Ocean Singers have used their magic to freeze and preserve the corpse. There should be no trouble for Duke-sama to resurrect the adventurerter and interrogate him."
It was possible we wouldnt get any information at all, but it was worth the shot.
After that, we headed toward Roronos workshop.
We were currently looking at the dolls that resembled Kuina and Aura.
"Woah, it looks exactly like Kuina. ...Amazing, this feels just like Aura-chans chest."
For some reason, Kuina grabbed the doll Auras chest and began moving her hand.
But still, the dolls were surreal.
"Youve made them so well. Can you make a doll of anyone?"
"If I tried, I could. Obviously, theres one of master too."
"Could you show it to us as well?"
"......no. Not right now."
Before Rorono turned her head, I saw that it grew bright red.
Could the reason she cant show it be because its broken? I have a feeling asking more would be like stepping into andmine. I better just keep quiet.
Nevertheless, the dolls for Kuina and Aura were so convincing, even I had trouble telling them apart. No wonder the enemy monsters couldnt either.
Moreover, if the dolls were this exquisitely made, they could serve purposes other than just being a decoy.
But its better to drop the issue because thatll mostly be just a waste of Roronos efforts.
"Master, the signal transmission from the doll has ceased. Its still within the maximum range, so its more likely that it had entered a different dimension."
Rorono then took out her tablet and opened a map.
A certain point in the map was glowing red.
"Great job. Ill go consult Marcho about it tomorrow. She should know whether theres a dungeon there. If there is, she might also the Demon Lord it belongs to... Once weve confirmed those, well go crush them."
Though it was an unsessful attempt, the fact of the matter was that they aimed for my important daughter.
For that crime, Im going to make them pay. That is unless theyve already been blown up by the Rorono doll.
Volume 9 5
~Within [Pig] Demon Lord Agaress dungeon~
[Pig] Demon Lord Agares wasughing loudly.
He didnt think they would seed in the first try at kidnapping the Elder Dwarf who was the lifeline of [Creation] Demon Lord Procells war potential.
It seemed to him that his scheme had taken Procell by quite a surprise. That scheme consisted of turning that persons artificial heroes into monster-carrying mules via a different Demon Lords powers.
Humans were weak, but by training prodigies to their maximum potential, that person was able to make them as strong as average A rank monsters.
The ability to make a human be able to carry monsters was courtesy of a third Demon Lord. The number of monsters that could be put was only a few, but that didnt change the fact that it was a very convenient ability.
This attempt wasnt a serious attempt. It was more for scouting out what Avalon would do in case of an attack.
As such, Agares wasnt excited to use his own monsters in this way.
But then, their target just nonchntly appeared before them and was easily caught. Despite securing two hero-ss adventurers, it ended in an almost anti-climactic way.
"With this, I be number two in alliance. That not all. Elder Dwarf make weapons for my monsters, and we grow even stronger. I happy."
[Pig] Demon Lord Agares wasughing not just because his strategy was a sess, but also because he had obtained war potential in the form of the Elder Dwarf.
Normally, to gain sovereignty over another Demon Lords monster, the owner must first give consent on the exchange.
However, Agares didnt need to be given such consent. After all, he was the [Pig] Demon Lord: he ravages and defaces anything he wanted, and makes it submit.
And to that end, he didnt stop at just brute force. He had an ability that allowed him to break even a targets mind and control it like a puppet.
"I very grateful to you, Procell. Your stupidity very helpful."
Agares was growing tired of waiting.
Until halfway through, the raiding monsters were travelling via the other dimension. When they came back to the main dimension and reached a predetermined location, they handed over Elder Dwarf to another set of monsters and made those monsters transport her the rest of the way.
Travelling solely via the other dimension would have been safer, but there was a limit to the distance his monsters could travel within the other dimension. Moreover, transporting in the main dimension was much faster.
They had deemed the meeting point of the two set of monsters to be far enough away from Avalon that there would be no chance of them being found.
Little did they know, however, that that course of action was their downfall.
Had they simply continued to travel via the other dimension, Procell wouldnt have found out who attacked his Avalon.
Because the Elder Dwarf dollwhich Agaress monsters mistook to be the real Elder Dwarfhad a limited power source, it was not wise for it to send radio signals unceasingly. So, instead, it sent a signal once every five minutes.
Even though there was a need for Agaress other-dimension-type monsters to resurface once in a while, if they go back to the other dimension right away, it might have already been toote before the Elder Dwarf doll seeded in transmitting a signal.
But ever since the Elder Dwarf doll was foolishly made to travel in the main dimension, it was able to send signals regrly.
The first time it did, a flying golem departed from Avalon.
This flying golem was one of Avalons three strongest knights.
This was the white knight that was designed to reign supreme in the sky.
For a golem, it had quite a bizarre form. It was almost like a fighter airne, given the long, aerodynamic ordnances attached to its armor and wings.
ording to the Elder Dwarf, its developer, The white knight is going to specialize in aerialbat as well as aerial bombardment, so it has less need of limbs than other golems. Those will just get in the way of them gaining aerial superiority instead of helping
As such, it had that form and was able to fly at over three times the speed of sound.
Agaress dungeon was 320 kilometers away from Avalon, but the dolls maximum transmitting range was just 200 kilometers.
The Elder Dwarf had anticipated such a scenario and thus dispatched the white knight to fly as fast as it could toward the point where a signal wasst sent.
Given the golems overwhelming speed, it didnt take too long for it to catch up to the monsters that seized the doll. It could have eliminated each of Agaress monsters right then and even possibly retrieved the doll. However, its instructions were to just follow from a very high altitude so as to not get noticed.
After all, the purpose of the white knight wasnt to recover the doll, it was to work in tandem with the doll and identify which Demon Lord attacked Avalon.
And so,pletely unaware, Agaress monsters entered their dungeon.
Meanwhile, its missionplete, the white knight began heading toward Avalon posthaste.
In his great delight upon hearing that his monsters have returned, Agares ordered to bring their captive to his room at once.
Many Demon Lords liked having their own personal rooms. So much so that, out of all the rooms they could make with their [Demon Lord Book], they prepared multiple rooms whose function was solely to satisfy their wants.
As for Agaress room, it was a room of obscene extravagance. It was arranged in such a way that each of the treasures he had obtained was disyed in the loudest possible sense.
And in the very center of the room was a veryrge, luxurious bed. It was so that he could make use of his ability.
After a short while, his subordinates have brought the Elder Dwarf to the room.
To restrict her movement and make her docile, the Elder Dwarf had been stung with the paralyzing poison of a scorpion-type monster beforehand.
Upon looking at his captive, the [Pig] Demon Lord produced a vulgar smile.
He liked young girls. Especially those that were beginning to transition to adulthood.
In other words, the Elder Dwarf was just his type. It didnt hurt that she was beautiful either.
"Good. Exquisite. From now, you mine, bitch"
Agares then began to take off his clothes.
This [Pig] ability of his not only had the function to increase his attack and defense, but also the function to make a female bepletely his through viting her.
In a sense, it was simr to [Evil] Demon Lords ability. In [Evil]s case, his ability impregnated women so that they could give birth to monsters.
As a matter of fact, there was a fixed number of Demon Lords whose abilities required sexual intercourse to take effect. That kind of thing was closely connected to the history of beings known as Demon Lords.
With a wide, malicious smile on his face, Agares then tore the Elder Dwarfs clothes.
She was young and still not fully developed, but her exposed body was beautiful and almost fairy-like.
"Pretty. Even after I own control, still give you attention. Good idea! I use you and lure other Procell monsters. They also pretty. And soon, you all be mine!"
Agares stated so as he leaned toward the Elder Dwarf.
Using all of his senses, he enjoyed her.
"Look good, smell good, taste good, feel good. Mhm."
The Elder Dwarf was still unable to move, not even a twitch.
But then, while Agares was too busy savoring her body to notice it, she began to make a tick-tocking machine sound.
And just when he was about to do the deed, there was a sh and then an explosion.
The Elder Dwarf, or rather the Elder Dwarf doll exploded.
Unfortunately, the room was airtight, meaning there was nowhere else the st could escape.
Monsters who had been stationed within the room just in case were annihted instantly.
ording to the bombs maker, the Elder Dwarf herself, the explosion caused by it was strong enough to seriously injure even Kuina. Ordinary monsters didnt stand a chance.
As for [Pig] Demon Lord Agares...
"My, my thing, not theerrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeee, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
Agares narrowly survived. As mentioned before, part of his [Pig] unique skill was enhancing his attack and his defense.
That said, a rather fragile but precious part of his was too close to explosion and was now gone.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, how, how can I feel good now. Unforgiveableeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. This cowardly trap, absolutely unforgivableeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Kill, I kill you Procell and Elder Dwarf. I kill youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"
Half crazed, Agares continued to shout and trash around like that.
For him, his thing was the most important of all. He needed that crucial organ to make full use of his unique skill.
After a while, a monster of his entered the blown-up room.
Agaress [Pig] medal allowed for the easy creation of goblins and orcs. And the higher-ranking goblins that possessed intelligence were the ones he chose to manage his dungeon.
"Agares-sama, I have something to report"
"Laterrr. I noooootttt in mooodd. I angrrryyyyyyyyy"
"Sorry, but its an emergency"
Upon hearing that, Agares picked up a lump of melted gold that was originally a piece of decoration and threw it toward the reporting goblin. It almost hit and crushed the goblins head.
"If that not interesting, I kill you"
Despite his trembling body, the goblin proceeded toplete his report and fulfill his duty.
"Multiple monsters have invaded the dungeon and they are overwhelming us. Leading them is [Creation] Demon Lord Procell. Moreover, he has a message: We ept your deration of war. The price for the sin of attempting to harm my daughter is death."
Upon finishing the report, the goblins head was crushed by Agares in an outburst of anger.
"How? How? How he knows its me? Hoooww!?"
In addition to being enraged, Agares was now also confused.
In his view, he had taken over-the-top precautions and yet here Procell was.
He knew that it would be hard, if not impossible, to win against the new Demon Lord alone, so he joined the alliance against Procell. However, with this sudden attack on him, there was no time to call for help.
One moment he was at the top of the worldabout to ravage a beautiful girl, gain control of her, and also obtain unimaginable powerbut in the very next moment, he was plunged to the absolute bottom.
But then again, he had nothing else to me but his own foolishness.
The Elder Dwarf was an S rank monster, and thus he should have known that there was no way she could have been abducted easily like that.
Now that he had the attention of the god of death, he must pay for that foolishness.
Volume 9 6
After the Rorono doll was abducted, Rorono showed us the other dolls she had made.
At the moment, Kuina was poking the doll that looked like her. After a while of poking, Kuina then slid her hand beneath the dolls clothes and did a peculiar set of movements.
"Amazing. Even this ce feels the same!"
I get that shes curious, but I wish she didnt do that in front of me.
Not long after that, a transmission from the Rorono doll came in.
Rorono then immediately sent out her white knight, an improved Avalon-Ritter specializing in aerialbat and bombardment. Add in the fact that the white knight was also capable of receiving the electro-maic signals sent by the doll, we would still be able to locate of the enemys dungeon even if it was too far away for the dolls range.
And then...
"Master, it looks like the white knight is about toe back"
"Has it found the enemys dungeon?"
"Mhm, most likely."
Thats great news. With this information, we can go to war.
Several Demon Lords had decided to form an alliance whose goal was to defeat me.
I had wanted to avoid a head-on fight with any of them, but not so much anymore. This time, I wanted revenge. And if I was to get revenge, attacking now while the enemy was alone would be best.
While waiting for the white knight to return, I suddenly thought of something.
"Out of curiosity, how do youmunicate with things that are outside of Avalon? I mean, once the white knight has stepped outside, the radio waves it sends shouldnt be able to reach us here, right?"
Dungeons were in a different dimension than the main world. As such, it was isted from radio signalsing from outside.
Even though Avalon was also a city, it was a dungeon nheless.
"Ive solved that through a very simple method. A golem that carries telmunications equipment stands right outside of the [ins]. Every five minutes, that child enters the [ins] and then transmits the data it has gathered to the golem standing right outside of the city. The golem that has just received the data then enters the city and transmits it to me."
"...itspletely like a bucket ry."
"Sometimes, the simplest methods are the best ones."
Through this method, we werent limited to just receiving data from the outside, we should also be able transmit it.
"If we use this system, send golems that have the proper telmunications equipment to Sts and Marchos dungeon, and then set up several ry stations along the way, we would be able tomunicate anytime with them, wouldnt we? We need to keep our information safe, which also means not relying on the blue birds anymore. So, Rorono, can I ask this of you?"
"I think its going to be impractical. The building we are in now is just two dungeon rooms away from the golem that is outside of the dungeon, meaning we only need two golems. That most likely wouldnt be the case for their dungeons. We would need to deploy several golems which will be quite a burden. Theres also the risk of adventurers destroying the golems."
"I see. Yeah, that is impractical. But what if we only set up until the entrance of their dungeon? That way, we might not be able to initiatemunications, but they can. Thats still better than sending a letter."
"That is... manageable. Once youve talked to them about it, Ill handle the rest."
"Ill be counting on you when that timees then."
Marcho had been looking a bit lonelytely.
I still couldnt make enough time to meet her, but hopefully, having an easy and quick way to get in contact with one another would somehow shorten the distance between us.
"Ah. Master, the white knight hase back."
"Yeah, its quite hard to not notice."
The sound of itnding was quite loud.
Like that, I went outside together with Rorono.
"Theres something quite odd about a limbless golem, isnt there?"
"Maybe, but this child is all about aerial superiority. If ites to the point that it has to use arms, its entire concept has failed. Moreover, I had decided to mount its ordnance in the center of its body for better uracy. Having limbs there would only serve as dead weight."
Rorono proudly exined so.
The so-called white knight was a white aircraft that had a gigantic ordnance built into the center of its body.
I had heard that it was going to be a flying type golem that specialized in long-rangedbat and bombardment, but I didnt imagine she would make something this ridiculous.
"Master, the white knight was able to take photographs of the enemys dungeon."
After saying that and some fiddling of her tablet, Rorono showed me photographs of the enemys dungeon.
Now that we not only had knowledge of the dungeons location on the map, but also photographs, identifying which Demon Lord did the attack would be easy.
Once weve inquired on the enemy Demon Lords war potential and have determined we wouldnt have trouble, we would immediately begin preparations to sortie out. If we didnt have much of an edge, then we would strategize first.
As much as possible, I wanted our attack to happen while the enemy was still reeling from the attack the Rorono doll was about to give them.
For now, I should head back to Dans dungeon. Given the Demon Lords gathered there, there should be at least one of them that knows who the dungeon in the pictures belongs to.
"Rorono, Ill be heading to the [Time] Demon Lords dungeon and gather information about our enemy. Please print out those photographs and a map."
"Mhm, ok."
Rorono nodded and walked away, but stopped right away.
Thinking she must have seen something, I turned around.
"That wont be necessary. Im here!"
A beautiful brown-skinned woman with white wolf ears and wolf tail stood there imposingly.
This woman was Marcho, both my guardian and my monster.
"Why are you here?"
"Come on now, dont be so cold. If my precious little sister was in a pinch, why wouldnt Ie? Besides, Im still your monster, arent I? Wait, whats that, Rorono? Look at that? Hmhmhm, yeah, I recognize this dungeon. This belongs to a kid born, what, fifty years ago. [Pig] Demon Lord, I believe he was called. Hes pretty mediocre. Although, there is one thing about him that left quite an impressionon me: the story that went around back then that warned of his ability to cuckold other Demon Lords."
I couldnt help but smile wryly at the speed we were able to identify the enemy thanks to Marcho.
"What do you mean by cuckold other Demon Lords?"
"Hm? Its just as it sounds like. You see, after that guy has vited a female monster, he gets the right of control over that monster. Quite a dangerous ability, wouldnt you agree? If there was a monster he fancied, he would kidnap it, paralyze it, and then vite it. He might seem stupid, but hes actually sly. ording to what I heard, he would even send the monsters he dominated back to their previous Demon Lords so that those monsters could deceive their former allies and get him new monsters to dominate. Quite understandably, he is despised by some."
How nasty.
Upon hearing Marchos story, Rorono embraced herself while shaking.
If the enemy was ever sessful in abducting her, not only would she have been vited, she would have also been used to abduct Kuina and Aura.
They might have failed, but that intention alone was worthy of a death penalty.
"Im just gonna ask frankly, who is stronger: me or that [Pig] Demon Lord?"
When I asked Marcho that, sheughed.
"You, without a doubt. Theres no way that you, who had rescued even me, could lose to Demon Lords like him."
"Alright, then well begin preparations to deploy at once. Kuina, tell Duke to assemble the attacking force within 30 minutes. Also tell the Dwarf Smiths to ready our defenses."
"Got it!"
Like that, Kuina dashed away.
"Rorono, please prepare the Avalon-Ritters and the containers we will use."
"Mhm. Master, may I have permission to also deploy the three knights? Ive already done enough practical tests, to be honest, but a chance at actualbat data is just too good to pass up on."
"If you can say for certain that theyre free of defects, you have my permission. In this case, Id trust your judgement as their developer more than my own."
"I can assure you that it wont cause any idents nor will it hinder its allies."
"Ok, deploy them as well then."
"Mhm, all should be ready within 30 minutes including retrofitting the knights with proper attack gear."
After saying that, Rorono also dashed away.
Now that we were deploying them, the three knights would most likely y a huge role in this fight.
To be honest, a war right now was ideal.
We were actually having trouble leveling Tiro up. As to be expected, without a [War], it was hard to gain massive amounts of experience.
As such, I would be cing Tiro in the same party as Rorono. The three knights and the Avalon-Ritters were regarded as Roronos equipment, meaning all the experience points from the monsters those golems had taken down would go to Rorono and her party.
Tiros level was sure to skyrocket.
This [War] was going to boil down to extensively testing the performance of the three knights as well as leveling up Tiro.
Ordinarily, we would assemble our troops in the [ins], but since the casino and the surrounding infrastructures were now there, that obviously wasnt an option anymore.
For that reason, we were gathered in the dungeon room that used to be the [Mine] room. Because the city of Avalon was getting crowded by the day, I had decided to use the second [Mine] room in the dungeon proper as our main one and rece the one in the city floor with another [ins] room.
And so, the Darkness Dragons were perfectly lined up. Behind them were the containers which had Avalon-Ritters and ammunitions inside.
By using the Darkness Dragons for air transportation, we would arrive at our destination in no time at all.
Time was of the essence this time. If we take too long, the enemy Demon Lord might be able ask for assistance from other Demon Lords. In that case, there was a real chance that Avalon would be attacked while our main force was away.
"Everyone, listen. As you may already know, Avalon was attacked. The enemys aim was Rorono. He intended to abduct and then vite her!"
Those that havent heard it before were shocked by the information I gave and thus shouted in anger.
"By no means am I to forgive such atrocity. I am sure the many of you whose lives were saved thanks to the weapons Rorono has made feel the same. Come, let us seek retribution! Let us teach that foolish Demon Lord what it means to mess with us!"
My monsters shouted and roared in response.
Their morale was at an all-time high. Which wasnt surprising considering a lot of them, if not all, regarded Rorono as a valuablerade.
"Now, everyone, to your positions! We depart at once!"
My monsters then hurriedly but still orderly filed in to the container they were assigned to.
After everything was ready, the Darkness Dragons roared and took to the sky while carrying the containers.
I will never forgive him for his attempt of harming my precious daughter.
Volume 9 7
I, my monsters, and our equipment were being transported to [Pig] Demon Lord Agaress dungeon by the Darkness Dragons.
Time was of the essence. The enemy was part of an alliance formed to oppose me. If I took too long, he might be able to call for help.
"What a crass-looking dungeon"
"Kuina doesnt like it either"
The [Pig] Demon Lords dungeon was a castle-type.
More likely than not, castle-type dungeons were chosen by self-aggrandizing Demon Lords. Moreover, his choice of design was just awful.
At any rate, afternding, we assembled near the entrance of the dungeon.
The Avalon-Ritters formed a defensive wall in front while Abyss Howls set up Transfer arrays.
When the humans saw therge number of nightmarish dragons, they ran and fled as fast as they could.
Which was the correct decision considering the dungeon was going to turn into a battlefield.
We would be as considerate as we could, but even so, some humans that have ventured in dungeon could still be harmed.
Unless...
"Ill leave our first wave to you, Rorono. Take Tiro and the three knights and rampage as shily as you could. Once weve shown them were to be taken seriously, dere [War]. If theyve epted to do a formal [War], well regroup and start again. If they dont, well continue rampaging as is until we break the crystal."
If possible, I would like for them to ept our deration of [War].
It wouldnt change things too much if they did, but the moment our dungeons were connected by the white space, the humans within the dungeons would be transferred to a different space where time didnt flow, thus eliminating the risk of the adventurers getting caught in the crossfire.
The humans had nothing to do with this fight. I didnt want the blood of such meless creatures to be on my hands.
As for the [Pig] Demon Lord, he should find a formal [War] to be also favorable and would most likely ept it.
After all, unlike me, he didnt have a way to transportrge amount of fighting force over a long distance. At the very least, none that he could prepare right away. So, as things were, we were the only ones on the offensive.
In a [War] though, because of the white space, he would have the option of sending his monsters to attack Avalon and try to break my crystal.
One thing that wouldnt be in his favor in epting my deration was that it would remove the chance of him getting assistance from other Demon Lords. But then again, we made such good time that that was almost an impossibility.
Plus, a [War] has the allure of having the possibility of receiving a reward from the Creator, should it strike his fancy.
"Mhm, leave it to me, master. Ill show you the power of the new models."
From a while ago, monsters of the [Pig] Demon Lord hade out of the dungeon and surrounded us at a distance.
Seeing as they were not attacking, their purpose was more likely to gather intelligence.
Their bewilderment was very apparent.
"My lord, the Transfer arrays had been set up as well as our defensive formation."
"Good work, Duke."
With this, we could begin at any time.
Roronos three knights were also now active.
There was the red knight that had heavy armor and a gigantic piledriver.
The entric white knight that was basically ordnances with wings.
Lastly, there was the ck knight that had an elegant body. Additionally, two swords were hanging from its back while two machine guns were holstered at its hips.
Each of them was made with a different concept in mind.
The red knight was specialized in charging attacks; the white knight was for long range and aerial bombardment attacks; and the ck knight was for adaptability.
They were apanied by a total of ten Avalon-Ritters.
Needless to say, it was a sight to behold.
"Shall we begin, Rorono? Their scouts have returned, so they should have fortified their defenses a bit. That should be enough of a stage for your knights. Go and show me their might."
"Mhm, leave it to me."
How reliable.
I was sure she would do as well as I had expected, perhaps even more.
"Aura, youre making dissatisfied face, you know?"
Maybe its because she didnt get the chance to draw first blood? But even so, Id expect such a reaction more from Kuina than her.
"Oh, Im not questioning your decision or anything. Its just that, when I see those goblins and orcs, I have this extreme urge to blow their heads off. So, when you didnt make me join the first wave, I felt frustrated, I guess... I wonder why though"
"Maybe its because youre an elf?"
A tale that wasmonly told about elves was how orcs would go to their viges and vite their women.
Perhaps, that deep seethed hatred was even embedded to their DNA.
"Anyway, Ill go rampageter. Rorono-chan, save some for me, okay?"
"Sorry, I cant promise that. Were going to fight with the intention to annihte all of them."
Rorono was fired up, alright.
The enemy aimed for her, so it was only natural she was pissed off.
All preparationsplete, I decided it was time to go in.
"Alright, lets go."
"Mhm"
After Rorono nodded, sounds of activity came from the three knights and the Avalon-Ritters.
Generally, Demon Lords would ce the weaker monsters in the early floors of their dungeons and the stronger monsters in the deeper areas. That way, they would be able to get a wide array of adventurers delving into their dungeons.
However...
"Hoh, it seems theyre giving us a grand wee."
In the first dungeon room of the first floor, right when we entered, hundreds of monsters were assaulting us with their murderous intents.
The [Pig] Demon Lords dungeon was a castle-type and, typically, the first dungeon room of such a dungeon was a wide entrance.
That being the case here, there was not much cover. It was a good ce to take advantage of the enemys great numbers.
However, that was a foolish n against us. If they had known of the tactics we used, they definitely wouldnt have picked this ce.
The enemy forces were primarilyposed of C rank High Goblins.
Additionally, takingmand of the goblins were several B rank Goblin Lords.
Goblin-type monsters were generally weak, but they were capable of reproducing extremely quickly.
Moreover, even though the Goblin Lord was just a B rank monster, it had a skill that made goblins itmanded stronger. Army-wide strengthening skills were such powerful skills that they were almost exclusive to A rank monsters and above.
"Rorono, this is quite the sight, isnt it? Id say the enemy numbers at around 300. Meanwhile, our side only has the three knights and the Avalon-Ritters as well as you and Tiro. Its 300 versus 15. Do you think you can win?"
This time, I was going to make Tiro to just sit back and not fight but still earn experience points for some level ups. Additionally, Rorono herself wasnt going to intrude either. So, it was more like a 300 versus 13 fight.
Furthermore, an open field, despite theck of cover, still presented some advantages to the side that had therger force.
"Master, our enemies this time are quite clever. Assembling arge number of High Goblins and then augmenting their low stats with the Goblin Lords skill, they have a good amount of quantity and quality. Even so, such petty tricks stand no chance against my knights. We will crush them."
"I look forward to it, then."
From this moment on, this battlefield was going to be Roronos stage. Any unnecessary interference from me would only sully the beauty of her performance.
And so, I stood beside Tiro and became nothing more than Roronos audience.
By the way, the aforementioned Tiro was simply rubbing her head against my leg. Geez, what a cheeky child.
A few momentster, the goblin force charged at us like an avnche.
In response, Rorono raised her hand. With just that gesture, the golems began to move.
The ten Avalon-Ritters then stepped forward. The mass-produced Avalon-Ritter models had guns and swords as their standard weapons. Right now, the ten were equipped with their guns.
If the Mithril Golems had the heavy machinegun Browning M2 caliber .50, the Avalon-Ritters had the improved version of that: the EDHB 02 Ascalon. If the Browning M2 wasnt supposed to be carried and then fired by human infantry but rather to be used while mounted on something like abat helicopter, the Ascalon was even more so. In fact, if a human tried to fire the Ascalon, they would be blown away by the recoil.
And so, the ten Avalon-Ritters fired their guns in even intervals.
In no time at all, a lot of the High Goblins were turned to minced meat. Which was no surprise, considering the Avalon-Ritters stats and their weapons firepower.
"Gumooooooooooooooooooooooo"
While using the High Goblins as shields, the Goblin Lords shouted like that.
The goblins were desperate to find a way to escape the onught of bulletsing their way. And surprisingly, they did. By digging holes in the ground.
Against heavy machineguns, digging trenches was a correct tactic.
However, it wasnt just heavy machineguns that the goblins were up against.
One of their other opponents was the fighter-airne-looking white knight that just took off.
"Rorono, theres something intriguing attached to the white knight"
"Mhm. This time, its in bombardment mode"
Attached to the white knights wings were tworge containers.
When it opened, certain words popped in my mind: missileunchers.
While flying at high velocities, the white knight showered the goblins with missiles. It fired more than a hundred missiles, each one with tremendous power and uracy.
And because the goblins were grouped together after digging the holes that they thought would save their lives, they became easier targets.
"On top of the missiles being guidable, it seems theyre even stronger than the bombs the Darkness Dragons use."
"Mhm. Those missiles arent ordinary bombs, after all. It has a magic spell that is powered by the white knights excess magic power, which is a lot due to its twin drive system. Such destructive power is out of reach for the Darkness Dragons."
"I see."
"There are also other reasons that make it hard for the Darkness Dragons to use those things. For one, it takes me a whole day to finish a containers worth of missiles... a whole day, and yet it was gone in an instant..."
"Well, its no wonder you feel that way after using those things against enemies of only this caliber."
"Its to showcase the power of the white knight though, so it couldnt really be helped."
After it spent all of its missiles, the white knight hovered in the air and then removed the containers. The reason it could hover like that was most likely due to some anti-gravity mechanism it had.
Obviously, a fighter airne that could hover was absolutely overpowered.
Next, the white knight readied its guns and then unleashed a barrage of bullets from up high... though it might be more urate to say that it repeatedly sniped at the goblins.
"The guns that the white knight uses has a caliber of .905 or approximately 22.9mm. That is almost twice than what Auras anti-materiel rifle has. In order to reduce the recoil and obtain stability, I made use of an anti-gravity unit."
"How crazy"
"And in order to increase its uracy and precision, there was a need to also increase the weight and power behind each shot. If need be, it could also do rapid-fire. If this much wasnt done, the white knight would fall far behind Aura, the truly absurd one, who could freely control the wind."
Increasing the weight of the bullet and the kic energy it had would certainly make it travel in a straighter trajectory, thus also increasing the uracy.
At any rate, in less than a minute of a bullet storm from the front by the Avalon-Ritters and from the sky by the white knight, the 300 goblins were almost annihted.
At that point, the storm stopped.
"Gumooooooooooo"
A Goblin Lord turned around and ran.
As it fled, I then felt an upsurge of magic power. In the next moment, the red knight was in motion. It was afloat thanks to another anti-gravity unit and was using all of the magic power produced by its twin-drive system to charge forward and attack with its right-arm-turned-piledriver.
The moment after that, the red knight vanished.
Even with my eyes, I failed to follow it.
At the same time that it vanished, a gigantic metal stake appeared and pierced through the running Goblin Lord. A couple of Avalon-Ritters along the path to the goblin were also blown away.
And then, after what felt like forever but actually was less than a heartbeat, the Goblin Lord exploded with tremendous force.
Rorono did mention that the red knight possessed the greatest charging speed, but this felt more like teleportation to me.
My eyes were involuntarily wide open. Considering the red knights charging speed and power, it could take out even an S rank monster. There would only be a few individuals who would be able to react to its charge, especially if it was the first time they saw it.
"The new thrusters seem to be working as designed. With that, nothing can escape the red knight. Within a distance of 200 meters, not even the white knight could."
"Thats not to mention its power."
"Mhm. It probably couldpete even against Dukes attacks when hes in his dragon form."
The red knights piledriver was originally supposed to be Tiros weapon. And now that it was customized for the red knight, it was stronger than before.
"Ah!"
"Whats wrong, Rorono?"
"The enemys too weak. I havent even gotten a chance to show off the ck knight yet... what a shame"
I unconsciously smiled wryly.
"There should be others chances for that soon enough. This is only the first sh, after all."
Through our overwhelming fighting force, we decimated our foes.
But before we pushed through, there was something I had to do.
And so, I had made the Avalon-Ritters gather some of the High Goblins that miraculously survived and bring them before me.
Goblins mostly had the intelligence of mere beasts, but High Goblins were at least capable of speech.
"I want you to ry a message to your master. Ahem..."
Alright, sound authoritative. I have to let them know just how serious we are.
"We ept your deration of war. The price for the sin of attempting to harm my daughter is death. Deliver that and this message as well: if you do not want to engage in a formal [War] or if we simply do not hear from you within five minutes, we will resume our invasion. Do you want to die while cowering or do you want to die while fighting? The choice is yours."
For me, whatever he chooses was fairly inconsequential.
I didnt want the humans to be caught in the middle as much as possible, but it wasnt to the point I would consider it a priority. I would not hesitate just because humans were in the dungeon.
Now, I wonder how hell answer.
While waiting for a reply, I talked with Rorono about my impressions on her three knights.
But then, after a while, I began to hear a voice in my mind.
<>
Through the Creators voice, I knew the [Pig] Demon Lords answer.
After the announcement, I felt the sensation of being transferred to the white space.
All of the monsters I brought to invade the [Pig] Demon Lords dungeon were safely brought there while all of the humans and animals in both dungeons were relocated elsewhere.
I wonder what kind of medal he has.
If we break the [Pig] Demon Lords crystal, I would gain ess to making the [Pig] medal. If it turns out his medal was an A rank medal, then I would have another A rank medal without destroying the [Crimson Cavern] and thus losing a convenient ce to earn experience points.
I havent had a formal [War] since my fight against [Evil], [Viscosity], and [Steel]. My bloods boiling. Alright, time to begin the massacre.
Volume 9 8
The [Pig] Demon Lord had epted my offer of a formal [War].
Soon after that, I was transferred to the white space that connected our dungeons.
Once dungeons have been linked by the white space, outside interference was no longer possible until the fight has reached its conclusion. Now, lets see which between me and Agares breaks the others crystal first.
"You! How know!? How know I behind attack!? I did it perfectly"
Together with me in the white space was my previous uninvited guest.
Upon cursory inspection, he was a bipedal pig. Most of his monsters were orcs and goblins, so I did guess as much, but he was still a surprise to see.
That walking pigs whole body was covered with bandages. From what little of his body was peeking out, I could tell he was burned horribly. It was likely caused by the Rorono dolls explosion. From there, I could imagine what he was trying to do when it exploded.
"Please. Im not an idiot that will expose his own hand."
"You! I kill you! This unforgivable! Absolutely unforgiveable! I kill you, then rape your monsters! My, my thing, now goneeeeee! But my monsters, can still rape for me!!! We fuck your monsters til they deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadddddddddd!!!"
After shouting all that, the pig was panting.
"After looking at you and listening, I can guess what happened. But arent you misunderstanding something here? I am the one who cannot and will not forgive. You will get what is due for aiming for my daughter. Prepare yourself."
As soon as I uttered that, I returned to Avalon.
There were things to prepare and we only had an hour to do so this time.
I didnt have the luxury or the inclination to waste that time talking to him.
When I returned to Avalon, one of the first things I did was to hide the city floor deep within my dungeon via Floor Swap. I then instructed Kuina, Rorono, Aura, Duke, and Ruhe to gather my monsters.
While watching my monsters busily move about, I pondered upon our strategy.
"Master, Ive finished supplying the Avalon-Ritters."
"Good work. Sorry for the trouble."
Rorono informed me that the preparations for the golem corps were done.
This time, the core of our attacking force would be them.
In terms of attack power, the dragons led by Duke wouldnt fall behind, but there was the chance that some dungeon rooms would be too tight to fit the dragons enormous bodies. For that reason, we chose to make the dragons handle our defense instead.
That said, I was still going to put the most of them I could into my [Storage] and bring those ten along. After all, there might be ces where their might and bombarding capability would be vital.
After delivering her report, Rorono didnt leave and instead just motionlessly stared at me.
"Master... no, Father, I just want to say, Im happy that you got angry like that at the [Pig] Demon Lord for me. Thank you."
She said that while holding tightly on my cuff. Perhaps it was because she felt shy, but her normally white skin was now burning red.
"But of course. Youre my important daughter."
For emphasis, I brushed her head.
In reaction, she squinted her eyes in delight.
"Oh, I almost forgot something. Even though we havent seen the ck knight in action yet, I can already say that the three knights are a huge sess. I think this deserves a better reward than promised. So, why dont you think up of something you want to request from me? You cant say you dont want anything, because then, Ill just do the choosing for you. Understood?"
"Mhm. Theres actually something I have in mind. Ill ask it after the war is over."
It was rather rare for Rorono to smile from ear to ear, but there it was. And it was beautiful.
I looked forward to her request. After all, listening to his daughters request was one of a fathers pleasures. To that end, I must see to it that this [War] ends soon.
"Oto-san, thend units are now fully prepared! Theyre ready to go anytime!"
"Great work. Youve gotten used to these kinds of things, havent you?"
"Yup!"
Kuina was going to takemand of ournd army.
The saidnd armyposed of the Mythological Foxes and half of the Abyss Howls.
Put simply, they were extremely mobile and capable of breaking through enemy lines.
"We in the backline have finished our preparations as well"
Aura showed up and reported so.
She and the High Elvesposed our backline. Their main duty was to provide support by sniping from afar high priority targets as well as aerial enemies. And if the field was wide enough, then the Darkness Dragons in my [Storage] would be made to help the elves gainplete aerial domination. The backline was a rtively small force, but they were more than enough to aplish this important task.
"Patron, I have finished assigning which members of the intelligence corps will join the attacking force and which will join the defending force. Im not going to join the attacking force, but you dont have to worry, the kid Ive picked to lead the others is very reliable."
Because they were essential for both offense and defense, the intelligence corps would have to be split in two.
In a simr fashion, Tiro was going to be on the attacking force while Ruhe was on the defending force. After all, if we didnt have a powerful monster in the other dimension and the enemy had, things would get dire for us right away.
"You being in charge of our other-dimension defense puts me at ease. We are in your care."
"Leave it to me. Ruhe-chan the Rlyeh Diva is the strongest in the other dimension!"
It seemed like Ruhe picked up another weird phrase. Out of all my monsters, the one that was most keen on watching anime was either Rorono or her.
Thest toe and report was the middle aged dragonewt.
"Duke, I leave themand of the entire defending force to you."
"Yes, please leave it to me. I will protect Avalon in your absence, my lord."
Duke had always been strong, but by acquiring the perfected [Dragon Emperor], he had grown stronger still. Not only did the [Dragon Emperor]s aspect of army-wide strengthening to dragon-type monsters improved, it now nullified the disadvantages of [Berserk] for himself and other allied dragons. In other words, he no longer had to worry about a time limit when unleashing his full power.
In truth, I wanted Duke to be on the attacking force, but just like with the case with Ruhe, taking too much for attack meant not having much for defense.
The enemy Demon Lord had been around for quite a while and was bound to have a few fully trained and leveled A rank monsters. For him to have an S rank monster was not impossible either.
And so, the n was for Ruhe to take care of the other dimension while Duke worried about the main one.
"Attacking force, follow me to the entrance so that we can begin our attack as soon as possible"
"Understood, Oto-san!"
"Mhm, lets do our best"
"Fufufu, I can finally shoot the heads of those orcs."
When I heard a rather disturbing reply, I couldnt help but smile wryly. Well, lets give her arger role so that she can shoot more of them then.
<>
The Creators voice in my head dered so.
As such, I immediately lead the attacking force toward the enemys dungeon.
Duke was gravely against me joining the attacking force and requested that I stayed in Avalon instead, but I had a reason for doing so: I wanted to level up.
After all, the stronger I was, the safer I was as well.
Moreover, if I leveled up, my MP would increase. And the more MP I could spend without worry, the more things I could make with my [Creation].
Also, apparently for some Demon Lords, by leveling up enough, they could use the next stage of their Unique Skill even without using [Awakening].
Whenever I activate my [Awakening], my [Creation] bes [Create].
Whereas [Creation] materialized objects of the past, [Create] made things advance to their future versions.
To be able to use [Create] without the risks of [Awakening] certainly was good enough, but what if, by leveling up, another ability also manifests?
At any rate, because the Avalon-Ritters were treated as Roronos equipment, she would undoubtedly have the most kills, which had the high chance of tranting into the most experience points gained. For that reason and more, I joined up with her party.
Like that, my monsters and I walked forward.
"Come to think of it, youre not changing out of your energy-conservation form, Kuina?"
"If a strong enemy appears, Kuina will! There might not be any enemy strong enough to force Kuina to change though."
"Alright, Ill leave it to your judgment. But if you lose because you didnt transform soon enough, expect punishment, ok?"
"Kay!"
Kuina looked like a thirteen-year-old girl at the moment, but her true form ever since she had earned enough levels was that of a girl in thetter half of her teens.
She was assuming this form in order to conserve as much energy as possible. Once she had filled up 9999 tail furs with magic power, she could evolve from a Celestial Fox into the being one rank higher than that.
"How many more tail furs do you have to fill up before you can evolve, anyway?"
Before answering, Kuina tilted her head a little.
"Hmm, lets see. If I can continue to consume Aura-chans golden apples daily, itll be done maybe in three months."
"Oh? Thats great."
If that was the case, her evolution shoulde sooner than the expiration of the rule that protected us new Demon Lords from other Demon Lords.
This might be hoping for too much, but there was a chance that an evolved Kuinas power might exceed even a reborn Marcho or a true [Dragon Emperor] Duke.
Half of the way to the [Pig] Demon Lords dungeon, we passed by arge group of goblins and orcs.
In this white space we currently were in, harming as well interfering in anyway with the others involved were strictly prohibited.
As such, simply passing by the enemys starting offensive force had been rather customary.
Some more walking and we were finally at the entrance of the enemys dungeon.
Before we entered though, there was something I wanted to ask Rorono.
"Rorono, in case we are outnumbered, I intend to use the power of [Awakening]. Do you mind if I use [Create] on your three knights?"
During the Marcho rescue campaign, I used [Create] on the weapon of mass destruction known as MOAB and made it evolve. The MOAB back then was already improved technologically and magically by Rorono, but [Create] pushed it further.
The same would likely apply to the three knights. If so, the question I just had to know the answer to was how ridiculous more powerful can the three knights get?
"I dont really mind. However, I will do my best to avoid a situation wherein that is necessary. [Awakening] is a dangerous power, master, and I would like to lessen the times you have to use it."
"Yeah, Id prefer not to use it too. Im asking this just in case."
If we could win easily, there was no need to use that power.
Still, I had this foreboding feeling that that power would somehow be necessary.
At any rate, my monsters have begun entering the dungeon.
From our first wave of attack, we had learned that the first dungeon room was an [Entrance]. This time though, there wasnt any enemy monsters deployed there.
Rorono even ced her hand on the ground and used earth magic to make sure, but she didnt find anything, not even traps.
Well, arent they generous, letting us pass through without a hitch.
I jokingly thought so, but I knew numerous traps and strong monsters were waiting for us after this ce. That said, whatever they had prepared, it wouldnt be enough to stop my monsters.
TL note: I have no clue what anime reference Ruhe is making.
Volume 9 9
We had entered the [Pig] Demon Lords dungeon.
Apparently, this dungeon had 12 dungeon floors, meaning it had 36 dungeon rooms.
That was a lot and I had no ns to take my time on each one.
"Everyone, double time! Anyone that cant keep up will be left behind"
"Understood!"
"Mhm, I will do my best"
"Fufu, dont underestimate my speed, master!"
My monsters enthusiastically replied so and walked faster.
I wanted to break the enemys crystal as soon as possible.
My worry right now wasnt the potentially strong enemies and deadly traps lying in wait somewhere for us. Rather, it was my crystal being destroyed before I could break the enemys.
Duke, Ruhe, and several Avalon-Ritters remained in Avalon to handle its defense.
It was unthinkable for them to lose in a head-on battle, but many other things were possible. One such thing was the enemy having some kind ability to instantly arrive at my crystal room without any battles.
That said, worrying wouldnt change anything.
The only thing we in the attacking force could do was to beat the enemys dungeon as fast as we could. To that end, a lot of the members of the attacking force were what one could call quick-footed.
While walking along the way, the Ocean Singers gave me a report. ording to them, the other dimension was currently just as empty of enemy monsters as the dungeon room we were in.
Could it be possible that he simply wasnt able to obtain an other-dimension type medal?
As great as that would be, it was more likely that this was some kind of trap designed to lull our judgment. So, I gave out instructions to be alert.
An hour like that passed...
"Oto-san, this dungeons weird. Theres no one in here"
"Even my wind isnt picking up anything. This has got to be a trap."
"Try not to mind it. Theres nothing to it but to move forward. Theyre likely lying in wait somewhere."
Dungeon room after room, we ventured deeper into the dungeon.
Other than the very first dungeon room in the first floor, every dungeon room we passed was more or less what would be called abyrinth-type room.
We had already progressed to the 2nd dungeon room of the 4th floor, but we still havent encountered anyone.
The same was also true in the other dimension.
Could it be that theyve decided to pool their war potential somewhere and sh with us en masse? No, that cant be it. They shouldve learned from their initial encounter with the Avalon-Ritters and the white knight what would happen if they simply rushed at us inrge numbers. But then, what else could it be? Its almost impossible for them to be missing and not have a n.
"Aura, be more rigorous with your wind scan than usual. Rorono, also be more rigorous in your trap perception."
"Mhm, understood. Ill send it via our data link"
Rorono was an earth magic expert. As such, she was able to gain information on anything that had any contact with the ground.
That made traps visible in in sight.
That wasnt all. Tablet-type ess devices had been handed to the monsters that were filling the role of leaders, and thanks to that, those officers were able to readily view information Rorono had gathered. Without a doubt, this was a much faster and much more urate method of ryingrge amounts of information than oralmunication.
Overall, this allowed for ultrafast dungeon exploration.
"Rorono, Ive been thinking of adding more dungeon floors, but I wanted to hear your opinion first."
"I am of the same opinion. In times of [War], the more floors, the better. It makes buying for time easier."
"Yeah, thats what I thought. Even without monsters to man them, just having additional floors that takes time to traverse makes quite the difference. Using the remaining DP I have, Ill make dungeon rooms with difficult terrain as well as those filled with traps."
"I support it. And if we can sequence the rooms properly, the time we can make our enemies waste will be even greater."
When talking about monster deployment, a dungeon room needed to be easy to fight in for certain monsters, but when it was simply about making the enemy take as much time as possible, something like a [Lava] room full of nothing but magma might suffice.
But then, enemy flying monsters wouldnt have any problems at all. In that case, cing a [Labyrinth] room with a ceiling that was as low as possible right after the [Lava] room should slow the advance again.
These were just a few examples of how effective sequencing of dungeon rooms with special terrains could impede, sometimes even halt, the enemys dungeon conquest. In the above example, if a [Lake] room was added after the [Lava] and the [Labyrinth] rooms, only a small group of monsters would have been able to progress quickly.
It was an exceedingly simple method, but because it was simple, it was effective and hard to counter.
"Well then, lets proceed to the next room. Brace yourselves."
Everyone nodded, and we went to the next dungeon room.
At that moment, a sense of dread came to me.
And then, there was this feeling like I was floating. It was almost simr to being Transferred.
No, its not almost simr, I am being Transferred! So, its that dungeon room, huh. Its troublesome, but we have no choice now than to deal with it.
There were various kinds of dungeon rooms that could be bought from the [Demon Lord Book]. [Grasnds], [ins], [Lava], [Sea], [Wastnd], and more.
The simpler the room was, the cheaper it would be. Conversely, the more special the terrain it had, the more expensive it got. For example, a [Lava] room was three times more expensive than a simple [ins] room.
Additionally, if a dungeon room had some kind of magical function to it, its DP cost would be even higher.
The [Treasure Vault] room, which periodically produces a treasure chest, was a fine example of this.
There were also [Therapy] rooms which increases ones own healing power as well as magic power recovery just by being in the dungeon room.
These two rooms were astronomically expensive, but I was hoping to have such rooms in my dungeon someday. If I made Kuina stay in a [Therapy] room, the rate at which she was storing magic power to the furs of her tail would surely skyrocket.
And then, there was the dungeon room we happened toe upon.
It was an even more expensive room that had a very amazing magical effect.
Its name was... [Transfer Labyrinth]
Just as its name would imply, the moment one entered thisbyrinth room, they would be Transferred at random to one of the six transfer points within the room.
To make matters worse, those transfer points were all ced in the outer edges, while the exit was ced in the center of the maze. Moreover, until one has exited the room, not only would they be unable to reunite with allies who were flung to the other transfer points, they would also be unable to return to the entrance.
"So, this room fails in this regard"
At first nce, the Transfer Labyrinth was a very convenient room to divide the enemys war potential. However, it would seem it had the defect of transferring members of a party to the same transfer point.
So, for adventurers who worked well enough as a party, the Transfer Labyrinths effect was not as impactful as it initially seemed to be.
And yet, despite that w, the rooms cost was that absurd. I was feeling less and less inclined to buy one in the future for my own dungeon. There was still the charm of forcing the dungeon delvers to search for the exit without the option of going back to the entrance, but that just wasnt enough for that kind of asking price.
Anyway...
"Im so happy to be with master."
"Gaugau!"
In order to raise my and Tiros levels, the two of us were in the same party as Rorono, her Avalon-Ritters, and her three knights.
As for the others, they were likely thrown to the other transfer points.
Just then, I realized something I had overlooked.
"I see, it seems my judgment was a little premature. Even though this room doesnt mean much against adventurers, against other Demon Lords and their monsters, the scattering of war potential that it does can indeed turn the tide."
Like usual, I had made monsters that filled simr roles form parties together. This time though, that backfired on us.
Having simr roles, it would be hard for them to make up for their weak points by themselves.
The ones that could have it the worst would be the snipers. Aura and the High Elves excelled in taking down enemy elites, but against a swarm of enemies, their limited wide-area attacks and spells might not be enough. Moreover, thisbyrinth was sure to make gaining distance difficult for them.
Against such enemies, there was a real chance they could lose.
"Master, thanks to the ess device that themanding officers are carrying, Ive been able to ascertain their locations. Whats more, Im able tomunicate with them so long as theyre in the same dungeon room as us."
"Great job. I want you to tell them this: Head to the exit at the center of thebyrinth as quickly as you can."
"Mhm. Ill also send them the map data for this ce."
So long as they had Roronos map data, they should be able to reach the exit without ever getting lost.
After much thought, I came to the conclusion that if the [Pig] Demon Lord was ever going to make a move, it would be here and now while our forces were scattered.
Most likely, the enemies would focus on the other groups first while leaving Roronos group, which had already proven thatrge number of enemies wasnt even a bother, alone for the moment.
Agares seemed dumb, but apparently, hes quite the schemer. And I must admit, I underestimated [Transfer Labyrinth] rooms.
Aside from learning that such rooms were effective in Demon Lord to Demon Lord fights, I also learned a valuable lesson on how to form parties.
Rather than to have a party whose members all fulfilled the same role, it was better to form a party with members that could cover one anothers weakness, making them able to stand alone if need be.
I had to thank Agares for that lesson.
"Rorono, Tiro,e on, lets hurry. And Rorono, I fear Aura is the one in most danger, so pinpoint her location and formte a route that would lead us to her. The exit should be where all our paths converge; its only a matter of finding the route to the exit and then to her."
"Leave it to me."
Like that, we sprinted. All while praying that the enemy woulde after us instead.
Procells [Sniper Corps] wasposed of Aura and the High Elves.
They had been separated from the rest of the army and was currently making their way toward the exit.
Along the way, Aura was being more cheery than usual in an effort to encourage the anxious High Elves.
After a while, they came upon an open space.
Inside abyrinth-type room, open spaces were definitely out of ce.
Furthermore, upying that open space was an absurdlyrge army of orcs, which were beings that were stronger and tougher than goblins. There were even high-ranking orcs among them.
"Im d we have a lot of targets today, but I dont think our bullets are enough..."
There was only a limited number of bullets that Aura and the High Elves had for their anti-materiel rifles. Obviously, they prepared and carried bullets with them, but because each bullet wasrge, there was only so much they could carry in their person.
Normally, this wasnt an in issue since Roronos Mithril Golems carried with themrge containers of ammunition and those golems would routinely give out bullets to the monsters. However, such an option wasnt avable for the elves at the moment.
"This doesnt look good for us, does it? But if I lose with just this much, I have no right to call myself masters [Monster of the Covenant]. Besides, Rorono-chans been hogging the spotlight for a while now; maybe this is my chance to shine"
Aura said so and then readied her prized anti-materiel rifle.
In the next moment, a gunshot and a scream of an orc was heard almost at the same time, signaling the start of the fight.
Despite the circumstances, Aura smiled at the thought that this might be the perfect opportunity to use that.
Much like Kuina, who unlocked the possibility to evolve, and Rorono, who gained the powerful skill called [Materialization], Aura acquired a new trump card by being one of Procells [Monsters of the Covenant].
Volume 9 10
Avalons attacking force led by Procell had broken through the [Pig] Demon Lords dungeon.
At first, they encountered no resistance of any kind and that led to decent progress. However, as soon as they stepped foot in the [Transfer Labyrinth] room, they were split up into smaller groups.
Thend forces led by Kuina and wasposed of the Mythological Foxes and Abyss Howls made one group.
The golems led by Rorono, Rorono herself, Tindalos, and Procell made up another.
The other-dimension unit led by Ruhe and wasposed of the Ocean Singers and the rest of the Abyss Howls were one more group.
And then, there was the sniper corps led by Aura and wasposed of the High Elves.
Each group was transported via Transfer to a different point.
"Well, this is worrisome, isnt it?"
Aura whispered so while cold sweat flowed down her face.
Through the tabletputer that Rorono made, Aura was able to view in real time certain gathered and shared information such as which group was being attacked.
As far as she could tell, the main body of the enemy force was the one sent to them.
The sniper corps was extremely strong. They could one-sidedly take down enemies using their high-power, ultra-long-distance attacks. As such, the role Procell had given them was to take down enemy elites as well as aerial enemies.
They were masters at their roles.
That said, they still had weaknesses.
One major weakness was they were rather poor at exterminating arge number of enemies. Their wind was useful, butcked power. And while their beloved anti-materiel rifles boasted great power, it wasnt great for rapid-firing and thus it didnt have much mass extermination capabilities. The limited number of ammunitions the elves could carry didnt help either.
And then, perhaps worst of all, they were in abyrinth. That meant the elves lost the advantage of range.
"It cant be just coincidence that thergest force is sent to us, can it? It seems the enemy knows us more than we assumed. And, yup, while facing these pests, the others seem to be facing just enough of the enemy to be slowed down from reuniting with us. Were in quite a pinch, I must say."
However, this wasnt the time forints.
"Everyone, retreat up to the passageway we were in earlier! Fire at them while falling back. And dont forget to use wind barrier either!"
Aura gave such amand to the High Elves.
Like that, half of the High Elves fired their anti-materiel rifles while the other half constructed barriers of wind.
As for the orcs, the ones in the vanguard have started their charge, while the ones in the back attacked with magic, arrows, and even thrown rocks.
There were many races categorized as orcs, and each one had a deadly role fulfill in this army. To name a few, there were Orc Warriors, Orc Mages, Orc Archers, and Orc Kings fulfilling the roles of frontline soldiers, magic users, bow users, and leaders, respectively.
If the sniper corps was to sh head on with thisrge and organized army, they would be crushed.
"Everyone, their attacks areing! Ready yourselves!"
"""Yes!!"""
A downpour of arrows, spells, and rocks wereing down on the elves.
However, thanks to the wind barrier made by the High Elves, those projectiles were brushed aside.
It was true that their windcked power, but it made up for it via defense and utility.
In this world, most long-range projectile attacks were rather weak from being deflected byterally applied forces. Considering some magic spell attackslike the staple fireballhad little to no weight, the elves wind could even bounce it back.
As for why Aura ordered a retreat to the passageways, it was so that they didnt have to fight in the open space where it was disadvantageous for them.
Given the enemy forcesrge numbers, it would have been easy for the elves to be surrounded.
By retreating to the narrow passageway, she had limited the direction the enemies coulde from to one.
Now, I wonder how long we can hold our position.
Like that, Aura and the High Elves fired their guns.
Because they were separated from the golems that served as supply trains, all the bullets they had were the ones they carried in their person. Once that was gone, they wouldnt be able to get any more.
It was just impossible for their stock of bullets to ever be enough for the horde they were facing.
Despite knowing that, Aura still did her best.
She was even killing three lined-up enemy monsters using only a single bullet, her excellent sniping skills, and the support of her wind magic.
Even so, the enemies were not deterred. Not paying any mind to the corpses of their allies, they forged ever onward.
"Everyone, keep on falling back! Because were in a [Transfer Labyrinth], it will be hard for the enemies to nk us! So, keep falling back!"
The path that the elves had traveled so far was a direct one. It twisted and turned, but it didnt split. As such, the enemies couldnt take the rear.
And, even though the enemies were still advancing, the narrow passageway had slowed their advance to a few monsters at a time. Additionally, since there was less space to cover in the passageway, the elves wind barriers were denser.
It was a tense situation, but by taking advantage of the anti-materiel rifles power, the elves had been whittling down the orcs numbers.
Truly, retreating there was a good move for them.
That said, being in the narrow passageway was also advantageous for the orcs.
Because the entrance to the dungeon room was gone and the only way out was through the designated exit point, the passageway was essentially one-way. If the elves continued to fall back as they were doing, they would inevitably reach a dead end.
Thinking it was only a matter of time before theirrger numbers drive the elves to that literal dead end, the orcs vulgarly smiled.
"Aura-sama, we dont have bullets left!"
"Our wind barriers are also reaching its limit!"
The High Elves shouted so, panic clear in their voice.
In exchange for taking down over a hundred orcs, the elves bullets as well as magic power were near exhaustion.
Aura had foreseen this and thus decided beforehand to conserve her own magic power.
"Dont worry, everyone... Thanks to all your efforts, my preparations are nowplete. Sorry it took so long, but its now time to unleash my special technique."
[Monsters of the Covenant] were beings that were deeply connected to a Demon Lord. Not just in the figurative sense, but also in the literal sense in that their souls were bound to their Demon Lord.
Moreover, unlike an ordinary monster, S rank monsters were capable of receiving all of a Demon Lords powers without any reservation. The result of which manifested itself in the form of a skill that was heavily influenced by their Demon Lord.
In Kuina the Celestial Foxs case, her [Transformation] was the one to be influenced.
First off, Procells [Creation] was the ability to ess the [Memory of the] and produce things that existed in the past.
So, the way Kuinas [Transformation] was influenced and evolved was that it gave her knowledge that was lost everywhere else except in the [Memory of the] about the strongest being in the lineage of Celestial Foxes, and more importantly, it allowed her to transform her body into that being.
As for Rorono, a skill called [Materialization] had manifested. It took [Creation]s aspect of creating anything that the user wanted and then added in Roronos ability to enchant things. The result was that she could create materials that contained one usable-by-anyone magic spell from Roronos repertoire of magic spells.
Given that Kuina and Rorono had skills that were influenced by Procells [Creation], it wasnt much of a leap to assume that Aura had such a skill too.
Upon reaching a level on par with a static-level S rank monster, Aura unlocked hers.
There was no particr reason she hasnt used this new skill before. She just didnt need to.
Up until this moment, her anti-materiel rifle and her wits had proven to be more than enough.
This time, however, she had to use it.
As things were, not only herself but also her adorable little sisters would be trampled over by the orcs.
Her instincts as an elf were screaming loudly. Her instincts were telling her that if they were defeated here, they would be vited over and over again, be turned into nothing but breeding tools, and be forced to give birth to the orcs children.
Whenpared to the orcs, elves were weak.
Their wind wasnt enough to stop those huge lumps of meat called orcs, and their arrows found it hard to give thetter any fatal wounds.
For the orcs, the elves were great game. Once theyve found an elf vige, they would rally their allies and descend on the vige right away.
After years and years of such a thing happening, it eventually got embedded to both the orcs and elves instincts. Elves, even Aura, were inherently wary and resentful toward orcs, while orcs were inherently stimted upon seeing elves.
So, for that reason, Aura could not tolerate the orcs. Add in that the orcs frightened her little sisters by their desire to rape and impregnate thetter, just the fact they were breathing disgusted her.
"I, an Ancient Elf, an avatar of the, wishes for something from the itself. I beg thee, lend me the use of the original wind."
The aspect of [Creation] to make things was its more noticeable part, but its true value lied elsewhere. Namely, it was its ability to ess the [Memory of the]. And that was what Auras ability made more use of.
Ordinarily, when using wind magic, one had to appeal to the mana in the wind. However, Aura was currently working with something of a much higher order: by essing the [Memory of the], she was now able to wield the primordial wind, the breath of the itself.
It was too powerful, too divine to be simply called wind.
As though some kind of proof of a contract, there was a crest of sorts embedded into her [Jade Eyes]. Moreover, the primordial wind surrounded Aura and dyed everything around her green. It was almost like she was donning a jade green dress. It was beautiful. She was sublimely beautiful.
And because of that, she named her skill...
"[Jade Winds Garment]"
The orcs trembled when they noticed Aura, but proceeded to charge forward nheless. They figured that because she was an elf, she was nothing more than the powerless, miserable, child-making tool that elves were. That the trembling they felt was nothing more than a passing moment of hesitation.
Thus, their chance to escape was gone.
No matter how much force they put in each step, the orcs couldnt advance forward, not even an inch. The jade wind became an imprable wall. Eventually, the orcs in front were sandwiched by the wall of wind and the orcs from behind.
"Its futile. You cant break through my wall of wind!"
The primordial wind had more force behind it.
No arrows, stones, or even orcs could pass an area that Aura had dered to be her domain.
Aura slowly raised her hand... and then all of a sudden brought it down.
When she did, the jade wind enveloped thendscape and crushed all of the orcs in Auras field of vision.
Aura disyed power beyondmon knowledge. She was wielding the breath of the itself, after all. Although, in a sense, it shouldnt have been so surprising. There was just no way a strong S rank monster like herself wouldnt get an extremely powerful ability when she became a [Monster of the Covenant].
After seeing the carnage their brethren had suffered, the orcs that were reserved in the back began to flee, without thought of how cowardly they looked like.
Meanwhile, the High Elves cheered and began singing praises for Aura.
In response, Aura gave them a little smile, but then suddenly fell.
The High Elves hurried to support her body up.
"Aura-sama, are you ok?"
"I might have overdone it a little. The power of the isnt something meant to be wielded by a mortal body."
[Jade Winds Garment] was the power to wield the primordial wind. However, the primordial wind wasnt something Aura made, rather it was a power she had borrowed from the.
The burden of using the power of the was simply too much for any individual. A high-level S rank elf like Aura was no exception.
In fact, it was only because her extremely high affinity with the wind and therepresented by her three skills, [Personification of the], [Divine Protection], [Ruler of the Wind]that she was only left exhausted and out of action after using such a power.
If another monster was somehow able to wield that power, their brain would have been fried out, consumed by the wind.
"Lighten up, everyone. Reinforcements areing. It seems Kuinas group has already reached the exit point in the center and are heading our way as quickly as they could... it also seems I cant walk anymore. Mind lending me your shoulder?"
"Not at all. Please!"
"Its kinda frustrating, but my role in this [War] has ended. After Ive reported to master, Ill have an Abyss Howl transfer me out. After that, I leave the rest to you, vice-captain."
Hearing that, the face of the High Elf appointed as the vice-captain was instantly filled with anxiety, but was just as quickly filled with determination.
"Yes, leave it to me!"
Seeing the growth of her subordinates, Aura became delighted.
"Phew, the [Jade Winds Garment] sure was an amazing power, but I have to think at least twice before using it... I mean, my magic power and physical bodys fine, but my heart and mind are exhausted. Although I think if I get more used to it, I might be less exhausted. I guess I should follow Kuinas footsteps and take some special training, huh."
Speak of the devil, Kuina and her group appeared and were waving to the elves.
It seemed like they had finished hunting down the remnants of the orc forces that the elves encountered.
While being supported, Aura smiled and began walking toward Kuina.
Volume 9 11
~Procells Point of View~
While worrying about everyone that was transported to the other transfer points, I ran as fast as I could.
When I looked at the tablet pc, it seemed like Kuina was the first to reach the exit point at the center of the dungeon room. This was likely due to the fact that Kuina was my strongest monster, and that the Mythological Foxes and the Abyss Howls thatposed the rest of her group were highly mobile monsters.
As they had been instructed, her group was now heading toward Auras location.
"Master, were soon about to reach the exit point as well."
Even though we were being attacked every now and then, we were making good progress toward the exit.
In order to preserve ammunition, I had prohibited the Avalon-Ritters from using their guns, and ordered them to use their swords instead.
The Avalon-Ritters had two standard weapons: their heavy machinegun and their magic swords. These magic swords were the more streamlined, easier-to-use version of the prototype weapon that was given to Fel.
By adding in a limiter, even the Avalon-Ritters were able to form rather stable magical des. In exchange for that though, the power output was far inferiorpared to the prototype.
Even so, that was more than enough to stave off the monsters sent our way.
"Any news from Kuina and Aura?"
"Mhm, theyve just sent a message. It seems Aura has eliminated most of the enemy battalion sent their way, and Kuinas group, while on their way to Aura, was able to take down those that managed to escape. Their two groups have joined together and are now heading toward the exit."
"Is that so? Aura pulled that off?"
That was a fortunate miscalction.
I had thought Auras sniper corps would perform poorly in a fight against arge number of enemies, but it seemed like that they managed somehow.
"Mhm, but I have some bad news as well. Auras fine, but shes exhausted and can no longer fight in the meantime because of that."
"Understood."
Not having Aura was a serious blow to our war potential, but she had already done her part. Instead of making her feel guilty, she should be praised to the utmost.
"How about the others?"
"Every group is advancing favorably. It doesnt look like any group other than Auras has faced against arge number of enemies. Theres no need for concern."
This was a hurdle and once we were over it, things might all at once go easier.
We had reached the exit point.
It looked like we were the third group to make it here, with my other monsters soon to follow.
After a while, Kuina arrived with Aura, thetter being supported by a High Elf.
I had heard Aura was exhausted, but she looked worse than I imagined.
"Great work, Aura. I heard you defeated arge enemy force. Thank you for that."
"...Master, Im sorry. As one of your [Monster of the Covenant], I should be fighting til its over, but if I continue like this, I would just be a burden."
Aura apologetically murmured so.
She was a very wise kid. Moreover, she had the ability to be objective about herself. If she herself said she couldnt fight anymore, then it truly was impossible.
In terms of physical health and magic power level, she seemed quite fine, so perhaps the reason behind why she could fight anymore was that she was mentally exhausted.
"Well, thanks for your hard work. Ill have an Abyss Howl transfer you back to Avalon. If you rest by the golden apple trees, you should recover much sooner."
"Yes, Ill do just that. Master, may the fortunes of war be with you."
"Leave it to us. Youve done more than enough. For which, a reward is in order... hey, look at me, dont torture yourself. You did great work, Aura."
She looked apologetic again, so I decided to brush her head. When I did so, she smiled a beautiful smile.
"Im happy to be praised, of course, but I still cant help being frustrated at myself. I promise, next time, Ill fight until all the fighting ends."
"Ill be looking forward to that, then."
After that, Aura went back to Avalon through a Transfer array prepared by an Abyss Howl.
Being soaked in the golden apples Ki would surely hasten her recovery. In case of a prolonged [War], she might be called back to action again.
"The fighting within Avalon should have also started. Im kinda curious on the status there... but whatever, we have Duke and Ruhe over there. Theres no cause for concern at all. Duke losing isnt even a remote possibility."
That was howpetent Duke was. He was my most dependable monster, after all.
~At the same time, in Avalon~
Present in the operation headquarters located in the basement of Procells estate were Duke and his Dwarf Smith lieutenant.
"Report: the Mithril Golems in the first dungeon room have been annihted."
"Its only been an hour after the start of the [War] and theyve already broken through. As we expected, our enemy this time is unlike any weve fought so far."
While spreading out a situation map, Duke began to think deeply.
"And how did they break through?"
"Through brute force. An Orc that had monstrous defensive and charging capabilities withstood the storm of bullets sent by the heavy machineguns and advanced until it reached the Mithril Golems, upon which it smashed thetter."
"Interesting. Even Kohaku-dono found it necessary to avoid the bullets of the heavy machineguns. It seems they have immensely powerful monsters in their side. It might be better if I myself sortied. And what are the current movement of that monster?"
While the Dwarf Smith answered, she made changes to the situation map.
"Hey, Duke, did you just call me weak? Its just that thats not how I fight, Ill have you know."
Visibly displeased, Kohaku the Byakko growled and then said so.
Given that he was an A rank monster that could level up and had leveled up to the fullest, and that he had a name, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that he had incredible fighting strength.
And yet, that wasnt what made him frightening. Rather, it was his massivebat experience and the ability to make full use of it.
Through some events, Kohaku became Procells monster. Ever since, a lot of Procells monsters, including Duke, had regarded him as an advisor.
Some monsters like Kuina even adoringly called him Kohaku-jii. He didnt mind it and would asionally even give such monsters some training to supplement the areas they werecking in.
As for why Duke invited Kohaku into the headquarters, it was of course to hear thetters opinion on things.
Duke was painfully aware that Avalons monsterscked realbat experience and thus hoped Kohakus knowledge and experience was enough to make up for it.
"Thats not what I meant... but how about it? Will you fight again after a long while? With you on our side, victory is practically guaranteed."
"No, Im good. I would rather have the younguns get some experience under their belt. Especially the Abyss Howls. Theyre pretty much newborn pups. Theyre born from Maelstroms so experience points from kills does nothing for them, butbat experience is something else. I think its preferable to choose a few of them and have those few be experienced enough inbat to lead the others."
"Thank you for such a valuable suggestion. I wholeheartedly agree."
The Abyss Howls were B rank monsters that had high stats as well as useful abilities like Transfer and other-dimension maniption.
There was no doubt they would be a core part of Avalons fighting force from now on, so Duke had also thought that training them was necessary. However, given their numbers and how each one was born every day via the Maelstrom, training them all was quite the arduous, if not impossible, task.
The solution to that, as simple as it might be, was in this conversation between the two: by training only a select few that will eventually act as leaders.
Not to mention, Abyss Howls had the trait of forming groups, so having trained leaders should have a more advantageous effect.
"Then, lets have the Abyss Howls be the centerpiece of this fight. Our strategy will be simple. First, the Darkness Dragons will bombard them and thin their numbers. Then, amidst the chaos, the Abyss Howls shallunch their sneak attacks. Dwarf Smith, please send the word,"
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
With that, the monsters of Avalon sprang into action.
Even in Avalon, a full-blown battle was about to break out.
~From an Orc Kings Point of View~
At present, the [Pig] Demon Lords attacking forces conquest of Avalon was progressing well.
His appearance and way of talking made it hard to imagine that he was prudent and wise.
But in fact, he had anticipated a [War] with the [Creation] Demon Lord would eventually happen, and thus gathered intelligence on him and made countermeasures based on that. For that reason, his attacking force was able to break through the rain of bullets in the deadly first dungeon room of Avalon. The first room was the [Stone Corridor] room that was guarded by the heavy-machinegun-wielding Mithril Golems, by the way.
Even though the Mithril Golems rain of bullets was a serious threat, so long as one knew about it, breaking through was possible.
In the orcs case, they made an Orc Sentinel, a kind of orc that had extreme defensive capabilities, take the vanguard while wearing magical armor made and borrowed from another Demon Lord in the anti-Procell alliance. This Orc Sentinel also received as much defensive buffs from orcs that had leader-type skills.
As though that wasnt enough, it was also made to consume various medicines that had thebined effects of dulling its sense of pain while also strengthening it and heightening its focus.
...In exchange though, once the Orc Sentinel had depleted its energy, it would lose its life. But then again, to be able to break through the Mithril Golems defensive line by sacrificing just one monster, well, it was such a windfall already.
The Orc King that stood as leader of the attacking force then sent out some scouts ahead. After confirming it was safe enough, he led his troops toward the second room, which was a [Graveyard].
Just because they had cleared a hurdle, even a significant one, the Orc King knew better than to becent. In his opinion, the thing that one needed to watch out the most about Avalon wasnt the heavy machineguns, it was the bombardment of the Darkness Dragons. Those things exceeded even the wide-range magic attacks of A rank monsters.
However, they brought reinforcements just for dealing with the Darkness Dragons. Made to enter the [Graveyard] area first were the Holy Cranes, which were white-winged C rank monsters.
Monsters with a holy attribute were strong against monsters with a darkness attribute.
Even though the C rank Holy Cranes had numerically lower stats than the B rank Darkness Dragons, the attribute affinity between the two more than made up for it.
With enough Holy Cranes, the Darkness Dragons could be erased from the sky. And if the Holy Cranes did gain total aerial dominance, there would be no bombardment to worry about.
And so, the Orc King looked at the Holy Cranes dancing in the sky, and made a sigh of relief.
Once all of the monsters had entered and had fallen into formation, the Orc King shouted amand.
"GuGaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Avalons secrets were fully exposed to the Orc King. There was no doubt that they would break through every single dungeon room just like they did the first one.
...or so he thought.
Volume 9 12
The defensive battle of Avalon had begun.
The first room, a [Stone Corridor], was valued for its might. Even if enemies were to get past it, it at least had taken many enemies down. This time though, one monster was all it took to break through.
While making a displeased face, Duke dashed toward the [Graveyard] area along with his escort Darkness Dragons as well as Kohaku, who came just in case.
The first room being unable to shave away some of the enemies'' war potential was vexing, but not unexpected.
Such an oue had always been assumed to somedaye up. After all, even among the monsters of Avalon, there were quite a few that could break through unharmed. The appearance of enemies that could do the same was inevitable.
Duke had left the Dwarf Smith temporarily in charge in order for him to go to the [Graveyard] area andmand directly from the frontlines. This way, he could give more detailed instructions faster.
Above all, by being there, he could use his [Ruler of the Dead] skill to strengthen his undead troops.
A [Graveyard] was obviously a very advantageous terrain for undead monsters, thus many undead monsters were stationed there. Factor in the Darkness Dragons that were on their way, and Duke''s presence would make a significant effect.
The enemies posed a threat not only in terms of quantity, but also in terms of quality in the form of the monsters that could strengthen the rest of the fighting force, the Goblin General and the Orc King for example. If Duke didn''t do at least the same, Avalon''s defeat would have been clear.
"It might be best to ask my lord to improve the first room in preparation for future wars against other Demon Lords. Avalon-Ritters equipped with their new model heavy machineguns should do great, I think."
The damage a weapon could do was influenced by the user''s stats.
Even if the Avalon-Ritters and the Mithril Golems were to wield the same gun, the damage inflicted would be totally different. Following this, an Avalon-Ritter equipped with a newer, more powerful heavy machinegun model would deal damage an order of magnitude higher than a Mithril Golem equipped with the standard heavy machinegun.
Considering even thetter had dealt enough damage to bring the monster that defeated them to the brink of death, the former would have no trouble at all with said monster.
All of this seemed sound to Duke, so he had no doubt the person he revered would give an approval to his idea.
Duke reached the [Graveyard] area.
True to its name, it was a gloomy area that had countless tombstones.
Upon arriving, he activated hismander abilities.
Because of that, he was able share senses with the allied monsters that had the death attribute. They became his eyes and ears.
For the moment, he instructed them to remain out of sight.
"So, they''re finally in formation and are about to start their advance in the 2nd room."
Through Duke''s eyes, he saw a Goblin General and an Orc King leading countless goblins and orcs.
"If only the High Elves were here, I would have asked them to take down enemy elites starting from the leaders I guess I should also ask my lordter to deploy the same number of High Elves for both the attacking and defending forces. As it is, we don''t have anything as powerful and convenient as the elves'' sniping."
Once the goblin and orcs were done falling into formation, the enemy army began to advance through thebyrinth formed by the countless gravestones without breaking their formation.
Just that was enough for Duke to tell how proficient the enemies were.
"Hmm, they seem tough. It would be foolish to engage them without reducing their numbers first. Alright, let them advance a little more. Once escape bes no longer possible, we begin."
Duke ryed that order to a group of subordinates he shared senses with: the thirty Darkness Dragons.
Because Procell said they didn''t have to hold back on the use of explosives, most of the Darkness Dragons carried a container full of said explosives.
Usually, the bombardment would have started once all of the enemies had entered the dungeon room, but the white-winged birdmenmonsters that had the head of a bird but the body of human covered in feathersguarding the goblins and the orcs gave Duke pause.
At a nce, these birdmen could be mistaken for angels, but further inspection would quickly reveal they were too ugly and detestable to be angels and were much closer to being birds.
They weren''t particrly strong, being just C rank monsters. As such, the Darkness Dragons could probably even deal with them while still carrying the containers.
However, something about them gave Duke a bad feeling.
"Kohaku-dono, those ugly, C-rank-looking birdmen flying above the goblins and orcs, is there anything you know about them?"
Duke asked so to Kohaku the advisor.
Duke was a prudent individual. As much as possible, he wouldn''t execute a strategy when so many details were uncertain. To that end, he wasn''t afraid to ask about these uncertain and unknown things.
After giving a big yawn, Kohaku spoke.
"Yeah, I know about them. If I recall correctly, they''re called Holy Cranes. As you guessed, they are indeed just C rank fodder monsters though not for monsters that''s of the Death attribute. They deny it, not permitting anyone with that attribute to exist near them. If such monster enters their territory, that monster will be enfeebled until, finally, it falls."
"I see. Then, they should be doubly as effective against the Darkness Dragons, since those kids have both the Death and Darkness attribute. It might even be appropriate to say they are the Darkness Dragons'' natural enemies. The fact that they were reserved until now means they''ve studied us and our strategy with the Darkness Dragons interesting."
At this point in time, Duke had thought up of three strategies.
The first was to trash those white winged monsters himself. They might have an attribute advantage, but an S rank monster that had be a true [Dragon Emperor] like himself should be able to overpower them.
The disadvantage in this strategy was that the strongest in the defense force, Duke, would be gravely exhausted. This early in the [War], such wasn''t ideal.
The next strategy was to make the Darkness Dragons fly at an altitude high enough that they wouldn''t be affected by the birdmen''s special powers. Once they were flying that high, bombardment would thenmence.
The w to this was that bombarding from such an altitude would cause the uracy to drop tremendously, which then might lead to some enemy monsters not being hurt as much as they were supposed to be. Some might evene out not hurt at all.
Thest one was to make use of the monsters his lord Procell had received from his close friend and ally. Those monsters were just as capable as the Darkness Dragons. Furthermore, Duke could also strengthen them via his [Dragon Emperor]. As an aside, it didn''t appear like the C rank birds were receiving any effects from the strengthening skills of the Goblin General or the Orc King.
The demerit to this strategy was none.
"It''s decided then. Kohaku-dono, thank you for your guidance."
Duke then closed his eyes and drew out his power.
Right then, the middle-aged dragonewt grew bigger and bigger.
His whole body became covered with ck scales and dark miasma.
He had exposed his true form as death incarnate, as the strongest death dragon: a ck Dragon of Death Siegwurm.
Apparently, to be able to use his power as a true [Dragon Emperor], Duke first had to assume this form. Thankfully, he didn''t have to worry anymore about the time limit caused by his [Berserk].
"GRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"
Duke roared loudly.
It was his imperialmand.
It was so powerful that it reached through the other dungeon rooms as well even though it originally shouldn''t be able to.
And so, when they heard the emperor call, they flew with all haste. A few momentster, jade green dragons appeared in the [Graveyard] area. All in all, there were ten of them.
These ten were the monsters two ranks below the Storm Dragon Knight Bahamut in the same lineage. They were the Tempest Wyverns.
Much like the Darkness Dragons, these dragons held top-end power for B rank monsters. What''s more, these wind-controlling dragons could fly in the sky at speeds beyond human imagination. In terms of dogfighting capabilities, they probably held the most potential among B ranks.
Procell didn''t make these dragons, but were rather obtained through the deal he made with Sts.
The Darkness Dragons and Tempest Wyverns were both undoubtedly powerful monsters, but even so, they still had weaknesses. For that reason, Procell and Sts had decided to exchange monsters made via [Maelstroms] so that they could each form a mixed corps whose members would make up for the others'' weaknesses.
In other words, they did so for times like these.
"GRYYYYYYYYYYY"
Duke roared once more.
This time, it was to use his true [Dragon Emperor] and empower the already strong wind dragons even more.
Flying at over twice the speed of sound and without slowing down at all, the wind dragons shed with the group of Holy Cranes and began their attack.
Many Holy Cranes were instantly torn to shreds, while twice more received damage without seeing what did it. In fact, they didn''t even realize they had received damage. It was only a few momentster that they cried out in pain.
After that, the wind dragons charged once more and tore many of the enemies to pieces again, still without them knowing what hit them.
By no means were the Tempest Wyverns doing anything special.
They were simply dding their wings with their windthus granting it excellent cutting capabilitiesand hitting their enemies with it.
As for the others, they were receiving damage from the sonic boom generated by dragons.
The fight was too one-sided. It shouldn''t even be called a fight at this rate. Which could be said to be the obvious result.
Pitting the empowered high-end B rank Tempest Wyverns against the low-end Holy Cranes who excelled only in defeating undead monsters was like pitting a fully-armed special forces member against a demon exorcist.
Before long, the Holy Cranes all fell.
The Tempest Wyverns then gave a victory roar.
"GRYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"
Duke roared as well.
However, it wasn''t to celebrate or to give praise to the Tempest Wyverns. It was amand for the Darkness Dragons to do the next move.
The hindrance out of the way, the Darkness Dragons were now free to drop the contents of the containers they were carrying.
Perhaps knowing what those containers had within, the goblins and orcs ran for their lives while some tried to fire magic and arrows in attempt to stall the dragons.
In the end, it was all futile.
The effective range of an aerial bombardment was vast. Escape for the goblins and orcs was pretty much now impossible.
Magic and arrows were also useless since those wouldn''t reach the dragons. And even if those attacks did reach the dragons, their buffs and already tough body made it so that they didn''t mind at all.
And so, the 30 Darkness Dragons reached their designated positions. Bombarding from these positions would kill the highest number of enemies.
The containers then opened and released the bombs they had within.
Like that, crimson flowers bloomed in the ground.
The whole ce was covered in mes. In the mes of hell.
After dropping the bombs, the Darkness Dragons turned around, swooped down, and unleashed darkness breath attacks on those that were tough enough to survive.
The Tempest Wyverns joined as well and attacked with des of wind.
In just a few minutes, the army made up of goblins and orcs was on the brink of annihtion.
[Pig] Demon Lord Agares was right in being vignt against the Darkness Dragons, but the countermeasure he thought up was certainly not enough.
Agares should have, among other things, taken into consideration the Holy Cranes'' low stats. Like Procell who prepared both Darkness Dragons and Tempest Wyverns, he should have prepared another monster to make up for the Holy Cranes'' weaknesses.
That ability to foresee things was what granted Procell this victory.
A few more minutes passed and the mes have died down.
A few monsters survived by using their allies as shield, having extremely high defensive capabilities, and by just being really lucky.
The Goblin General and the Orc King that Duke purposefully let survive were currently reorganizing their surviving troops. Thinking they could do such a leisurely thing like reorganizing was foolish though.
"Pyugyaaaaaaaaa"
"Gyuigyui"
"Kyaaaaaaaaa"
Shrieks of goblins and orcs resound all over again.
This time, it wasn''t caused by the dragons.
From the goblins and orcs'' shadows, from the grave markers'' shadows, from the dragons in the sky''s shadows,rge blue dogs came and struck the goblins and orcs at their vital spots.
Theserge dogs were Abyss Howls.
They were monsters that used shadows as the medium to enter and exit the other dimension.
From the start of the fight, these monsters were patiently waiting for a chance like this. A chance to do their roles as assassins that strike from the shadows.
After their initial attack, the Abyss Howls roared.
It was no ordinary roar though. It was a skill.
Dark Roar: Launches a roar filled with magic power. If the target is sessfully inflicted, its body will be stiffened and weakened. Chances of sess will be halved for monsters of A rank and above. When this skill is simultaneously used by a group of skill-holders, there is a bonus to the sess rate.
Do note that the potency of the weakening and stupefying effects don''t receive any bonuses, just the sess rate.
The roars of 30 Abyss Howls reverberated in the Graveyard area.
Like that, the survivors were frozen in ce.
Duke then initiated the endgame by summoning some undead from beneath the ground that was a few meters away from where the bombs fell.
These undead were monsters and humans resurrected by Duke''s [Enhanced Resurrection]. Instead of bing weaker by turning undead, they were actually stronger than when they were alive.
Even the once-human undead were strong. As for why, they were actually artificial heroes. These A-rank-monster-equivalents were once sent by the [ck] Demon Lord, but were now turned into Duke''s fighting force.
These undead were disposable units.
Per his lord''s policy, Duke was supposed to lead Avalon''s war potential in such a way that it would result in no casualties. However, these undead were corpses of those that once were their enemies.
Sending them to attack relentlessly and unafraid of death, or to act as a wall waspletely fine.
There were many among the enemy army that could overpower the undead horde, but thanks to the bombardment, the dragons'' breath attacks, and the Abyss Howls surprise attacks, the enemy army could do nothing but get taken down one after the other.
Which was a bit of a shame too because the undead horde couldn''t demonstrate their true might.
In about an hour, the [Pig] Demon Lord''s attacking force was almost no more.
The only ones to remain were the leaders and a few others.
Right then, Duke in his dragon form descended.
Overwhelmed, the leaders'' hearts gave way and they fell to their knees.
Their instincts were repeatedly telling them defeat was inevitable.
"It''s about time we end this. Before I kill you, Goblin General and Orc King, I, as a fellow leader, have something to ask you. Do any of you know why Imanded to let the two of you live until this moment, despite finding your army-wide strengthening troublesome? Well?"
The Goblin General and the Orc King each tried to voice out their opinions, but Duke simply shook his head.
"The answer is so that I may present you to my lord. You and your guards seem to be the strongest among all of you. From this moment on, you are no longer leaders, merely servants to our lord."
In the next moment, the Goblin General and the Orc King''s heads flew.
Their guards then received deathblows one after the other from the Abyss Howls that appeared from the shadows.
Their bodies then began turning into blue particles of light. For a moment, they felt relieved that it was all over. However, there was a monster that denied them of that relief.
Duke used his [Enhanced Resurrection] skill and resurrected them.
After doing so, Duke reverted back to his dragonewt form.
At the same time, the resurrected Goblin General, Orc King, and their guards all knelt before Duke, their faces devoid of any emotion.
"Henceforth, devote yourself to our lord, the supreme Demon Lord, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell. Fuhaha, I''ve gotten quite the nice present for my lord, haven''t I? Quite the powerful pawns they are. If Ibine this report with my suggestion for the improvements of our defense, my lord should be greatly pleased. At any rate, everyone, take this moment to rest. The next wave of attackers should be here soon enough. Though I hope there are strong individuals in that wave as well so that I can make my present even nicer."
As Procell''s appointed staff officer, Duke wasn''t satisfied with just winning. For his beloved lord, he wanted more.
Because of that, some would say he was more relentless and merciless than even Procell.
If one seriously wanted to conquer Avalon, they first had to bring down Duke through whatever means they could. Or else, they were liable to repeat [Pig] Demon Lord Agares''s biggest mistake.
Volume 9 13
~From the point of view of [Pig] Demon Lord Agares~
[Pig] Demon Lord Agares felt confident about his dungeon conquest of Avalon.
The first room was said to be the most dangerous room in Avalon. Up until now, almost all of the Demon Lords that had fought with Procell had lost a considerable portion of their war potential to the Mithril Golems and their enigmatic weapons in the very first room of Avalon.
However, Agares viewed himself different from those Demon Lords.
In his view, he had correctly appraised his enemys war potential and made the proper countermeasures.
He might lose a powerful war potential in the form of an A rank monster that could level up, but it shouldnt be enough to hurt his overall war potential.
His [Pig] medal was an A rank medal. Considering he could produce up to 12 A rank medals in a year, he could then make, on average, four A rank monsters per year.
Actually, despite being in countless [Wars] in his 50 years of existence, Agares had umted and managed to keep alive over a hundred A rank monsters.
Obviously, it was difficult to level them all up, so only about 20% of his A rank monsters could level up.
Assigned to his attacking force were: 10 A rank fully leveled up A rank monsters, 50 A rank monsters with static levels, and several hundred B and C rank monsters.
This attacking force could be said to be overkill war potential against a Demon Lord that wasnt even a year old.
Furthermore, Agares had also received Holy Cranes from the anti-Procell alliance of Demon Lords. These monsters were added so that they could deal with the Darkness Dragons that unleashes wide-area destruction magic from the sky.
There could have been some issues, but Procell foolishly decided to put all of his high-ranking elves that could attack from far away into his attacking force.
And now, those troublesome elves had entered the [Transfer Labyrinth] and had been isted from the rest of Procells monsters.
The entrance to a [Transfer Labyrinth] would randomly send an individual to a random point, but getting in through the designated exit point would not trigger such an effect. As such, therge force sent to crush the elves simply had to travel the route that would lead to their targets.
"This war, I win."
Agares believed his victory was within arms reach.
He believed that the only way for Procells numerically inferior war potential to win would be through a swift offensive. If so, it made sense why Procell put all of his [Monsters of the Covenant] into his attacking force.
Unfortunately, Agares perceived that and made ns to take advantage of it.
He stalled Procells attacking force as much time as possible and then, upon reaching a certain point, separated them from one another.
In the meantime, his own attacking force was making great progress toward breaking Procells crystal.
Despite being pleased with his n, Agares couldnt help but feel a small measure of regret since this n wouldnt give him the chance to fuck Procells monsters, including the Elder Dwarf that used that cheap trap on him. Even so, increasing the certainty of breaking Procells crystal took priority over such wants, he thought.
And while thinking of such things, he used his crystal to watch the ensuing battles in his dungeon.
At the moment, the isted elves and arge group of his orcs have encountered one another.
"Yes, as I thought"
The elves enigmatic weapons were one-sidedly downing one orc after another. However, in the end, it was but a simple attack. If the orcs rushed en masse, there was nothing to be worried about.
The elves were steadily retreating. However, given that they were in a [Transfer Labyrinth] where the only way to get out was through the designated exit point, it wouldnt have been long before the elves were chased into a corner and then ughtered.
After a while, the elves were driven to that corner.
The elves had stop firing. Because their weapons were projectile-shooting weapons, running out of ammunition was an inevitability.
And even though the elves could use their wind magic instead of their weapons, their wind magic didnt have enough force, especially not against the orcs. It might be enough to cut through the orcs tough skin and flesh, but making it all the way through the bone would be quite difficult.
A high-ranking elves wind magic could deliver a killing blow, butpared to me magic or some such, the elves wind magic would consume a lot more magic power. And when from a great distance away, perhaps even an S rank monster could only make 1 or 2 shots.
As such, the orcs became aroused even more from looking at the premium goods known as the high-ranking elves before them.
They roared and then approached their prey.
"Yes"
Agares eximed so after drinking his celebratory liquor.
He then focused his vision on the Ancient Elf who was currently d in jade-green-colored wind.
In that form, the S rank monster was so beautiful, she managed to steal even the [Pig] Demon Lords heart.
In the following moment, however, the supposed to be powerless wind crushed most of Agaressrge army all at once.
In his shock, he dropped the ss that held his drink.
Impossible, Agares thought. His victory was supposed to be assured the moment he separated Procells monsters.
The few surviving orcs were ovee by fear and thus began to flee.
Just as they were doing so though, they encountered another group of Procells monsters and were eliminated.
"No. Such thing, unforgivable"
Agares shouted so while kicking a couch and sending it flying.
Having his certain-victory strategy be overturned like this wounded his pride deeply.
At that moment, a subordinate of his appeared before him.
Even though this subordinates fighting capabilities were rtively low, it was one of the goblins assigned to be Agaress staff officers for its intelligence and excellent capabilities for information analysis.
"I have a report, sir. Its about the force sent to Avalon."
Agares took a deep breath and began to listen.
It took him great effort to regain hisposure, but he calmed down nheless.
Being bested by the elves was outside of his expectations, but overall, it didnt matter much. Everything was fine so long as they broke Avalons crystal first. However...
"...almost all of them have been eliminated. At present, the few that have survived are desperately defending the [Transfer] array that have been set up in the second dungeon room. Please advise us on how to proceed: should we use the [Transfer] array and send reinforcements or should we evacuate from there, regroup, and attack again?"
The staff officers rmendations were sound.
Through the established Transfer array, they were able to send arge group of monsters to the second room. Once it was gone, they would have to start the conquest of Avalon right from the beginning. But then, the monster they used to break through the first room was now gone. That meant that even if they could make it to the second room again, their losses would be higher this time.
All that said, cutting their losses now might be for the best.
Whether to fight or fall back, a decision had to be made soon.
After hearing the staff officers report though, something inside Agares snapped.
"Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!? I nned it alllllll! So how!? How could my forces looooooooooooooseee!?"
"......sir, ording to the report, a group of wind dragons appeared and defeated our Holy Cranes. With the Holy Cranes gone, the Darkness Dragons were then free to use their wide-range attack magic from the sky, despite our efforts to prevent it from happening. The report also states that from the survivors backs, huge dog-like monsters suddenly appeared and attacked them, whittling their numbers further. After that, those dog monsters roared and made all the B rank monsters and below that heard it paralyzed with dread. While our forces were like that, a powerful army that included artificial-heroes-turned-undead then surrounded and attacked them. The Goblin General and the Orc King were left alive until thest moment where they were killed, turned undead, and made to switch sides. Through them and their skills, the few surviving low-ranked goblins and orcs were being adversely influenced to the point they were being controlled."
After hearing his subordinates report, Agares became greatly perplexed.
"Wind dragons? Dog monsters appear from back? Artificial-heroes-turned-undead? I, I not know he had them! Unfair! Unfair! Unfair!"
Completely like a child, [Pig] Demon Lord Agares have begun throwing a tantrum.
"Agares-sama, a decision, please. If were going to send reinforcements, we have to act now or else it will be toote. But if were not going to, we should call them back now. Theyre already at their limit."
"Noisy"
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
Suddenly, the goblin staff officers whole right arm was gone.
Agares has bitten it off.
"This yourmand. Dispatch my secret weapon. If Procell going to y dirty, I will too."
By secret weapon, Agares meant the female monsters he had stolen from other Demon Lords through his [Pig] ability. Some of these female monsters were even used as lure for their formerrades so that he could gain control over the formerrades as well.
Thanks to this devious method, Agares had obtained powerful monsters without the use of medals.
Among Agaress war potential, which mainly consisted of orcs and goblins, these stolen monsters were not only unique, they were also especially powerful.
As such, he had decided long ago to keep them concealed, even from ally Demon Lords, as much as possible.
Since the reinforcements had to be sent via Transfer, sending a small but highly capable group such as these female monsters was absolutely crucial.
Furthermore, since the Goblin General and the Orc King were now on the enemys side, it was suddenly harder to deploy goblins and orcs.
If the monsters were low-ranked enough, the Goblin General and the Orc King were able to control them momentarily. In fact, even higher-ranking monsters were being affected by them.
Considering these, this decision of sending the stolen female monsters did seem to be a correct one.
"Understood. I will see to it at once."
The goblin staff officer exited the room while putting pressure on his right shoulder with his remaining hand.
His perseverance wasnt out of loyalty to his Demon Lord. No, he was doing all this in the hopes he could save at least one of hisrades.
And while he had good intentions, what he and his Demon Lord failed to consider was that there were monsters in Avalon so way beyond the norm that no normal A rank monster could ever hope to kill them. The reinforcements wouldnt be of much help.
...If anything, it would only serve to make their enemies stronger.
~Several minutester in Avalon~
A ck dragon covered in miasma roared thunderously.
He was the strongest dragon of darkness that ruled even over death. And recently, he had be a true [Emperor Dragon]. He was a dragon that had transcended S rank in all but name.
Underneath his feet were the corpses of numerous female monsters.
Having achieved his goal of giving the Abyss Howls somebat experience, he had the urge of testing out his newfound strength.
But to achieve that, well, he would have had to actually use his newfound strength.
In all truth, he could destroy the enemy sides Transfer array along with the pitiful goblins and orcs desperately defending it in mere seconds had he wanted to. However, he purposefully avoided that.
As for why, he was hoping for the enemy to send mighty reinforcements. And true to his wish, the [Pig] Demon Lord sent his trump cards: a group that consisted solely of female A rank monsters.
And yet, after all that, he only expended a miniscule amount of magic power and effort on the monsters that were supposed to be the enemys best.
After reviving the corpses and making them swear obedience, he proceeded to destroy the Transfer array since he had no more need for it.
"I might have be too strong. Even these monsters werent enough to measure my new strength. How frustrating. I might have to fight Kuina-sama or Marcho-sama for that. Ah, no, no, no. Theyre allies. What am I thinking?"
He hasnt realized it, but for the first time, something else other than his loyalty to his Demon Lord and his love for the monsters in Avalon, especially for his wife, had taken a ce in his heart.
This was the poison mixed with [Rebirth].
The Creator liked mischief, loved it even. Anything amusing took priority over anything else.
Oftentimes, that meant tormenting and toying with the Demon Lords, much to their dismay. Even when the Creator gave prizes, it was almost never a purely good thing. There was always a catch to it. [Rebirth] was no exception.
All that being said, the Creator wouldnt do something like subjecting the Demon Lords to nothing but agony. That just wasnt much fun for the Creator.
So long as they did things right, Demon Lords should be able to ovee whatever trick or trap. This way, the Demon Lords that failed and got ruined regretted their blunder even more.
And seeing the Demon Lords faces while they despaired like that was the most enjoyable thing for the Creator.
As for the challenge to be ovee in [Rebirth], it was about the bond between the monster and their Demon Lord. If the bond between them was true, the Creator wouldnt mind blessing them with even more power. But if that wasnt the case, the monster would turn into a mindless beast and wreak havoc within his home dungeon.
The time to determine which it was going to be for the ck Dragon of Death and his Demon Lord was soon approaching.
Several minutester, it was reported to Agares that his group of stolen female monsters were annihted.
It was at this time that he came to understand that destroying Avalons crystal was impossible. Having said that, defeating the monsters within his dungeon was no small feat either.
The only way to win at this point would be to kill Procell.
For that reason, he summoned all of his [Monsters of the Covenant], used [Awakening], and then began to eat all three of them. With the resolve to throw away everything, he activated a forbidden power.
If the enemy was a beast, he simply needed to be an even stronger beast.
Volume 9 14
After clearing the [Transfer Labyrinth], we were progressing at a good pace once again.
However, given that half a day had already passed since the [War] began, our dungeon conquest was simply taking too much time.
I hadnt imagined that beating a dungeon that focused on stalling would be this difficult.
This should serve as a good lesson, at the very least.
Compared to the Marcho-rescue campaign, we were facing significantly fewer enemy troops. Maybe not even a tenth of what we faced back then.
But through the skillful use of dungeon rooms that were hard to traverse as well as dungeon rooms that had many traps, we had spent more time now than back then. And that wasnt yet factoring the dungeon rooms that remained.
The [Pig] Demon Lords methods were a valuable lesson indeed.
At the moment, we were resting in one of the hard-to-traverse rooms.
My monsters had begun to show signs of fatigue, so I decided to call for a respite before proceeding to the next room. They took recovery potions to enhance their magic power and stamina recovery.
And, to make better use of this downtime, the Abyss Howls made a Transfer array and went back to Avalon together with the broken golems and the heavily wounded monsters. A few momentster, they returned with a Mithril Golem that carried as much ammunitions and potions as it could.
So long as one had monsters that could use Transfer as well as the opportunity to make Transfer arrays, going home and then back to the frontlines was possible, meaning fighting force reorganization was rtively simple.
While at it, I also made an Ocean Singer go back to Avalon to check on the status back there. That Ocean Singer then ryed to me the report that Duke gave.
"Dukes really amazing. Ever so dependable."
It seemed like Duke and Ruhe were doing well.
They had destroyed the attacking force sent their way. Duke then used his [Enhanced Resurrection] on noteworthy enemy monsters and converted them to our side.
Dukes [Enhanced Resurrection] had limited uses per day, and he had used all but two instances of it. These two instances were being reserved for when other, more noteworthy monsters show up. But in the case no more reinforcements came or no better ones at least, he did have candidates prepared that were preserved before they turned into blue particles.
But then again, if we broke the crystal too soon, those preserved monsters would vanish as well.
As such, Duke decided that if no better monsters arrive within three hours, he would just make use of the preserved monsters.
This was a chance to gain units that rivaled A rank monsters.
Curation of which ones to resurrect was critically important and Duke was wise to recognize that.
"The end is in sight, everyone! Lets go!"
Revitalized by the rest, my monsters enthusiastically replied to me.
This time as well, were going to win without losing anybody.
After always being in the front and acting as our shield, half of the Avalon-Ritters were broken, but they could simply be repairedter on. As for my monsters, many were wounded, but no deaths. They should recoverpletely given time.
Another three hours had passed since we took that break.
It was in to see that the [Pig] Demon Lords forces were acting strangely.
It was as if all chain ofmand had vanished. It was just monster after monster charging at us recklessly. It was almost as if they attacking more out of fear of something than anything else.
If they were going to attack without any sort of n, then the oue would be decided by the quality of the monsters involved, which our side definitely had the upper hand in.
"I see."
The more Avalon-Ritters were damaged, the more the three knights were seeing deployment.
And of particr note was the ck knight.
ording to Rorono, the ck knight was rather inpared to the other two.
Compared to the heavily-armored red knight that also had an extraordinarilyrge right arm and the wings-for-limbs white knight, yeah, the ck knights appearance was indeed on the tamer side of things.
The ck knight had a slender form and an elegantly designed humanoid body.
The idea was for it to have a skeletal frame that could do more varied movements than a humans could, artificial muscles that offered excellent flexibility, and multiple, powerful boosters that provided mobility and attitude control.
With those concepts in mind, I thought it was going to be rtively normal, but after seeing it fight, I could say for certain that the ck knight was another weird golem.
Its battle style involved two swords and two guns.
The Avalon-Ritters could barely wield their new heavy machineguns, but the ck knight was wielding two of them. The tworge swords it wielded were de-forming ones.
It wielded those weapons all at once. And yet, despite that, it disyed such refined movements.
Not only that, in each fight, in each passing second, its movements became better and better.
It was learning.
"Rorono, what happened to being multi-purpose and generic? In the end, its just another shy golem, isnt it?"
"Its more useful this way"
The reason it was able to wield two swords and two guns at once was simple enough: it had four arms.
If you think about it, its quite obvious. The more arms a golem had, the more useful it was.
"But master, it actually has more than four arms."
Previously hidden arms then appeared and changed the magazines of the ck knights guns.
That was in the midst of battle and without skipping a beat.
The ability to make the golems into whatever form the maker wanted it to be could be said to be one of the golems greatest strengths. There was no sense in limiting it to have only two arms, or four for that matter.
When on standby, the ck knight hid its two unused arms and sub-arms in its back.
"Mhm, this marks thepletion of the experiment to test the three knights abilities. Master, itd be kind of sad if we continue to call them as just red knight, white knight, and ck knight. Please consider giving each one a name. Unlike monsters, naming them wouldnt have any adverse effects on you or your powers."
"I understand. Ill think on it. Considering their abilities, their strengths, and that they would serve as one of Avalons trump cards, a bit of special treatment for them should be alright."
Ill have to think up of good names for them. Names that will easily give an idea of what each did best.
But now that trying them out in the battlefield was over, what I was looking forward to next was their mass production. And if only one could be mass produced, it would most likely be the ck knight. The red knight and the white knight were strong, but their uses seemed somewhat more situational.
At any rate, having finished the current dungeon room and the enemies within it, it was time to move to the next.
The next dungeon room was a lot like a party hall.
Red carpets wereid down, the whole ce was filled with first-ss furnishings, and there were even chandeliers in the ceiling. The [Pig] Demon Lords ostentatious tastes were well represented in this room.
Excluding the ce where the [Pig] Demon Lords crystal was in, this could possibly be thest area in his dungeon.
The moment I stepped foot in the room, I felt a change in the air.
The scent of blood was thick. There was also a chomp chomp sound, as though someone was chewing loudly on something juicy.
Right when an awful stench hit my nose, I felt an unpleasant power. A dark power.
...a dark power that I was familiar with. After all, I had been enthralled by it. By [Awakening].
So, this this how it feels, how awful it feels from an outsiders point of view.
As for the source of the chomping sound, it was in the center of the room.
There, where the red carpet was redder still, the [Pig] Demon Lord was busily munching on his ally.
Marcho had told me about his [Pig] ability, but we knew nothing of it after [Awakening] was activated.
It was dangerous, that much I knew though.
There might be exceptions, but typically, the greater the risks and tradeoffs, the stronger the ability was. Given that, there was no way that an ability that required the user to sacrifice and devour their allies to activate could ever be weak.
From this scene of carnage, I surmised something: the more monsters he ate, the stronger he got.
But for him to get this strong, how many has he eaten? Tens? Hundreds?
"...attack. Crush him."
Thankfully, even though we had entered the room, he was so preupied with eating that he hasnt noticed us yet.
Killing him now would save us a lot of trouble.
There was nothing cowardly or underhanded about this. We were in a [War], after all.
The first ones to make a move were the three knights.
The red knight charged at him by setting its thrusters to max; the white knight flew and then fired at him using the rifle installed in its nose cone; while the ck knight fired from a distance using its two heavy machineguns.
Per Roronos instructions, the three knights activated [Burst Drive]. [Burst Drive] could only be initiated by the golems that were installed with twin-drive golem cores. By overloading the cores to the point that the overflowing magic power produced light, the golems could temporarily gain power that rivaled even S rank monsters.
One attack from any of the knights could kill most monsters. And all three knights were simultaneously attacking.
The red knights metallic stake made a thunderous sound as it hit the [Pig] Demon Lords chest.
The white knights high caliber rifle made a direct hit on his temple.
The ck knights heavy machineguns were continuously showering him with bullets.
However...
The metallic stake broke into pieces upon contact, the high-caliber bullet wasnt even able to leave a scratch, and the barrage of the heavy machineguns bullets did nothing more than tickle.
"Guoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"
The [Pig] Demon Lord roared.
Right after, he grabbed the red knights right arm, ripped it off, and then mightily threw it. The right arm easily and instantly elerated to three times the speed of sound before colliding into the white knight, causing thetter to fall to the ground.
Meanwhile, the ck knight approached and swung the swords it held. However, the magic-power-based des that were supposed to be able to cut anything wasnt able to cut his skin.
Agares retaliated via a punch that had a big windup and was therefore obviously telegraphed. It was the kind of attack that the ck knight, which possessed a learning brain, could easily avoid. However, the punch itself was just too fast. So, even though the ck knight anticipated the punch and moved in advance, it was still caught.
The punch destroyed the ck knights armor, blew it far away until it hit a wall, and ultimately rendered it out ofmission.
In an instant, the three knights were decimated.
Impossible, I wanted to cry out.
But then, the [Pig] Demon Lord looked at me. His eyes glowed red. He was just like a starved, wild beast.
"Prceeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllll! You! I kill youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!"
He dered so and then leapt toward me.
There were hundreds of meters between us, so I thought there was no way he was going to reach me right away. But his speed and momentum proved otherwise. In an instant, he was almost before me...
"Master!? Move, Avalon-Ritters! Protect him!"
Rorono hurriedly gave instructions to the Avalon-Ritters which then formed a wall.
However, the [Pig] Demon Lord just continued to charge through as though the Avalon-Ritters defensive wall was nothing but a ss wall.
His muscles had swelled to twice its size before; his skin had be so much tougher and thicker to the point that it was almost like a suit of armor; and his face had be that of a demons.
It was like seeing a nightmare.
And now, the fist that destroyed the Avalon-Ritters wereing for me. My death was imminent...
"You wont get to kill Oto-san, not while Kuinas here!"
A girls hand caught and stopped the [Pig] Demon Lords fist.
The girl was Kuina.
The size difference between her hand and his fist was almost surreal, and yet her little hand was tightly holding his fist without a twitch.
Kuinas whole body was currently wrapped in golden mes.
Moreover, she had changed into her adult form-into her real form.
She had grown taller, certain parts became developed, and her normally charming and fluffy tail became even more so. Also, any signs of childishness vanished from her face, turning her into an absolutely stunning beauty.
She was in her younger form only to conserve energy. But then again, even though it was called that, there werent many monsters that could force her to fight seriously and assume her true form.
"Oto-san, Rorono-chan, Tiro, Kuina wants to go all out against him. The chance to fight seriously doesnte a lot, so please dont get involved until one of us is dead, ok?"
Kuina said so after sting away the [Pig] Demon Lord with a burst of her mes. The st left behind a trail of fire, which Kuina followed to get to the enemy.
If the only concern was winning, making Kuina fight along with Rorono and Tiro was the way to go, but when considering the future, it would be more beneficial to make Kuina fight alone so that she could get more experience in fighting a strong enemy by herself.
"Alright, but if you lose, prepare to be punished, you hear?"
"Kay ?! An enemy aside from Fel-chan that wont go down easily even after Kuina gets serious, Kuina will enjoy this fully!"
Kuina was always suppressing her power, so I didnt really notice, but she was so strong now that even I, her ally, got a chill down my spine.
Afterwards, Kuina stylishly beckoned the [Pig] Demon Lord toe at her with all he got.
In response, thetter roared furiously.
The question now was which between the [Pig] Demon Lordwho obtained extraordinary power via [Awakening]and Kuinawho was my strongest monsterwas the real beast.
Volume 9 15
We finally reached thest dungeon room of the [Pig] Demon Lords dungeon.
What awaited us there was the [Pig] Demon Lord himself. Through [Awakening], the ability he was born with had ascended to something else.
Originally, his [Pig] skill had two effects:
First, by raping a female monster, his [Pig] ability allowed him to forcibly gain control of the said monster. It was his desire to make use of this effect on Rorono that sparked this [War] between us.
The second effect was self-strengthening.
The simpler the ability, the stronger it was.
Marchos [Beast Transformation] was a great example of this. Its effect was simply strengthening her, but because of that, the power it gave her allowed her to surpass even S rank monsters.
Meanwhile, because the [Pig] skill had two effects, its self-strengthening effect wasnt as strong as Marchos.
It still was troublesome like most self-strengthening abilities, but overall, there was no need to be afraid of it.
The version it evolved into through [Awakening] was another matter though. That one gave him unimaginable power.
Using that, the [Pig] Demon Lord was able to crush Roronos three knights in an instant, despite them activating [Burst Drive] and thus beingparable to average S rank monsters.
...at that, my blood ran cold. If Kuina hadnt responded in time, I might have been killed.
Kuina then engaged him in a one-on-one battle. Their sh alone was strong enough to send shockwaves.
On one side, there was the [Pig] Demon Lord who looked utterly disgusting. He was quite ugly before, but this was something else. His muscles swelled to over twice its size, bulging bizarrely. His skin had thickened to the point that it looked like an outer shell that cracked at various ces. Dubious lumps from his back were spouting out smoke of some kind.
On the other side, there was Kuina who looked utterly beautiful. She wasnt in her child formher energy conservation formanymore after judging that she would have low chances of winning even if she made use of all her power. Her hair was longer, certain parts of her had developed, and her already fluffy tail became even more so. She looked so beautiful, so divine.
"Beauty and the Beast, huh."
It was the sh of an unsightly fiend and a beautiful girl.
It was a surreal sight.
"Master, sorry, they still werent... strong enough"
Her head down, Rorono began collecting the broken pieces of her three knights using the few remaining Avalon-Ritters.
"Its because the three knights I made were so weak that father almost got killed."
With a tearful voice, she subconsciously called me father.
She was thinking that had Kuina not been there to stop the [Pig] Demon Lords fist, I might have been killed. And that if only her golems were strong enough, I wouldnt have been put in such a dangerous situation in the first ce.
While she was ming herself like that, she began repairing the knights.
"...I wont even try to offer you words offort. You wont listen to them anyway. So, Ill just say this: I look forward to you making even stronger golems."
"Mhm. I promise, this wont happen ever again."
I was certain that Rorono was going to keep her word.
What a strong girl.
At any rate, there was no reason for me to just watch the fight.
First, I gave instructions to the Ocean Singers and the Abyss Howls. There werent that many enemy monsters in the other dimension to begin with, so after the Ocean Singers and Abyss Howls exterminated those enemies, they could move freely. In other words, they could disregard the [Pig] Demon Lord and go straight to the crystal room.
In the crystal room, there were some monsters deployed for defense, but considering the defense was the bare minimum, the Ocean Singers and the Abyss Howls were able to care of them swiftly and quietly via surprise attacks. So much so, the enemy monsters werent even able to call for help.
One of the Abyss Howls had the crystal in its mouth and was on standby to crush the thing with its mouth.
In case the other monsters of the [Pig] Demon Lord or the [Pig] Demon Lord himself entered the crystal room, or in case I just signaled it to, that Abyss Howl would immediately crush the crystal.
This was insurance.
It wasnt that I had no confidence in Kuina, or in Tiro and Rorono should Kuina fail, but it was my job to think of a solution for the worst-case scenarios. Kuina might resent me for interfering, but if it meant saving her, I would not hesitate to break the damn crystal.
My girls were more precious to me than anything else, and I would not lose any of them.
...in a sense, it was because I had this insurance that I approved of the duel, thinking that it was vital to Kuinas growth.
Anyway, now that the insurance was in ce, I could focus on simply watching Kuinas fight.
The two of them were still exchanging blows as they did earlier, but something was changing.
Kuina was being pushed back.
The [Pig] Demon Lord was gradually bing stronger, tougher, and faster.
It seemed like I misunderstood something: he wasnt fighting optimally yet. He was still getting used to his new powers. Each moment, he was getting better and better.
And now, Kuina couldnt keep up.
"What, Kuina cant win!?"
"Ugaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
The situation was growing dire.
In terms of attack and defense, and even speed, the transformed [Pig] Demon Lord was getting the upper hand.
Not to be deterred so easily, Kuina repeatedly pulled the trigger of her shotgun.
In thistest iteration of the ED shotgun series, the more magic power Kuina poured into the shotgun, the more its power would increase. Combining that and the durability to withstand as much of Kuinas immense magic power as possible, it was the perfect shotgun.
Also, in order to further increase the attack power, Kuina used slug shells which didnt disperse after being shot.
Kuina was also making use of two of her skills: [Precognition] and [Ultra-rapid Reaction].
Through [Precognition], she was able to peek into the immediate future, into the world toe. And through [Ultra-rapid Reaction], she could disy unbelievable reflexes and thus always take the best course of action.
Thanks to those skills, even though her speed was now inferior to the [Pig] Demon Lord, she could still reliably hit him.
All three of the slug shells she fired hit him at exactly the same spot. Kuina had judged that one shot wouldnt be enough to kill the enemy, so she fired three at once with pinpoint uracy. However...
"Kiiilllllllll youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!"
Although the bullets were able to smash through the outer shell and gouge his flesh as intended, it was not fatal. His muscles were so flexible and strong that it dampened the impact of the bullets.
And then, as though he didnt feel any pain at all, he proceeded to charge at Kuina.
At that, Kuina quickly sidestepped and dodged. The [Precognition] and [Ultra-rapid Reaction]bo was also highly effective in evading.
But to win, she knew she needed to fire again at the spot her three bullets hit before. However, before she could fire again, the [Pig] Demon Lords body regenerated.
Her shotgun could only rapid-fire three bullets at a time. Before she could fire more, he was beginning to heal.
To be short, her shooting wasnt doing anythingsting.
After she used up all her ammo, she tossed her shotgun aside.
"Ugaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
The [Pig] Demon Lord screamed and then stomped the ground hard.
When he did so, countless spears that was made out of the earth and that was also covered with ck aura arose and attacked Kuina.
Of course, Kuina used [Precognition] again to avoid this attack, but before she could fully do so, the [Pig] Demon Lord had charged at him. Kuina also tried to avoid to this, but was still grazed in the end. Although it was a graze, it was enough to throw her away with great force.
She tried to reduce the impact of hitting the ground by spinning around. Even so, the damage she received was quite serious.
...The reason Kuina, who was supposed to foresee attacksing her way, had received such damage was simple: the [Pig] Demon Lord had created a situation where evasion was futile. She was checkmated.
Kuina then stood up and raised her right hand. Her left hand dangled there, unmoving, leading me to think that it was broken.
And then, her right hand was aze with golden red mes.
She knew half-assed mes wouldnt work on the [Pig] Demon Lord as he was now, so ever since she threw away her shotgun, Kuina had been continuously amassing power all while buying for some time by enduring and avoiding attacks.
"[Golden Crimson Jewel]!"
She shouted so and fired off a me from her right hand.
Despite pouring as much power as she could into that attack, it was only the size of fist. It even looked ordinary. However, it was greatly dense. Moreover, the me she used was the primordial me which burned everything it touched. It was the concept of burning itself. No matter how tough an object was, this me would burn it.
And thanks to [Precognition], it was a guaranteed hit.
Thepressed me travelled at the speed of light and hit the [Pig] Demon Lords right arm which was covered with his dark power. As to be expected of the primordial me, it burned all of the right arm. The ck aura, the outer shell, the muscles, the bones, all of it was burned. However...
"Its not enough!?"
It wasnt that her me was ineffective. It still burned everything up to his shoulder, after all. It was just that there was simply too much of the [Pig] Demon Lord to burn.
Even though her me could burn anything, it consumed a lot of energy in exchange. So, even though Kuina gave her all to it, it was only able to burn an arm.
"AgaGAgagaGA!!"
When the [Pig] Demon Lord roared like that, the right arm that was burned away grew back.
Only this time, the new arms muscles and outer shell were bigger and thicker than before.
He grew stronger!?
And then, as though an idea popped into his head, he punched at Kuina even though she was several meters away.
After having a look of surprise in her face, she was sent flying until she hit a wall. The wind pressure of the punch alone was enough to send Kuina flying!
He then punched the air several more times. Kuina was hit and hit and hit and hit, each one making her sink deeper and deeper into the wall.
Several hitster, the [Pig] Demon Lord finally stopped and the tattered Kuina fell forward.
"Agaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Killllllllllllllll! Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllllllllllllllllll!"
The [Pig] Demon Lord screamed once more.
Any trace of reason was gone from his eyes. It seemed like the stronger his Awakening made him, the less of what little intelligence he had remained.
The price of power and some such.
...truth be told, I became a little afraid.
Up until this moment, I had always made light of the Demon Lords in the so-called anti-Procell alliance, regarding them as nothing more than second-rate Demon Lords that couldnt win against me by themselves.
In actuality though, even a single Demon Lord, albeit one that threw away everything he held dear in exchange for immeasurable power, was showing power that rivaled and perhaps even exceeded even Kuina, my trump card.
Perhaps the [Pig] Demon Lord is just special, an exception, I wanted to believe. But such optimistic hopes were irresponsible. There mighte a time we would have to deal with several of such fiends at the same time.
At any rate, the [Pig] Demon Lord seemed to have lost interest in Kuina and was now looking at me.
...is this how far their fight goes? Should I end it?
There was already a Transfer array under my feet, and the moment hees at me, an Abyss Howl would pick up Kuina and use Transfer to help us escape. Meanwhile, the Abyss Howl stationed in the crystal room would be given the order to break the crystal.
We would win that way, but that would also deny Kuina the chance to keep her promise of prevailing against the [Pig] Demon Lord. Even at this point, I wanted to believe she was going to keep her word.
"Kuina, are you giving up? If you dont get up, Im going to end this [War]."
Prepared to draw even more of the [Pig] Demon Lords attention, I shouted so.
Rorono and Tiro then moved in front of me, ready to protect me. Even if they too couldnt defeat the [Pig] Demon Lord, their efforts could stall him for several seconds at the very least.
"Proceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll! Kiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllllllllllllllllllllllllll"
Even in this state of madness he can remember my name? Well, consider me ttered.
The [Pig] Demon Lord rushed toward me.
Rorono wore her [Mechanized Warmaiden] while Tiro gathered magic power. The many Abyss Howls nearby also used [Dark Roar] and put a very slight but still valuable weakening effect on the [Pig] Demon Lord.
I ordered my monsters to prioritize buying for time. If they focused on defense, they should be able hold on for quite a while.
"Its not over yet. Kuina hasnt lost."
Kuina, with great effort, stood up and said so.
At that, I smiled a little.
"Then, fight. The next time you fall down, its over."
Her courage aside, the fact that she was wounded all over remained.
To be honest, I wanted to end the fight right away and not risk losing her.
But Kuina decided to continue. Given that, and the small part of me that wanted to see her grow despite the risks, I decided to give her onest chance.
"Kay, Kuina wont fall again"
She seemed like she was going to try something, but given her state, she might not have enough power.
...then, should I help out a little?
A Demon Lord and his [Monsters of the Covenant] were connected.
The stronger the [Monsters of the Covenant], the stronger the Demon Lord was.
The reverse was also true. So, the stronger I was, the stronger Kuina was too.
At the moment, there was only one way for me to get stronger: [Awakening].
I activated that and the dark power that I hid within me began to overflow.
My desires engulfed me. The filthy me that I kept in check has nowe to the surface.
"AhahahAHHAHAHAhahahaa... I almost got too excited again"
If it was the previous me, I would have been consumed by this dark power.
Thankfully, Marcho had taught me how to control it. The first steps were to recognize that this filthy me even those desireswas a part of me and learn to manage it.
And so, I took a deep breath.
I was the usual me. The one loved by my girls.
I was the Demon Lord who, instead of feeding off of humans despairs and griefs, decided to make a city so that I could live happily with the humans and with my monsters.
Through my connection with Kuina, the overflowing power poured into her.
When she noticed this, she smiled and then wrapped her body with her golden mes.
"Oto-san, thank you. I can definitely win now."
Kuina said so and smiled again.
I had no idea what she was nning to do, but I fully believed she would ovee her limit once again.
TL note: Her golden mes are different from her golden red mes. This is more of a reminder for myself because I somehow have this idea that "its a me, saying it has red is redundant". I dont think Ive made the error of omitting it, but just in case lol.
And while I was checking on previous chapters, Im kind of amused that in the she used her golden mes. Retcon or advance nning, I dont mind which, Im amused.
Volume 9 16
In order to turn the tables, Kuina wanted to ess a new power. But as she was now, she didnt have enough strength.
For that reason, I used [Awakening]. [Monsters of the Covenant] and their Demon Lord were connected. The stronger I be, the stronger Kuina would be too.
When Kuina noticed the strength flowing into her, she smiled.
And so, it began.
Her whole body was wrapped in her golden red mes. Aside from the color of the mes, it looked simr to when she was about to use [Transform].
Back then, she would use [Transform] to make use of her hidden potential, changing her form from being a young girl into a woman in thetter half of her teens in the process.
The mes she was exhibiting now was fiercer than ever before.
"Using the ultimate form of a Celestial Fox, Kuina can win"
This time, Kuina changed from her now-base-form of a woman in thetter half of her teens to a woman in her twenties.
The innocence from her face vanished, turning her into an even more breathtaking beauty.
As an added bonus, her broken left arm, her wounds, her bruises, and even her clothes were all healed and restored.
Moreover, her tail count increased from one to four.
This was the form recorded in the [Memory of the].
By obtaining more power, the number of tails a Wild Fox had would increase. Upon obtaining nine tails, they would ascend into a Nine-tailed Fox. If that individual gained even more power after that, they would ascend into a Celestial Fox but then have fewer tails than before, instead of gaining more.
Originally, Celestial Foxes had four tails.
But Kuina didnt even have four until now. It was highly likely that her teen-age form was still an iplete form as opposed to her adult form which had the four tails.
Whichever the case might be, Kuinastest form possessed unbelievable power. So much so that even I, her ally, couldnt help but get goosebumps.
Actually, even for her, this power was too much. Through our connection, I could tell that each passing second consumed a great deal of her strength and magic power. I estimated that she had about three minutes at most.
"Rorono-chan, Tiro, thanks but Kuinall take it from here."
"Mhm. Ill leave him to you. But if I see you performing poorly, Ill beat him myself."
"Gaugau!"
In order to protect Kuina and me, Rorono and Tiro engaged the [Pig] Demon Lord inbat. I had instructed them to prioritize defense rather than offense.
As long as they didnt receive any grave injuries from such a powerful foe, it was a great sess. Not only did the two do that, they also helped whittle down the enemy a bit more. Without a doubt, the two did great.
From now on though, the spotlight was back to the star of the show, Kuina.
Or so it should have been, but the [Pig] Demon Lord was now totally devoid of thought and just attacking wildly. Just because Rorono and Tiro were uninterested in continuing to fight, that didnt mean he would focus on Kuina instead.
And so, the [Pig] Demon Lord caught Rorono and pierced through her chest with his arm.
"Ugaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?"
But then, Rorono dissolved, turned into mes, and burned the [Pig] Demon Lord.
Infuriated, he then kicked Tiro, but Tiro turned into mes as well.
Without the enemy knowing, the two were reced by phantoms made of mes. As soon as that was over, the original Rorono and Tiro appeared beside me.
"Kuinas also able to do this kind of thing, huh."
"I was surprised too... Kuinas so enviable. She became so strong naturally, its unfair. If only I could be that strong too..."
I found Roronosints amusing andughed.
"Whats so funny, Master? I was being serious."
"I know, its just that Kuina said she was envious of you. ording to her, unlike her who is supposedly only helpful to me in battle, you are helpful both in and out of battle. She really envies your usefulness in developing the city as well as improving our war potential via your weapons."
Rorono was taken aback. It seemed like she wasnt aware of Kuinas envy of her, or at least the extent of it.
For Kuina and Rorono to be envious of each other in this way, they sure have a great rtionship, dont they?
Anyway, looking back at Kuinas fight, multiple Kuinas were now surrounding the [Pig] Demon Lord.
Just like earlier, these other Kuinas were me puppets. If one was struck in hopes of striking the real Kuina, the me puppets would turn to mes and burn the attacker.
By the way, the mes being used were the golden red mes that could burn anything.
Riled up and even more furious, the [Pig] Demon Lord was swinging his arms wildly. While he was like that, a st of mes hit him from behind by the real Kuina. Thanks to the distraction that the me puppets provided, Kuina was able to gain time and thus was able to freely increase the output of the st. All that led to therge hole in the [Pig] Demon Lords chest.
"Kuinas dominating again..."
Kuina was normally faster and stronger than her opponents, so she liked employing brute-force tactics on them. This time though, she was making great use of her special abilities and was even exploiting the enemys weak points.
Since the [Pig] Demon Lord was devoid of his reasoning and thus could only move in a straightforward fashion, Kuina was able to lead him by the nose.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
The [Pig] Demon Lord shouted once again.
Unfortunately, that wasnt all he did.
The flesh in therge hole Kuina made swelled and filled up the said hole. At the same time, his dark power swelled and swelled until it exploded.
The explosion hit and extinguished Kuinas me puppets.
If finding the real one is too hard, why not eliminate them all at once, I thought.
Still, that must have taken some serious toll on him.
Especially considering that the explosion reached even us. Thanks to the barrier Tiro and the Abyss Howls made though, I was left unhurt.
With the me puppets gone, the real Kuina was now exposed.
Even so, she was calm and even had a faint smile on her face.
She had wrapped her golden red mes around her and used it as armor. She turned the ultimate attack into the ultimate shield.
However, ever since Kuina assumed her present form, 123 seconds had already passed.
Just staying in that form continually consumed magic power, and arge amount at that. Given that her magic power was limited, it followed that the time she could remain in that form was limited as well. She did have magic power stored in the furs of her original tail, but I had no idea whether she was going to use those or not.
As though to answer me though, her mes became even more fierce. It looked like she was going to use what little magic power she had left and risk it all in her next attack. Soon enough, her mes took on the shape of arge fox.
"Win or lose, Kuinas gonna end this fight with this attack. If you can withstand this, Kuina admits defeat."
It was such a close fight, but I could tell Kuina was enjoying it.
She hadnt had such a close fight since she fought Enlil back when she had low levels and when he was still just an A rank Emerald Dragon.
And so, Kuina took a deep breath and then extended both her hands toward the enemy.
"[Golden Crimson Celestial Fox]"
Kuina poured all of her mes into therge fox and made it go forward. By all of her mes, that included the ones that surrounded her, thus leaving none left for her defense.
"UGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
In response, the [Pig] Demon Lord made his body expand even more. This time, he pushed his body way beyond its limits. So much so that his body was visibly in the process of breaking down.
At the same time, he drew more of the seemingly endless dark power of his and used it to cover his body. Like that, he collided with Kuinas golden red fox.
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Ugaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Kuina and the [Pig] Demon Lord both shouted.
Both put their all into this sh.
If Kuina couldnt defeat the [Pig] Demon Lord with her golden red fox, she wouldnt have any moves left. In other words, the [Pig] Demon Lord would win.
And then, the [Pig] Demon Lords charge stopped as the golden red fox enveloped him. The golden red mes were steadily burning the dark power protecting him.
Until finally, even his tough exterior was burned. His flesh was next.
However...
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
It was less of a scream and more of a bellow.
The [Pig] Demon Lord released all of his remaining power instantly.
It was almost like an explosion. As such, the golden red fox that engulfed him was torn apart and scattered.
With his burnt flesh exposed, he walked toward Kuina. And when he was right in front of her, he raised his arm.
"I... lost"
Kuina, exhausted but somewhat satisfied, said so as she fell to the ground.
I should order the Abyss Howl to break the crystal now, I thought.
I didnt act on it though. And the reason for that was because Kuina won.
The [Pig] Demon Lord fell to his knees, turned as white as salt, and began to crack. Also, the arm he was about to swing down fell off.
Agares had sacrificed too much. He didnt have enough strength to live, to exist.
Unlike Kuina who only exhausted her magic power, he exhausted his very being.
"I, i, i, I... thought finally became Demon Lord like [Dragon]... that person, I admire, aspire to..."
The [Pig] Demon Lord spoke those words before his entire body crumbled and then turned into particles.
So, this is the fate of a Demon Lord who used up all of his power. I better take note of it.
"[Pig] Demon Lord Agares, I will never forgive you for what you tried to do to Rorono, but Ill at least say thanks for helping Kuina grow."
I issued such parting words to him.
Right after, I went to where Kuina was. She had passed out.
Her [Transform] was undone, but instead of reverting to her base form, she involuntarily reverted to her energy-conservation mode.
From that, I decided that letting her know we won could wait until she woke up.
We could break the crystal now to instantly end the [War]. Killing the opponent Demon Lord would also end the [War], but that would make us wait several minutes first. In either case, the Creator would forcibly Transfer us afterward.
But before any of that, I wanted to undo my [Awakening]. Being in this state was tiring, after all.
Wait, no, not yet.
I then thought of something to do, and rather than use [Awakening] sometimeter and go through the whole process againwhich had certain risksI decided to try it now.
"Rorono, Id like to get your permission on something."
"What is it about, master?"
"Im wondering if its alright to use [Create] on your three knights."
Rorono gasped.
Whenever I enter [Awakening], my [Creation] evolves into [Create]. Whereas [Creation] materializes certain things recorded in the [Memory of], [Create] was the power to advance something that already exists into a future version.
Objects advanced in ordance to their base functions.
So, in the case of the three knights, they would grow stronger than they were now, but still retain the concept behind their designs.
Based on that, it seemed like there was no downside at all in doing it. And there technically wasnt, but going ahead with it might end up hurting Roronos pride. As the worlds best alchemist, it wouldnt be at all strange for her to want to make the knights stronger through her own efforts.
"...mhm, yes, please make them stronger. I would then study the improved knights and make them even stronger. So, yes, please do so."
While clenching her fists really tight, Rorono said so. Her frustration was well conveyed even though she didnt mean to.
In response, I brushed her head a bit rougher than usual.
"Understood. Ill do it now."
Rorono had done temporary repairs on the knights earlier. She had put them back together just enough for them to look as they did originally.
While they were like that, I used [Create].
A crest of dark power appeared and made the outeryer of the knights pulsate. Before long, they melted and then began to reform.
The magic power consumption of [Create] varied depending on the target.
For Roronos masterpieces, all of my magic power was spent. I had hoped I would still have enough to use [Create] on the Avalon-Ritters as well, but pushing myself beyond the limit might make what happened to the [Pig] Demon Lord happen to me.
"Their new forms are quite cool, arent they?"
Each knights weapons and peculiar traits were more emphasized than before.
Their material also changed. It was now a metal I had never seen before. More importantly, it was a magic metal that was better than even orichalcum.
"Amazing. [Create]s ability to evolve something is amazing."
Rorono said so while her eyes sparkled and while her fingers traced the outline of the knights.
It wasnt that her frustration was gone, it was just that curiosity got the better of her.
She wasnt the only one; I was quite intrigued as well. Later on, once she has calmed down, I intended to make Rorono exin to me how the knights have changed.
After that and cancelling [Awakening], it was time to end the [War].
So, I picked up the unconscious Kuina, carried her in my arms, and then snapped my fingers.
When I did that, the Abyss Howl that held the enemys crystal in its mouth closed its jaw with all might and crushed the crystal.
Right after...
<>
The familiar feeling of my whole body being afloat then enveloped me.
Looking back on this [War], we not only won, we also gained a lot of things.
Duke was able to steal war potential from the enemy via his [Enhanced Resurrection]. Ruhe, Tiro, and the Abyss Howls also gained actualbat experience, which was something they sorelycked. Additionally, we were able to gather data on the three knights and even made them evolve.
But most of all, my ace Kuina was able to surpass her limit once more.
All in all, it was really fruitful [War]. Hopefully, it would prepare us enough for future wars and battles against the anti-Procell alliance, who most likely would be crueler now.
While thinking of such things, I entrusted my body to the Transfer.
A Transfer now courtesy of the Creator could mean one of two things.
If the Creator was really pleased with a Demon Lords [War], that Demon Lord would be summoned to go to the Creators side and be given a reward. Otherwise, things like the involved dungeons would simply return to where they were before.
The Creator did say he was pleased with my [War], but I wonder which one it is this time...
Volume 9 17
We had broken the crystal and thus ended the [War].
Immediately after, I was being Transferred.
Which is it going to be? Am I being returned or am I being summoned?
I slowly opened my eyes.
I found myself sitting at a round table.
It didnt seem like I was in the [Pig] Demon Lords dungeon anymore, to say the least.
"I know this ce. Ive been here before..."
It was the same ce I was brought to after my [War] against three Demon Lords.
Suddenly, at what seemed to be the designated head of the round table, a light shined brightly and then formed the outline of a person. After a while, the light faded and revealed calm-looking old man.
The Creator had no fixed form, merely taking on the form of whatever the observer imagined the former would have. In my case, he was like this, an old man.
"[Creation] Demon Lord Procell, youve entertained me today as well. I havent seen a child of the celestial bodies as strong or as brilliant as you. Why, instead of being a child of celestial bodies, you might have ascended into being one yourself."
The Creator, who had a coarse voice and a good mood, praised me so.
Even if I asked him what he meant by me ascending into being one of the celestial bodies, he might just dodge the question. If anything, to see how I would react might just be why he mentioned it and made it sound important. He was the kind of individual to enjoy such things, after all.
So, I decided to just ignore it.
"Its an honor to have entertained you. Is it safe to assume that the reason why Ive been summoned here is to receive your kind words?"
I chose to be respectful. This was the being that made me, after all.
"Indeed, but it would be stingy of me to give you just that. So, like all children of the celestial bodies that have managed to entertain me, I would be giving you a reward. But before that, it seems you still havent used the reward Ive given you before. That saddens me, you know."
The Creator was talking about the reward he gave me when I won against three Demon Lords.
Actually, because of the advice I got from Marcho, I had been doing the best I could to avoid using the reward that he gave me. ording to her and my own experience thus far, the Creator was someone that enjoyed the suffering of us Demon Lords.
A power given by him was fascinating and powerful, but at the same time, it always came with some kind of trap.
If the reward was purely detrimental, us Demon Lords would resent him more than we have and be plunged into pure agony, which apparently was something the Creator didnt find entertaining.
So, the system in ce was one where we could potentially avoid the trap in the reward so long as we made correct judgements. If we make the tiniest of mistakes though, we would suffer for it deeply, maybe for the rest of our lives even.
And yet, even knowing that, I had used [Rebirth] two times. For I had not, I would have lost Duke and Marcho. I would rather suffer the cost for the rest of my life than lose them.
Fortunately, I havent been put in any dire situation where using the other reward I received was necessary.
"I just want to avoid overreliance on the Creators powers. Instead, I want to win using my own strength as much as possible."
It wasnt like I could say I dont want to use your so-called reward as much as possible because it has a built-inndmine, now could I?
"How admirable. Sadly, its also boring. So, how about this to give you a reason to use [Rank Up]: if you dont use it within two months, starting now, something unpleasant would happen."
The Creator said such an unreasonable thing. Worse yet, he didnt specify what he meant by something unpleasant.
[Rank Up] was the aforementioned reward I got from my [War] against three Demon Lords.
Just as its name would imply, one of the effects of this ability was to increase a monsters rank by one. That much was plenty strong enough, but it also had the effects of healing the target monsters wounds and restoring the monsters magic power.
Because of that, I had decided to reserve it for when one of my monsters was on the verge of death. In those situations, on top of being restored to perfect condition, they would also grow stronger, allowing them to challenge in better terms a previously unbeatable enemy.
It was an ability worthy of being called a trump card. However, that only made me even more vignt against the trap it had.
"Understood. Ill use it within two months."
I didnt want to use it, but the threat of not using it gave me little choice.
The next question then was on whom to use it. I was curious what would happen when used on an S rank monster, but I had no desire to use it on Kuina and the others. They were my precious daughters and I was not willing to put them at risk.
"Umu, prudent choice. Now, to congratte you this time, Im giving you a new reward."
One of the Creators fingertips shined with a light. That light then slowly floated toward me until it hit my forehead.
Like that, I received a new ability. At a nce, it seemed very useful, but...
"Thank you very much."
"Umu, Im d you liked it. Just make sure you dont sit on this one. I havent imposed a time limit on it, but if you take too long again, I will."
"Yes. Ill make use of it as soon as an opportunity presents itself."
It seemed very useful, but like all of the Creators rewards, I first had to think hard on it.
Until now, I had the luxury to not use the rewards. For that reason, I had an inclination to acquire as much of them as I could, saving them up in case of a rainy day. There were the traps to be mindful about, sure, but knowing I had insurance made me feel better.
However, now that I was forced to use them, it might be necessary to win in such a way that it didnt entertain the Creator.
"Then, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, who shines noticeably brighter than the other new children of the celestial bodies, you may now return. I expect you to shine brighter still."
My body was then ovee with the floating sensation of [Transfer].
In a sense, this meeting with the Creator has tired me out more than the [War].
I just want to return to Avalon and rest already.
The [Transfer] was over and I found myself on a in.
This was where the [Pig] Demon Lords dungeon would have been if his crystal was still intact.
Upon seeing me, my subordinates gathered around me.
"Im sorry to have kept everyone waiting. Lets go back to Avalon, shall we?"
"Wee back, Oto-san. When we get home, lets have a party!"
"Mhm. The golems will help in the preparations."
"Count me in too! After resting under the golden apple tree, Ive recovered greatly!"
My [Monsters of the Covenant]Kuina, Rorono, and Aurawere the among the firsts to rush to me.
Aura had returned to Avalon in the middle of the [War], but had been Transferred back to the ce she was in before the [War] started which was here.
"A party, huh? Not a bad idea. Yeah, sure, lets hold a victory celebration party."
"Yay! Todays gonna be feast too!"
The [War] this time had been so abrupt that the thought of such things hadnt crossed my mind.
But since we have been holding a celebration party after each win to the point that it have be a sort of tradition, not having one this time would make everyone feel rather disappointed.
"Alright, lets go grand this time. Ruhe, can you hear me? Go back ahead of us via the Abyss Howls and then cooperate with the ones in Avalon to prepare for the party."
A nearby puddle of water rippled, and in the next moment, a blue-haired, beautiful girl appeared.
She was Ruhe the Rlyeh Diva.
"Eeeeeeh, Ive already worked so hard though. And now, youre giving me even more work. Youre really a ve driver, patron."
"...I guess I should mention that skys the limit for the budget on this party. Ive also been thinking of leaving you in charge of choosing which drinks to serve."
Ruhes face then made a 180 turnaround from being displeased to being exuberant.
The bait worked.
"Yes, beloved patron, Id love return to Avalon right away! Everyone,e on, hurry. Gufufufufu, I wonder which ones I should pick. Theres the vintage wine Ive always wanted to drink, theres also that, and that... Oh, theres also those high-ss brandies and whiskeys making the rounds in Avalontely. Ive always wanted to drink them, but they were just too expensive to buy with my own money. Oh, oh, oh, good drinks need good snacks! I have to be careful in selecting each item. So much to do!"
With a suspicious-looking smile, Ruhe returned to Avalon together with some Abyss Howls.
By leaving that task to her, I could expect the finest of drinks and snacks to be served in party. There were a lot of things to be said about her, but her pte and aesthetic sense were not among them.
Moreover, Duke was there in Avalon to assist.
"Alright, time to go home. Everyone, enter the containers!!"
My monsters all began to move.
While lining up, they were pondering on the aftereffects of the [War], being excited for the party, and generally justughing with each other.
When I looked at them, a warm feeling spread within me.
"Im so d we won again. Otherwise... I would have lost them all."
Looking at the nd that used be the [Pig] Demon Lords dungeon, I felt pain in my chest.
Once a Demon Lords crystal was broken, their dungeon as well as their monsters would all vanish.
Not the city that was gradually getting closer to being my ideal city, not my important monsters whoughed with me, no, none of them would remain should ite to that.
That realization hit me once again.
And so, I renewed my vow to never lose. To that end, I needed to grow stronger.
Which reminded me that when I broke the [Pig] Demon Lords crystal, I obtained the ability to use his [Pig] skill, as well as the ability to select his [Pig] medal as the medal to produce for a given month.
Being able produce another kind of A rank medal meant a lot to me and my [Creation] medal.
His [Pig] skill was extremely useful as well. I didnt care for its function to gain control over female monsters via viting them, but its function to strengthen my body was very wee. After all, if a Demon Lord dies, it was all over.
While I was on it, I remembered that I had obtained three other Demon Lords skills from breaking the respective Demon Lords crystals.
[Steel]: Allows the user to summon and to freely shape steel. Such things as weapon generation is also possible.
The power to make steel weapons was extremely irrelevant to me. I had no need to make weapons made from inferior materials.
[Viscosity]: Freely produce mucus. Also allows the user to harden mucus.
Other than having shock absorption and magic resistant properties, this mucus could also be used in ce of antifreeze and fire-spread-inhibiting materials. Its a surprisingly useful ability that could even help in the healing of wounds. If made to harden, it can be as tough as steel and thus be used as a weapon. All that being said, I havent found the chance to make use of this ability.
[Evil]: Can impregnate females. The strength of the born monster is rtive to the mothers strength. The burden the skill ces on the mother is severe.
...how the hell am I to use this? Using this on my girls is out of the question. I didnt want to use it on other Demon Lords monsters either. And since I was aiming to coexist with human beings, I didnt want to use it on them too. This one would be locked away for the rest of my life, unused.
With the arrival of the [Pig] skill, I finally gained something I could use.
After reviewing all of the skills though, I realized once again just how absurd my [Creation] was.
"Oto-san! Were ready to leave!"
Kuina beckoned to me.
Its time to go, huh? Better not keep them waiting.
While I thought that, I once again promised to myself that I would never lose, that I would never part with my city or my monsters.
I would get so strong that this would be thest time we would have such a close fight.
Now, time to go home. Back to Avalon.
TL note:
I changed Children of the to Children of the Celestial Bodies, as might imply the world theyre living in. Auras skill will also change. Yes, I might be thinking too much into it, just like what the Creator wants.
Volume 9 18
We were on our way back to Avalon via the Darkness Dragons and their containers.
Right after drinking some golden apple potions, Kuina and Aura fell asleep.
The two of them had exhausted themselves in the [War]. They greeted me when I returned from my meeting with the Creator, but that was more likely them pushing themselves.
Kuina was currently leaning on me and breathing somewhat loudly.
She was too adorable. Thus, I decided to brush her head. When I did so, even though she was still asleep, I saw a smile form on her face.
Meanwhile, Rorono was busy inspecting the three knights that had evolved via [Create].
Her three knights were originally made of orichalcum, but right now, they were made of a mysterious magic metal that surpassed even orichalcum. Their golem cores now featured an evolved twin-drive golem core system that had increased output and stability.
Rorono was most likely busy working out those mysteries. Once she got a good handle on the theory, she could then apply them to make the evolved three knights even stronger.
"Master, what you made with your power is truly marvelous. I knew going in that the evolved three knights have be ridiculously stronger, but I dont think I can fully understand their construction and the theory behind them within one, maybe even two days... how frustrating"
Rorono sat beside me and murmured so.
"Are you giving up?"
"No. If I cant understand them with one or two days, Ill just continue studying them... Master, I have a request. Please make more of that metal. If we have more, increasing Avalons war potential is more than possible."
"I dont mind, but for the moment, Ill try asking Marcho about it first. Its her, so she might know about metals that are better than orichalcum."
"Mhm, yes, please. In this match against this unknown metal, the manufacturing techniques Ive cultivated with orichalcum and mithril are rendered ineffective. I have to start from scratch all over again.... It gets me so excited"
Geez, this girl.
But then again, it was because she was like this that she had time and time again invented truly innovative things for Avalon.
She was the core of Avalon. And she was going to continue doing her best.
After the party, I must remember to reward her for thepletion of the knights.
"It looks like well be at Avalon soon."
The Darkness Dragons began descending.
They were instructed to pass the city andnd on the [in].
When the container we were in opened, Kuinas fox ears stood at attention. Immediately after, her eyes opened.
Aura woke up as well.
"Oto-san, were back!"
"Yeah, but are you sure its alright for you to be up and about already?"
"Yeah ?! Kuinas rested enough to enjoy the party! Kuina wont copse until its over!"
It was either frightening resilience or an insane obsession for parties. I was betting on thetter. Kuina did love parties, after all.
"Is that so? Then, go party til you drop. Without a limit on the budget, Ruhe is sure to deliver a fun party that has excellent food and drinks."
For these kinds of things, Ruhe was highly reliable. For the sake of fun, that girl would leave no stone unturned. More importantly, she was great at delegating tasks.
Coupling those with ack of budget ceiling, this party was sure to be one of the best.
"Lets eat, drink, and make noise today!"
"Mhm, Im in the mood for that as well, Kuina. Today Ill drink a lot and distract myself. And tomorrow, Ill work harder than ever."
"I want to drink some alcohol too!"
"Then, lets go. We also have to help prepare."
Like that, my monsters and I exited our containers.
Ruhe was very capable, but I shouldnt let her take all the burden if I could. So, I decided to visit shops I was familiar with and purchase food and drinks.
If we somehow wound up with too many, we could always find some other way to make use of it.
I guided the monsters that came back with me to the so-called other face of Avalon, the Graveyard area. More specifically, we were headed to the factories located there.
Almost all of my other monsters were already gathered there.
The Ocean Singers were briskly transporting the food and drinks, while the Dwarf Smiths were quickly but also efficiently doing construction work.
Even though was an impromptu party, they had prepared this much already.
As though not to be outdone, the monsters that just came back spread and began to help however they could.
Well, except for Darkness Dragons who were too big to fit inside.
The Darkness Dragons had contributed a lot to the [War]. It would be rather poor of me to not reward them after such efforts, so I bought another [Forest] dungeon room using therge amount of DP I earned this time and temporarily allowed all of them to enjoy the privilege previously exclusive to the winners of the races. The said privilege was the feasting on the wild animals that spawned in the [Forest] rooms.
At around this time, the Darkness Dragons were probably ecstatically gorging on the wild animals there. They were probably more excited now than during the [War].
We also invited Marcho, who was currently busy killing time in the casino, to the party. After all, this time as well, we were helped a lot by her and her advice.
She had expressed she wanted us to act like lovers from time to time, so I thought that we should at least leisurely talkter.
At any rate, when Ruhe saw me, she rushed toward me.
"Ruhe, you really did a great job here."
"Fufun, like I said before, music, dancing, and parties are my specialties! Alright, heres the report for the money used in this party. I asked Duke to take the needed gold coins from the warehouse."
Ruhe said so as she handed me the report.
Looking at it, I was surprised at the amount spent... the amount splurged for a single party was easily what the casino would earn in three days.
This amount cant be just because of food and drinks...
When I looked around me, I noticed several unfamiliar furnishings. And because Ruhe was a connoisseur of fine things, each one was of high quality.
Thanks to those furnishings, the venue became extravagant.
"Youre unbelievable. And what do you propose well do about these furnishings once the partys over?"
"Just let them stay here and let them enhance the ce"
"...why would a bread factory thats run by Skeleton need these furnishings?"
We usually hold our parties in the bread factory. It was better than the weapons factory, but I still didnt see the sense in decorating the ce.
"Now, now, patron. Dont be so stiff. Theyll enhance our parties! Following that, we just have to make this ce our official party venue. So, you see, this is an investment, an investment!"
"Ill going to say this just in case, but if I find out that you carry these out of here and use them to decorate your home, their entire cost will be deducted from your sry."
"Ghh!? Ahahaha, patron, theres no way Ill do something like that,e on. Ohh, ah-ah, well, Im busy, busy, busy. Still have to prepare for the party. See yah!"
Ruhe said so and then ran away.
Good grief. I cant let my guard down around her.
The food I ordered on the way here should be ready by now, so I decided to go and pick it up.
For Kuina, I got her extrarge spare ribs that she absolutely loved. For Rorono, I ordered her favorite stir-fried, gigantic shrimps. And for Aura, cakes with lots of fresh cream from her favorite store. Moreover, I told the stores to make as much as they could until a specified time.
This was to reward my [Monsters of the Covenant] who contributed greatly to the war this time as well.
Of course, I was also going to reward Duke who protected Avalon. However, instead of giving his reward in the party, I nned to visit his marital hometer and give it to him there. His reward would also be for bing a true [Dragon Emperor].
Im sure hell love it.
Thanks to my monsters who worked really hard, the preparations for the party were finished sooner than expected.
The bread factory was extravagantly decorated for the party. Delicious food and alcohol were served and waiting to be consumed.
As soon as Ruhe confirmed that the preparations were done, she immediately instructed the Ocean Singers to give a musical performance. Their music filled the ce with an extravagant atmosphere more so than before.
My monsters were tired from the [War], but their desire to have fun exceeded even that. Still, letting them wait more than necessary would be cruel of me.
And so, I decided to dere the start of the party.
"Everyone, we won again! The one we beat this time wasnt a new Demon Lord, but rather one with a few years of experience under his belt. This victory officially turns us from being strong for a new Demon Lords army to simply being a strong army. And its all thanks to all of you. I am proud of each and every one of you. This party is your reward. Weve prepared even more food and drinks than usual. So, tonight, eat, drink, and make merry as much as you can!"
My monsters cheered in reply.
Once all of them had a drink in their hand, I raised mine.
"Cheers!"
"""Cheers!"""
They said cheers back in chorus as they clinked their sses together.
In no time at hall, the venue was filled withughter.
These were the moments I love, and I would do everything I could to protect them. I wouldnt let anyone take away my precious monsters.
"Oto-san, youre not eating!"
"Master,e get some food too"
Kuina and Rorono called out to me while carrying tes full of food.
Seeing them take almost nothing but their favorites filled me joy. Thank goodness I ordered those.
"Yeah, Ill get some for me too."
After saying so, I went to where the food was being served.
Ruhes excellent taste was apparent in the selection. As expected of her, she knew stores in Avalon that even I was not familiar with. There was even food I was seeing for the first time.
The centerpiece among the ones served was probably the dim sum. Thanks to the use of rice flour and the steaming of it, the dim sums outeryer became translucent. And somehow, seeing the content made it even more appetizing.
When I finally ate one, I found it to be amazing indeed. It was filled with lots of delicious crab meat. And thanks to the crab miso paste as dressing, it had a deep, rich vor.
Satisfied, I decided to go for another. This time, it was filled with beef and dressed by high-salt miso. Its saltiness greatly stimted my appetite.
Each of the dim sum was different, and that was really exciting.
"Oto-san, are they delicious?"
"Yeah, they are. Plus, each one having a different taste makes it fun to eat"
"Oh. Then, Kuina will try some too!"
Right after dering that, Kuina began eating them too. Judging by the pace she was taking one item after the other, it seemed like she also enjoyed the new taste each one offered.
While watching her like that, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
It was from beautiful woman that had white wolf ears and a white wolf tail.
It was from Marcho.
"Thats anotherplete victory, isnt it Procell? Against an enemy Demon Lord that has both an A rank medal and years ofbat experience under his belt, no less. Thats quite an unbelievable feat for a new Demon Lord, you know"
"It was closer than I wanted it to be though. Now I realize I got too full of myself after the campaign to help you. The enemy Demon Lords then had been exhausted from fighting with you, so when we arrived, they were pretty much sitting ducks for us to take out."
If we were to fight those Demon Lords head on and while they were at top condition, we would most likely be defeated. After all, just one veteran Demon Lord gave us such a close fight.
"Just you realizing that makes the fight even more rewarding. You know, I still have a lot of advice to give to you, my adorable ward. If you have enough drinks and snacks, I dont mind talking all night."
"Oh, yeah, please. ...Kuina, Rorono, sorry, Marcho and I are going to talk for a while, so why dont the two of you do something else in the meantime?"
"...understood"
"See youter, master."
Kuina and Rorono had disinterested looks on their faces for a moment, but they understood how beneficial a talk with Marcho could be to me, so they took their leave.
They were such good girls. I should make it up to themter.
Marcho and I headed to the bar by the wall.
...Im sure this bar is Ruhes idea. Ah well, its the perfect ce for a leisurely chat.
The smile on Aura, who was going to be our bartender, as she approached got me feeling a bit anxious.
"Master, Marcho-sama, may I suggest this special cocktail? Its quite good for the body."
While saying that, she presented a dubious-looking liquid that seemed to be a mixture of alcohol and a potion.
I was hesitant at first, but decided to drink it nheless. And when I did, the fatigue in my body became much less. Also, as the alcohol spread, the better I felt.
"Ah, this is great. I like this taste. Ill have another."
"Yes, right away. How about you, master?"
"Ill have another too"
Aura quickly made another batch of the cocktail.
Wait, is it my imagination or did she just increase the amount for the potion? Bah, whatever. Besides that, I wonder where she got that bartender outfit? Its frightening how good it looks on her.
"Your parties really are fantastic, you know. The food and drinks are nice too, but what fascinates me the most are your monsters and the great facial expressions they make."
"Thank you. Theyre my pride and joy. Each of thems a really good kid."
"You know, monsters take after their Demon Lord. So, if theyre good kids, that means youre one too."
From then on, Marcho gave me various advice.
She taught me new and unknown ways to fight other Demon Lords. Some were even borderline foul ys.
The rule that was protecting us new Demon Lords was about to expire, so for me, this was a most excellent gift.
"Ive learned a lot. Thank you, Marcho. Youre really amazing."
"Well, I can only do this much for you after you stubbornly keep refusing to use my power. ...Im going to say this though, if you ever wound up in a [War] with multiple Demon Lords, I will not remain silent like I did this time."
Marcho was now my monster, and her dungeon was treated as my own.
ording to her, when the [War] with the [Pig] Demon Lord began, she was given the choice whether or not to participate as part of my faction.
It was quite surprising that the choice was given to her.
"Thank you again for abstaining. Its still too early to show off my ace in the hole."
"I thought youd say something like that."
If Marcho and her monsters participated in the recent [War], it would have been a cakewalk.
I didnt want that though. Not yet, at least.
It was alreadymon knowledge that I came to Marchos aid when she was being attacked, but the only other Demon Lords who knew that I made her my monster through [Rebirth] and that her dungeon was now under my control were [Dragon] and [Time].
So, just having her, her monsters, and her dungeon show up at the start of a [War] would be enough to overturn the enemys strategies. As such, it wasnt entirely an issue of my pride, but rather also a matter of reserving my trump card for when I needed it the most.
"Procell, Im certain youll someday be the strongest Demon Lord there is. I am guiding you, after all... to that end, how about I teach you the charms of a woman? Say,ter tonight?"
"...pfft, what??? Is that some kind of joke?"
"Im serious. I want us to do things lovers do. Besides, youre a virgin, right? Thats pretty unbing for a Demon Lord, you know"
She hit a sore spot.
I was a virgin, but I wasnt some degenerate that wouldy his hands on his daughters. I tried to visit brothels several times, but just couldnt build up enough courage to go through with it.
"Alright, lets do it. But let me be clear: Im doing this not to get rid of my virginity. Im doing this simply because I love you, Marcho."
"Fufuu, I love it when you say charming things like that."
Like that, what I would do for the rest of the party was decided.
First was to drink moderately. Drinking too much might ruin it all.
And then, around twilight, when the party has ended, Marcho and I would head to the carriage near the golden apples, which acted as my second residence. There, we would be uninterrupted to do whatever we wished.
Volume 9 epilogue
I awakened in the carriage stationed near the golden apple trees.
I quickly noticed something warm in my arm. When I looked, I found Marcho.
She and I spent thest night together.
As a result, I was helplessly falling even more in love with her.
...my first time was amazing. Unbelievably so.
In a way, it might have been better to have remained a virgin. Because now that I knew of this pleasure, I might just get addicted to it.
And so, I should be careful to not get too caught up with my feelings and desires toward Marcho and turn into nothing but a lovestruck idiot. More importantly though, I should be careful around my girls.
They usually enjoyed a fair bit of skinship with me. That was fine before, but now with my newfound knowledge, I might get weird thoughts and go over the line. If that happened, I would never be able to forgive myself.
"I was shocked you were that good, Procell. I intended to take the lead all throughout, but toward the end, I just let you do what you wanted. And I tell you, it felt so good"
Marcho awoke, said so, and then kissed me.
It was an adult kiss, and it got me excited. One particr part of me got excited too.
Because Marcho and I were locked in embrace as we kissed, she noticed it and thenughed.
"Hoh, after doing it so muchst night, youre still energetic, huh. Alright, lets do it some more. A lot more."
"...sorry"
"Dont be. I dont mind being wanted by you. So, instead of feeling sorry, just be sure to love and hold me more, okay?"
"Its a promise."
Like that, Marcho and I made love again.
After that, cleansing herself in Avalons famous hot spring, and eating breakfast, Marcho returned to her dungeon.
It saddened me to let her go back, but she had duties to attend to in her dungeon and thus couldnt stay for much longer.
After seeing her off, I returned to my estate. There was a lot I wanted to do.
"Oto-san, you didnte home! Kuina was worried!!"
Kuina greeted me with a pouting a face.
It seemed like Rorono and Aura had already left for their jobs.
"Im sorry. Marcho and I... had a lot of work to do."
"Oh, it cant be helped if its work."
A strange feeling of guilt hurt my chest.
In the first ce, why did I lie and say it was work? At any rate, since Kuinas here, lets do one of the things I wanted to do and cross it off the list.
"Kuina, theres a dungeon room I want to show you. It should be very useful for your evolution."
"Really? Lets go! Kuinas so excited"
I had purchased another [Forest] room using the DP gained in the [War]. There was still some left afterward though. I thought of buying another [Maelstrom], but decided on something else.
That something else was a [Recovery] room. It was on par with [Treasure Vault] and [Transfer Labyrinth] in terms of being very expensive, but just by staying in there, ones wounds would be healed and their magic power would be replenished quickly.
For myself who uses [Creation], for Rorono who uses [Materialization], for Aura who makes the [Water of Life], and for Kuina who save up magic power in the thousands of furs in her tail, such a room was very useful.
As great as it was though, a [Recovery] room was a double-edged sword. After all, anyone who was within the room enjoyed its benefits, not just ones own army. The enemy could upy it and turn it into a forward operating base. In fact, Marcho had experienced this firsthand when she was attacked.
And then, there was also the issue of the jewel ced in the middle of the dungeon room. If that jewel was to be destroyed, the very expensive [Recovery] room would turn into nothing but a [Stone Corridor] room.
But so long as those were prevented, the [Recovery] room was highly useful.
Thus, thinking that the benefits exceeded the risks, I decided to buy one. Before that though, I had to buy an additional floor as there was nowhere left to put the room. While I was at it, I bought a [Treasure Vault] room to add to the new floor.
Between the [Forest] room, an additional floor, the [Recovery] room, and the [Treasure Vault], the DP gained in the [War] was almost gone, but I daresay it was DP well spent.
The [Treasure Vault] periodically produced magic items. I was interested in those as some of them couldnt be made through normal means. Giving those to Rorono should help her growth.
In a sense, the [Recovery] room was a reward for Kuina and the [Treasure Vault] was for Rorono.
And so, Kuina and I travelled to the [Recovery] room.
"Oto-san, this rooms amazing! Power is welling up from within Kuina! Woaaah, woah!"
While Kuina was eximing a series of woahs, the furs in her tail stood in excitement.
She was absolutely adorable.
"d you like it. Now, lets see what happens when you drink a golden apple potion while youre in here."
"Lets! *Glug, Glug*... Theyre both taking effect!"
As I predicted, their effects stacked.
I was thinking of it before, but now I was convinced that I should ce a golden apple tree here. The synergy between the golden apple trees sacred Ki, the [Recovery] room, and the potions made from the golden apples should prove to be dreamlike.
I can also remove the ceiling so that the sky could be seen. Some terraforming should be important too.
Thinking like that, I decided to consult Aurater.
But then, another thought popped in my mind. It was about building a house here and making it our new home. Our current home located in Avalon could serve as an office, instead.
Then again, that was only if the golden apple trees effect worked together with the [Recovery] rooms effect. From my experience, basking in the golden apples Ki had about the same potency as staying in the [Recovery] room, so if the effects didnt stack together, having a resting area in the city part was good enough.
"Oh, before I miss the chance again, theres something I want to ask you. There has been a sudden increase in the amount youve saved up, right? I dont think even staying near the golden apple trees and drinking their potions wouldnt exin that spike. So, how did you do it?"
Recently, Kuina was storing magic power to her tails furs at a much greater pace. That had me curious on what unknown method she was doing to achieve such results. But due to other matters, whenever we had the chance to talk, there was always something else more pressing to talk about.
"Kuinas been borrowing from the Mythological Foxes! Oto-san, do you want to see?"
"Yeah, I definitely do."
Hearing her answer got me even more interested, so I asked her to show me how.
Night fell, and the Mythological Foxes work in the city ended. The Mythological Foxes then headed toward the reception hall of the inn managed by Duke to meet up with Kuina. Once they were all gathered, Kuina handed them money which was likely from her savings.
Because of the Mythological Foxes ability to transform be more human-like, they could be assigned to work in all sorts of workces. And due to that, they were now wearing all kinds of outfits.
There was a waitress, a cook, a maid, a weapon shop clerk, a bunny girl, and more.
Fox-eared beautiful women wearing such work outfits surely was a sight for sore eyes... it almost felt like a cosy event.
"Please everyone, take care of me today as well!!"
Kuina stood at the highest ce in the reception hall and loudly dered so.
When she did, the Mythological Foxes lined up, evenly spaced from one another.
And then, it began...
"""One, two, FOX, konkonkon ?"""
Kuina and the Mythological foxes began to sing and dance.
They were swinging their arms up and down in alternate order while their hips were lowered and were swinging left to right.
"""Shake the tail, shake, shake, konkonkon ?"""
This time, they turned around, put their hands on their waists, and began shaking their hips and tails.
"""Our ears, only the tips are ck ?"""
They put their hands over their ears
"""But our tails, only the tips are white?"""
Next, they supported their tails up with one hand while pointing at it with the other
"""One, two, FOX, konkonkon ?"""
They then repeated the first line, leading me to think it was the songs chorus. Of course, they repeated the movements they did for that part too: swinging their arms up and down in alternate order while their hips were lowered and were swinging left to right.
...wait a minute, Ive seen those moves before! Its in the opening credits for Overman King Gainer!
"""Shake the tail, shake, shake, konkonkon ?"""
They again shook their hips and tails.
"""Kon?"""
To end it, all of them jumped at the same time.
It was an incredibly adorable dance. Especially so since it was done by these fox-eared girls. It was picturesque.
It wasnt just a dance though. It was also a ritual.
The Mythological Foxes magic power all went to Kuina.
It was highly likely that the purpose of their song and dance routine was to improve their synchronization to the point that their hearts were united as one.
Transferring ones magic power to another person was originally an extremely difficult process, but with both sides perfectly in sync, it should be like cakewalk.
But then, I started to act up.
Theyre so cute, I want to gobble them up. I want to pet them all. Lets make today a fox festival! ...wait, what am I thinking? Okay, calm down. Petting them without permission is uneptable. Especially since Im their Demon Lord; if I ordered them to, they will have no choice but to obey. Thats just too despicable.
Okay, okay, deep breaths, deep breaths, there, back to normal.
"Everyone, that was such an adorable song and dance number. I see now how Kuina was able to gather that much magic power in a short time."
"Yup, its all thanks to the Mythological Foxes!"
The Mythological Foxes were B rank monsters and thus didnt have a ster amount of magic power. But the story changes when there this many of them.
"Where did you learn that song and dance though?"
"We have no idea! Kuina and the Mythological Foxes just knew about it when we were born! Its been carved into our souls. We just know that if we sing that song, we can be one."
Mythological Foxes nodded to what Kuina said.
It was quite iprehensible, but I had a feeling that asking further wouldnt make it less so.
Its cute and thats all that matters.
"I see. Well, everyone, thank you for helping Kuina. Making her evolve faster is synonymous to making Avalons war potential stronger. So, I think a reward to those who are lending a hand is in order. From now on, your sries would be increased."
The moment I said that, the Mythological Foxes shouted in glee.
What should I buy, one asked. Lets eat at that expensive store weve always wanted to go to but cant, said another.
"Is it alright for you girls if Ie by againter and see you doing that song and dance?"
"Of course!"
It would be a great shame to never see such a cute performance again.
So, I decided that if I had the free time, I should go see them again.
For now, it was time to go home.
Just when I was headed to the exit though, the exits door opened with great force.
An Ocean Singer then came through.
"Procell-sama, Ive been looking everywhere for you. You have a visitor. A Demon Lord visitor."
"A Demon Lord? Is it someone I know?"
"No. I believe this is going to be the first time the two of you will meet. He says hes [Despair] Demon Lord Belial. He also says he came here to ask you to form an alliance with him."
For me, who was being targeted by the anti-Procell alliance, an ally was just what I was looking for.
I had anticipated that this would happen. After it was known that I had enough power to defeat even the [Pig] Demon Lord, it was only a matter of time before someone offered alliance.
However, there was also the possibility that this offer could be a trap. Rather, it was more likely to be a trap.
"Kuina,e with me and be my guard, okay?"
""Kay ?! Leave it to Kuina!"
I have to be cautious in the negotiations.
If I wasnt careful and if this was indeed a trap set up by the anti-Procell alliance, receiving a fatal wound was a realistic possibility.
If it smells like a trap, I should turn it down... better yet, maybe I can even use this against them.
While thinking of that, Kuina and I headed toward where the visitor was waiting.
TL Note: Kon is the sound that foxes make. Yup, thats what the fox said.
Volume 10 prologue
The day after we won against the [Pig] Demon Lord and held a party to celebrate the said victory, a visitor came by. He was [Despair] Demon Lord Belial. Supposedly, he wanted us to form an alliance.
I highly appreciated the prospect of an alliance.
Now more than ever, fighting alone had its limits. Unless I made use of alliances myself, it would be very difficult if not impossible to win against enemies that allied themselves with others. If, in the previous [War], I fought alone against three Demon Lords in the same level as the [Pig] Demon Lord, I might have lost.
I only had a small circle of friends though, so even if I always wanted an ally, it was really hard. I would even consider finding one a windfall at this point.
That said, there was no reason to go into this meeting all enthusiastic. For all I knew, this could be trap.
To shed some light to the other partys intentions, I decided to go ahead and meet them.
Apparently, the Ocean Singers guided [Despair] Demon Lord Belial to my estate and asked him to wait there.
Just to be safe, Ruhe and the Abyss Howls were standing by in the other dimension while the Avalon-Ritters were just outside of my estate.
Those were good calls. It showed we were cautiously interested. We wouldnt drive him out without talking first, but we also werent so excited that we would be careless. Plus, in case something did happen during the meeting, we could deal with it right away.
I should praise them for thister.
"But Belial, huh? Thats an impressive name."
I had no clue how powerful of a Demon Lord he was, but if I were to apply my knowledge of Solomons 72 demons on him, there was a high likelihood of him being a pretty special Demon Lord. The demon Belial was a king of hell. It was said that the demon Belial was very powerful even among the 72 demons.
But it didnt seem like my knowledge of Solomons 72 demons applied to us Demon Lords.
[Time] Demon Lord Dantalian and [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth were supposed to be dukes, while [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias was supposed to be just a marquis. And yet, they were the three strongest of Demon Lords.
Honestly though, whether it applied to us or not could go either way. The Creator was involved, so it was pretty hard to say that the two things werepletely unrted.
By the way, Procell was also the name of one of Solomons 72 demons. Procell was a demon that had the form of an angel. More urately, he was a fallen angel. Upon being summoned, he gives the summoner knowledge about geometry and the other liberal sciences. He also excelled at finding hot springs.
He had exceedingly in and peaceful abilities.
Maybe why I wanted to build a city was because I was given this name.
"Oto-san, you dont have to make that serious face. Its going to be alright, Kuinas here! Even if that Demon Lords a scary guy, Kuina wont let him hurt Oto-san!"
"Thank you. Youre right, I have nothing to worry about when youre around. I have full faith on you, Kuina."
There were hardly any monsters that could defeat Kuina. As such, I could calmly proceed with the meeting.
"But even so, I have to say he has some balls to go to another Demon Lords territory."
"Yeah. Maybe he intends to dere [War]?"
It goes without saying that meeting with another Demon Lord had grave risks.
For that reason, unacquainted Demon Lords usually used indirect forms ofmunication like using monsters as intermediaries or like sending letters. However, if an indirect form ofmunication was used to dere [War], there was a need for both parties to agree first.
That wouldnt be the case if the two parties met face to face. Just the simple act of a deration of [War] by one side was necessary, making face-to-face meetings a more reliable way to dere [War].
Thankfully, that method couldnt be abused to bully us new Demon Lords. Although we were free to [War] with anyone we wanted, a rule was in ce to protect us from the older Demon Lords. That being said, there were ways to bypass this rule. For example, if the [Despair] Demon Lord had sneaked in one of his monsters into the monsters we had killed during the [War] against the [Pig] Demon Lord or even during the attack on Marcho, he would have enough of an excuse to attack me. This was actually the tactic used by the [ck] Demon Lord to have a reason to [War] against me.
"Well, if he does that, hes not leaving Avalon alive."
If a [War] was directly dered, the one that received the deration could adjust when the [War] would take ce. It could be held immediately or until three dayster. Whenever it might be, the two sides wouldnt be transported into the white space until that dered time arrives.
In other words, if the [Despair] Demon Lord did dere [War] on me, I had a window of time to kill him and thus end the [War] before it even began.
Of course, it would be all for naught if he escaped. [Transfer] would be especially helpful for him, but since he would first need to setup a Transfer array in order to use that outside of his own dungeon, we should be fine so long as we remain vignt and not give him time to make one.
At any rate, I finally reached my estate.
Alright, lets try to find out what [Despair] Demon Lord Belials true intentions are.
I headed to the reception room.
In there was a man. He looked young enough to be in the middle of his teens. Maybe it was because of his short stature, his frizzy, light brown hair, and his rather cute features, but he somewhat looked like a puppy.
His appearance wasnt at all what one would expect upon hearing the name [Despair] Demon Lord Belial. It wasnt what I expected, at least.
At the moment, he was enjoying the ck tea as well as the cookies brought out by a Mythological Fox serving as a housekeeper.
"So delicious! This is the first Ive ever tasted a cookie this delicious!! But the cookies aside, I never thought a housekeeper monster could look this cute! Amazing, so this is a maid, huh. Procell-samas quite naughty, isnt he? Having such a beautiful, fox-eared girl attend to him and all that."
"I-is that so?"
"Regardless, Im impressed. Ive heard Avalon was amazing, but if those sweets are anything to go by, I see now that even thats an understatement. Later on, I should go to the casino. Also, go shopping, and then try the food at those stalls and restaurants, and then visit the hot spring. Its impossible to do all those in one day, isnt it? Guess, I should go stay at an inn then. Hey, hey, did you know? Did you know that because Avalons be famous even among Demon Lords, there are a good number of Demon Lords that have hidden their identities and stayed here?"
The Mythological Fox he was talking to was perplexed.
Meanwhile, a kind of female demon was silently staying close to Belials side. In contrast to her master, this demon seemed to be the calm and collected type.
Because she was an A rank monster that could level up, it was likely she was here as his guard.
...wait, wait, didnt he nonchntly say something really outrageous?
No matter how open and charming of a city Avalon was, it was quite ridiculous for there to be unfamiliar Demon Lords roaming about.
I mean, arent they afraid of me? Theyre Demon Lords, so they should know what the risks are there in going to another Demon Lords dungeon. Arent they afraid of me??? Argh, this is making my head hurt.
In case an individual that seemed like a monster shows up in the city part of my dungeon, our n to maintain public order was to use the High Elves for their wind barriers as well as their magic power perception, the Avalon-Ritters to fill the role of vanguards, and the Abyss Howls to support from the rear while also marking the intruder. Even if the intruder was a Demon Lord, we would still be able to respond immediately using this n. And yet... Argh, this is making my head hurt.
Choosing to focus on the task at hand instead, I pulled myself together. First of all, a greeting.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting. Im [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, the ruler of Avalon."
As soon as I entered the room, I greeted him like that.
When I did, Belial immediately stood up, but then coughed because the cookie he was eating got stuck in his throat.
...what is this, a skit?
Looking at him as he was, I was dumbfounded.
"N-nice to meet you. Im [Despair] Demon Lord Belial! Woah, its the real deal. Its really Procell. Gah, Im so happy. Ive always wanted to meet you. Ah, a handshake! Please, will you do me the honor of shaking hands with me!?"
He said so in almost one breath and then offered his hand.
When I grabbed it, his other hand joined in. Like that, he shook our hands in an exaggerated manner.
"Wooah, Im so happy. Im never going to wash these hands again."
"No, that would be unsanitary. Please wash them. Also, could you let go now?"
"Ah! Sorry. I was just so happy."
Belial let go and took a few steps back.
No matter how I look at it, hes just too restless.
"Please sit. Now, lets talk, shall we?"
"Yes! Lets talk about a lot. But I gotta say, I thought I wasnt even going to make it pass the front door. Thank goodness."
"I wouldnt dare. Mythological Fox, could you please bring out some tea and snacks for Kuina and me? Actually, bring out some for Belial as well."
"Right away, Procell-sama"
Surprisingly, Belial has already finished his cookies.
Toe to an unfamiliar Demon Lords ce and then wolf down the food the other party served, it seemed like Belial had quite a bold personality. That, or a reckless and foolish one.
It didnt take long before the Mythological Fox returned with the tea and some roll cakes.
The moment his second set of snacks arrived, Belial jumped on it and immediately covered his mouth with the cakes cream.
...and so did Kuina who was beside me.
I guess these two have the same mental age.
"Ahem. Well then, [Despair] Demon Lord Belial, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
I had already heard beforehand that his intention was to form an alliance, but I still asked so that I could see his facial expressions and hear his tone while he answered. Hopefully, I could figure out his true intentions from those.
"Procell-sama, I admire you and I wish to fight alongside you! Youre only in your first year, yet youre already making numerous legends. And recently, youve even crushed in a direct confrontation the [Pig] Demon Lord who could be considered the second strongest among the young Demon Lords! Im excited to see how much stronger youll be, Procell-sama! Im sure youll one day be the strongest Demon Lord. Just imagining myself to be there by side, I, I..."
He was fiercely excited.
He seemed to have realized it himself though, and then tried to calm down.
"But youre older than me, arent you? Dont you feel any reluctance in having someone younger than you take the leading role?"
"None whatsoever. Rather, because its you, Im excited for what the future might hold for me. Besides, even though Im already a little over a hundred years old, I still consider myself young like you, you know. One hundred years is nothing. So, with those in mind, I think Im a rightful candidate to be added in your faction!"
He said so with a smile devoid of malice. I didnt notice any, at least.
"I see. Let me think on it."
This was tough.
Had he said something that seemed calcting and self-serving, I might have agreed to his proposition. Instead, he cited his reason for proposing this alliance to be his admiration of me. How am I supposed to decide based on that!?
"Uhm, Procell-sama, you dont have to reach a conclusion today. I think I myself wouldnt be able to give an immediate answer on such an important matter like this. Ill be happy to visit and ask as many times as it takes. Also, if it you think itll help you trust me, I would be happy to wee you to my dungeon. Ill entertain you to the best of my abilities!"
"...Ill think about it."
"Yes, please. Meanwhile, Ill work hard on earning your trust. Also, here is a token of my admiration for you, Procell-sama."
While saying that, he slipped a coin into my hand.
Of course, I immediately checked what it was.
"Its my [Despair] medal. Well, an imitation of it. Look forward to receiving an original copy after weve formally formed an alliance. My medals an A rank medal, so even an imitation should prove useful."
"Are you sure about this?"
The problem with giving away an imitation medal wasnt so much as the DP cost to produce it, rather it was the fact that one was also giving away information about their original medals and about themselves.
And that wasnt even taking my [Creation] medal into ount. During a Synthesis using my medal, before choosing the monster, I could see data about all the possible monsters that could be born from the medals used. I not only knew what the medals did, I also knew the strengths and weaknesses of some of the monsters that could be born from it. Long story short, I had more information than normal and thus could make more potent countermeasures.
"Definitely. Let it be a sign of my good faith. Well then, I dont want to overstay my wee, so Ill take my leave now."
[Despair] Demon Lord Belial said so, smiled, and then stood up.
I was thankful that our meeting was going to end peacefully, but it was alsopletely anti-climactic.
"Thanks for your visit today."
"The pleasures all mine. I look forward to seeing you again. Oh, also, if you want to contact me, perhaps for another meeting, just send a letter to this human city and itll reach me."
"I see. Ill contact you as soon as possible. I too look forward to another meeting with you."
We then both smiled at each other.
From then on, I escorted Belial up until the exit.
Wait a minute, didnt this guy mention to the Mythological Fox earlier that he wanted to tour around Avalon? Bah, whatever. If hes serious about bing my ally, hell have plenty of chancester.
When he was no longer within eyesight, Kuina spoke.
Meanwhile, I was exhausted. That guy was like a storm.
"Oto-san, he seems like a good guy"
"Yeah. Hes not what I expected."
"...but Kuina doesnt like him. Somethings strange about him. Kuina cant quite put a finger on it, but about him gives me the chills, makes my tail furs stand on end."
She said so while tilting her head.
Something about him gives her the chills? I better make note of that.
As for what to do next, I figured I should first visit the [Beast] dungeon and ask Marcho about him.
After that, I was going to visit Dukes house. I still needed to reward him for his role in the [War] as well as properly congratte him on bing a true [Dragon Emperor]. I had a present prepared for him that I was sure he was going to like.
Volume 10 1
My first ever meeting with [Despair] Demon Lord Belial was over.
On the surface, he seemed friendly and not self-serving.
He made a good first impression, but that was far from enough to convince me from making an alliance with him. I needed more information on him to make that call.
Fortunately, I knew a way to gain such knowledge in a short amount of time: asking Marcho. She knew about most Demon Lords, so hopefully, Belial was among them.
And so, I was headed to her dungeon via Transfer.
We had already setup a Transfer array in her dungeon, so I was able to visit her without much hassle whenever I had enough time.
"Thanks, Abyss Howl"
"Gau!"
After thanking it, I put the Abyss Howl that transported me into my [Storage].
Today, I did not bring along Kuina who was my usual guard. Aura had asked for her help in regards to the transnting of a golden apple tree into the [Recovery] dungeon room. I consented to it, seeing as I had no need for a guard when I was simply going to the [Beast] dungeon, which was now essentially an annex of my own dungeon.
"My, Procell, we were together until morning and yet here you are already. Have you missed me already? What am I to do with you, you hopeless child?"
Marcho dashed toward me and then gave me a hug that buried my face in her breasts.
It was a soft, warm, and tremendously great feeling, but it was also one that was suffocating me.
"There, there, here are the breasts youve been missing. Lets go to the bedroom where I can show you all the love youve been wanting."
Upon hearing those words, my pride was wounded. As such, I forcibly separated from her.
"...Marcho, Ive asked you before, please stop treating me like a child. Wait, actually, are you treating me worse now? Are you treating me like a baby?"
"Am I? Sorry. You just trigger these maternal instincts of mine, I guess."
Marcho said so and thenughed, almost teasingly.
Like always, I was no match for her. As lovers, I wanted us to be on equal footing, but such things didnte easily, especially for her who was a step or perhaps even two steps above me.
Of course, I wanted to do something about it.
"Anyway, thats not what I came here for. I mean, Im not saying I dont want that, its just that I have a different reason foring here."
"Hmm, youre so cold. But fine, its not often you ask me for help, after all. So, lets hear it."
Marcho then sat on her throne and crossed her legs.
That action suited her well.
Looking at her like that, I realized again just how important a throne was for a Demon Lord. I had been meaning to make one for myself, but since there havent been an opportunity to make use of it, I ended up putting the task on indefinite hold.
If I were to stand alongside Marcho as equals, even if it was in appearance only, I knew I needed to acquire and master such majesty as well. And so, I promised to myself to build a throne of my own as soon as possible.
"A Demon Lord saying he wanted to form an alliance with me showed up. Ive talked to him, but I still cant decide one way or the other. So, I came here hoping you can tell me some things about him."
"Ohh. Thats good news, isnt it? Is he a guy born in the same year as you?"
"No, he mentioned he was about a hundred years old. The one Im talking about is [Despair] Demon Lord Belial. When we spoke, I had the impression that he was a cheerful and friendly person. He said the reason he wanted to form an alliance with me was because he admired me."
As though pondering about something, Marcho ced a hand on her chin.
"A celebrity is interested in another celebrity, huh."
"A celebrity?"
[Despair] Demon Lord Belial did not give off the impression of being a celebrity.
And yet, it wasnt surprising.
After all, he was the owner of an A rank medal. Ten Demon Lords were born once every ten years. There were exceptions like Marchos generation where there were 4, but normally, only one of those ten had an A rank medal. The point was that just having an A rank medal was enough to be special.
"Yeah, he was a celebrity, alright. He was amazing. Actually, he was kind of like you. In just a few years, he quickly distinguished himself. Everyone thought back then that by the time he was a hundred years old, he would have be the strongest Demon Lord. Although some dreaded the possibility more than they anticipated it."
"Yeah, others would want to crush a young Demon Lord with a strong ability while they still can. Nipping a problem in the bud, as they say. So, just like I am now, did he also face an alliance formed to oppose him?"
"Yup. No matter the era, people and Demon Lords will always do the same. In his case, a group of middle-level Demon Lords banded together and tried to take him down."
He and I shared a strange thing. He understood what I was going through. Though I wonder, what does he feel of it?
"And then what happened? Well, hes still alive, so I guess it ended well enough."
My evaluation for him had risen.
A Demon Lord that survived the situation Im currently facing surely must be strong.
"Yeah, the ones that came after him were all defeated. I cant say he won though. And then theres the matter that he didnt be the strongest Demon Lord by the time he became a hundred years old like everybody expected."
He was over a hundred now, yet the honor of being considered as the strongest Demon Lords still belonged to [Beast], [Dragon], and [Time].
"...did some kind of tragedy happen to him?"
"Well, first, lets tackle why I cant say he won. There were a lot that tried to crush him. Somehow though, those Demon Lords were killed or turned mad one after the other. As great as [Despair] was, there was just no way he could have aplished that. Hes the kind of Demon Lord who stubbornly refuses to fight dirty too, so its safe to rule that out, not that I think it would have made much of a difference. How then did he survive? I cant prove it, but Im sure thats because someone helped him out. Hence the whole I cant say he won thing. After that whole deal, he stepped back from the limelight, but began to amass war potential and fortify his defense to an obsessive degree."
Here was my guess: at some point, [Despair] realized he couldnt win against the alliance hostile to him, but he didnt want to give up and just ept death either, so he had no choice but to rely on that other Demon Lord.
Whatever was asked of him in returned, it couldnt have been insignificant.
Could discarding his ambition to be the strongest be the price asked of him? Or did he stop pursuing it because he was traumatized by the whole ordeal?
"I see, but after hearing that, I find it even stranger that he would propose an alliance to me. I mean, at the very least, his pride as a former candidate to be the strongest Demon Lord should make him hesitate, right?"
"You think so? Well, I see what you mean, but in that regard, maybe hes just seeing his former self in you. He was forced to rely on somebody else, but here you are, still fighting. Youve even won against a Demon Lord that has an A rank medal. I think its not surprising for him to admire you for that."
That was another way of looking at things.
We just found a believable motive for Belial.
"How about his [Despair] ability, do you anything about it?"
"I do. I told you, he was famous. Listen, his [Despair] ability is..."
Marcho told me about his ability.
I see now how he was able to attract at least as much attention as I am now. Having him for an ally would indeed be reassuring.
...and having him as an enemy would be a serious pain in the ass. Hes likely stronger than anyone Ive ever fought. A one on one with him might be dicey.
After that, Marcho and I talked about a lot of stuff... then, one thing led to another and we ended up in bed.
My meeting with Marcho took longer than expected, but I sure was d I was able to know more about [Despair].
My n now was to set up another meeting with him in the near future.
Next, I was going to call back Ruhe who had already left for one of our churches outside the city. She had excellent talent for reading anothers emotions to the point that she could tell when someone was lying. Hopefully, she could see through [Despair]s words again.
Before all that though, I had to go back to Avalon via Transfer.
All my work for the day was already finished, so when I arrive in Avalon, I would be heading to Dukes house and give him his reward. This was going to be the first time I would be in Dukes family home, so I was a little excited. I was also curious on how my monsters were living their lives.
At any rate, in order to properly congratte him on bing a true [Dragon Emperor], I had prepared a most splendid gift. Surely, Duke would love it.
Volume 10 2
I was able to gain information on the [Despair] Demon Lord through Marcho. Thanks to the information I got, I now knew that if he were to be an ally, I could expect great things even in times of [War].
After returning to my estate and finishing extra and unexpected paperwork, I picked up a package and went outside. Finally, I was off the clock.
My next destination was Dukes home. ording to the Mythological Fox I sent earlier to notify Duke, he happily agreed to my visit.
"Well, I hope hes going to be happy about this too."
Monsters working in the city were provided a house. There were some monsters that preferred to live outside of the citylike in the [Forest] room or in the [Graveyard]but most were residing in the city.
As for Duke, it was apparently more convenient for him to live in the center of the city. His house was well-built and also a bit biggerpared to the neighboring houses.
I knew Dwarf Smiths were repeatedly remodeling their houses in order to make it morefortable to live in, but Dukes Dwarf Smith wife might have taken that to a new level. It was a realbor of love.
"Hello, its me, Procell"
I knocked on the door and said so.
Immediately after, I heard a series of footsteps.
"Wee, Procell-sama. My husband hasnt returned yet, but pleasee in."
Dukes Dwarf Smith wife greeted me so.
When I entered their home, I smelled a gentle and pleasing scent.
I went further in until I reached the living room. The furniture was likely picked in ordance to Dukes tastes. Moreover, the furniture and the other things in the room blended well together, what with having the same soothing hue.
A few momentster, the Dwarf Smith brought out some green tea. Importation from another continent began recently and this green tea was one of the products being imported. It had be so popr that it was already one of Avalons signature products. More than a few people would even journey all the way here just to buy some.
"Hmm, what good tea."
"Im d you like it. My husband liked it so much that he bought a whole lot of them."
...wow, hearing her talk like this, they really sound like one happy family.
And then, I heard the door opening.
The Dwarf Smith hurriedly bowed to me so as to excuse herself and then headed to the door.
"Im home, Sue."
"Wee home, Duke-sama."
I was able to overhear their conversation.
"Has Procell-sama already arrived?"
"He has. Ive led him to the living room."
"I see... Anyway, heres a little present. I was able to get your favorite cream-filled pastry from the Arnold Bakery. Thankfully, they still had some left when I stopped by. Could you please put them in our refrigeration chamber? Lets have it for dessertter."
"You remembered that this was one of my favorites? Oh, Duke-sama, Im so happy!"
"Ive been so busytely that I wasnt able to spend time with the family. Let me do this much at least."
Duke really was amazing.
Not just as a subordinate, but also as a husband.
After their exchange, the couple headed to the living room.
"My lord, thank you for the visit."
"No, thank you for weing me. Also, sorry I wasnt able to talk to you during the party."
I wanted to spend some time with Duke that night, but my meeting with Marcho became too engrossing. So much so that by the time I remembered, the party was already over.
"There is nothing to apologize for, my lord. You were simply seizing the opportunity to learn from such a great Demon Lord. I think its only natural you gave that priority. At any rate, I am thrilled just to have you here."
Duke was truly a capable guy I could rely on anytime.
"Duke, not only have you defended Avalon again, youve also increased our war potential. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."
"Your words mean a lot to me, my lord."
"I also want to say congrattions on bing a true [Dragon Emperor]. Its not much and its a bitte, but heres a little gift to celebrate the event."
I gave him arge box that almost couldnt fit under my arm.
"Ohhh... what a wonderful scent. This, its alcohol, isnt it? First-rate alcohol, at that. Ever since I gained flesh and became able to eat and drink, Ive been particrly fond of alcohol. Thank you very much for this, my lord."
Duke was passionate for only a few things, but ever since he became a dragon, alcohol quickly became one of his most favorite things. With that in mind, I had prepared the finest bottles for him.
"Yeah, I asked Conanna to gather the finest bottles of twelve kinds of alcohols from all over the world. I told him to prepare only those fit to be presented to rulers of great nations, so there shouldnt be any weird ones."
Each bottle cost an unimaginable amount of money, but as long as it was for Duke, it was all worth it.
The day I ordered this package was the day Sts and I decided to undertake the Dragons Trial. Yes, from the start, I had full confidence Duke was going to seed.
Considering this package wouldnt be here right now if I ordered it after the trial, it seemed like Duke had grasped the faith I had for him without me saying anything.
"My sincerest thanks for such thoughtfulness, my lord. I pledge myself to you now more than ever."
Duke stood from where he was sitting and then knelt on the floor.
"Stand up, will you? This is supposed to be a celebration. For being such an excellent subordinate, this is the least I can give. If anything, because anyone with enough money and connection can give you the same, this is nothing. Thats actually why I came here today: to hear whatever request you might have, preferably something only I can give."
"Youve already given me so much with these bottles, I cant possibly-"
"Well, how about this? Those bottles are my congrattory gift to you for bing a true [Dragon Emperor]. But I still havent given you a proper wedding present and a gift to celebrate the birth of your child, right? As your superior, I cant let that be the case any further."
At that, Duke smiled.
"Then, Sue, please bring the boy here."
"Right away."
His wife then hurriedly and excitedly went out of the living room.
I had noticed it earlier, but it seemed like Dukes nickname for his wife.
Referring to each other just by their races name could get inconvenient, so my monsters came up with nicknames for one another and usually used that.
After a while, Dukes wife returned with a baby.
It was a humanoid monster with a dragon horn on his fair skin. His facial features resembled Dukes.
"Is that your kid? He looks so cute."
"Yes. He was born a month ago. My lord, my request is for you to name this child. Hes not regarded as one of your monsters, so naming him will be just that, naming him. There will be no other consequences on your part. Sue and I firmly believe that if you name him, he will lead a happy life."
"...wait, a month has passed and you still havent named him?"
Even if monsters didnt take long after conception to be born and thus not giving the parents a lot of time to think of a name, letting a month after birth pass by was still strange.
"Im embarrassed to admit it, but yes. To tell the truth, weve been wanting to ask you to name him, but just couldnt find the right time to ask. Weve discussed that if we still havent been able to ask you by the time he could say a few words, we would just name him ourselves."
My word, if I have anyints about this guy, its that hes too dedicated of a subordinate.
In order to think up of a good name, I wanted to take my time and perhaps sleep on it. However, an idea soon popped up in my mind. It was so good I couldnt imagine anything else as his name.
"Alright, how about Caesar? Yes, theres the Dragon Emperor Caesar, but its also the title awarded to emperors of an ancient empire. Equipped with both excellent military and political prowess, they are said to be people of great ambition. Combining that ambition with the strength he inherited from his parents, this child should be able take over the world."
If Duke would support me in this, I would like this child and the new generation of monsters not bound to me to have their own aspirations and build their own world. That was the wish attached to the name.
"It sounds great. Thank you. Caesar... I have no doubt that this child would aplish much in his life... Procell-sama, would you like to have dinner with us?"
"It would be my pleasure."
"I realize Im boasting about my wife, but Sues cooking really is superb."
After that, I stood up with Duke to go to the dining table. There, he generously poured some of the alcohol I gave him.
As to be expected of the best quality alcohol that Conanna gathered, it was heavenly. It was even better than the ones Ruhe prepared during the party. I wouldnt dare say that to her though, to avoid the risk of hurting her pride.
Dukes wifes cooking was magnificent.
The ingredients she used were rather ordinary, but the amount of effort and love she put in made the end product have a simple and yet also deep vor.
But what surprised me the most during dinner was seeing and hearing Duke smile andugh so much. It was the first I saw him like that.
I might bete in realizing this, but each and every one of monsters were leading their own lives and had their own households. That in mind, I wanted to protect Avalon more than ever.
"Geez, theyre too sweet."
I was starting to get annoyed by the couple. They werent openly making out or anything like that, but their love for one another was clearly beingmunicated.
......I wonder, should I invite Marcho again toe to Avalon? It might affect our power bnce and give off the impression Im willing to be dominated though... but then again, is that so bad?
Volume 10 3
I had sent a tentative date for our next meeting to [Despair] Demon Lord Belial.
My n, while waiting for a reply, was to focus on the management of Avalon. Preparing for [War] was important, but so too was making Avalon more abundant. After all, the more emotions and DP I got, the more things I could do, which then led to me bing stronger.
At the moment, I was finishing up with the days paperwork.
It was a rather mundane task, but it was surprisingly fun. Through the numbers, I was able to sense of how much Avalon was growing.
"Conanna already finished all the arrangements for the airports in the major cities??"
In order to bring in more people to Avalon, I had decided to build airports in other cities and leave its management to Conanna.
As charming as Avalon was, it was still located in the outskirts of a human-ruled nation. Unless one lived in a nearbyrge city or at least in a nearby area that had easy ess to the roads leading to Avalon, one would have a difficult, sometimes deadly, journey just to reach our city. Sadly, this made the fares so high that hardly any ordinary citizen from far away visited our city solely for leisure purposes.
For that reason, we prepared Hippogriffs and Rorono-made carriages to transport many people at once quickly from airport to airport. Not only was it quick and essible, the fares were also quite fair, cheap even.
In the beginning, we had to prioritize which cities would have airports, but in a surprisingly short span of time, we were already allowed to operate in all of the cities we aimed for.
"I wonder what tricks he had to use to make this happen. I mean, I knew he was useful but... for things to go this smoothly, I cant help but think he had to do something shady."
In terms of distribution methods, air travel was truly impressive.
Because of that, it was inevitable for there to be people that wanted to use our transportation system but had no intention whatsoever of stopping by in Avalon. Obviously, I wouldnt benefit from those people at all. So, for the meantime, we were only offering direct flights to and from Avalon.
But then, that meant we were also offering direct flights to ces with low traffic, thus making us extremely inefficient.
"Well, this makes sense"
I thought so as I read Conannas proposed n to solve this issue.
ording to him, areas with high traffic should still get direct flights to and from Avalon. Meanwhile, he also suggested that we should set up a route that would pass through the areas with low traffic, picking up and dropping off passengers along the way.
We only had a limited number of Hippogriffs and carriages. By offering just one flight to each group of low-traffic areas, we could free up more Hippogriffs and thus offer more flights to the high-traffic areas. Which in turn would lead to an increase of visitors to Avalon.
As simple as it was, it seemed like the right course of action, so I thought I should approve it... wait, let me just make this note
"If you make each ticket state the city where a passenger has departed from, and then only allow alighting in Avalon or the stated city in the case of a roundtrip ticket, Ill approve of your n."
To be frank, since visitor expectations from the low-traffic areas werent all that high to begin with, I thought that even if some of the passengers misused our Hippogriff service to travel to ces other than Avalon, I wouldnt especially mind.
That being said, if I allowed such a thing, it wouldnt take long before people asked for the same thing be doable in all the flights. We mustnt let any opportunity to misuse our service arise.
In a simr fashion were the petitions I was receiving daily from celebrities asking for our Hippogriffs to carry them to non-Avalon locations. If I allowed just one of them to use our service as they wanted, it would set a precedent and all the others would begin saying more troublesome things like why not in our city as well.
If I was receiving such petitions, I had no doubt that Conanna was getting them as well. Perhaps some petitions even came with bribes.
...if I find out that Conanna was betraying Avalon for these sweet offers, I wouldnt hesitate to cut ties with him and his firm. He was a useful and perhaps a hard-toe-by business partner, but I wasnt kind enough to forgive someone who would betray and disrespect me.
"Patron, Im back!"
The one that entered the room was Ruhe the Rlyeh Diva. She was a blue-haired beautiful girl who seemed like she was in thetter half of her teens.
"Wee back. How are the churches doing?"
"Theyre doing well. The number of believers has been increasing each week. I feel like the big churches you built are getting smaller and smaller. Actually, because people still cant fit after some stood, about half of the seats were removed to make more standing room."
"Thats amazing"
It seemed like the number of believers of my Holy Grail Faith had exceeded the maximum seating capacity of the churches. And yet, they were still growing in numbers by the day.
I have Ruhes songs and Auras alcohol to thank for that.
There were various reasons for visitors toe to Avalon. Some came here for the casino, some for the shopping district that was filled with noted products from all over the world.
Some of those visitors would even decide to stay and live here Avalon. Which wasnt surprising at all given that: there were a myriad of jobs here because Avalon alwayscked manpower; sries for those jobs were exceptionally high because businesses were booming; taxes were low; not to mention, basic and necessary infrastructures here were top-notch.
And then, there were the believers of my Holy Grail Faith. Many of them woulde to Avalon as an act of pilgrimage. And perhaps brought on by a strong desire to spend more time in the city blessed by their god, a high percentage of them were choosing to settle here.
"And I have you to thank for that, dont I? Without your song, the Holy Grail Faith wouldnt even be formed."
"Hohoh. Feel free to praise me more, patron. While youre at it, why not give me some of that rare alcohol you gave to Duke?"
With a smug face, Ruhe puffed herself up.
This bad side of her, if it could even be called that, wasnt something I dislike, actually.
"Dont get carried away now."
"Tch. Oh well. Anyway, heres my behind-the-scenes report."
"Thanks, Ill look at them right now."
In addition to propagating the Holy Grail Faith, Ruhes duties also involved being the head of the intelligence corps. Our intelligence corps was responsible for observing both domestic and foreign affairs from the other dimension. To be a tiny bit more specific, that meant gathering intelligence on hostile and potentially hostile Demon Lords, guarding Avalons secrets, and also monitoring humans that held noticeable political powers in Avalon.
Humans were actually quite more skillful in guarding their secrets than us Demon Lords, but given that they werent even aware of the other dimension, they were utterly defenseless against us in the end.
"Ohh, the Norman Companys been misusing the Hippogriffs to trade in the Grand Reed Kingdom and the Larudora Republic? That route and not going back to Avalon should haveted them a lot of money... very well, heres what were going to do. First, arrest all of the executives of the Norman Company, including Norman Litra himself. Then, vebor for ten years and confiscation of all their assets. That should be an appropriate enough punishment."
"Woah, scaaary"
"They know whatsing for them. Its written in the contract they signed. I could have them killed, I suppose, but I have something better in mind. Theyll be allowed to have visitors, but since theyll be thrown to the worst cells we have, their visitors would be so appalled theyll turn back. Hopefully, those visitors would spread the warning to not cross us."
In addition to being deployed in the airports, Hippogriffs, carriages, and containers were also leased out to merchants willing to sign a provided contract. One of the few conditions stated in the contract was that the Hippogriffs had toe back to Avalon after each flight.
Because thepany in question purposefully vited this rule, they needed to be served with severe punishment. Hopefully, this should also serve as a lesson to others who wished to break the few and simple rules stated in the contract.
By tomorrow, the crime and the punishment of the Norman Company would be known to the entire city.
By the way, there was no need to conduct a trial or dy the punishment.
In Avalon, I was thew. I was judge, jury, executioner, and all that.
After that page about the Norman Company, I flipped page after page of Ruhes report.
"...Ruhe, it seems impossible for my head not to hurt after reading one of your behind-the-scenes reports."
"Yeah, humans are something else, arent they? Theye up with one crooked thing after another."
"Well, I guess we have that guile to thank for our prosperity."
Ruhes report was a treasure trove of crimes and misdeeds.
One section told about the misconduct of a few human staff members of the Holy Grail Faith. ording to the report, they were abusing their power so that they could swindle and even rape believers. If such things were made public, the Holy Grail Faiths influence on foreignnds would surely fall. For that, vebor was perhaps a lenient punishment. Death it is then.
Another one concerned the Rilner Company. Because of the fact that their head office was here in Avalon, they were more believable when they sold what they said were Avalon apples but were actually just some fruit that resembled apples a bit.
After all our efforts to build up the reputation of the Avalon apples, they were besmirching it just like that. For that, vebor was quite fitting. But then again, perhaps we could also make them be the test subjects of Auras potions. Aura did mention that she had finished reading the [Book of Curaga], so her potions from now on were bound to be even more wonderful, especially with their help.
The report also detailed about the n to kidnap and sell beautiful demi-human girls. This reminded me of that incident a few days ago where some ruffians tried to attack some of the Mythological Foxes. The nerve of these lowlifes for trying toy a hand on my monsters... turning them into sex ves, especially the male ones, should be suitable.
These were but a few of the many atrocities done by the humans in just a single month.
I read each and wrote a reasonable punishment in a document that I then handed to Ruhe.
"Dealing with these kinds of things... I can see how some Demon Lords dont want to co-exist with humans."
"Patron, are you saying youre abandoning the idea of managing a city?"
"No, definitely not. I know that for every piece of trash your reports uncover, theres a great deal more that arent."
The owners of the shops and bars I frequented always made me feel at ease whenever I conversed with them.
There were many who were kind to my monsters as well.
Like the olddies who were fond of Kuina and often gave her sweets.
There were also the enthusiastic cksmiths who were so fascinated by Roronos skills that they decided to move here.
Plus, the energetic orphans that assisted Aura in harvesting the apples.
For better or for worse, humans were both good and evil. While some good people today might be capable of something despicable tomorrow, the opposite could also happen.
Humans were fickle creatures; it was as simple as that.
"Heeh, you really are kind, arent you, patron?"
"No, I am not. Anyway, here are the punishments for the ones in your report. Theyre just like what I told you earlier."
"Understood! The intelligence corps will do its duty to carry out these rulings."
Ruhe replied so in a somewhat cheery tone.
I could let her be on her way now, or...
"Im going to visit the newly established residential district after this. Would you like toe with me?"
I had a feeling that if I didnt ask her that, sooner orter, she would have asked toe herself.
"Hmm, I dont have any work left after this... so, yeah, I guess Ide with you."
Like that, the two of us exited from my estate.
The residential district I spoke of was going to be built in the [in] room, which was originally the [Mine] area.
The Dwarf Smiths and the High Elves did their best to make it a truly wonderful ce.
But the residential district wasnt the only extraordinary thing they built. That other thing was more for my monsters than for the humans though.
Once Ruhe sees it, Im sure shell be surprised.
Volume 10 4
Together with Ruhe, I travelled to Avalons new residential district.
My dungeon had two parts: the city floor and the dungeon proper. The dungeon proper was simply the term I designated to all the dungeon floors that wasnt the city floor. It was originally purely for defense, but it wasnt limited to just that anymore.
As for the city floor, until recently, it consisted of two [ins] roomthe first of which was where Avalon was first built and the second was an extension of the city where the casino was cedand a [Mine] room that was hidden from the humans.
For a while now, housing shortage has been bing a more and more serious issue in the city of Avalon. Between the residents houses, the many stores as well as the residence units for the employees of those stores, and more, not muchnd within the city was left.
And even though I added a second [ins] dungeon room, it was mostly for the casino, the hotels, and the new stores. Sadly, that also meant that the residence units for the employees of the casino as well as of those hotels and new stores had to be built in the first dungeon room, making the housing shortage even worse.
That was the state of things for now. Of course, sooner orter, there would be others wanting to move here or open their own stores. We were somehow managing with what little space was left, but if we let things be, we would eventually have to turn them down no matter how popr of a store they had or how much they wanted to live here.
That meant a decline or even a halt in Avalons poption growth, which in turn meant a possible stagnation in my DP ie. Such was a luxury I couldnt afford.
So, before thingse to that, I reced the [Mine] dungeon room in the city floor with yet another [in] dungeon room. To be built there was another residential district.
I needed to discard a dungeon roomhaving another [Mine] room made it easier, but stillas well as pour manpower and other resources to build the new residential district, but if my estimates were correct, it should house more people than the first residential district.
After a while, Ruhe and I arrived at the newest [ins] room.
Our guides for today were a Dwarf Smith and a High Elf. They bowed upon meeting up with us, so I bowed back.
From where we were standing, which was on a hill, we could see the whole of the new residential district. Upon seeing it, Ruhe was round-eyed with amazement.
"Woow. Patron, I see a whole lot of houses. But wait, what are those? Those three monstrously big houses there."
"Those three are called apartment buildings. Each building could house about two hundred people. Well, so long as those people lived by themselves or with just one other person since each offered unit is not that spacious. On the other hand, each ones really cheap. Ill put all the units up for auction, and let the merchants resell or lease it out, essentially making them do the work of finding the tenants. As for the orthodox houses you see, theyll be generally marketed toward families. Each house is going to be priced ording to the market price in Avalon. In other words, theyre going to be cheap."
If I just wanted to attract new citizens, I could simply offer each unit for dirt cheap and do nothing else but wait, but knowing the merchants, they woulde up with all kinds of schemes to sell all of the rooms in no time.
The houses and the apartment buildings werent all that was prepared though. Through the cooperative efforts of the Dwarf Smiths and the High Elves, infrastructures such as water and wastewater services were also in ce.
Thanks perhaps to the knowledge they gained from the infrastructures already present in the city, they were able to prepare all of it without ever relying on Rorono or Auras help. The Dwarf Smiths and the High Elves really did a marvelous job.
"Still, Im surprised its built already"
"Yeah, I am too. The Dwarf Smiths and the High Elves really put their backs into it. Though I guess their increased numbers helped too"
I had gained a few more DP, so I decided to create more Dwarf Smiths and High Elves to speed things up. And thanks to the expert guidance of the more veteran ones, work was finished even sooner.
Initially, I nned on selling nothing but plots ofndno houses or buildingso thatborers and carpenters living in the city could also prosper, but the pressure of the housing shortage in the city made me give up on such notions.
Notpletely though. Because we built only enough houses to satisfy the demand for the foreseeable future, there were still plots ofnd for the humans to build their houses themselves.
By the way, one of the reasons that convinced me to build the apartment buildings was to lessen the number of houses built for one or two people. If I left all of the construction work to the humans, the new residential area would be full of such small houses in no time.
"With this many houses, all the humans that want to live in Avalon would now be able to, wouldnt they?"
"Yes, for a time. I expect the already-built houses tost us for a year, while the apartment buildings shouldst for two."
"...only that long?"
"The immigration boom were experiencing is that strong. It depends on what we do with the still-vacantnd, but the residential district shouldnt be full until the five yearster."
Of course, it was a different story if we added more apartment buildings, but it was better to watch and see first before doing so.
"But this is the third dungeon room of the city proper, right? You know, where the entrance to the dungeon proper is. Is it really okay to let humans live here? Wont they be a bother when the Darkness Dragons and such have to deploy?"
As mentioned, even though Avalon was a city, it was still a dungeon.
There were a great number of things in the dungeon proper that I didnt want the humans to see. In fact, I didnt even want the humans to know the dungeon proper existed.
"That wont be an issue. Before that, have you noticed that gigantic building over there?"
"Yeah, its hard not to. What is it?"
"I think itll be quicker to just show you. Come."
I said so and then headed east.
After a while of walking, a white gigantic dome was in front of us.
It had a diameter of 300meters and could easily amodate more than 10,000 people.
"Ifnds so scarce, why build this, patron?"
"Because its necessary. This dome is connected to the dungeon proper, you see. So, without the humans ever noticing, we could gather our troops in there. When were ready to depart, the domes ceiling will open up, allowing the Darkness Dragons to fly out while carrying the containers we will be riding."
The dome should be wide enough to amodate my monsters as they were preparing to board the Darkness Dragons.
There should be no risk of humans inadvertently suffering from the Darkness Dragons [Fear] skill either.
"But what if a human somehow slips in?"
"Then, theyll be killed. Well make sure they know that this is an absolutely no-entry zone for them. Look there. For their sake, we even have signs saying Unauthorized entry is a crime punishable by death, by order of the citys lord, Procell"
"You know, patron, sometimes you say such bizarre things. Or is weird more urate?"
Weird? How rude.
At any case, I had no worries. Avalon-Ritters were constantly keeping watch within the dome. If anyone other than us or those we have authorized were to enter, the Avalon-Ritters were to go into a seek and destroy mode. Not to mention, other defense mechanisms were also in ce.
It would be unkind to kill the humans with nothing but some signs to warn them, which they might not even notice, so I nned on properly notifying the public that the dome was strictly off-limits.
It was impossible for them to get inside identally due to the very specific method required for entry, so anyone still curious after our warnings would have no one else to me for their deaths but themselves.
"Yup, they really did a great job."
Looking at the white dome, I couldnt help but think how marvelous it was.
Its so like a secret base! The gimmick where the ceilings open is such a nice touch too.
Ruhe still in tow, I entered the dome.
At the center was a field covered with lovely sod. And surrounding the field were rows of seats.
Hey, maybe we can hold some kind of sporting event here.
It wasnt in the ns, but I just decided to go ahead with it.
"Woah, the entrance to the dungeon proper really is here. Wait, is it me or is the entrance kind of bigger now?"
"Yeah, it is bigger now. I remade it so that the Darkness Dragons would have an easier time passing through. Not only that, Ive also modified the very first room of the dungeon proper so that its wide and tall enough to let the Darkness Dragons pass while theyre flying at a low altitude. Of course, topensate for the added space, I also added more Mithril Golems to guard the room."
Until recently, the dragons found it a bit hard to go from the dungeon proper to the city floor by themselves.
Once they were in the city floor, they typically stayed in what used to be the [Mine] area and only go back if absolutely necessary. In fact, nowadays, if they did have to go from one side to the other, it would be via Transfer or by being carried in my [Storage].
Hopefully, with these renovations, they could say farewell to those hardships forever and be freely able to go back and forth.
"Are they opening the ceiling now?"
Any of my monsters could open and close the domes ceiling by pouring a small amount of their magic power into it. By the sound I heard and the light beginning to pour in, it seemed like some of my monsters were operating the ceiling while we were still inside the dome.
After a while, I saw that it was a lone Darkness Dragon. It looked proud but also in quite of a hurry. As soon as the ceiling opened wide enough, it dove down right away, straight to the entrance to the dungeon proper.
I was able to make sense of the situation thanks to the medal attached to it. The medal was undeniable proof that it won a race, most likely just now. As such, it must be excited to start on the all-you-can-eat feast waiting for it in one of the [Forest] rooms.
A few momentster, a group of Darkness Dragons who were to participate in the next race came flying out from the dungeon proper. Each one was visibly motivated to win that feast in the [Forest]. Yup, the next race is going to be exciting too.
After thest of the dragons came out, the ceiling closed.
"Well, its definitely convenient, but for a shy gimmick, its, how do I put it, quite in."
"Well only regret itter if we dont make these kinds of things simple. Now then, I think that should be enough for our inspection. From tomorrow onwards, were gonna be selling the apartments, the houses, and the plots ofnd. If all goes well enough, were about to see another spike in Avalons poption."
After todays inspection, I had no doubt that the merchants would be smitten by this new residential area. They would smell the scent of profit right away and pounce on it.
"You know, Ive been thinking, since we have this dome and all, how about next time, all of us do some drills. We could see how fast it would take us to gather within this dome and sortie outside."
"Patron, I know you have many valid reasons, but I think youre saying this just because it tickles your fancy. Why do I always have to be the reasonable one?"
"Im not going to deny I think its cool, but its productive, right?"
After parting with our guides, I and the somewhat exhausted Ruhe began walking toward the popted part of the city. It has been a while, but I was thinking of using [Divine Revtion] to tell the whole city about the new residential district.
Before we realized it, we were back.
Ruhe was so tired, she murmured something about wanting to sleep as soon as possible.
At that, I decided to tease her a bit.
"Oh, youre turning in already? We finished the inspection much earlier than expected, so I thought we could go to that one restaurant that offered this rare alcohol made of rice. Even though its made of rice, it smells all fruity, you know. And, boy, does it pair well with seafood. But if youre too tired, I guess theres nothing we can do about that. Such a shame."
"Eh!? Did you just say alcohol made from rice?! Its decided then, were gonna go drink that! Tired? No, no, you misheard me. Is this the face of someone tired? Definitely not. So,e on, patron,e on! Lets go to that restaurant and drink that alcohol!!"
Ruhe linked arms with me and urged me to hurry. Not a trace of tiredness could be found on her excited face.
Seriously, shes such a materialistic girl.
But then again, it was thanks to her that Avalons secrets remained safe. There was nothing wrong with pampering her from time to time.
Thinking like that, the two us headed to that restaurant. Tonight, were going to drink as much as we want!
Volume 10 5
A reply to the letter I sent to the [Despair] Demon Lord hade. He had agreed to a meeting that was to be held three dayster here in Avalon. Once again, he was the oneing to visit.
Just from listening to peoples voices, Ruhe could urately read their feelings to the point she could tell when someone was lying. Given that, I decided to make her attend the meeting as well. That meant that we had to make adjustments to her church tour schedule though.
At any rate, it was currently breakfast time.
My [Monsters of the Covenant] have assembled around our dining table. Meanwhile, Tiro was already munching on the food served in her bowl.
"Everyone, breakfast is ready! I was able to get some fresh eggs so I thought today we could have some bacon and eggs."
Aura announced so and then served the food she made on the table.
There were fresh sd, the aforementioned bacon and eggs, and some consomm soup. The menu could be called simple, but it was utterly appetizing.
"Yay?Kuina loves this"
"...although bacon and eggs always present the dilemma of whether to pair them with bread or rice."
The staple food in Avalon was generally bread, but once rice began being imported, there were more and more people preferring rice instead.
In our household, we ate ording to our mood at the time.
"Aura-chan, Kuina wants rice!"
"And Ill have bread"
Kuina and Rorono requested so.
"How about you, master?"
"I think Ill have rice today"
"Ill get some, then"
As soon as Aura said so, she skillfully served rice in bowls for me and Kuina, as well as toasted bread for herself and Rorono.
When the table was set, we all took a seat.
"Well then, lets dig in."
"Yay ?"
"Mhm, I was getting hungry"
"Theres more, so eat a lot, okay?"
Our fun meal thus began.
Kuina immediately grabbed an egg and some bacon, and put it in her bowl full of rice. She then broke the eggs yolk and spread it to the bacon and the egg whites. After dipping some of it in sauce, she thus begun eating it with the rice. It might be seen as inelegant, but her bowl sure seemed delicious.
Meanwhile, Rorono spread butter on her bread; added bacon, eggs, and some sd; and then folded the bread in half. Her sandwich looked delicious as well.
As for Aura, she carefully ced an eggs yolk on her sliced bread.
Much like how different their personalities were, each of them had their own way of eating their breakfast. I found that quite interesting.
After that, Aura brought out peach slices as dessert.
"Oh, right, Oto-san, we visited Dukes house the other day."
"Oh, you did too?"
"Aura and I as well. Duke invited us."
Apparently, when I talked about the meal Dukes Dwarf Smith wife prepared for me, Kuina wanted to try it too. Duke, perhaps after much consideration, gave in and invited the girls toe over.
My boasting of their home might have done more inconvenience to Dukes family than good.
"And then, we saw the baby. He was so cute!"
"Agreed. Hes so little and squishy, he just makes me want to protect him."
"Yeah, my maternal instincts kicked in too"
When the conversation turned to Caesar, Dukes child, Kuina and Rorono became excited.
Caesar... not only was it the title given to the great emperors of an ancient civilization, but also the name of a previous [Dragon Emperor].
Dukes child might be small, weak, and could only utter unintelligible sounds at the moment, but if he was anything like Duke, he might someday also be a [Dragon Emperor].
"Yeah, Caesar sure is cute. In the future though, I think hes going to be a fine, handsome man."
His features resembled Dukes, so him bing a handsome man in the future was pretty much guaranteed.
"Oto-san, I have a request!"
Kuina said so while looking at me with such sparkling eyes.
I have a bad feeling about this...
"Kuina wants a baby too! Dwarf Smiths baby is giving her so much joy and Kuina wants that too!"
"Kuina, no fair, stealing a march on me again. I want a baby too... Actually, master, I still have an unimed reward. I want to use it to get a baby."
I found myself in cold sweat.
Both of them seemed serious.
Kuina might not fully know what having a baby meant, but there was no doubt Rorono at least knew how to make them.
What if I pretended like I cant make babies?
Allow me to go off on a bit of a tangent here. By destroying another Demon Lords crystal, one could obtain that Demon Lords unique skill. Sadly, one could only keep up to three unique skills beside their own.
Below were the three I decided to keep. All the others were discarded.
[Viscosity]: grants the ability to produce a viscous liquid that held various properties. Its possible to harden the viscous liquid.
[Evil]: grants the ability to conceive a child with a female of any race. The childs strength would be in ordance to the mothers. However, from conception to childbirth, a terrible burden is ced on the mothers body.
[Pig]: grants the ability to continuously reinforce the users physical strength and endurance. Its possible to increase the output further, but only for an instant. Furthermore, this unique skill allows the user to gain the right of control of a female monster through intercourse with said monster.
A Demon Lord, by default, couldnt produce children. We could wholeheartedly treat the monsters we produced via medal synthesis as children, but if we wanted a more orthodox definition of an offspring, we had to rely on some other way.
Hence, why I decided to keep [Evil] instead of another unique skill.
Sure, it ced an incredible burden on the mother, but such a downside was something that could be worked around. For example, by giving proper checkups to ensure the mother was in perfect condition during pregnancy. And duringbor, we could prepare potent potions as well as monsters capable of using healing magic.
...all that said, I had no intention of using this skill or anything like it on my precious daughters.
"Sorry, girls. Im a Demon Lord, I cant grant that. I can make monsters with medals, but I cant make babies."
"A. Kuina really wanted a baby."
"If its not possible, its not possible. I wont push for that as the reward anymore. Such a shame."
Kuina and Rorono both hung their heads.
Meanwhile, I felt Auras gaze on me. A smile could always be found in her face, but her smile this time was one full of meaning.
"Come on now, its almost time for work. Kuina-chan, Rorono-chan, can you help clean up?"
"Leave it to Kuina!"
"Mhm, Ill give it my all"
Kuina and Rorono said so and then proceeded to wash the dishes.
Making the food might have been Auras job, but cleaning afterwards was left to Kuina and Rorono.
While the two were away, Aura came closer to me and whispered in my ear.
"Master, you have quite the habit of fibbing, dont you? You can make them, right? ...Im looking forward to it."
Upon hearing that, I choked up.
From time to time, Aura liked showing off her frighteningly sharp perception.
"I have no intention of doing that kind of thing to any of my daughters."
"Fufufu, but unlike Kuina-chan and Rorono-chan who have called you Oto-san and Father since the beginning, Ive always called you master. And thats the kind of rtionship I think we have, not the one youre saying."
Aura smiled teasingly and then suddenly announced she was off to work.
I had asked her to rent a golden apple tree to the Recovery dungeon room. ording to her, the task should be done two dayster, give or take.
My girls certainly have grown. They have be stronger not only inbat, but also emotionally.
Not to mention, they have be quite adept at teasing me.
"Well then, Im off to work as well!"
After dering so to the two who were still washing the dishes, I went out.
My destination was the casino. Over there, I intended to have a very important conversation with someone.
I had no idea when or if the casinos poprity would stop.
But at the moment, it was so popr that even though we were regting how many guests at a time we allowed inside, we still were being overwhelmed.
We tried increasing the number of dealers, which meant an increase in the number of guests we could entertain. Additionally, I had approved the construction of various types of businesses around the casino. Hopefully, this would reduce the dissatisfaction of those waiting to be amodated by the casino.
While walking, I saw a paper fly by. I picked it up and looked at it.
"Isnt this Ruhes newspaper?"
It started out as a joke, but Ruhes rather urate analysis on the flying dragons races made her newspaper print a thousand copies each issue. All of the sales went to her, but somehow, she still was as broke as ever.
Well, considering her ie all went to gambling and alcohol, meaning it all went back to Avalons treasury, I really couldntin. Still, I kind of felt sorry for her.
While thinking of things like that, I walked inside of the casino.
There, a bunny-eared Mythological Fox guided me to a waiting room. The presence of both bunny ears and fox ears on her was baffling, to say the least.
I had tasked Conanna with the recruitment of the casinos employees. He had agreed, but also asked me to dispatch a couple of Mythological Foxes. As I was told, the mature charm of a fox-eared beautiful girl wearing bunny ears on her head was going to help increase the number of the casinos guests.
At any rate, there was already someone in the room where the Mythological Fox guided me to.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting."
"No, not all, I just got here myself."
The person waiting for me was [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove. He was a Demon Lord whose appearance was simr to that of a bipedal frog.
The frog-shaped cakes he made were so popr in Avalon that it could now be called one of Avalons specialty products. Both his main store and his casino area branch store were thriving.
"W-what did you want to talk about? P-procell, it cant be about revoking my stores license to operate, right?"
Anxious and shaking, Ronove asked me so.
My invitation was rather out of the blue, so I really couldnt me him for imagining the worst.
"Nothing of the sort. I have no reason or desire to drive you out of Avalon. Your frog-shaped cakes have encouraged a lot of humans toe to my city, and for that, I am very grateful."
"T-thank goodness. I have no idea where to go were you to drive me out of Avalon."
Ronoves frog-shaped cakes were indeed delicious, but that wasnt enough to make humans ignore his appearance. It was only because Avalon was a ce where humans and demi-humans could live side by side that he was able to find sess.
"...I invited you here today to talk about your ns for when your crystal has returned."
In a past [War], one against me at that, Ronoves crystal was broken.
Originally, once a crystal was broken, it was gone forever along with our abilities as Demon Lords, our dungeons, and our monsters.
However, us and only us new Demon Lords were an exception in that we were going to receive a recement crystal once a year has passed since our birth. That day wasnt far from now, so even Ronove must be contemting what to do from that point onwards.
"I want to keep on baking and selling my frog-shaped cakes... even if I have to break my new crystal myself, I dont want to live as a Demon Lord anymore"
Without a crystal, one couldnt use their abilities and such, but as bad of a situation that was, it didnt necessarily mean death.
So long as he could feed on the happy emotions of those that ate his frog-shaped cakes, he could somehow survive.
"Are you sure? Im not stopping you, but what if I lose to somebody and Avalon vanishes? Could you confidently say that you could still survive then?"
Ronoves eyes became wide open.
His was the face of someone who havent considered such things.
Avalon was my dungeon. If my crystal was somehow broken, Avalon would vanish as well.
"That... that is troubling for sure. Im so happy here, I dont want Avalon to disappear."
It would seem that he had grown attached to Avalon more than I expected.
He must have grown attached to the people he hired and vice versa.
"Which brings us to my proposal. I would like you to help me make sure that Avalon doesnt vanish. You could build your dungeon somewhere near here, run it like an orthodox dungeon, and build up war potential."
I had run it past [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian and he gave his approval.
"T-that life again? But even if I agree, starting from scratch would be tough. It might even be impossible"
"Dont worry, Ill support you until youre back on track. Im not offering just my advice, DP and medals as well."
"Youre willing to go that far for me? Why? What do you get out of this?"
Ronove asked so after suppressing a smile.
It would seem that he has learned to doubt people. Compared to when he got tricked by the [Steel] Demon Lord, this was incredible growth.
"Like I said, I want you to help me protect Avalon. If you agree to enter my faction and a [War] happens, we will fight together."
"But Im weak. And because Im going to start from scratch, itll take a long time for me just to be as strong as I was."
"Thats why Ill support you. Let me list a few of what I have in mind. First, Ill allow you to continue your business here in Avalon. Then, like Ive said earlier, Ill give you medals. That includes my own [Creation] medal. Ill also throw in about a hundred imitations of A rank medals. Ill also lend you the needed DP to start the construction of your dungeon. Im thinking 50,000 should be enough for now. I could also lend you some Avalon-Ritters to act as guards, if you want them."
It was an exceedingly favorable offer.
50,000 DP was enough to build apetent dungeon.
And with my [Creation] medal, he could make an extremely powerful monster. Moreover, that monster would unlock another high-rank monster that could be mass-produced via a [Maelstrom].
Imitation medals had a lower power value than the original medal, but an imitation of an A rank medal was still as powerful as a B rank medal. If he had a hundred of them, he could produce about 30 B rank monsters and 20 C rank monsters, give or take a few depending on his luck.
Last but certainly not least, the Avalon-Ritters could be deployed in the deepest parts of his dungeon while the rest of his war potential was catching up. There werent many that could get past them.
After I exined the details of my [Creation] medal to Ronove, he was left speechless.
Just giving this exnation carried significant risks for me, but if I truly wanted to gain an ally, I had to risk at least this much.
"...your offer, its, its too good to be true"
"Thats how much I want you as an ally. Once you make an S rank monster with my [Creation] medal and then make [Maelstroms] for the corresponding B rank monster, average Demon Lords will soon be no match to you. I for one am looking forward to you being like that. At least think about my offer. Well, Ive said what I came to say. Ill be going ahead of you now... I hope youve made up your mind within three days."
I purposely didnt address the scenario where he has refused my offer.
I could have said something like immediately expelling him out of Avalon and he would have little choice but to ally with me. However, threatening him like that would destroy in an instant whatever bond we have already formed.
The reason I didnt mind offering him as much as I did was that I knew he wasnt the kind of Demon Lord who would betray another on a simple whim. But if I threatened him, he would for sure betray me someday.
There was just no point in forcing him. If he was going to agree, it must be of his own free will.
As I stood up to leave, Ronoves face was serious as though he was deep in thought.
"Procell, please wait. Im ready to give a response right now. Your offer, I ept it."
"Are you sure you dont want more time to think on it?"
"As far as I see it, relying on you is my best bet. I mean, once I get my crystal back, its a given that other Demon Lords would immediately target me. Between that and being indebted to you, I will definitely choose thetter. Besides, I want to continue selling my frog-shaped cakes in Avalon! Oh, the joy of being told my cakes are delicious!"
Ronove had such pure eyes when he eximed so.
Unlike Ruhe, I didnt have any special abilities that allowed me to tell if a person was lying, but I had no doubt his words were genuine.
And so, the corners of my mouth ckened.
"Ronove, Ill be in your care."
"And I in yours."
We said so and then shook hands.
Like that, Ronove was officially part of my faction.
Having an ally in addition to Sts was reassuring indeed.
Suddenly though, Ronove became fidgety.
"Ahm, well, actually, I have a request."
"What is it?"
"...in addition to your [Creation] medal, would you mind giving me an original A rank medal? My [Viscosity] is only a B rank medal, so a Synthesis of that, your [Creation], and an imitation medal of any kind could produce nothing but an A rank monster. Whats more, the ones I could mass-produce with [Maelstroms] would be only up to the C rank monster of that lineage."
What a high-maintenance guy. On the other hand, now I know hes not an idiot.
"Alright, but Ill make you pay it back with hard work, you hear?"
"Yes, Ill repay you with interest!"
It was a steep investment, but if someone between the two of us was to receive an S rank monster, it was objectively better for our whole faction if he was the one to receive it.
The next question was which A rank medal would blend well with my [Creation] and his [Viscosity]. His medal could produce slime-type monsters which held tremendous potential, especially at the higher monster ranks. In my opinion, thats the kind of monster he should make.
I was actually a little bit curious of what sort of being an S rank slime would be. So much so that I was going to make Ronove show it to me as soon as it was born.
While thinking of such things, I shook Ronoves hand again.
Volume 10 6
Atst, the day to meet [Despair] Demon Lord Belial was here.
I waited for his arrival in my estate. Together with me in the room were Kuina and Ruhe.
"Patron, Im to detect any lies, right?"
"Yeah. Let me know whenever he tells a lie, no matter how trivial of a lie it is."
"Ok. Ill make sure to pay attention not just to the emotions in his voice, but also to the beating of his heart and to all the other sounds his body makes. No lie shall escape me!"
Ruhe, being an Rlyeh Diva, was nearly wless when it came to matters about sound.
We had tried it several times, and each try was a sess. Putting aside Kuina and Rorono who were both rather clumsy at lying, Ruhe was able to see through the lies of monsters who excelled at concealing their emotions, like Aura and Duke.
"...You know, Ive always wondered: if you have this ability, instead of the flying dragon races, why not y apetitive kind of game like cards?"
In addition to the roulette games and the races, our casino was also offering games simr to ckjack and poker.
Given her ability to see through others lies 100% of the time, Ruhe should be able to win quite easily.
"Hmm, yeah, but then, thatll be no fun. I want excitement, I want thrills! And games where no one can tell whos going to win really gets my blood flowing. When I win, I get this most wonderful high. And even when I lose and get all depressed, I still crave for it. Winning a game with absolute certainty is no fun at all! And you cant change my mind about that!"
"You really are a hardcore gambler, arent you?"
Upon hearing what she said, I realized she wasnt ying for the money, but rather for the excitement that gambling brings. If one wasnt willing to risk it all, they wouldnt be able to gain it all, or so they say.
Besides, her win rate in the races wasnt so bad. It was decent, even. The only reason she was broke, aside from her extravagant luxuries, was that she tended to go all in with her bets, meaning she was bound lose all of her earnings at some point or another.
"Fufun, so you finally understand the greatness of Ruhe-chan, the genius that descended into darkness!"
"Your tangent aside, Ive always known you were great."
I said so and then turned my head away from the smug-faced Ruhe.
Well, as long as she wasnt bothering anyone in Avalon, she could do whatever she wanted. She was a monster and thus couldnt starve to death, meaning she could forever be penniless and still be fine.
While we were talking like that, a knock came from the door. Upon receiving my permission, a maid Mythological Fox entered.
"Procell-sama, [Despair] Demon Lord Belial has arrived. ...however, a powerful monster is escorting him. Should we let him in like that?"
"Kuinas here, so theres no problem. Itll be weirder if he didnt have someone to apany him."
"Yeah ? Leave it to Kuina! Anyone who dares toy a hand on Oto-san would be burned to ashes!"
Thest time Belial was here, he was alone.
Rather than for intimidation, I wagered that his escort was more to show the power he could offer.
Either way, with Kuina and Ruhe nearby, we could handle it.
"Understood."
The Mythological Fox bowed her head and then exited the room.
I wonder what kind of monsters he uses?
The Mythological Fox had guided Belial and his escort monster to the room I was in.
"Procell-sama, its been a while! Ive been so, so, so excited for today, the day we meet again! Though I guess Im more anxious than excited. I mean, I keep thinking what if I got carried away and said too much, then made you mad. I dont know what Ill do if that happens. Ah, but that is not to say that I doubt the vastness of your heart. Its just, how do I say this, Im quite the worrywart."
Suddenly, a flurry of words came my way.
"Well, for now, why dont you sit down?"
"Yes, sir! Ah, hello, hi, Kuina-chan!"
"Hello... hi"
Even Kuina was getting pulled into his pace.
"Oh, that person wasnt presentst time, right? Woah, and shes another amazing S rank monster, just like Kuina. And, wow, shes beautiful! To be served by such a beauty, Procell-sama, I am impressed."
"Fufufu. Finally, a Demon Lord with good eyes. Patron, did you hear that? He called me a beauty, a beauty! If only you were as honest and praise me like that..."
Ruhes nonsense aside, Belial had already known she was an S rank monster before I introduced her.
The higher a monsters rank, the higher a Demon Lords level needed to be to see more of the monsters Status page. In other words, for him to be able to know Ruhe was an S rank monster, that meant he was at least the same level as I was.
I had expected it, but this confirmation was a valuable piece of information nheless.
"It seems youve brought someone new as well. Im curious, why bring a monster now when you were perfectlyfortable without one before. Mind telling me?"
I then shifted my gaze to the monster standing behind him.
It was a beautiful female monster who wore a ck, seductive dress. She looked like she was in her early twenties. Her skin was snow-white; and her hair was as silver as silk except for one section that was as ck as the darkest night. Rather than contrasting each other, her hairs two colorsplemented each other well. Her most eye-catching feature though was her jet-ck wings.
At that moment, I also took a look at her Status.
Race: Fallen Angel Lucifer
Name: Ubel
Level: 75
Stats
Skills
Based on her level, she was most likely an A rank monster that could level up and had leveled up as much as possible. I had no idea if she was one of his [Monsters of the Covenant], but either way, the fact that she had a name meant that she was a special monster.
Her abilities were both easy to use and powerful. She would definitely shine as amander of an armyposed of angel-type monsters.
And then, there was that hidden skill. Maybe its an ability thats connected to his [Despair] unique skill.
"Why, to give you a glimpse of the strength that I possess, of course! This girl is Ubel the Fallen Angel Lucifer, one of my [Monsters of the Covenant]! Also, were in love! Hey, Ubel, greet Procell-sama, too. And do it cutely, while youre at it!"
Ubel, the angel who preferred to stand behind Belial rather than sit down, then bowed.
"I am Ubel. I am one of Belial-samas [Monsters of the Covenant]. I am his lover. And I am his de. I look forward to the day I enter a battlefield with both you and my master."
Even her bowing was elegant. Stss Rozelitte was also an angel-type monster, but the impression they gave were worlds apart.
"Pleased to meet you. Im Procell. [Creation] Demon Lord Procell. And this here is the otherworld songstress, Ruhe the Rlyeh Diva. Shes the top monster in other-dimension rted business here in Avalon."
"If ever theres the chance,e listen to my songs! You called me beautiful, so Ill make it extra special just for you guys. Moving on, did you say you were lovers!? Tell me more, tell me more!!"
Ruhe, perhaps without thinking first, asked bluntly.
I would have intervened, but to bepletely frank, I was quite curious myself.
A Demon Lord and his monster being in a rtionship was quite surprising to me.
"Yeah, Ubel and I are indeed in a romantic rtionship. More than we are Demon Lord and monster, more than we are master and servant, we are one man and one woman, just two people who fell in love. Why are you so surprised, Procell-sama? Rtionships like this arent so rare, you know?"
"Ah! Belial-sama, please stop. They can see us, they can see usss."
Right after talking, Belial pulled Ubelwho was still standing behind himclose and kissed her.
"Woahhhhh. Amazing."
Looking at the two of them, Kuinas eyes widened and twinkled.
Meanwhile, I cleared my throat. Such a scene was a bad influence on my daughter.
"Oh, sorry, sorry. Force of habit, you know, ahahaha. Ill just say this: if you focus on only one thing, youll fail to notice all the other things. But anyway, what do you think of her? Shes strong, isnt she?! Those born from my [Despair] are what you might call reverse-type monsters. Like, a holy-type monster will be filled with darkness. Fallen angels and dark elves are good examples, I think. These monsters tend to be more offense-oriented than the "base" monster. And if I may say so myself, all of them are very reliable!"
The [Despair] attribute reverses the base attribute? It looks like depending on thebinations, he could make all sorts of monsters.
"She could level up and had leveled up to the max, so yeah, shes impressive, alright. For such a strong monster to be one of your [Monsters of the Covenant], I think I now have an idea of just how powerful you are."
It was rather easy to make errors in choosing ones [Monster of Covenants].
There were a lot of Demon Lords that would understandably choose the very first monsters they had made, regardless of its strengths and merits.
However, Belial did not only choose an A rank monsterwhich he might have waited for first considering a monsters rank was determined randomly in normal circumstancesbut he also made her be able to level up more levels for the price of starting at level 1, instead of making her have an already high but unchanging level.
And then, her being at max level indicated that she had gained a vast amount of not just experience points, but also of actualbat experience.
It was probably then safe to assume that the rest of his war potential wasnt too far off.
"Wow! Im so d you praised us! Wow! Ahem, well, as you see, Im pretty strong, so Procell-sama, please let me fight side by side with you!!"
His eyes sincere, [Despair] Demon Lord Belial looked straight at me.
I looked back at him and them gave Ruhe a sideways nce. Ruhe shook her head up and down, which I took to mean that Belial was being serious and truthful with his offer to fight with me.
"Before I give an answer to that, there are a few things Id like to confirm first, if thats fine with you. Ive heard that way back then, you had aplished a lot. Perhaps too much because, like me right now, you had earned the attention of several Demon Lords to the point that they had decided to band together and target you. And to get out of that bind, I heard you asked for someones help."
"My, youre quite well-informed. Its all true. Back then, I was weak and couldnt handle the problem by myself, so using my parent Demon Lord as intermediary, I contacted another Demon Lord and begged for their help."
"Can you tell me who that other Demon Lord is?"
My intuition was telling me that it was the [ck] Demon Lord. If so, it wouldnt be surprising if he used that opportunity to turn Belial into a puppet of his.
[ck] and I were about to face against each other in a [War] when he got killed by somebody. It was hard to believe that such a thing was just a coincidence.
That led me to think that he was still alive somewhere and plotting against me.
...and if I were him, I would be doing something like offering a powerful ally to my target who was presently desperate for any ally.
"The one I begged for help was [Light] Demon Lord Marbas. He was a truly great Demon Lord. He wasnt just strong, he was also a noble, deeply benevolent Demon Lord. Id even say he was like a second parent to me. Without looking down at me for my cowardice and without asking for something in return, he saved me during those desperate times."
I had heard a few things about [Light] Demon Lord Marbas from Marcho. ording to her, he was incredibly strong. So much so that he was once regarded as one of the three strongest Demon Lords. But then, five years ago, he was killed.
When I nced at Ruhe, she gave me a nod. It seemed that this time as well, Belial was speaking the truth.
"I only have one more question: are you a coborator of the [ck] Demon Lord?"
It was brief, but there was definitely a pause.
And for some reason, I felt that the atmosphere changed.
After that pause, Belial, with a smiling face, answered my question.
"No, I am not a coborator of the [ck] Demon Lord."
"......sorry for all the weird questions."
"No, no, dont be. Its important to doubt every single thing! That prudent nature of yours is one of the things that made me adore you, you know!"
Once again, I nced at Ruhe, but again, no lie detected.
Am I just overthinking this? If so, its settled, Ive made a friend.
"[Despair] Demon Lord Belial, please fight alongside me from now on"
I said so while extending out my right hand.
"Yes, with all pleasure. With you, Procell-sama, I feel like I can do anything! Finally, I can move forward!"
He then reached out his own hand and firmly grasped mine.
After we both smiled, we let go. He then took something from his breast pocket.
"As promised, I offer you my medal. I hope youll honor me by using it on something great."
"And Ill gratefully receive. Thank you."
The thought of giving my [Creation] medal in return crossed my mind. I didnt promise him anything, but I felt I like reciprocating his gesture was the proper thing to do.
Plus, itll let him create an S rank monster, if he hasnt already. Which in turn meant he could buy [Maelstroms] for the corresponding monster that was unlocked. And because Maelstroms produced a monster a day, having it even a day sooner had impact.
I had already promised Ronove one of my medals and I only had one at hand, but I could just make another one next month. Besides, until Ronove gains another crystal, he couldnt do anything with my medal.
Suddenly then though, Ruhe pulled my hand.
She herself was perplexed on why she did so. No matter how I looked at it, I saw no reason for her to stop me.
...unless its her gamblers intuition thats telling her to stop me.
I decided to trust her on this, so without getting out the medal from my pocket, I reached my hand out to receive Belials medal.
"Now, Id say our business is concluded. Let me escort you out of the city. Or, if I could tempt you, I can guide you to a few splendid stores and restaurants here in Avalon. You know, to celebrate the formation of our alliance!"
It was a mere instant, but I was certain Belials face became distorted. It felt like a small amount of irritation leaked out.
Moreover, Kuinas fox ears suddenly stood at attention. As I had experienced multiple times before, this was Kuinas reaction whenever her extraordinary senses picked up something rming.
"Sorry, but I think Ill return back home now. All this excitement has made me want to make sweet love to Ubel as soon as possible. But if ever troublees your way, please dont hesitate to call."
"When that timees, I will call. But if trouble decides toe your way instead, please dont hesitate to call either. We are now allies, and I will do anything in my power to help you."
"Oh, yes, please!"
Like that, I escorted him and his monster up to the entrance of Avalon and sent them off.
"Ruhe, earlier, you stopped me from handing him my medal. Why?"
"My sixth sense told me to. But its not just that. I have something a tiny bit more concrete. Patron, after you asked him if hes a coborator of the [ck] Demon Lord, he changed. You see, people, even us Demon Lords and monsters produce these rhythmsthe beating of our hearts, and all the other sounds our body makethat are unique to each of us. When you asked him, his rhythm changedpletely, as though hes apletely different person."
Ruhe said so, even though she only half-believed it herself. It was certainly a mysterious thing, but her judgment was most probably right. After all, even I felt the tiny bit of negative emotions that leaked out of him when I didnt go through with giving him my [Creation] medal.
Moreover, what if the reason he gave me his [Despair] medal for free wasnt because he believed in me and rather because he wanted me to feel I had to reciprocate and thus give him my [Creation] medal?
Normally, even if it was a trade, I would decline giving out my [Creation] medal. And so, this could be a roundabout method he thought up.
Thinking like that, his irritation made sense.
"Weve already formed an alliance, so its fine even if I dy giving him a medal in order to observe him some more. I dont think hell break the alliance off over something we didnt promise each other."
I decided to give him my medal only when I had confirmed he was a true ally.
If he proves even just once that hes willing to fight until the very bitter end in a [War] against the so-called anti-Procell alliance, Ill give him my medal.
Unlike Ronove, Belial was an incredibly strong Demon Lord. I was he could fight just fine without my medal.
TL note: "the genius that descended into darkness" is a reference to Akagi: The Genius Who Descended into Darkness, which is a manga about gambling. Or mahjong, to be more specific.
Volume 10 7
[Despair] Demon Lord Belial and I had formally formed an alliance.
It was supposed to be an event worthy of a grand celebration, but I just couldnt bring myself to bepletely happy about it.
I was still doubtful of Belial. And so, I decided to dy giving him a [Creation] medal. If I could ascertain during a war against the anti-Procell alliance that Belial was a true ally, perhaps then I wouldnt mind giving him a medal.
For the meantime, my thoughts were upied with what to do with the byproduct of my meeting with Belial.
"What should I do with this [Despair] medal though?"
Belial had given me his [Despair] medal as a token of our friendship.
If my read on things was right, he did so to make me feel obligated to give him my own medal.
His medal was powerful.
It had the effect of [Reversal]. That meant that the [Despair] medal was able to reverse whatever the attribute of the monster was supposed to be born with.
For example, if the monster was supposed to be an Angel, it would be a Fallen Angel; or if the monster was going to be an Elf, it would be a Dark Elf; or if it was supposed to be a holy knight, it would be a Duhan.
Additionally, a "reversed" monster was more offense-oriented than its base monster.
"I guess using it really is the way to go. Fortunately, I still have my [Creation] medal."
Upon closer examination of the [Despair] medal, I discovered that the reversal phenomenon only urred when synthesizing an original [Despair] medal. When synthesizing with an imitation [Despair] medal, the imitation only added a darkness attribute, just like [Darkness] and [Evil] would.
Since I could make a reversed monster just this once, I needed to think carefully what I wanted it to be. Or so I should have if I havent made up my mind about it already.
I figured that fallen-angel-type monsters, which had many usefull skills, were so rare that [Despair] medals might be the only way to get them.
My mind set on this decision, I went to pick up Kuina who should be in her room at the moment.
Even though monsters couldnt harm their Demon Lords or disobey their Demon Lordsmands, they were free to do everything else. It was even possible for them to find a crafty, indirect way to bring ruin to their Demon Lords. Until I could ascertain I could trust the newly born monster, it was best to have another monster to escort me. And given that fallen angels tended to be highly intelligent and also have distorted personalities, having a guard was truly advised.
Kuina was particrly suited to guard me in these situations. She had great deal of resistance against all kinds of magic to the point she was immune, and her use of illusions gave her the capability to see through others illusions.
"Oto-san! Kuinas done packing! I can move anytime"
Kuinas room was perfectly tidy, and her belongings were packed into boxes.
We were going to move to our new home in the [Recovery Room] tomorrow, so all of us have been quite busy with packingtely.
"d to know youre ready. So, Kuina, I n on making a new monster right now, and I was wondering if you could stand ready nearby?"
"Kay! Understood! Kuinas so excited to see the new little sister!"
"...there you go again, arbitrarily dering right away its going to its going to be a girl."
I mean, the number of my male subordinates have been growing recently, you know. Dukes a man; the Darkness Dragons are mostly males; and about half of the Abyss Howls are males too.
"But, Oto-san, whenever you synthesize with [Creation], it always turns out to be a girl like us. Oh, are you going to make a kid like Tiro this time as well?"
Appearance-wise, Tiro was arge dog. Kuina was most likely asking if the next monster I would make was also a beast-type one like Tiro.
"No. I n to make a fallen angel this time, so itll be more like you than Tiro."
"Then, Im sure itll be another cute little girl! Kuina should prepare a gift! Maybe dresses that I dont wear anymore will look great on her."
The results thus far being what they were, I couldnt say much back.
If being male would be best for the new monster, I had no qualms making it male. In order to pull the right kind of monster during synthesis using my [Creation] though, I couldnt afford to have so many conditions set. That being the case, I always prioritized the monsters ability over anything else. That unfortunately meant I wasnt consciously choosing the monsters sex.
...but wouldnt that mean I subconsciously want them to be girls?
"Anyway, lets go. I was thinking of making the monster in the dungeon proper."
"Kay! Oh, I bet Tiro wants to be there too! Oto-san, you go on ahead; Tiro and Ill meet you there!"
"Alright. Ill wait for you two then"
Tiro had grown greatly attached to Kuina.
...the demon hound of hell that would chase its prey to the ends of space and time was now not unlike a house pet.
After a while of waiting in the dungeon proper, Kuina arrived riding on top of Tiro.
Tiro was arge hound with blue fur and a long, slender, tongue. She must be excited for the about-to-be-born monster because her tongue was out and she was breathing quite roughly.
"Tiro-chan, youre about to have a little sister! Lets take good care of her, ok?"
"Gaugau!"
Tiro, the youngest so far, seemed quite excited to have a little sister.
Better get to it then. Time to make the newest S rank monster in Avalon: the ultimate fallen angel.
...to be honest, aside from the possibility that fallen angels might be exclusive to the [Despair] medal, I wanted to make one just in case I do get into a fight with Belial. If the other side was going to have a fallen angel as one of its trump cards, having one of my own but of a higher rank should help me to deal with it.
In my hand were three medals.
[Despair]: a powerful medal that has the ability to reverse a monsters nature
[Creation]: in order to make a fallen angel, I was going to make it transform into a [Holy] medal
]: after I transformed my [Creation] into this and made Aura, I unlocked the ability to make imitation medals of it. It has the power to govern over nature, which should prove useful to an angel safeguarding the world.
"Alright, lets begin."
I closed my hand and grasped tightly the three medals I held. Light, furious light, then seeped through my closed fist. And when I opened my hand, the light escaped.
Like that, I made [Creation] transform into [Holy]. It then interacted with ], thus revealing to me myriad possible oues between the two. Thepatibility between the two being so excellent, these possible monsters that flowed in and out of mind were for sure and certain powerful monsters.
I searched and searched, looking higher and higher through the hierarchy of angels. After all, the holier and the higher in hierarchy the angel was, the powerful it would be once it falls.
Thebination of the two medals alone could already produce a powerful monster, but I wasnt over yet. It was now time to add thest ingredient: [Despair].
This was now the tricky part. It was time to reverse the monsters attribute. What once was supposed to be a being ofpassion and love who nurtured each and every life in the world would now be a force of destruction and cmity.
If I make even one mistake during this step though, the power of [Despair] would annihte thebined powers of [Holy] and ], thus weakening the monster.
"There! Youre the one Im looking for!"
The image in my mind became more detailed: an angel with ck wings. A seraph who has fallen to darkness, lost its nobility, and became d in dark light.
The stream of light flowing from my hand became particles and then formed a silhouette. Slowly, steadily, its true appearance was made clearer and clearer.
As part of thest steps, rather than choosing for it to have an already high but static level, I chose for it to have the ability to level up to a higher level at the cost of being born at level 1. I didnt want it to be just strong, I wanted it to be the strongest. A static level just couldnt provide that.
Just like that, the new monster was born.
I looked at the monster and examined it.
She was a breathtaking beauty. She was short, but her rather cold beauty prevented her from looking like a child.
Her skin was pale. So pale, in fact, that it was almost translucent.
She wore a provocative but still very much elegant ck dress. It was a one-piece dress that covered her whole body except for a line in the middle, exposing the area below her neck, half of her ample breasts, and her navel.
Her most eye-catching feature, however, were her jet-ck wings that were full of divinity.
I also used my Demon Lord powers to look at her Status. She had excellent stats and amazing skills. Without a doubt, she was at the summit of fallen angels.
In the next moment, she opened her eyes.
She was my monster, but it was still better to thread carefully here.
Fallen angels corrupted not only themselves, but also those around them. They could hold captive and manipte members of the opposite sex with just their perfectly beautiful faces and some whispers. Even though a monster couldnt harm or disobey their Demon Lords orders, so long as it wasnt in vition of the above, making a puppet out of their Demon Lord was a real threat.
So, I took an additional precaution and took a step back.
And then, the fallen angel spoke.
"H-hello, your majesty! I, Im Fallen Angel Raffaello. ...you know!"
All tension suddenly vanished.
The way she spoke gave me the impression that she was a cheerful kind of girl. Or maybe scatterbrained is more urate?
Whichever it was, as soon as she spoke, the image I had of her before was shattered. Her beautiful and cold-looking face no longer distracted from her short stature. Thus, a phrase that have been on my mind ever since felt quite urate to describe her now: a big-breasted loli.
Before all that, she has only said a few words, but I have so many questions already. Your majesty? Is that supposed to be me? Also, that "...you know!", its so out of ce. But no, I should think on thister. For now, I should greet her.
The impression she gave might be a bit of a disappointment, but there was no doubt that her power was outstanding. The power that [Creation] and [Despair] granted was really something.
And so, a proper greeting was in order.
"A pleasure to meet you. I am [Creation] Demon Lord Procell. I am the Demon Lord that made you. Fallen Angel Raffaello, I expect great things from you. I hope you illuminate my path to domination with your dark light."
I said so with a smiling face and then extended my hand.
Since there was a bit of a distance between us, Raffaello hurriedly rushed over. Tried to, anyway.
When she was near enough, she suddenly fell. And she didnt fall just anywhere; she buried her face right in my crotch.
Her face, up to her ears, turned bright red. She then hurriedly removed her head from myher regions and tried to stand up. Again, tried to. Perhaps in her panic, she slipped and fell once more. This time though, the skirt of her dress was fully flipped inside out. Is it because shes a fallen angel that her underwear is so... risqu.
"Waaa, so embarrassing. For that blunder, Im sure of it, youll say something like what, are you braindead or something? It looks like youll be no use in battle. But perhaps youll do well in pleasuring me? Let me have a taste of you. Youre a bitch who likes suddenly burying her face in peoples crotches, so I bet you want this as well, dont you?. Oh, I can hear it already. ...you know"
"...are you an idiot?"
I unconsciously retorted so.
Where in the world would you find such an ipetent Demon Lord who will make use of an S rank monster as though its nothing more than a prostitute!? Also, was she just imitating my voice? That was supposed to be me?
After taking a breath, I extended my hand to her who was still on the ground.
"Listen, youre strong. Like I said, I expect great things from you. Especially in battle. So, stop saying those weird things, alright?"
"Woah. Im so d to be born such a kind Demon Lord. Ill do my best!"
Raffaello said so and then embraced me.
Of all my monsters, she was the first to be this ditzy, so I couldnt help but worry that her excellent stats and skills might be like casting pearls before swine.
...But no. If she undergoes enough training, everything should be alright.
I convinced myself so.
"Oto-san, like I predicted, another adorable sister is born! Kuina will be sure to train youpletely, Raffaello. Tiro will help too"
"Gaugau!"
Kuina and Tiro, who had been observing until now, seemed to be in high spirits.
Fortunately, I could leave Raffaellos training to the very helpful Kuina. With Kuinas tenacious, never-say-die style, Raffaello should be reformed. At least, enough to not worry me.
"Yes, Ill do my best to be a reliablerade!"
"Kuinas training will be hard. Be sure to follow Kuinas instructions!"
"Yes, teacher! ...you know"
A strange teacher-student rtionship was thus formed.
"Kuina, take Raffaello to the [Crimson Cavern] and level her up. I want to see her abilities in action, so Ill being along this time."
"Kay! Well head there after doing some preparations. Ill also ask Rorono-chan if she wants toe along. Determining what Raffe-chans weapon is going to be is important, after all."
Kuina have trained several of my monsters before. I dare say she had a talent in training others. Her being Avalons top monster really wasnt just for show.
As for Raffaello, she nodded and sounded excited, but I noticed that her legs were shaking.
Can it be that an S rank monster is afraid of fighting an enemy?
It was certain that her stats and skills were magnificent, but my worry was whether she could make full use of it. Hopefully, in this trip to the [Crimson Cavern], that worry would be lessened, if not wiped out.
Volume 10 8
I used the [Despair] medal, my [Creation] medal, and an imitation medal of ] to make a new monster.
I aimed for it to be a fallen angel.
Fallen angels were extremely rare monsters. Their stats as well as their skills were excellent and had great practical use.
Thankfully, those were true for Fallen Angel Raffaello, the new monster I just made. There was just one problem with her though: she was a bit of a klutz... err, physically uncoordinated.
We went to the [Crimson Cavern] to raise her levels.
The hot magma everywhere illuminated the otherwise dark cave we travelled through.
Raising her levels was vital. She might be an S rank monster, but given that she was still at level 1, she wasnt particrly strong.
"Dont stray too far away from Kuina!"
"Understood, Master Kuina!"
Kuina was in the lead, and behind her were Raffaello and I. The one protecting our backs was Rorono.
Kuina was here to train Raffaello while also fulfilling her duty of guarding me. Meanwhile, Rorono came along to get an idea on what kind of weapon would suit Raffaello best.
I took this opportunity to once again look at Raffaellos Status.
Race: Fallen Angel Raffaello
Name: Unnamed
Level: 1
Stats:
Skills:
Her stats were extreme, in more ways than one.
Stats that might be more important in close-range battlesPhysical Strength, Endurance, and agilitywere at D. In exchange for that though, the stats that could be considered important in magic battlesMagic and Special, as well as maybe Luckwere at least S+.
But more worthy of attention than her stats were her skills.
Given that Seraphims Halo was effective against monsters of the holy attribute as well as monsters of the darkness attribute, it was overwhelmingly advantageous. Seraphim was the highest rank in the hierarchy of angels, so there should be only a few monsters of the holy attribute that wouldnt be subjected to Seraphims Halo.
Dark Light Magic was powerful as well.
There were very few monsters who had resistance to both Light and Dark. It was almost always the case that if a monster had resistance to one, they would be weak to the other.
ck-winged Angel raised her stats and only required easily-fulfible conditions. As great as increasing some of her stats by a rank might sound though, in reality, it only raised those stats to C. Still, that might be more than enough.
All her skills so far could be praised for certain, but the remaining two were rather hard to use.
I had no idea on how her Dark Light Sanctuary would affect those caught within it.
In the first ce, why would shewhose stats for close-range were quite lowput herself in such a disadvantageous position where she was not only near her enemies but also confined with them? Even if the sanctuary could be made to have a radius of up to 200 meters, the question still stands.
And then, there was her most problematic skill of all: Fall from Heaven.
"Raffaello, listen, absolutely do not use Fall from Heaven, alright?"
"Understood! I wont use it"
If I didnt tell her that, such a scenario was more than possible:
"Raffaello, use Fall from Heaven!"
"Yes, right away! [Fall from Heaven]!"
Yes, a scenario where she would joyfully use it.
Fall from Heaven, at first nce at least, seemed to be a very powerful skill. Its effect of increasing all of her stats by 2 ranks was more than what [Berserk] offered. However, skills which required angel-rted attributes such as holy would be unusable. In Raffaellos case, she would lose ess to Seraphims Halo, Dark Light Magic, and ck-winged Angel. Dark Light Sanctuary might be inessible as well.
To be frank, I thought it wasnt worth it. My intuition was telling me that its true value would show itself after the third use, but obviously, I had no intention of taking such a gamble.
"Master Kuina, thisll be my very first hunt and to be honest, Im quite nervous"
"Its natural feel like that on your first time! Just watch your Master and learn!"
"Yes, Master Kuina!"
Even though she looking around restlessly, Raffaellos eyes were full of respect whenever she gazed on Kuina.
A short while after, Kuinas ears pricked upward, the reaction she had when she has found an enemy.
"Raff-chan, look over there"
"S-so thats my first foe?"
About a hundred meters away in the direction Kuina pointed to was a red lizard. To be more specific, it was a Smandra, a D rank monster.
It didnt take long before it noticed us as well and breathed out some mes as means to threaten us.
"For now, try firing your assault rifle, Raff-chan. From this distance, you should be able to defeat it one-sidedly."
"Here I go!"
Serving as her current weapon was the EDAR-04 Laevateinn.
Unlike Auras anti-materiel rifle which was useable by pretty much only her, Rorono designed and made this assault rifle so that anyone, with enough training, should be able to draw out its maximum potential. It was such an easy-to-use and high-performance weapon that it was the weapon of choice of a lot of my monsters, especially the intelligence corps.
In order to increase Raffaellos hit rate, we taught her to fire in a burst of three shots.
Sadly, all of her shots missed.
Rorono was greatly perplexed by this.
No matter how much of an airhead Raffaello was, at this distance, she shouldnt miss. To make matters worse, the Smandra didnt take any evasive maneuvers and was in fact charging straight ahead.
"Eeeehhhhhh? Why am I not hitting?"
And then, her magazine became empty of bullets.
She tried to retrieve another magazine from her bag and rece the empty one, but she instead dropped the bag.
"Raff-chan, no time to pick it up. Use your magic! Maybe you can make that hit something!"
"Y-yes, Master Kuina! [Dark Light Explosion]!"
She raised her hand up toward the Smandra. I then felt overwhelming magic that was unbelievable for a level 1 monster.
In the following moment, dark light surged from her raised hand and eradicated anything the Smandra had from the neck up.
Such speed and straight trajectory. So, this is Dark Light Magic, huh.
Much like the term dark light would suggest, the dark light she fired off traveled in a straight line and at the speed of light. That meant that as long as the target was within the line of fire, evasion was impossible.
Kuina and Rorono were quite surprised.
Originally, by which I mean without the use of guns, it was hard for a level 1 monster, even an S rank one, to deal a fatal blow to a proper D rank monster. And yet, Raffaello easily beheaded one. Truly, a Magic stat of S+ and stat ups from her various skills were nothing to joke about.
This then made me imagine of how powerful her Dark Light Magic could be once she has reached her maximum level. Such a thought made me shudder.
...I mean, an instant kill attack that cant be avoided! Other than monsters like Aura who could attack from so far away or monsters like Kuina who was immune to magic, most monsters would die without a fight.
"Amazing! That surprised me, Raff-chan"
"...with that power, guns wouldnt be necessary. What an absurd power"
"Yup, yup, exactly, Rorono-chan. Raff-chan, you know, Kuina was beginning to think you were a lost cause, but youve changed my mind!"
"Actually, Master Kuina..."
"Whats wrong?"
"That magic just now, it actually used up all my magic power. Can we rest a bit?"
"So, youre a lost cause after all..."
Considering she exhausted herself in one attack, it seemed like her attacks fuel efficiency wasnt great, to say the least.
Well, once she gains some levels, her total magic power should increase as well. Moreover, she hopefully would have obtained a better mastery of things over time.
After giving Raffaello a potion made from the golden apples to improve her magic power recovery rate and letting her rest for a bit, we continued our hunt.
In order topensate somewhat for the weak point of Raffaellos Dark Light magic, Kuina and Rorono tried to teach her more on how to use a gun.
Sadly, there wasnt any improvements.
If one used a gun, they could still have firepower when they had exhausted their magic power reserves. Moreover, they would be able to fight even enemies that were resistant or immune to magic.
"Say, Rorono, can you make a gun that can be used by anyone and whose bullets will always hit the enemy?"
"I cant. Even if I can, several features would have to be sacrificed to the point that the gun would be worthless in the end."
"Ohh. Too bad..."
"Master Kuina, Master Rorono, I am so terribly sorry!"
For a while now, Raffaello have been repeatedly apologizing and bowing her head. She was feeling sorry for not improving despite being taught patiently and kindly.
The two readily forgave her each time. She wasnt a bad kid, just a clumsy one.
Oh, by the way, up until this moment, she had fallen down seven times. In two of those incidents, her underpants became exposed.
"Raff, you dont have to apologize... I promise you, on my pride as the worlds best cksmith, I will make a gun that even you can use."
Rorono was strangely fired up.
"Uhm, Master Kuina, Master Rorono, my level has increased and so has my total magic power. Because of that, I want to do something thatll replenish my magic power reserves. Can we do that next?"
"You can do something like that!?"
"If I use my Dark Light Sanctuary, yes."
Ohh, her sanctuary has a power like that? How useful. Maybe thats enough topensate for the poor fuel efficiency of her Dark Light Magic...
"So, could you please distance yourselves from me when the next monster shows up? I want to avoid identally killing you."
"Kill me? Thats preposterous! Lets see you try!"
It seemed like that suggestion wounded Kuinas pride.
She was quite proud of her strength, so if a low-level monster says they might kill her identally, she couldnt stay silent about that.
"B-but its really dangerous, you know."
"Its fine! Kuina can defend herself!"
"Kuina, you know you shouldnt do needlessly dangerous things"
"Geez, Oto-san, dont you believe in Kuina?"
It seemed like her mind was made up and thus wouldnt listen to warnings anymore.
What should I do though?
Kuina was indeed capable of withstanding most things.
Moreover, I was worried of leaving Raffaello inside her sanctuary with no one else but a hostile monster. On top of Raffaellos defense being paper-thin, she was clumsy and had poor reflexes.
I could give Kuina a directmand to stay away and she would have no choice but to obey it, but perhaps entrusting things to her is the better choice.
"...Very well. Kuina, continue guarding Raffaello."
"Understood!"
We were now in an area where magma was spouting out.
Within the pool of magma in the ground were snakes that had scales ofva. These monsters were aptly called Lava Snakes.
When Raffaello came close to the pool of magma, five of the C rank Lava Snakes approached her as well.
She then prepared tounch her sanctuary by making her magic power surge and forming an enormous magic array under feet.
...is it just me or is something strange with this scene?
Raffaello, for the short time that I had known her, was quite timid.
And yet, there was no trace of fear or worry now that she was facing several powerful C rank monsters. If anything, she was smiling faintly. Shes looking down on her enemies!
The air around herpletely changed. That left me wondering if her Dark Light Sanctuary had any features that changed ones personality.
At any rate, the Lava Snakes began to pounce at her.
In order to support Raffaello in an unobtrusive way, Kuina readied her shotgun with the mindset to only fire it when truly needed.
In the next moment though, dark light filled the surroundings and muted all sounds.
When I was no longer blinded by the light, I saw a dark half-sphere ahead of me. I couldnt see at all what was happening inside of the dome though.
"This is her sanctuary? And is that what the description meant by everything around her would be enveloped?"
"What a sinister power. My instincts screaming danger. Just looking at it is enough to make me feel ill. I might even get killed if I try to go inside."
Rorono was trembling, which was something rare for her.
Just whats going on inside?
Two minutes passed and the dome began to be undone.
The scene that unfolded before me surprised me.
It wasnt that the five Lava Snakes were down on the groundthat much was expectedit was how they died that gave me a surprise. The light in their magnificentva scales were now gone, making them look as though they were just covered in dirt. Their bodies were also all dried up, making them all skin and bones.
In less than a minute, they died one after the other and began turning into blue particles.
In the center of it all was Raffaello. She was floating in the sky, her wings spread as much as it could.
The expression on her face suggested that she was teeming with vitality and that she was perhaps even ecstatic.
"Ahh, that was sooo delicious"
Raffaello said so and then licked her lips. For some reason, that action of hers was utterly captivating.
But when I looked at beneath her, I was surprised more than before.
"Kuina!"
"O-Oto-san, I-Im, al, right..."
Kuina had copsed to the ground.
She had sweated arge amount; her breathing was ragged; and was too weak to do anything else.
"I told you it was dangerous, Master Kuina. My sanctuary will eat you up, whether youre friend or foe. But your lifeforce sure was delicious... its so juicy, so sweet, and so soft, haaa, totally different from those small fries. Oh, how I want to taste it again."
Raffaello descended and whispered so to Kuinas ear.
It seems like shes still in her other personality, the one brought on by her skill. Regardless, from what Ive seen so far, I think I have enough grasp of her Dark Light Sanctuary.
"That surprised Kuina. Your Dark Light Sanctuary sucked up the lifeforce and magic power of everyone inside and made it yours. We were growing weaker, but you were just growing stronger... it was almost like youre invincible."
Hers was an ability that absorbed the enemies strength and turned it into her own nourishment. Even if the enemy had enough strength to break the sanctuary somehow, she could just snatch that strength away before any harm was done and use it instead to intensify her sanctuary further.
But perhaps most frightening of all about it was that it was able to leave even Kuina in a tattered state within just two minutes. Kuina was immune to magic, and yet this worked against her. In other words, resistances didnt matter to this skill.
Without a doubt, it was a terrifying ability. As for how tobat it, it was either to stay out of range or to kill Raffaello as quickly as possible.
"I think I understand your ability now. ...still, refrain from using it when there are allies in the vicinity, alright?"
I wanted to scold her, but I knew it wasnt her fault. Kuina insisted on testing it, and I allowed her. To me Raffaello would be pathetic of me.
Cautioning her to not let such a thing happen again was just fine though.
"Understood! Also, Ive fully recovered now, your majesty. Lets go hunt for the next monster. Oh, but Master Kuinas still tired, isnt she?"
"Who, me? Im fine. This is nothing."
Kuina could pretend as much as she wanted, but I could see that she was still in pain.
"Rorono, be the guard for a little while. Kuina, go drink some potions and rest. Ill carry you in the meantime."
"Mhm, understood."
Kuina was about to protest, but when I carried her like a princess, she became silent. She stopped bluffing, held on to me, and entered a jolly mood.
I knew Kuina liked being carried like this, so I used it to trick her. Thankfully, it worked well enough.
"Then, Ill be in your care, Master Rorono. ...you know"
"Mhm. Ill be observing your battle style from nearby. If things get dicey, Ille in and help. Tell me when you want to use your Dark Light Sanctuary. Unlike Kuina, Ill get out of range."
"Yes, Master Rorono!"
And so, Raffaellos first hunt ended rtively peacefully.
For a first hunt, she leveled up quite a bit.
Moreover, I had gained better understanding of her abilities.
She owned a dangerous ability, but there was no question that it was powerful.
I should consult with Duketer on how best to deploy her. if we do this right, Avalon would gain yet another trump card.
TL notes: Lucifer and Raffaellos Fall from Heaven share the same kanji, but Raffaellos has a furigana saying "Falling down". I decided to just make it the same.
Volume 10 9
I had seen Fallen Angel Raphael and her abilities in action.
She was an undeniably powerful monster, but she had a few weak points.
Her magic, which was currently her main means of attack, was far beyond the norm in terms of might, but its fuel efficiency was poor. That meant she had to use it sparingly and wisely, or risk not having enough magic power when it was most important.
To somewhatpensate for her poor fuel efficiency, she could use her [Dark Light Sanctuary] to absorb the magic power and the lifeforce of anyone caught within it, but even that had drawbacks.
First and foremost, it doesnt discriminate between foes and allies. It affected everyone within it. Because of that, it was rather hard to support her after she has activated this skill.
Moreover, Raphael already had troubles in close-rangebat, but this skill was making her iste herself in a confined space with enemies. Kuinasted two minutes inside, which would have been plenty of time to take down Raphael had Kuina been an enemy.
I want to make sure as much as possible that she we could defend herself after an enemy has closed the distance.
After returning to my estate, I made a Mythological Fox guide Raphael to the house she would be living in.
Except for my [Monsters of the Covenant] and Tiro who was almost like Kuinas pet, all of my humanoid monsters were given their own houses.
"Uggh... I used up too many furs..."
Kuina dejectedly said so.
In order for her to evolve, Kuina had to fill 10,000 furs in her tail with magic power. Kuina had been diligently doing so, but apparently, Raphaels skill took away a few of her stock.
"Cheer up, Kuina. The [Recovery Room]s going to be our new home, so your magic power recovery rates going to improve; youll have saved up as much in no time, youll see."
It was a bit regretful, but as they say, theres no use crying over spilt milk.
"Youre right, Oto-san! ...anyway, Rorono-chan, do you have any ideas on what youre going to make for Raph-chans weapon?"
Kuina had always been quite the optimist, so moving on was quite easier for her.
But Raphaels equipment was indeed an important topic. If possible, I would like it to be something that would make up for her shorings.
"Mhm. Im thinking of making her a close-range weapon."
"You are, Rorono-chan? Why though?"
Kuina and Rorono began a strategy meeting.
I decided I should join in too.
"Thats quite unexpected. Considering her stats, wouldnt it be tough for her to fight in close-range? Wouldnt something thatd help her outrange her enemiesso that she could take them down before they could even attackbe more helpful?"
"I thought that too, but she already has her powerful and long-range magic attacks, despite its poor fuel efficiency. That should serve as her main form of attack. All thats left is to make up for hercking close-rangebat capabilities for when enemies have closed the distance. ...besides, even if I make her a long-range weapon, itll be useless with that aim of hers."
"Rorono-chan, youre a genius!"
That was quite a bold way of thinking.
"Ill even add in these as an extra: ultra-small golem guards that were supposed to be for master."
When Rorono said that, she took out four beautiful de-only knives. These des were blue and seemed to be made of some transparent crystal.
"Golems? Sorry, but all I can see are some knives without hilts, or anything else for that matter."
"Mhm, these knife-looking things are actually golems. Let me show you."
When she poured some magic power into the des, they shined and then revolved around her.
My guess was that it had the enchantment of [Rending]. Through this enchantment, an object could cut even things that normally wouldnt be possible to cut via physical means.
"These little ones wille flying toward anyone the user has recognized to be an enemy. They wouldunch automatically, so it wouldnt matter how slow-witted Raph is."
"Woah, theyre so cool. Kuina wants some too! I cant believe these are just extras!"
Needless to say, Kuina was charmed.
They certainly seemed fantastic. So much so that I wanted some for myself.
"Like I mentioned before, I developed these prototypes for master and not Raph. And thats why Im giving it to her just as an extra."
"Ohh. Does that mean Im to get these as well?"
"Mhm. For a number of reasons though, youll have to wait a bit longer. But before that, I want us to visit the [Mine] room. You havent forgotten about our promise, have you, master?"
"Oh. Sorry, but I kind of did."
The quality of the minerals that could be dug from ones [Mine] was dependent on the Demon Lords strength.
Due to the [War] against the [Pig] Demon Lord, I had gained a tremendous amount of experience points on top of emotions and DP. But it wasnt just me that got stronger, my [Monsters of the Covenant] did too. And since Demon Lords grew stronger as their [Monsters of the Covenant] did, I grew even more powerful.
Most likely, almost a certainty, I was the only Demon Lord to have all three [Monsters of the Covenant] be S rank monsters. Considering that, my powers as a Demon Lord should be beyond the norm by now.
With a bit more effort, it shouldnt be surprising to find a metal that exceeded even orichalcum in my [Mine] room. To do that little effort was what I promised with Rorono.
"Im a bit sad to know that master has forgotten..."
Rorono turned away her face, but I could still notice her puffed cheeks.
"Hey, Im really sorry. How about we go tomorrow? Well be busy with the move in the morning, but we can go afterwards, yeah?"
"Mhm, Id be happy to. You mustnt forget this time, alright? ...also, if we do find a metal that exceeds orichalcum, Ill be making masters self-protection tool using that."
I then brushed Roronos head.
What an awful father I am. Being busy is no excuse to forget a promise I made with my girls.
"Thats great, but Rorono-chan, Oto-san, lets not forget about our discussion for Raph-chans weapon! If those knives are just extras, whats her own weapon going to be?"
At that, Rorono pulled from her pocket a fist-sized object that looked like a pineapple.
"Is that a grenade?"
"Its not going to be a gun?"
"Mhm, she cant miss with this"
Rorono really has no confidence on Raphaels aim, does she?
"Actually, this too was supposed to be a protective tool for master. However, I deemed it a failure and shelved it."
Rorono then pulled out the pin and threw the grenade.
After about two seconds, it exploded.
The air shook from the powerful st.
"This grenade has a directional explosion. That means that its fragments will scatter on only one direction. If the fragments scattered in a forward direction and at point-nk range, its not possible to evade all of the fragments."
"But if its just about frontal attacks, shotguns would do just as well, Rorono-chan! And if you make it a rapid-firing shotgun, all the better"
"But with Raphs slender arms, she wouldnt be able to endure the recoil of a shotgun and thus making her aim worse than it already is. Moreover, her Physical Strength stat isnt as high as yours, Kuina. The grenades st will deal more damage than a single shot from a shotgun. Of course, there will be a feature to allow her to store magic power beforehand to increase the grenades damage, but thats beside the point for now."
Roronos points made perfects sense, but there was one thing I was wondering about.
"You said something about making the fragments scattering forward... will Raphael be able to pull that off each time?"
Raphael tripped herself down multiple times in the short while we have known her. I was worried she might blow herself up.
"Mhm, Ive already thought of that. This grenade will respond to the owners magic power by adjusting its position. In theory, no matter how the grenade is thrown, it will correct itself before exploding."
"This will be the case even for Raphael?"
"...Im absolutely certain it will be fine. I believe in her S+ Luck."
As though shecked confidence in what she was saying, Rorono turned her head away as she answered.
If it did work as intended, Raphael would have a means to react to enemies who have been able to close the distance. I wanted to trust Roronos design and Raphaels S+ Luck, but my uneasiness on it all wasntpletely gone, so it might be best to do some tests with some that had reduced power.
"I still think we should do some testster, but moving on, the next concern will be whether we can prepare arge number of this grenade, wont it?"
"Were all good in that regard as well. The structure of the grenade is quite simple and thus is easy to reproduce. I could make a batch of them about once a month. If anything, I see making too many more of an issue. But since theyre easy to use, we could just distribute the surplus to others."
"I see. Ill leave it up to you then. Just dont forget to reserve a few of them for me."
"Understood."
Like that, Raphaels equipment was determined.
I for one looked forward to the prototypes beingpleted.
Then came the day to move.
The girls have already carried their belongings to the room downstairs where the Transfer arrays were in.
We have lived in this estate for a long time, so our belongings have increased since moving in.
Kuinas belongings were particrly plenty. Some of her stuffed toys and her clothes were even peeking out of their boxes.
In contrast, Roronos belongings were very few. But then again, it could just be that a lot of her important things were in her workshop.
"Time to move ?"
"I look forward to getting a bigger room"
"Im so thankful you listened to our every demand for our new home, Rorono-chan. Our daily life going to be even lovelier."
"Gaugau!"
My three girls and their pet were in a good mood.
As for my own belongings, they were already packed. Ive entrusted the packing to the Mythological Foxes serving as maids though.
Our new home was going to be located in the [Recovery] room, but this estate would still be known as the lord of Avalons home. Guests as well as paperworks would still be received here.
Now, going back and forth between our new home in the [Recovery] room and this estate in the city would be quite tiring without Transfer, so I decided to make the Abyss Howls always be posted in either location.
Of course, I could Transfer anywhere in my dungeon by myself through my powers as a Demon Lord, but Kuina and the others couldnt.
"Alright, lets go to our new home, shall we?"
"Yay ?"
"Mhm"
"Lets go"
"Gau!"
And so, the Abyss Howls on standby began transporting us.
Right after the Transfer was finished, all of us went outside.
We immediately noticed the transnted golden apple tree towering magnificently. Its refreshing golden Qi wrapped around my body and made me feelfortable.
Not far from the tree was our new home. Even from afar, the building looked splendid and majestic.
And it really was splendid and majestic. Rorono and Aura both did the best they could to grant the house protection against physical and magical attacks. If for some reason an adventurer has made it all the way here, we should still hold a defensive battle.
By the way, the [Recovery] room was the veryst dungeon room before my crystal room. In other words, this house was our final line of defense. So, making this house be able to defend against threats wasnt just out of fancy.
Additionally, because Rorono had epted and incorporated requests from everyone, thefort of living in the new house should be far beyond from what we already had before.
It was all so exciting.
But thats enough fun for now. After moving a few boxes inside, I should head to the [Mine] with Rorono. This might be long overdue, but thats all the more reason I should fulfill my role as a father.
...if we do find a metal that exceeded even orichalcum, Avalon should grow even stronger.
Volume 10 10
In the [War] against the [Pig] Demon Lord, the three new models of the Avalon-Rittersthe three knights as we called themwere seriously damaged.
After receiving Roronos permission, I used [Create]an ability I could only use while in the [Awakening] stateand made the three knights evolve.
These evolved knights were made stronger by their advanced materials as well as by several new technologies.
By advanced materials, I was primarily referring to the unknown magic metal they were made of. Even Rorono, the worlds best cksmith, was unable to identify it. Whatever it was though, it exceeded even orichalcum in terms of lightness, receptiveness to magic power, durability, magical resistance, and more.
When the [War] ended, Rorono began analyzing the evolved three knights. At the same time, she was also trying to figure out how to reproduce them.
At the very least, she was thinking of how to obtain more of that mysterious metal.
And so, she considered the [Mine] dungeon room which produced metals in ordance to the Demon Lords strength.
s, we had already done a thorough survey after the [War], and the new metal was nowhere to be seen. All of the recent levels that I gained as well as the strength I had gained from my [Monsters of the Covenant] did increase the amount of orichalcum present, but there was nothing more than that.
Today, we were going to do a new experiment.
Considering that a Demon Lords strength increased vastly when in the [Awakening] state, it follows that the metals that we could mine would improve if I assumed such a state. Perhaps then we could find that new metal.
However, just because I was in the [Awakening] state didnt mean that the [Mine] rooms deposits would change instantly. [Mine] rooms updated their deposits at only one uncertain point in time each day. In other words, I needed to time when I would be in the [Awakening] state to that reset point.
Under those assumptions, Rorono asked for my cooperation.
...and then, I carelessly forgot and postponed it.
My carelessness aside, there was a reason we were only doing this today. The short of it was that [Awakening] was extremely exhausting.
At the moment, I could only stay in that state for a few minutes.
That meant that we needed to pinpoint the exact time the reset urs or risk doing it for nothing. For that reason, Rorono had to develop equipment to detect the signs for the reset first before we could proceed.
"Master, heres your tea."
"Thanks, Rorono"
At the moment, we were in the [Mine] Room. While waiting for the sensor nearby to pick up some signs for the reset, we sat down, enjoyed some tea and snacks, and watched the golems continuously dig.
When I looked up, I saw some Darkness Dragons flying as fast as they could. Most likely, they were training for the races. The prize being the privilege of eating as much as they could in the [Forest] room, each one of them was deadly serious.
Looking at the dragons, I was then reminded of the B rank monsters that I unlocked when I made Fallen Angel Raphael.
I should examine them more closely.
I only just nced at my Demon Lord book so I wasnt really sure why, but apparently, I could make [Maelstroms] for them. My theory was that because I didnt use [Person], they were ssified as holy bird monsters rather than humanoid monsters.
Whatever the case, they were probably going to be another keyponent of my war potential.
"Rorono, is your analysis of the evolved 3 knights going well?"
"Mhm. I havepleted all the necessary tests. I could say with confidence that I have learned most the techniques and technologies used. Knowing what I know now, it really is too bleeding edge. Im a bit jealous, to be honest... but then again, it seems I can improve their designs further, so that gives me some measure of satisfaction. It also seems likely that I can mass-produce them."
Amazing as always. She did all that while preparing our new home and developing the sensors? Just wow.
"And if this experiment seeds and we can mine the new magic metal, what do you n to do with it?"
"First on my list is improving my [Mechanized Warmaiden]. The battle against the [Pig] Demon Lord has shown me that its current form is utterly insufficient. Both Kuina and Aura have grown and are continuing to grow stronger. If I stay as I am, I will definitely get left behind. Thus, I must also grow stronger. That being said, once I have improved my [Mechanized Warmaiden], I want to make better weapons for the two of them and all the others."
"I look forward to that. Once youve done it, show to me, alright?"
"Of course. Actually, on the assumption that we would seed today, I have already begun making designs. In the case that the experiment today is a failure, however, Im considering of dismantling one of the three evolved knights."
Rorono said so with a serious look on her face.
It seemed like, as the worlds best alchemist, she wanted to experiment with the new material no matter what.
The two of us continued to chat idly.
The time of the reset wasnt fixed. In fact, it was randomized. All that was certain was that it would happen once a day. And since the sensors havent detected anything today, we should be able to catch it as long as we waited long enough.
It might take a while, but I didnt dislike these moments. After all, Rorono who was doing her best to hold a conversation with me was very adorable.
And so, we waited.
After some time, it arrived.
The nearby sensor made loud and incessant sounds.
"Master, the reset will happen begin in one minute. Please prepare to use [Awakening]!"
"Got it."
Filled with excitement, Rorono said so with a raised voice.
And now, time to test our theory.
"[Awakening]!"
Like always, magic power within me rose. Alongside it were these dark urges.
I allowed these dark urges to take hold, but denied them of onest shred of my consciousness.
Without looking away, I faced my dark self who was full of ugly desires and controlled it.
My back swelled, and then eventually revealed ck wings.
At the same time, my eyes glowed as though it was set aze.
Throughout the process, my power rose and rose.
After a while, my transformation wasplete. I have Awakened.
"Rorono, has the reset happened yet?"
"Not yet. 30 more seconds... 20... 10... 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, now!"
Appearance-wise, nothing changed, but I myself felt the [Mine] shifting within.
"Golems, begin the survey!"
As per Roronos instruction, golems carrying special equipment deployed.
This special equipment was for detecting the presence of the new magic metal. ording to Rorono, this unknown metal gave off a different enough signature from orichalcum and other metals that she needed to develop a new tool to detect it.
"Master, please stay in that state for as long as possible. Its possible that there are already some of the new metal under the ground, but lets make sure first."
"I cant hold on for long, but yeah, Ill give you what I can."
At this point, I was drenched in my sweat.
Like always, [Awakening] was exhausting.
But if for the sake of gaining a new and better metal, it was totally worth it.
The one who has truly worked hard was Rorono. I could only imagine the amount of effort she had put in to prepare for today.
Even now, she was doing her best. She was quickly analyzing the vast amount of data being sent to her tabletputer as well as to theputer terminals being carried by golems.
"How is it?"
"...the [Mine]s deposits certainly have changed. There are now nearly twice as much orichalcum than usual. Our theory that the [Mine] will adjust its deposits to reflect the Demon Lords power levels during the time of the reset is spot on."
"So, [Awakening] really is the key, isnt it? If so, then it shouldnt be strange to find that new metal now."
"Mhm. But at this point, all we can do is hope well find some."
Several hundred golems, each one carrying the new surveying tool, were thoroughly searching the [Mine] room.
To simplify things a bit, Rorono operated her tablet in order for another device to project a map into the air.
Each area that has been thoroughly searched but not yielded results were marked with an X. If an area were to have the new metal, it would be marked with an ?.
Sadly, there have been nothing but Xs on the map so far.
Understandably frustrated at the results, Rorono was biting her thumbnail.
As expected, it wasnt long before I undid my [Awakening] and returned to my usual form.
And then, two hours passed.
About 80% of the map was now littered with Xs. Both Rorono and I were about to resign ourselves to the prospect of failure.
Just then though, Roronos eyes became wide open.
From the vast amounts of data that she was quickly analyzing, she picked a set sent by a certain golem and erged it.
And then, she smiled.
"Theres no mistaking it, this reaction, its the same as the metal thats in the evolved three knights! Father, we found it! We finally found it! Our experiments a sess!"
Rorono, ovee with emotions, hugged me and even called me father instead of master.
"...thats great news. You really did a great job, Rorono. And for that, I think you deserve a reward."
"Im so d. Im really so d."
Rorono was on the verge of tears.
Now that she was relieved and rxed though, the strength from her body left her.
Thankfully, I managed to catch her before she fell to the ground. But supporting her like that made her glow bright red.
In the meantime, the other golems kept sending the data they gathered.
It wasnt long before the map wasplete.
There were countless of Xs and only 1 ?.
In this vast and great [Mine] room, the new magic metal was in only one small location. As to be expected, it was a hard-to-find metal.
"Master, Ive received a message from the golems. They say theyve finished digging up the new metal."
"Then, please tell them to bring it here. I want to see it."
"Mhm, Ill make them go here right away."
The ground rumbled as a Mithril Golem carrying the magic metal approached. When it arrived, it then carefully presented the metal before us.
Being whitish gold, it was of a curious hue.
Its surface was absurdly smooth, but more importantly, an amazing amount of magic power could be felt from it.
I then lifted it up. For its size, it was extremely light. And when I lightly hit it, a solid sound was made.
Lightweight, receptive to magic power, durable, magic resistant, all of these excellent qualities were present in this dream-like metal.
"Master, this chunk weighs about 2 kilograms. It seems that, despite how vast the [Mine] is, we can only get this much in a day."
"Which is not nearly enough to make a golem."
"Mhm, so Im going to use this to make a weapon instead. This should be enough to make at least one."
Due to their size, she would need a lot more to make a golem. If we save a months worth, maybe then we would have enough.
"...as you know, master, once the reset happens tomorrow, the deposits of the [Mine] will go back to normal"
"Uh-huh"
At the risk of sounding obvious, if I and my power levels were to go back as my normal self, the amount and kind of metals we could mine were going to go back to normal as well.
"Considering what I will use them forlike testing, repair, and manufacturing of I want to have at least 10 kilograms of this new metal. For that reason, I have a favor to ask you, master: I want you to do your work here for one week starting tomorrow. The omens for a reset could only be picked up a minute before it happens, and even if I do contact you as quickly as possible, I fear you still wouldnt make it here in time."
I needed about 30 seconds to enter my [Awakening] state.
Moreover, since each dungeon room was in a separate dimension, we couldnt use radio frequency devices tomunicate between rooms.
And so, a minute just wasnt enough for me to arrive in time, especially if I was in the middle of something.
"For Avalons sake, Ill indulge your request."
"Thank you, master! I love you!"
Roronos eyes were sparkling.
She was like a child who was given a new toy. But then again, I couldnt me her. All the possible things she could do and make with the metal must have excited her.
"By the way, what are we calling this new metal? No one else knows of a magic metal that exceeds orichalcum, it seems. Because of that, it doesnt have a name."
It was possible that no one else but me has ever acquired this metal.
...well, its nearly impossible to obtain, after all.
First of all, a Demon Lord needed to have three S rank monsters, who could level up and have leveled up a lot, as their [Monsters of the Covenant]. Just having 3 S rank monsters was difficult enough for most Demon Lords.
Next, they needed to have ess to [Awakening] to increase their strength further. And then, since there was no Demon Lord that could always be in [Awakening], they needed to time its activation to the reset of their [Mine]. Even if they get lucky enough, they would still have to find where the mysterious metal appeared in the [Mine] before the next reset, lest they do it all over again.
"If it can only be found in Avalon, then lets call it Avalon Jewel. Also, it has a lot of interesting special characteristics. Its a metal, yet its more like a magic stone. ...Hence, a jewel"
"A jewel, huh? Well, considering how rare they are, Id say jewel is quite right."
It was a good name.
Avalon Jewel. I look forward to all the wonderful and new trump cards that will be made from it.
"I should now bring the Avalon Jewel back to my workshop and do some research. Knowing that theres some spare, I can now do experiments to the evolved three knights that I wasnt able to before."
Visibly excited, Rorono then put the Avalon Jewel into a backpack.
She had worked an absurd amount for at least thest couple of days, and yet here she was, ready to go again. She really loves researching, doesnt she?
I couldnt help but smile wryly.
"Before that, why dont we grab a bite? We didnt notice it, but its already dark. I for one could eat. Why dont you join me? I mean, its been a while since the wejust you and Iate out. So, how about it? Lets go?"
"Mhm. Itd make me happy to be alone with you for a bit longer."
And so, Rorono and I linked arms.
Im so d she epted. I would be so depressed if she said she would rather do her research. This might be wishful thinking, but I hope this means that she loves me as much as she loves doing research.
Even if it was just a little, I wanted to make my hardworking daughter happier and less tired.
If I remember correctly, that shop served some delicious and first-ss shrimps. Alright, well go there and eat as much of her favorite as we can!
Volume 10 11
We were able to gain more of the metal that exceeded orichalcum, and gave it the name of Avalon Jewel.
It had impressive lightness, receptiveness to magic power, durability, magic resistance, and more.
It was so light in fact that its specific gravity was 1.5, which was less than a quarter of irons.
Moreover, it had other special characteristics ording to Rorono.
While it was a mineral, it offered a simr function to that of an ultra-high grade information integrated circuit and data processing system that converted emotions to a proportional amount of magic power. When Rorono said that it was like a or a , it suddenly became easier to understand.
Additionally, by pouring in magic power of a specific wavelength, its mass could be increased. If we were to apply this, we could make a usually light and easy to wield weapon that would turn heavy the moment it hit its target.
...and then, Rorono whispered Or we can also make a ck Hole canon.
I didnt react, but making such a terrifyingly dangerous thing could be interesting.
At any rate, we came to the [Mine] room today as well to redo what we did yesterday.
That said, even though it was fine yesterday to just wait for the reset time and do nothing else, a second round of that was quite wasteful of our time.
And so, I brought the necessary paperwork and worked on them in the simple tent that was set up. When it was time for my appointment with some merchants, I intended to return to Avalon. If the reset happened while I was away, there was nothing else to it than to try again the day after.
Meanwhile, Rorono had various tools and machinery, and did her research here.
"Master, I have a proposal."
"Im listening."
"If youre going to use [Awakening] anyway, rather than this troublesome method, why not use [Create] on lumps of orichalcum as well as Avalon-Ritters to obtain arge amount of Avalon Jewel?"
"Oh, I havent thought of that."
If the three knights, which were golems made of orichalcum, turned into golems made of Avalon Jewel when I used [Create] on them, it was reasonable to think that even regr Avalon-Ritters would be made of it too.
Moreover, it might also be possible to turn orichalcum itself into Avalon Jewel.
Compared to the method of timing my [Awakening] with the [Mine]s reset point, where we could only gain 2 kilograms of Avalon Jewel in a day, this method might be able to give us much more.
"Lets try it. However, since we dont know yet if itll seed, and since I really dont want to use [Awakening] twice in a day due to the exhaustion it brings, lets try it during the reset method."
"Mhm, I agree. In the meantime, Ill bring in the necessary Avalon-Ritter and orichalcum."
"Ok. But I just had another idea. Why not use [Create] again on an evolved knight? Maybe itll evolve again, be made of a metal that exceeds even Avalon Jewel."
"Thats a great idea. Lets do it. Ill summon the ck knight as well."
Rorono then called out to an apprentice, a Dwarf Smith, and made thetter prepare what we needed.
I just hope this n goes smoothly...
The day progressed uneventfully. It was now almost dark.
The time of the reset within the day was random, and it seemed that it was going to be quitete today.
I had already settled all of my work today. Meanwhile, Rorono was still busy with her work.
She had already entrusted a great deal of work to the capable Dwarf Smiths, but a lot still remained on her te.
Development for Fallen Angel Raphaels weapon; examining the Avalon Jewel as well as exploring its applications especially for her [Mechanical Warmaiden]; analyzing the data from the evolved three knights and developing a method to mass produce them; and a whole lot more.
ording to her though, its all to support Avalon, so I dont mind.
When I thought of suggesting a coffee break to her, the instrument to sense for signs of the reset gave out an rm.
"Master, its time"
Alright, time to use [Awakening].
This was the first time I was going to use it two days in a row.
Like always, my magic power swelled, dark power and dark thoughts raged within me, and dark wings sprouted from my back.
When I assumed the form that unleashed my potential...
"Ugh!"
My heart creaked.
I felt my whole existence being eroded away. Every part of me that could still feel felt such an unbelievably agonizing sensation.
Soon after, my vision became blurred.
What? What is this? Whats going on? AM I DYING!? Im... Im scared.
Such were my thoughts as I fell to my knees.
"Father! Are you ok, father!?"
Rorono rushed toward me and embraced me.
But then, I coughed out some blood.
Haaa. Haaaaa. Haaaaaaa. Deep breaths, deep breaths.
"I-Im alright... I just, I just underestimated [Awakening]"
Marcho had warned me that if I use it too much, my lifespan would shorten.
I thought that if I used it several times a day but kept the activation time short, there would be no problems. Simrly, I thought that if I limited its use to once a day, there would be no problems in using it every day.
Now that I had tried it though, using it every day was out of the question. There needed to be more time in between.
"Im so sorry, father. If, if only I didnt make such a selfish request-"
"Theres nothing you have to apologize for. This is my own fault. After weve finished here, if I just go back home and eat one of Auras golden apples, Ill be well in no time."
During that time, Roronos sensor indicated that the reset had happened.
Thats our first goal down. Now, I just need to push myself a little bit more.
I was already in [Awakening], so I didnt see how using [Create] would make things worse.
And so, I stood up and walked unsteadily toward the Avalon-Ritters and the lump of orichalcum.
"Father, stop. Please, thats enough."
"We mustnt waste the chance. I know I can still do this much. [Create]"
Thus, I used [Create] on three things.
The ck knight which had already evolved once through [Create].
One of the regr Avalon-Ritters.
And a lump of orichalcum.
To my shock, the ck knight refused to ept the magic power I was pouring into it. Thankfully, the other two epted it just fine.
I wanted to see the results as soon as possible. When I tried to focus, my mind went nk and I fell forward.
"Father! Father!"
Off in the distance, I could faintly hear Roronos voice.
I opened my eyes.
I looked at my surroundings and realized that I was in my room.
"Oh, thank goodness, youre finally awake, father."
Upon seeing me wake up, Roronos eyes quickly overflowed with tears.
I passed out, huh.
I had little doubt that this was caused by using [Create] after being weakened by the use of [Awakening] two days in a row.
"Im sorry I worried you"
I said so and then brushed her head.
"No, Im sorry, father. This is all because I stupidly wanted more Avalon Jewel."
She seems convinced it was her fault.
"Rorono, listen, you dont have to apologize. Really. Its my fault for not assessing things properly. Next time, I should leave a gap of at least 3 days between use."
My experience this time was extremely harrowing.
It was like I was losing my own existence. I had no desire to feel that ever again.
"Father, even three days might not be enough. Abstain for at least a week. Actually, why dont you ask Marcho-sama? If she says even a weeks not enough, you should extend it further."
"Now, thats worrying too much."
"No, Im worrying at the right amount, and you should too. I just... after seeing you suddenly cough out blood and then passing out, theres no way I could stay calm."
Rorono got mad and puffed her cheeks out her.
I was ustomed to seeing such an expression on Kuina, but this was new for Rorono.
And it might be rude to her, but I honestly thought she was cute like that.
"Okay, I understand. I will listen to your advice."
By the way, I was still feeling a bit feverish. Im still suffering from some aftereffects, huh.
"Oh, d to see youve already woken up. Rorono-chan suddenly bursting into the apple ntation and screaming, help, father, father might die, really surprised me, you know."
"It would seem Ive worried you as well, Aura."
The inside of my mouth tasted a bit sweet.
Most likely, I was made to drink a potion made out of Auras golden apples while I was unconscious.
"Think nothing of it. I got to be of service, and that will always be a pleasure. Now, I must inform you that your body, your mind, and, above all, your soul are all greatly weakened. Really makes you realize how dangerous of a power [Awakening] is, doesnt it?"
"...yeah. Ill be more careful next time."
"Master, as you know, I am a monster that could perceive things like the state of ones mind and soul better than others, better than most. So, please heed my advice. If you think that youve merely passed out from exhaustion, youre gravely mistaken. You were a hairs breadth away from sustaining a permanent, unheble wound to your soul. Yes, you can recover this time, but even so, it will take time and proper treatment. From today onwards, I will be checking up on you every day. Until I say so, you are prohibited from using [Awakening] and [Creation]."
"Isnt banning the use of even [Creation] a bit too much?"
"[Creation] makes use of not only your magic power, but also of the power of your soul. Think of it as overkill if you want, but if we dont do this, you might end up getting worse, ok? If you stay in this room to soak up on the golden apple trees life energy as well as drink my special potion, you should be able to use [Creation] in... lets see... about 4 days. As for [Awakening], I cant quite tell yet."
I knew the situation was serious, but it was apparently much, much worse than I thought.
Never mind [Create], without ess to even [Creation], I would be in grave danger if I was somehow drawn into a [War]. I must avoid such a situation at all cost. At least until I could use [Awakening] again.
"I understand and I will heed your advice, Aura. Now, Rorono, could you please stop crying? It hurts me to see a tear on you."
"...Mhm, Ill stop. But father, you mustnt overdo it ever again. When you were coughing out blood and said you were going to use [Create], I was really, really scared. And when you did use it, I thought you died. I thought all hope was lost."
Rorono said so while crying in my chest.
But then, the door suddenly and violently opened.
"Oto-san, are you alright!?"
After asking so, Kuina jumped toward me with great momentum.
Thisll definitely hurt...
Thankfully, Aura was just in time to grab Kuina by the scruff of her neck.
"Kuina-chan, I understand how you feel, but diving in like that will only finish off a sick person, you know."
"Let! Kuina! Go! Kuina must make sure Oto-sans alright!"
While iling her arms, Kuinained so.
Aura, grinning and smiling, slowly carried such a Kuina toward me before eventually letting her go. The moment she was let go, Kuina gave me tight embrace.
"Thank goodness! Thank goodness youre safe!"
"Im sorry to have worried you too."
"Geez, Oto-san! Youre always telling me that I always push myself too much, but here you are overdoing it yourself!"
"So Ive heard from Rorono and Aura."
Ive really made a mess this time.
"Rorono, Im really sorry for overdoing it, but I want to know about the result of my foolishness."
"Mhm, alright. The golems were able to mine some Avalon Jewel this time as well. However..."
"However?"
"However, the use of [Create] wasnt as sessful. The ck knight remained exactly the same. The Avalon-Ritter did evolve, but not as we hoped it would. New technologies were installed, but its body didnt be made of Avalon Jewel. As for the lump of orichalcum, it became an alloy made from orichalcum and a few other metals. This alloy did have an increased performance, but it was an alloy that I already knew of and could make."
"I see."
Perhaps I couldnt use [Create] on things I had already used on. Maybe there was a limit on how much I could make something evolve. Which was a real shame, since I was hoping I could make things evolve infinitely.
As for why the Avalon-Ritter didnt be made of Avalon Jewel, my guess was that it was just out of reach for them. Unless a golems overall performance was on par with one of the three knights, maybe it was just impossible for them to be made of Avalon Jewel. Maybe the sum of their parts was taken into consideration more.
The lump of orichalcum should follow the same theory.
I might have failed, but having a deeper understanding of my [Create] was still a step forward for me.
"Rorono, Im sorry we werent able to get more Avalon Jewel. Unless you have something much better in mind, for now, make use of what we have to make new weapons and equipment."
"Understood. I wont waste your efforts, father."
Combining today and yesterdays results, we only had 4 kilograms of Avalon Jewel. It was a middling amount, but since it was much less dense than iron, it should be enough for now, especially for making weapons. At the very least, Rorono and her ingenuity should be able to make it be enough.
"Alright, Im feeling much better now, so Im going to check on the letters that have arrived."
""No!""
Both Kuina and Rororno brought their faces near mine and eximed so.
Kuina even pinned me down.
"Oto-san, sick people should rest!"
"Mhm. We wont let you get out of bed today."
Cold sweat ran down my spine.
I was ttered they were concerned, but this seemed a bit much.
"Master, I agree with them. Please rest until morning. I have already sent a letter to Marcho-sama detailing todays events. She should be here by tomorrow, and all preparations for her arrival have been taken care of. Until Marcho-sama and I both think that its ok to do so, please refrain from working."
Kuina and Rorono nodded to Auras advice.
I could use my authority as their Demon Lord to order them to stand aside, but it wasnt worth it.
There was no work in the world that was worth making my girls more worried than they already were.
"I understand. I will take it easy today."
"Yay?! Well be nursing you today!"
"Mhm. Well devote ourselves to making father get better."
Under the present circumstances, it was hard to feel excited, but I was happy nheless thanks to them.
Kuina and Rorono proceeded to jump into my bed.
Theres no escape now. I should just give in and be a good patient. If nursing me back is going to make them happy, then being sick now and then isnt so bad.
TL Note: G-stone and J-jewel are from the mecha anime
Volume 10 12
I had underestimated the aftereffects of [Awakening], and thus copsed right in front of Rorono.
Because of that...
"Oto-san, this meat, so delicious"
"Father, stroke my head more"
Because of that, my arms became the body pillows of my 2 sleeping girls.
To give a bit more exnation, until I was better, Kuina and Rorono were to keep a real close watch on me to make sure I would abstain from working.
Not that I wasining.
Besides, Im sure Ill be fine enough to work by tomorrow. Hopefully, even Marchos going to see that when shees tomorrow. For now, I should get some shut eye myself. As they say, rest is the shortcut to recovery.
I opened my eyes.
Just like before, Kuina and Rorono were still clinging tightly to my arms.
Well, I cant go to work while theyre like this. I guess I should just go back to sleep and try againter.
I thought so, but then...
The door opened, and a brown-skinned woman with white wolf tail and ears entered.
It was Marcho. And just behind her was Aura.
"I was so worried that I did everything to make time for a visit, yet here you are, casually flirting. Arent you healthier than ever, Lolicell?"
"Marcho, wee. Thank you foring."
[Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias was my guardian Demon Lord, but through [Rebirth], the power I received from the Creator, she became my monster.
"Lolicell will always be Lolicell, I guess."
"Can you stop with the Lolicell? Theres nothing wrong going on here. They said they wanted to make sure I was resting, and its just that the best way to do that is by always being by my side."
Ever since the beginning, Marcho has been calling me Lolicell, even though I was absolutely not a lolicon.
"Sure, whatever you say. Anyway, you sure are reckless, arent you? You saw firsthand how [Awakening] almost was the death of me, and yet you still did such an absurd thing."
Due to the schemes of the [ck] Demon Lord, several Demon Lords attacked Marcho. To defend herself and her dungeon, Marcho used [Awakening] several times. For that though, her lifespan got even shorter. Actually, she was in the brink of vanishing when I offered and she epted the power of [Rebirth].
"I thought that as long as I limited the use to once per day, it would be fine if I used it for a long time."
"Oh, Procell, youre too na?ve. Unless your souls in perfect condition, you shouldnt use [Awakening]. It varies from Demon Lord to Demon Lord, but on average, you should limit its usage to once per month. Even in times of emergencies, you should try to use it only once every three days. ...just remember, [Awakening] is a double-edged sword."
So thats the span of time for the safe use of [Awakening]. But since it varies from Demon Lord to Demon Lord, maybe the downtimes much shorter for me...?
"Since Aura can see the state of ones soul, let her check yours every morning. Unless she says your souls in perfect condition, avoid using [Awakening]. You dont have a problem with that, do you?"
"Well, Ill only have to refrain from using it for a few days; its not like its forever. So, yeah, I agree with what you said."
I nned to exercise more caution from now on, but I was still going to use [Awakening] as much as I could. As soon as Aura has determined the state of my soul was good enough, I would use it.
After all, gathering more Avalon Jewel was very important for Avalon at the moment.
"Very well, as we have agreed upon, I am going to do a medical examination every morning. By the way, master, the state of your soul today is absolutely awful. Its all battered."
"Understood. Ill do whatever you say is good. I mean, even I dont want to die, after all."
If I died, that would mean my girls would be left all alone. For that reason, I absolutely could not die.
"Seeing how easy things got settled, I guess there wasnt any point for me toe here, was there?"
"I disagree, Marcho-sama. Just you stating that [Awakening] should only be used when the Demon Lords soul is in perfect condition is a big deal already. Thanks for the help."
"Youre such a good girl, Aura. Well, the two sleeping over there are too. Procells really blessed to have you girls as his [Monsters of the Covenant]. There are those who would trick or even cause the death of their Demon Lords, but you girls, youre content with just being near him. But before I get totally sidetracked, how battered is his soul right now? Will even standing up or walking be too much for him?"
"Not at all. Thanks to my golden apple potion, he shouldnt have any problems in doing simple, everyday tasks. That being said, using any Demon Lord powers, including his [Creation], ispletely prohibited."
If I was prohibited from using all of my Demon Lord powers, then even the testing of the monster that was two ranks below Raphael would have to be postponed.
"There you have it, Procell. Be sure to listen to what she says, okay? But if he doesnt, contact me, Aura. Ille here right away to knock some sense into him."
"Dont you trust me?"
"I do, but its outweighed by my worry for you. I mean, youre usually all calm and prudent, but once in a while, you do these crazy things!"
I had noeback.
"Moving on, well, since I came all the way here, and since Aura said it was fine for you to do some light activities, lets go on a date."
"Sure. Lets go grab breakfast first though."
For today at least, I should take it easy.
There shouldnt be any pressing matters to attend to anyways. Moreover, I felt a bit indebted to her foring all this way despite her busy schedule.
But above all reasons, I just wanted to go on a date with her.
After changing my clothes, as well as after eating breakfast with Marcho, the two of us went to the city.
Kuina and Rorono wanted me to stay in bed, but after Aura exined that there was nothing to worry about as long as I followed her instruction to not use [Creation] or any of my Demon Lord Powers, the two conceded.
"As ever, your dungeons so bustling."
"Yeah, but were just getting started."
The selling of the units in the newlypleted residential district was going well.
All the units in the apartment buildings had already been sold to the merchants who would then sell each unit to ordinary citizens. Additionally, about half of the orthodox houses had been sold to the public.
As for the empty plots ofnd, they were selling quite well too, which in turn meant great business for the carpenters.
A lot of the buyers of these properties were from outside the city. In other words, the number of Avalons citizens should grow quite soon.
If Avalon had more citizens, I would have more emotions to feed on as well as DP, which then tranted to me growing ever more powerful.
"You know, when I first heard you were going to build a city, I honestly thought it would fail. I mean, there have been a bunch of other Demon Lords that have tried to do the same, but most of them have failed. Its just you and [ck] that have seeded."
Just because one built a city, that didnt automatically mean the humans woulde and gather.
Having some financial power would help, but having something unique to the city to attract the humans was much, much more important. Without some means or monster to make such a thing, a city was out of the question. I had Rorono and Aura, but other Demon Lords wouldnt be so lucky.
"Well then, let me give you a taste of Avalons charms with this date. Is there anywhere in particr youd like to go to?"
"Lets see. I didnt get to y much thest time, so how about the casino? Ill leave it up to you where to go next after that."
"Okay. To the casino, then."
We had improved the casino quite a bit since thest time she was there. Hopefully, shed like it even more.
After a while of walking while chatting idly, we arrived at the casino.
It seemed like it was busy since it opened.
Upon arrival, we ran into someone I knew. That someone was being carried out by two bunny-eared Mythological Foxes.
"Dear guest, please know that you are hereby banned from this establishment."
"Please dont evere back here."
"Whaaaaat? But I wasnt cheating or anything. ...you know"
Only one of my monsters talked in such a peculiar manner: Fallen Angel Raphael.
"...what the heck did you do to be banned, Raph?"
Ahh, my head hurts already.
In our casino, we try to refrain from giving out bans as much as possible. So, to be banned, she must have done something that truly crossed the line.
"Your majesty, theyre so awful. I was just ying normally, and then I won, and won, and kept on winning. But then, they stopped me from ying, gave me my winnings so far, and told me to nevere again."
With tears flowing, Raph clung onto me.
"Wait, how much did you win?"
"Hmm, this much"
When Raph showed how much she had won, my headache grew worse.
It was as much as one week of revenue for the casino, if not more.
It wasnt a surprise then for her to be banned. If they allowed her to y as she was, the casino would be cleaned out in no time.
"How did you manage to win this much?"
Our casino employed first-rate dealers whose senses were extremely sharp. For those who were going to cheat via magic, we installed magic power sensors that were developed by Rorono.
Of course, other measures were also in ce to make sure that stupidly big wins didnt happen often.
"I just yed normally? I started ying some card games and betting on the dragon races. I won in those and got more money. I then yed the roulette. It said I could win 36 times of what I bet, so I bet all that Ive won. And then, I won, and did it again, and again, and again!"
So, it was just luck?
As to be expected of the S+ Luck of an S rank monster, it was nothing to scoff at.
"O, but now, my rxation spots gone..."
Raph looked dejected.
I wanted to help her out, but it would be disastrous for the casino if I let her to continue to roam free there.
But then again, I didnt want to snatch away what my monster enjoyed doing.
"If you promise to only y at the low-rate slots and the dragon races, and also to bet a maximum of 3 chips at a time, Ill convince them to let you back in."
"I promise! Oh, your majesty, I so love you!"
In her excitement, Raph hugged me.
For someone of her short stature, she had a rather impressive set. Try as I might, my awareness kept being pulled toward the pressure they gave.
"Ohh, I see, Lolicell made a new girl. And wow, despite being Lolicell, you have that kind of taste as well, hmm"
"I keep telling you, please stop it with the Lolicell stuff."
Marcho said so with a look of disdain, but I decided to focus first on Raphs problems.
So long as she abided by my conditions, there shouldnt be any significant issues.
And so, after freeing myself from Raphs embrace, I talked to someone in charge and exined the new arrangement.
When I informed her that it was now all settled, Raph thanked me again and then excitedly returned to the casino.
d to know she can enjoy her off hours as much as she wants again.
"Say, what was that slots thing you mentioned earlier? I dont think Ive ever heard of that game before. It sounds fun."
"I think its better to show it to you first."
I said so and then led her by the hand toward Avalons newest showpiece.
The ce was filled with a bizarre zeal.
The guests were staring fixedly at the multiple cabs that were installed.
Music was ying in background, apanied by the sound of the reels continuously spinning.
"So, I win if three of the same symbol lines up?"
"Basically, yes. The number of chips you win depends on the kind of symbol that lines up. For example: if three apples appear in a line, you win 30 times of what you bet; the jewels give 100 times; and the golden apples give out 300 times the bet."
We had three kinds of slot machines. The main difference of each kind was the amount a guest would bet.
The most expensive one required a chip that was worth 1 gold coin. For reference, a gold coin was enough to sustain an average household for a whole month. Because of that, it was almost just the truly rich who would bet on these machines without any hesitation.
On the other hand, because almost anyone could afford to y with the cheapest machines, there were a wide variety of people who wanted to use it.
Slots were very convenient.
Our casino was a huge sess. So much so that a lot of people had to wait to get a chance to enter. So, to continue growing, we tried to solve the issue time and time again. No matter what we tried though, the thing that was holding us back the most was the number of our first-rate dealers. Sadly, getting more of them was quite difficult.
On the other hand, slots could entertain arge number of people without the need of a dealer, first-rate or otherwise.
When I came up with the idea of using slot machines, I asked the Dwarf Smiths to develop them, but what they made was beyond what even I imagined.
Since we didnt use electricity, at least not in the casino, the slots were powered by golem cores. One golem core powered about ten cabs. As such, these cabs could be technically called a golem.
Marcho went and exchanged her money for some chips.
And then, without any sign of hesitation, she headed toward the most expensive cabs.
"Are you sure? If you get unlucky, you could lose 300 gold coins in just an hour."
That amount could sustain an average household for two to three years.
"Its fine; Ive saved a lot of the human beings money. Besides, its no fun if the risk is too small."
While smiling, Marcho watched as the reels turned.
Could it be that shes the type to be ruined by gambling?
After the slot machines, we enjoyed the races, yed some card games, and then rxed while drinking at a bar. When we had enough, we exited the casino.
On our way out, we bought some frog-shaped cakes.
Seeing Marcho, otherwise known as the big shot that was the [Beast] Demon Lord, the shopkeeper, Ronove, frog-jumped to the ceiling and hit his head.
And when Marcho said that the frog-shaped cakes were delicious, he repeatedly bowed his head.
"Yeah, that was fun! Oh, I got a good idea. Send some of those slots to my dungeon. I want my monsters to enjoy it too."
"Sure thing. Ill talk to the Dwarf Smiths about it. But are you sure though? Those thingse in sets of ten, so they could take up quite the space."
Marcho evidently liked the slot machines.
"Yeah, its fine. The more the better, in fact."
Since there were still some space left, and since space was all the slot machines required, the Dwarf Smiths were still continuing to build more machines every day.
By the way, because the slot machines had a processing unit in the form of the golem cores, no amount of timing to stop the reels could help the yer. Only luck mattered. Additionally, the golems cores were programed to pay out, over time, 90% of the machines earnings. That meant that there should be plenty of winners.
Talking like that, we wondered around the city without any particr goal in mind. If she sees something she likes though, Im going to buy it for her as a present.
"Procell, I think you really get it now after this painful experience, but you shouldnt underestimate [Awakening]s negative effects on you too much. Like Ive been saying, its a double-edged sword."
"...yeah, I wont anymore. The tears falling down from my daughters eyes are enough to make me learn my lesson. I dont ever want to see that again."
"Good. Dont forget that feeling. Now, if youll also let Aura take a look at you every day, Id be relieved."
A monster that could care for ones well-being, even their souls, was exceedingly rare. I definitely owe that girl.
"Moving on, my intelligencework suspects that your enemies will act soon. Have you prepared yourselves?"
"Certainly. Were ready for them anytime."
Before my present condition, I had been continuously using [Creation] to produce the rare metals that were necessary to make high-powered explosives.
We had already regained the amount we had used during the Marcho-rescue campaign, including the weapon of mass destruction MOAB.
To be honest, I wanted to use [Create] on the MOAB to make it evolve just like I did back then, but that would have to wait until I have recovered.
Regardless, with the number of explosives we had, we could take on even an entire country.
"Thats the right attitude. You cant afford to get careless when your next enemies will try and try until they finally take you down. On that note, you might be nning to not rely on my powers again, but at least this time, let me lend a hand. The odds are too stacked against you."
At the start of each of my [War] ever since she became my monster, a choice whether to join or not was presented to her.
However, each time, I had asked her to refuse.
I had two reasons:
The first was so that we could gain experience. Having her babysit us would hinder us from gaining that valuable experience.
The second was so that we could keep the fact that she was now under my control a secret for a bit longer. Marchos existence as my monster was a trump card in itself. Just the surprise of her appearing in the white space beside me was enough to turn the table against enemies that could definitely kill me. Because of that, she wasnt really a card to be yed against someone of the [Pig] Demon Lords caliber.
"Marcho, about that. Sorry, but Id like you to refuse the option of joining this time as well. You see..."
I then exined my n to her.
I wouldnt be dependent on her, but I also wouldnt mind some help from her.
"Ohh. Interesting. Okay, I approve of that. Youre acting more and more like a Demon Lord, you know."
"Thanks for understanding. For the next [War], it isnt just [Wind] Demon Lord Sts thats going to lend me a hand, but also [Despair] Demon Lord Belial. For that reason, your role is truly vital."
I must know whether Belials a real friend or not.
"Okay, thats it for the serious talks. Lets go to an inn right away. Your daughters are going to be back home around this time, right? Unless, of course, you get your kick out of them watching?"
"How in the hell could that ever be the case?!"
Marchoughed.
As usual, she was the one who had the upper hand.
And so, we went to an inn and made love.
The enemy side is on the move, huh? Even if my soul is still healing, Im ready for them.
Volume 10 13
A few days had passed since I copsed.
Each morning after that, a medical examination by Aura was added to my after-breakfast routine. She did such an examination mainly by making her Qi pass through my body.
After this mornings examination, Aura gave me a nod.
"Master, youve gotten a lot better. I think there should be no worries now if you used your [Creation] and other Demon Lord powers. That said, its still too early to use [Awakening]."
"Understood. Finally, I can start on the work thats been piling up."
"Please take care to not overdo it."
"I know. I dont ever want to see a crying Rorono ever again."
Without [Creation], I wasnt able to make the rare metals and other materials for the explosives that we needed. Due to theck of materials, the operation of the skeletons ordnance factory was suspended for several days.
Obviously, we wanted to secure a way to obtain such materials without [Creation], but we just couldnt find any. Even if we someday find some, I feared it would be too few for our needs.
There were materials that resembled primitive ck powder elsewhere and we could import it, but their quality was too low and couldpromise our firepower.
Thanks to thebined effect of the [Recovery] Room and the Qi from the golden apple tree here, I could recover my magic power a lot faster, thus allowing me to use [Creation] to replenish our stocks more than ever before.
"Here is todays medicine. Take half of it in the morning, and then the other half in the evening. At this pace, it shouldnt take too long for you to make aplete recovery."
"Thanks, Aura."
I received the medicine from Aura and put it into a bag.
I then took out a notebook and checked my schedule for the day.
It seemed like I had only a few duties today as the citys lord, so I should have plenty of time to attend to my duties as a Demon Lord.
Alright, with my [Creation] back, Im gonna reopen the skeletons ordnance factory. After that, Im going to call Kuina and the others to watch while I buy the monster two ranks below Raphael and test it out.
As nned, by noon, we were able to get the skeletons factory back in operation.
Thanks to my repeated level ups as well as the power I had received from my [Monsters of the Covenant], my total magic power has jumped to 20,000.
My [Creation] consumed an amount of magic power equal to 1/10 of the created objects mass. In other words, I could create in one go an object that had 200 kilograms.
"I did decide on replenishing our stocks, but that could be interesting too."
As I was currently, I could make weapons and equipment that I had given up on before due to weight limitations. Things like cannons, missiles, or light vehicles like bikes were now an option.
If Rorono dismantled and researched these new things, she mighte up with improvements or even something entirely new. So, even if it meant an increase in her workload, it might be well worth the effort.
Either way, it was best to consult Rorono first before choosing to focus on that. Im so excited though.
To pass the time while I waited for Kuinas group to return, I hade back to the estate and tackled some paper work.
And just like that, the sun was already setting when I looked outside.
Not long after though, there was a swell of magic power quickly followed by the sound of footsteps.
"Oto-san, were back!"
"Gaugau!"
It was Kuina riding on top of the blue-furred Tiro.
"Master Kuina, youre going too fast, wait up please. ...you know"
A few steps behind was the out-of-breath Raphael.
"How did the hunt go? Alright, I hope"
Being just born, Tiro and Raphs levels were quite low.
For that reason, Kuina has been guiding the two in the [Crimson Cavern] to raise their levels.
Thanks to that, Raph was now around level 20.
It was still low, sure, but she could now take on a B rank monster with a static level by herself.
That meant I could now count on her to fight in the next [War], whenever that was.
"Yup! All thanks to the weapon Rorono-chan made."
"Dont underestimate me, your majesty. As long as I have these, I can fight!"
Around smug-faced Raphs waist was a belt that didnt match her style at all. Hanging from that belt were nine red de-only knives.
When Raph pointed to them, the knives began to float in the air.
"Because those move on their own, theres no problem no matter how clumsy Raph gets, right?"
"Yup, exactly! Her magic takes care of faraway enemies, and the Azoth takes care of anyone thates near. The Azoths been so excellent, we havent had the chance to try the new grenades!"
Those knives were actually golems that possessed the ability to think as well as the ability to propel itself.
Four of the nine knives were programed to automatically strike anyone within 20 meters that Raph has acknowledged as an enemy.
These knives could instantly reach a speed that exceeded that of sound. Moreover, they were given the enchantments of [Thermal Cutting] and [Rendering]. Thanks to those, a one-hit kill was entirely possible.
Meanwhile, two of the nine knives were programmed to intercept any attacks within 5 meters around her. With the enchantments [Barrier] and [Hardening], these two could shut down any superficial attacks.
The remaining three were spares.
The belt that she wore was equipped with smaller but of lower output twin-drive golem cores. The idea was that while the knives were being stored and recharged in the belt, the spares would be the ones used.
Of the three spares, two were attack knives and one was for defense.
Rorono referred to the belt and nine knives as EDN-02 Azoth.
On top of its great performance, anybody could use the Azoth, so it wasnt a surprise that there were already requests for it from the intelligence corps.
"Gaugau!"
"Oh, thank you, Tiro. Im sure Rorono would be d for thebat data youve recorded."
Fastened to Tiros neck was a small camera.
Rorono had given Tiro this camera so that thetter could record the Azoth and Raph in action.
I decided to take the camera and project the recorded video into the air.
...what I saw was terrifying.
The Azoth chopped up any enemy who came near the casually-walking Raph. And if there was someone who was still somehow able to attack, the defense des deflected it.
If you look closely enough, you could see the pile of corpses in the background.
There was no denying it, this weapon was extremely useful.
"I am truly indebted to Rorono-senpai who made such a fantastic thing."
"d to hear it. I think Rorono herself is also grateful to the data you provide for her research on Avalon Jewel."
EDN-02 Azoth was made of Avalon Jewel.
Back when it was still a prototype and was made of orichalcum, each knife made use of Kuinas tail fur. Because the power source was roughly equal to a B rank monsters total magic power, there was an issue between performance and total operation time. To make matters worse, it took a long time to recharge the orichalcum knives in the belt.
But when Avalon Jewel was used as the material, all of these issues were instantly solved.
Thanks to therger magic power capacity as well as the Avalon Jewels feature of generating on its own an amount of magic power proportional to the emotions nearby, this new model could operate for longer before needing to be recharged in the belt.
Rorono had actually given me a set of the EDN-02 Azoth as well. As long as I had this, even if I somehow got myself into a fight, I would not fall so easily.
As a side note, when Rorono gave me and Raph our sets, she told me that she already had a firm grasp on the Avalon Jewels properties. As such, I was looking forward to the application of that and her gatheredbat data on an improved [Mechanical Warmaiden].
"But even if Rorono-senpai needed to practice with the Avalon Jewel, why did she prioritize making a weapon for me?"
"ording to her, since she was making a set for me and an additional one didnt consume a lot of our stock of Avalon Jewel, she might as well make one for you too. Thats true, but in my opinion, the main reason is shes just concerned for you. Despite how she might act, Rorono really cares for herrades, you know."
Raphs [Dark Light Magic] was a very powerful long-range magic attack, but it consumed a lot of magic power. Her [Dark Light Sanctuary] was also powerful, but it required her to be near her enemies, so without a means to fend for herself in close-rangebat, it was extremely risky, if not outright suicidal.
These two were her main forms of attack, but if they were all she had, she would struggle against strong enemies.
We wanted to give her a weapon that she could use for closebat, but her clumsiness and poor motor skills made our current lineup of weapons not an option for her.
For that reason, Rorono thought that she needed the EDN-02 Azoth, which operated regardless of the users skill.
"Im definitely going to pay back Rorono-senpai someday. ...you know"
Fervor in her voice, Raph strongly dered so.
"Then, protect her. Information about her being Avalons core has been leaked. Shell likely be targeted again."
"Understood! Ill keep her safe. Ill blow away her enemies with my grenade!"
Development on Raphs grenades waspleted just recently, and two of the said grenades were hanging from her belt.
ording to Rorono, in the event that Raph faced enemies that she couldnt take down with the Azoth, these wide-ranged, high-powered grenades shoulde in handy. And topensate for Raphs low Physical Strength stat, the grenades had a feature where its damage could be increased by pouring in magic power.
Rorono seemed quite proud of the grenades, so at least once, I wanted to see them in action.
"Alright, thats enough chitchat for now. Just like I said before you departed this morning, Ill be making the B rank monster in Raphs lineage today, and I want you two toe with. If it seems useful, Ill make a [Maelstrom] for it."
"Woah, Ill have new friends."
"Kuina will judge it critically!"
Like that, we went to the [Mine] room.
The name of the B rank monster in Raphs lineage was Jet-ck Bird Nevan.
If it did prove useful and we made it another of Avalons main forces in addition to the Abyss Howls and the Darkness Dragons, we might just be invincible.
Volume 10 14
In order to check out the power of the B rank monster in Raphs lineage, weKuina, Raph, and Iwent to the [Mine] room.
The reason Rorono didnte with us was that this new monster was not the type that could use weapons.
"[I Shall Compose]"
I closed my eyes and uttered those words of power.
In the next moment, a thick grimoire appeared in my hand. It was my Demon Lord Book.
It was supposed to be the mark of a Demon Lord, but I was unable to summon it for a few days. And even though it was just for that few days, I did miss it.
When I thought about the B rank monster in Raphs lineage, the Demon Lord book opened and turned itself to the corresponding page.
The name of the B rank in question was ck Bird Nevan.
Apparently, unlike "regr" angel monsters, there were no fallen angels in the B rank or lower. Because of that, the B rank monster in Raphs lineage was a bird-type instead.
Alright, time to make our newrade.
Thinking that, I paid the required 1,200 DP. After I did, I was notified that I had nearly 600,000 DP left. Amassing such an amount without any goal, even a vague one, in mind was not optimal. I would say it was even wasteful. I have to think of a good investment for these points as quickly as possible.
At any rate, particles of light were gathering in front me, forming the monster.
"So, this is a ck Bird Nevan, huh."
It was a ck eagle that had a somewhat feminine figure.
When it spread its wings, I couldnt help but be mesmerized by the wings beauty.
"Kuruu"
It was a friendly cry. It being a monster of the darkness attribute, I was cautious, but it quickly became apparent that it was unnecessary.
"ck Bird Nevan, impress me with your power!"
With thatmand, it flew to the sky. Because it not only looked like an eagle but also the size of one, it was the smallest of my monsters.
That said, I could feel undeniable power within that tiny frame.
Curious, I looked at its Status.
Race: ck Bird Nevan
B rank
Name: Unnamed
Skill:
ck Bird Nevan didnt have something like Raphs absurd Dark Light Magicwhichbined both darkness and light attribute into one attack and used whichever of enemys resistance was lower. However,bining the fact that darkness magic and light magic, individually, were useful already and that she had ess to both, there was nothing toin about.
In the first ce, there were only a few monsters that were resistant to either the light or the darkness attribute, and there were fewer still monsters that were resistant to both. So, it was basically just a matter of guessing which one to use.
Its Cry of the Ominous Bird wasnt bad either. A sound-based attack was quite hard to avoid in a dogfight. A stun effect was always useful, no question. Moreover, ck Bird Nevan specialized in magic, so a means to lower their enemys magic resistance should work wonders for them.
But then, there was Kin of Angels. I thought it was good, but a bit tricky to use for us.
Our only high-rank angel was Raph, and she was more geared more for offense than defense or support.
On the other side of things, having them help Raph was all fine, but assigning them to guard her, especially considering that skill of hers, was a bit suicidal for the Nevans.
"No, I shouldnt mind these trivial points so much."
The ck Bird Nevan I just summoned was still dancing in the sky.
Its maximum speed wasnt as much as the Darkness Dragons, but it was still worthy of being called fast.
Meanwhile, perhaps owing to its small build, it was much quicker in turning and maneuvering than the Darkness Dragons.
Nevertheless, the A in Agility that both possessed was nothing to take lightly.
In order to demonstrate its capabilities to me, the Nevan followed aplicated flight trajectory.
While doing so, it was also firing off its spells.
A lump of dark power gathered in front of it and then began to drop to the ground, which was several meters below. Because it was a dark attribute attack, rather than crashing into the ground and then destroying it, the attack seemed more like tond on the ground and then devoured it. Either way, arge crater was formed.
Immediately following that, a pir of light pierced through a certain faraway rock. The revealed cross-section was unbelievably smooth. We just bore witness to such a quick and powerful light magic. Granted, its [Kin of Angels] was in effect because of Raphs presence, but even without that, it should still be amazing.
After thinking about it more calmly, I had gained a better grasp of their talents.
To simplify, their speed, flight, and magic gave them overwhelming advantage over others.
A simple yet great tactic would be to make them fire their spells from a great distance and height. If their enemies tried to close the distance, they could either run away or run toward the enemy to use their [Cry of the Ominous Bird].
There was no way such monsters could be called weak. As such, they held great potential to be one of our main forces.
That being said, they were not perfect.
For one, they had a paper-thin Endurance of E+. One blow from a B rank or higher monster could take them down. Actually, with such an Endurance, it was possible some C rank monsters could also take them down in one hit.
Secondly, they were small and only had a Physical Strength of E+. Making them carry bombs was out of the question. Moreover, their form also makes them ineligible for any of our current weapons.
Next, their main form of attack was their magic. But if ever an enemy that was highly resistant to magic, like Kuina who waspletely immune, there was nothing they could do. Sure, they could use their ws and beaks to physically attack, but their Physical Strength of E+ would make that just as useless.
Perhaps it was because they were in the same lineage as Raph, but they shared her weaknesses as well.
It seems that rather than make them form their own unit, I should make them work in tandem with the Darkness Dragons and the Tempest Wyverns.
"Thats enough, Nevan. I have seen what youre capable of. And we can use a lot of it in Avalon. Yes, Ive decided to make your kind another of Avalons main forces. Kuina, Raph, Tiro, I hope youre all fine with this decision."
"Yup! They look promising!"
"Uh-huh, uh-huh. Its as to be expected of a monster in my lineage. ...you know"
"Gau!"
Nevan descended,nded on my shoulder, and then brushed its face against mine.
What a friendly kid.
"To celebrate your kinds inauguration, Ill now buy some [Maelstroms]. I think two will do for now."
I had expected the new monster to be useful for defense, but now that I have seen it in action, I was certain that this little thing was a weapon instead of a shield.
The problem with the Darkness Dragons and also the Tempest Wyverns was that their huge size could prove to be disadvantage in tight dungeon rooms. A lot of the times, before asking if the space was wide enough to let them fight, we had to ask whether the space was wide enough to let them just pass through.
Obviously, such wouldnt be an issue to the Nevans. Even if the ceiling was set too low, they could still contribute a lot just by perching themselves to an allys shoulders and bing an artillery battery that fired off magic attacks.
"Wow, youre so generous, your majesty."
"Uh, thanks. Though truth be told, I wouldnt really mind making one more if we had at least one other angel on our side. Especially if that angel had something to offer in terms of defense so that the Nevans [Kin of Angels] could be used more effectively. I guess Ill just try to aim for one the next time I make a monster."
Currently, our attack force was solid. It was now time to improve our defenses.
I could buy new dungeon rooms using the remaining DP. It could get expensive, but just adding a room full of traps can bolster our defenses a lot.
"Oto-san, do you already know what kind of monster youre going to make next?"
"Just a vague idea. If I use an imitation of the [Holy] medal I used to make Raph and [Creation], I think high-ranking angels are guaranteed to show up as possible results, but Im not sure about everything else. I dont know what to use for the third medal or which specific monster I want."
"Well, itd be really handy if we had someone like Rozelitte!"
"Ohh, Rozelitte... yeah, her powers are quite helpful."
Thanks to Kuinas words, I remembered about Rozelitte, the angel that Sts had lent to me before.
She had the ability tomunicate telepathically to any and all monsters that belonged to the same army as her even if they were in different dungeon rooms.
Moreover, she also had a seemingly unique skill that unconditionally boosted all the stats of all her allies within the same dungeon.
Her own stats werent high, but in terms of supporting the entire army during a fight, she was probably the strongest monster there was.
As such, I wanted someone like her.
Though it might be impossible to get the angel herself, I could negotiate about getting a [Wind] medal as well as an imitation of the other medal she used for Rozelitte. Combining those with [Creation] should give a monster that had simr abilities as her.
"Thanks for that great idea, Kuina. Alright, lets buy another [Maelstrom]. Assuming that Stss army will find more value out of the Nevans than us, offering Sts the monsters produced by the third [Maelstrom] on top of my [Creation] medal should be enough to convince her to hand over her medal and also reveal what the other medal she used for Rozelitte was."
Stss basic strategy was to make Rozelitte lead the defense force while a copy of Rozelitte via [Omnipresence] led the attack force.
In other words, be it offense or defense, the Nevans [Kin of Angels] would always activate.
Through our previous deal, Sts was receiving some of my Darkness Dragons in exchange for some of her Tempest Wyverns. There was no question that the Darkness Dragons were powerful, but because her side didnt manufacture bombs or had a monster that could strengthen monsters of the [Death] or [Darkness] attribute, she was unable to draw out their full potential.
On the other hand, drawing out the full potential of the ck Bird Nevans should be easy for her.
"But your majesty, arent you offering too much? ...you know"
"Not at all. I mean, Im pretty much bribing her into giving me her trump card. Theres no way thatlle cheap."
If anything, I was worried that she would ask for more. Because then, I would dly pay it. That was how much I wanted Rozelittes abilities.
Moreover, she was my ally.
I wanted her to have another S rank monster besides Enlil.
Until I graduate from being a new Demon Lord, I could produce four more [Creation] medals.
My ns were:
To give one to [Wind] Demon Lord Sts.
To give another to [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove.
To make a new angel-type monster.
And thest one, I was going to give to [Despair] Demon Lord Belial. Provided, of course, that I could confirm he was truly an ally.
"Kuina also thinks its a fair deal. If the deal seeds, Avalon will get stronger again!"
"Yeah, and its not just us thats going to get stronger. Stss side as well. I really want this deal toe through."
While we were talking idly like that, arge, white bird with a letter attached to its leg flew to me.
Because it wasnt the blue bird Sts and I were using tomunicate with each other, it was unlikely that the letter came from her.
I received the letter and then began to read it.
"...Marcho did warn me that the enemies were moving. Is this how they intend to get their pretext to wage [War] on me?"
Belial wrote that the anti-Procell alliance has attacked him simply for joining my faction. Despite doing all he could to fight off the hordes of monsters making their way through his dungeon, he feared it would not be enough. As such, he was asking for my assistance.
The enemy side has made an interesting move.
Until we have graduated from being new Demon Lords, we were protected by a rule that prohibited older Demon Lords from initiating an attack against us.
However, Belial wasnt a new Demon Lord and was thus fair game to them.
If I helped Belial and attacked them, they would be given the justification they needed to be able to attack me without repercussions.
On the other hand, abandoning Belial was not really an option for me.
It wasnt that I thought abandoning an ally in these circumstances was unforgivable, it was that if information of me abandoning him spread, all hopes of getting others to form a faction would be lost.
"Kuina, its sudden, but were going to go to Belials dungeon. We mustnt give the enemies the justification they need, and I have just the n. So, go tell Duke to prepare 10 Darkness Dragons within 15 minutes!"
If the enemy was going to make use a bizarre tactic, then so shall I.
I nned to help Belial in such a way that the enemies wouldnt gain the pretext they wanted. It wasnt without risk, but the most I stood to lose were the ten Darkness Dragons.
"Roger! Im off!"
...Belial... Time to see if youre really an ally.
My strategy was based on the assumption that Belial was an ally.
I wanted to believe he was one. And so, we were taking such a risk.
Alright, here we go, off to save a friend.
Volume 10 15
To save Belial, I made ten Darkness Dragons equip themselves with as much high-powered explosives as they could reasonably carry. Thanks to Duke overseeing them, the Darkness Dragons became ready almost immediately and were now in my [Storage].
They were part of my war potential to save Belial, but they would also serve as a way to tell whether Belial had ill intent toward me or not.
If he had any intention to screw us over, this fight would reveal his true nature.
...No, Im going to make sure this gets settled once and for all.
I wanted to trust Belial.
However, I was of the opinion that "trusting" and "not doubting" werepletely different things.
Blindly trusting someone was akin to the forfeiture of all thoughts.
Trust should be result of doubting someone over and over until there was nothing else to doubt.
Thus, I made countermeasures under the assumption that Belial was an enemy.
And one of the possible scenarios I expected was: Belial being attacked by the anti-Procell alliance, so I go help him, but then lose the protection given to me by the one-year-grace period; now free to attack me, the enemies do so and keep me busy long enough for their other troops to crush the less-manned Avalon.
"Show me I can trust you, Belial"
I whispered so to myself while brushing the heads of Darkness Dragons that werent going in my [Storage].
My preparations were done. Once my monsters were done with theirs and havee here, we were going to depart.
"Oto-san, were all ready now!"
"Me too, master"
"Gaugau!"
Apanying me this time were Kuina, Aura, and Tiro.
Tiro was going to let us slip through the other dimension.
Rorono came with them, but she was noting with us to Belials dungeon. Her purpose ining was to deliver our trap.
"Master, Ive brought the evolved three knights."
The three knights, Roronos greatest masterpiece, were made to evolve by my [Create] and were now stronger than ever.
An Avalon-Ritter wasparable to an A rank monster, and to a low-end S rank monster for the short while that [Burst Drive] could be activated.
Meanwhile, because the three knights were basically enhanced and specialized Avalon-Ritters, so their power levels were obviously higher than thetter. And now that they were made to evolve, their standard mode wasparable to an Avalon-Ritter in Burst Drive mode, while their Burst their mode now wasparable to a high-end S rank monster.
Just these three knights should be enough to wipe out the troops of an average Demon Lord.
Moreover, they should prove to be a good trap for Belial and the others.
"Rorono, sorry for the sudden request. Ill be taking Kuina, Aura, Tiro this time, but the ones Ill be relying on this time would be the three knights."
"Mhm, I understand. I have adjusted them ording to what you said, so they should have no problem aplishing your goals. You have given the knights their names, so it is their pleasure to be used as you see fit."
At Roronos request, I named the three knights.
The red knight which had heavy armor, insane propulsive power, and firepower was named Rote Lanze.
The white knight which had great flight capabilities, light armor, and long-range shooting capabilities was named Weiss Bogen.
The ck knight which had immense versatility, maneuverability, and high-performance artificial brain was named Schwarz Panzer.
The rednce, the white bow, and the ck armor. Each ones name was abination of their assigned color and a type of equipment.
Normal Avalon-Ritters were transported by using containers that were then carried by the Darkness Dragons.
Since the white knight, or Weiss Bogen as I should get ustomed to calling it, could fly faster than even the Darkness Dragons, it was perfectly fine to let travel by itself. As for the other two, they could simply be carried by it. In other words, no matter the battlefield, the three knights could get there in no time.
"Alright, lets go."
"Kay!"
"Im ready whenever."
"Gaugau"
Because I was expecting an attack on Avalon while we were fighting in Belials dungeon, there was just no way that Duke, who was in charge while I was gone, as well as Ruhe, who was vital in protecting Avalon from attacks in the other dimension, could go with us.
The only ones that wereing with me were Kuina, Aura, Tiro, the three knights, and a few Darkness Dragons. With this much protection with me, killing me was nigh impossible.
Plus, depending on the situation, I could ask Tiro to make a Transfer array in Belials dungeon. If that happens, that new array would make a pair with the one Tiro had made beforehand in Avalon. In other words, we could then almost freely switch troops around.
The Darkness Dragon that would carry us started to p its wings.
Meanwhile, the white knight revved itself up. As a result, the red glow of the Avalon Jewel leaked from the gaps of its armor.
While the Avalon Jewel was part of its armor, it also served as the white knights secondary power source. Thanks to that, its power output was iparable to any golem before. Combining that and the fact that the Avalon Jewel had only a quarter of irons specific gravitythus making it extremely light for its sizeit was no surprise that it flew faster than the Darkness Dragons, even while the white knight was carrying the other two knights.
The moment we took off, Rorono shouted something.
"Father, you muste back safely!"
"Yeah, its a promise. No matter what, Ille back to Avalon!"
I shouted that back to her.
We were following behind the white bird that delivered Belials letter, and before long, Rorono was no longer visible.
It has been approximately two hours since we took off.
At longst, we have finally arrived at Belials dungeon.
It was a tower-type dungeon where adventurers go up and up.
There was no one outside and when we entered the first dungeon room, there were only a few corpses that were slowly turning into blue particles. We didnt see anyone alive, leading me to think that the battlefield has moved on somewhere much deeper in Belials dungeon.
We could attack them from behind, but I think we should meet with Belial first.
When I was thinking of that, a female demon-type monster appeared before us via Transfer.
"Greetings. I am a Demi Lilith. My master is expecting you. Let me take you to him right away."
Understandably, they were keeping watch of dungeon from the crystal room. When they noticed our arrival, they sent someone to greet us right away.
When I agreed to the Demi Liliths proposal, she Transferred us to Belials side.
The ce we were sent to was Belials crystal room.
If he was a traitor, this ce, the heart of his dungeon, was not the best ce to bring me to, to say the least. Because of that, I trusted him a little bit more. For now.
"Procell-sama! Over here! Ahh, I so believed that you who had such a kind heart as well as a strong sense of justice woulde right away to the aid of a friend, no matter what I got myself into. Oh, I see youve even brought two of your [Monsters of the Covenant] with you. Not only them but also such a gant S rank hound as well as these splendid golems. It vexes me to be unable to find the words to express this joy I am feeling at your arrival!"
"...Im d weve made you happy, but now isnt really the time for idle chat."
As we were talking, enemy forces were making their way through his dungeon.
"Yes, of course. Lets get down to business. Right now, I am stalling the invaders using the hell trap rooms Ive prepared just for emergencies like this, and also [Floor Swap] to reuse those rooms."
I had heard of such tactic from Marcho.
ording to her, once Demon Lords have lived long enough, DP then begins to start going unspent. Not saved up, just not spent for anything.
If they choose to spend those DP to add new monsters to their already strong enough war potential, they would then have to find enough space to house those new monsters. Oftentimes, they would need to buy new dungeon rooms and dungeon floors, which were quite costly. This could easily get out of hand if they had multiple Maelstroms in ce.
An alternative that had better cost-to-performance from a defense standpoint would be to buy trap-only rooms. In times of dire need, these rooms could be used to intercept the enemies via [Floor Swap], replenished after the enemies were gone, and then the cycle begins anew. In addition to stalling, this method could shave off some of the enemys numbers without losing or even tiring any of their own monsters.
Sure, [Floor Swap] couldnt be used while there was a living being that didnt belong to the Demon Lords army in the room, but it was still plenty useful.
"I think I understand the situation. I trust then that you have been able to keep your monsters injuries to a minimum?"
"Actually, no. Ive lost a pretty considerable number of my monsters during the start of the attack. After that though, weve used the hell trap rooms and managed to keep our casualties low. As long as I have DP, I can rearm the traps over and over again. ...but the method itself has limits and its approaching those limits soon. Ill be forced to use my monsters as a wall again."
"Whats the room after the hell trap rooms?"
"...without changing it, its an open grasnd that serves as a resting area for my monsters."
Belial changed what his crystal was disying to the open grasnd.
Just like he said, it was open and lush. There were no obstacles or ceilings.
Great. The Darkness Dragons could use their full potential here.
"Alright, lets counterattack there. ce monsters with high defensive capabilities there to gather them up. Once theyve all gathered, well wipe them out in one blow with the ten Darkness Dragons Ive brought. You might have already heard of them when you checked on me, but these dragons can do an attack that resembles very powerful explosion magic."
"Of course, Ive heard of them. Its one of your sure-win tactics, after all. If all goes ording to n, the tide will change! So, please, make it happen."
Belial said so and then briskly bowed his head.
"Yes, but this time, Ill transfer the ownership of the ten Darkness Dragons over to you. Until its toote for them to do anything, we dont want the enemies to know were going to use the Darkness Dragons attack. So, my n is to have you who can freely Transfer in your dungeon release them from your storage when we can take out the greatest number of the enemies in the grasnd."
"But rather than me doing it, I think itll be better to have you do it. We can just make one my monsters use Transfer to move you around."
"No, its almost a given fact at this point that most Demon Lords know of this tactic of mine. As soon as they see me, theyll know whats up, and either they escape or fortify their defenses. If its you though, even if you take the dragons out of your [Storage], they wont think anything of it. Even if they do, itll take them a couple of seconds. Those few seconds are crucial."
What I said made sense, but it was all an excuse.
My actual reason for wanting to hand over the dragons was so that their bombardment wouldnt count as my attack. As long as I dont attack the older Demon Lords, the special rule would still protect me.
A simr move was done to me during my [War] with [Steel], [Evil], and [Viscosity]. The Creator has since prohibited all older Demon Lords from lending us monsters without a fairpensation, but the reverse wasnt in effect. At least, not yet.
"Its certainly as you say. Then, I hereby dly ept. Of course, once this whole mess is finished, Ill give them back to you. Oooh, what an honor it is tomand Procell-samas monsters."
During that whole exchange, I paid close attention to Belials reaction. If his aim was to harm me, there was a high likelihood that he would be irritated at having to deviate from his initial n.
I observed no noteworthy change in his facial expressions though.
After I gave him the ownership of the dragons, he then proceeded to put them into his [Storage].
Like that, we were ready.
Meanwhile, his crystal was disying that more and more enemy monsters have managed to arrive in the grasnd.
Before long, the enemy monsters fought with Belials defense-focused monsters.
...wait, theres something strange with this scene.
There were a lot of enemy monsters, but most of them were just of C rank.
C rank monsters could be produced via [Maelstroms], so even if a Demon Lord lost a lot of them, it wasnt the end of the world.
In a serious attempt to conquer anothers dungeon, it was quite normal to see C rank monstersprise the majority of ones war potential. Even so, there should be a few A rank monsters who would act asmanders or as units to take down enemy elites.
A war potentialprised solely of C rank monsters and below was nothing more than a rabble.
"Oh no, Procell-sama, my monsters cant hold the line much longer!"
Belial shouted so.
His monsters were starting to be pushed back.
Speaking of his monsters, about ten of them were of B rank while the rest was of C and D rank.
"Youre not deploying your A rank monsters?"
"I had deployed them earlier, but they sustained heavy injuries and are now recuperating."
"How about the enemies? Is that also the reason why they only have C rank monsters?"
"Yes, exactly. The fighting in the beginning was extremely intense. The result is that both sides elites were now out of the fight."
I had no way of verifying whether that story was the truth or not.
Well, this much was within expectation. Thats why I prepared something besides the Darkness Dragons. Time to use the real trap.
"I see. Lets use my three knights, then. No matter how many C rank monsters there are, they wont be a match for my knights. Seeing them will give away that Im here to support, but it cant be helped now."
Upon hearing me, my three knights revved themselves up. It seemed like they were excited for their first battle ever since they evolved.
Their artificial intelligence has evolved to the point that they could feel real emotions. In fact, it was thanks to that that they could make use of the Avalon Jewels feature of producing magic power based on emotions. They were no longer just tools; they were living beings now.
"Im really, really sorry. And thank you, thank you so much, Procell-sama. I promise, Ill repay you someday for all this. I promise! Now, Ill be sending the three knights to the frontline."
Belial then motioned to the Demi Lilith who then Transferred the knights.
As soon as they arrived, they rampaged.
As expected, the C rank monsters couldnt do anything against them. It was a genocide.
Like this, the Darkness Dragons might not even get their chance.
From Belials point of view, it should look like I had finally attacked the anti-Procell alliance.
Ok, lets see what your next move is.
If he was in some way in league with the enemy, it was highly likely that he would make take action now.
That said, I sincerely hoped that the trap I prepared was for naught.
Such were my thoughts while watching the three knights run wild.
TL note: Ill be using Red Lance, White Bow, and ck Armor for the knights. It seems Procell will continue referring to them with those German (I think) terms, but Im choosing not to. Thanks for understanding.
Volume 10 16
Through Belials crystal, we watched the three knights fight.
Our initial strategy was to lure the enemies to the grasnd, hold the line for as long as we could, and when we have gathered most, if not all of them, we would then make the Darkness Dragons bombard and annihte them.
However, if it was just Belials monsters to hold the line, some of the enemies would break through before we have gathered enough. For that reason, I decided to deploy the three knights.
In order to identify the enemy Demon Lords, I was recording via a hidden camera what was being disyed in Belials crystal. If I showed the recordings to Marchoter, she should be able to tell to whom the monsters belonged to.
Even so...
"How many Demon Lords are we facing here?"
"I think five, at the very least."
Not only was there a high number of enemies, there were many kinds as well.
There were:
Blood Wolfman which were werewolf-type monsters;
y Dolls, which were mud dolls whose upper bodies were in a constant state of liquification.
Winged Snakes, which were frill-necked,rge serpents.
Ice Giants, which were moving ice sculptures.
Small Tyranos, which were bipedal dinosaurs that had helmet-like carapaces.
Treants, which were walking trees.
Undead Sleip, which were decaying zombie sheep.
Heracles, which were beetles that had horns that could pierce through steel.
And there were many more.
As far as I could tell, there was no sense of uniformity among the enemy monsters. Not in terms of attributes or appearance. It wasnt wise toe to a conclusion when there were so many other factors to consider, but I couldnt help but feel there were more than two Demon Lords leading this army.
In all likelihood, each enemy Demon Lord must have ced monsters in this army so that all of them could gain exemption from the rule thats protecting us new Demon Lords. But still, do they have to be so obvious?
Due to this, my suspicion on Belial grew stronger.
Moreover, he said that both sides had exhausted their elites. If there was only one or two enemy Demon Lords, that could just be the case, but each additional Demon Lord would make that harder and harder to believe.
Well, there will always be exceptions. Maybe his elites are that strong. Either way, thats why I have my trap.
While watching the crystal, I was also observing Belials facial expressions.
From his point of view, the golems attacking the enemies were doing so while under my control.
If he was in league with the enemies, he should be sending a signal of some sort to the others soon.
And so, I waited. As an added insurance, I was holding onto the ne that Rorono made.
It was only for one use, but it could instantly create a Transfer array. It was such a top-ss item that only an alchemist of Roronos caliber could be able to reproduce such a thing.
I had used it in public before, but that was in the [Time] Demon Lords dungeon, so Belial should have no idea of its existence.
"So, these are the golems made by your [Monster of the Covenant]. Theyre so amazing. Theyre not even monsters, and yet... I think they can go toe to toe with A rank monsters. ...no, even stronger than that! How frightening. Haha, considering its very much possible make more of them, it wont even take a century before you be untouchable, Procell-sama."
Technically speaking, the three knights werent made through Roronos abilities alone, but there was no need to tell him that. At least, for now.
"Perhaps, but itll still take a long time. Unlike normal golems, we cant make one of these per day."
"Theyre amazing nevertheless. Oh, how I want one for myself. Im so envious."
Belial wasnt doing anything; he was just watching his crystal.
I decided to continue doing the same.
Red Lance, or the evolved red knight, was on the screen.
Thanks to its evolution, it grew a sizerger. Meanwhile, its main weapon, the piledriver, became two sizesrger.
Moreover, a prominent feature of this knight was the gigantic thrusters on its back. Through the utilization of both its strengthened twin-drive golem cores and the Avalon Jewel at the same time, the thrusters output was more than twice than before, which meant an improved propulsive power.
The Red Lance has just finished its preparations to use its new special attack. It repositioned itsrge right arm and then made that merge with the auxiliary parts in its legs. So, with the arm in front, the Red Lance itself became a gigantce.
The piledriver was now glowing bright red. Most of the generated magic power was being diverted toward the thrusters, and the rest was being used toward the reinforcement of its defenses.
And then, it disappeared. Closely following its disappearance was a loud sonic boom.
Left and right, enemy monsters were being turned into minced meat. In response, the heavily-armored enemies huddled together to form a wall.
As though affected by this, the Red Lance stopped.
In actuality, there was no problem at all. If anything, this was the intended oue.
And so, a loud clinking sound was made...
In the next moment, boom.
It was the piledrivers true function in action: making arge amount of magic power explode, resulting in theunching of the metallic stake.
The attack just now, as powerful as it was, was no simple physical attack; damage was also done up to the atomic level by the generated shockwave. In fact, even the very earth was gouged by the said shockwave.
Obviously, because such an attack of this level required massive amounts of magic power, the red knight before it evolved wouldnt have been able to pull it off. It was only because magic power was stored in the Avalon Jewel and then released instantly that the Red Lance was just barely able to do it.
"Wow, Procell-sama, that golem of yours make all the enemies look like theyre made of paper! What a powerful golem!"
"Yes, thanks for the praise. The other two look like theyre doing well too."
"That ck golem with four arms whos slicing and shooting all that ites near with, yeah. But the white one, I dont seem to see it..."
Just as Belial said, the ck Armor was doing quite the decimation with its four arms. Two of those arms held 2 of Roronostest heavy machineguns while the other two arms held beautiful single-edged swords.
At first nce, there was nothing special about the ck Armors fighting style. Upon closer inspection though, the strangeness in it bes apparent: the ck Armor had no wasted movements. Each slice of the sword and each bullet had a purpose. It was able to make the possible movesrgely thanks to its amazing artificial brain and sensors, which were outstanding even among the knights. That allowed it to receive and process information quickly and urately.
As though that wasnt enough, it was also able to share information with the other two knights. This allowed the ck Armor to not only make the other two do more efficient movements, but also dobination attacks with each other. Due to this, it wasnt an exaggeration to call it the leader unit.
Now, as for thest knight, the White Bow, the reason it wasnt visible on the crystal was quite simple: it was attacking the enemies from a height of two thousand meters above the ground. At such a height, even flying monsters couldnt reach it. And because there was no need to worry about defense, it could convert all the extra magic power to increase its attack power.
Not that it needed it this time due to the enemies only being small fries. So, it used it to fire magic projectiles continuously instead, which in the process didnt use up any of its regr ammunitions. By the way, thanks to its evolution, it was now able to fire regr ammunition, magic projectiles, andbinations of both.
The White Bow was capable of hitting its targets just fine even from such a distance, but the data link with the ck Armor improved its uracy even more.
"Ahahaha, wow, amazing! More than 200 monsters, gone, just like that."
"Yeah, but like this, theres no need to bring the Darkness Dragons, is there? Never mind gathering and containing the enemies, the three knights themselves are going to wipe all the enemies out."
ording to what we saw in the crystal, there should be about 300 enemy monsters. About 200 of which have entered the Grasnd area, but there were now only a few of them left.
Which wasnt surprising at all.
After all, no C rank monster could ever hope of defeating the three knights.
The three knights were having such an easy time that they didnt even need to use their [Burst Drive].
Back when the three knights havent evolved yet, [Burst Drive] put significant stress on their cores. That meant that the Burst Drive could only be used for a short time and that the cores performed way lower than normal afterward.
Now though, they could use their [Burst Drive] for a longer period of time. There was still a limit, but thanks to their highly advanced artificial brains, they could correctly judge when to stop it, thus allowing them to still function after.
"Procell-sama, look, the enemies are pulling back from the Grasnd and using Transfer to escape! We-weve won! Ahh, Im so d I have you as an ally. I wont forget about this fight for the rest of my life, I promise you."
Belial said so with a huge grin on his face.
...well, he still hasnt done anything against me, I guess.
"Belial, once there are almost no more enemy monsters remaining, send some of your monsters to destroy those Transfer arrays. Its possible that the enemy side woulde back with reinforcements, so until were sure its over, Ill stay in your dungeon."
"Wow, Procell-sama, yourepletely vignt. Alright, Ill make someone go as soon as possible."
Belial then ryed the instructions to his monsters.
"Also, Id like to contact Avalon. Where can I make a Transfer array?"
"Oh, just make one here then."
"...are you serious?"
"Of course. Youre Procell-sama, after all!"
Letting another Demon Lord make a Transfer array in ones crystal room was preposterous. I for one wouldnt let even Sts do that.
That said, if he was allowing me, I wasnt going toin.
And so, Tiro made the array. After a while, an Abyss Howl arrived from the other side. This one wore a cor that had a blue gem in it. When I grabbed the gem and then opened my hand, an image of Duke was projected into the air.
<>
If I brought along my main force and left Avalon defenseless, and if they were then allowed to attack me, it was only natural they would do so before I and my forcese back.
"Oh no, is that because of me!? Quickly, Procell-sama, you must return at once. Dont worry about us anymore, well be fine."
Belial spoke with a voice that seemed truly concerned, one which made it hard to imagine he was nning anything against me.
"Its fine; everythings under control. We have expected as much, so weve made the necessary precautions before departing."
In order to protect the citizens of Avalon, we spread the warning that arge group of monsters were approaching the city, closed the outer walls, prohibited exit, and then moved the city floor via [Floor Swap] somewhere deep in my dungeon.
To make it more believable, we ced the expendable among the undead raised by Dukes [Enhanced Resurrection] near the outer walls, and then make the Mithril Golems attack themter on.
As long as we could prevent the citizens from going beyond the outer wall, they would remain unaware of the fact that they werent above ground anymore.
Meanwhile, in ce of the city floor was a dungeon floor designed by the Dwarf Smiths to stall for an absurd amount of time. It wouldnt take down as much enemies as cing golems with heavy machineguns in narrow, straight path, but its stalling capabilities was beyondpare. So much so that if we returned now, it should still be stalling the enemies by the time we arrive.
I hadplete trust with the subordinates I left to defend, but just in case, Marcho and ten of her best monsters who were in her [Storage] were also on standby in Avalon.
"But didnt he say theres over a thousand monsters!?"
"Belial, calm down. Theres no need to panic. Avalons safe."
I have known Duke for a long time. I could tell the general situation just from the look on his face.
And in the message just now, there was no trace of worry on his facial expressions. I took that to mean that nothing outside of our expectations has happened.
This blue gem was only a yback device. By itself, it had no capabilities of sending a message. So, even if I wanted to, I couldnt ask for what happened next. Thankfully, Duke recorded another message.
<as my punishment to the naughty children who chose to break the rules, I am confiscating all the monsters they used in the transgression. That is all. As of the moment, we see no signs of enemy reinforcements. Also, thanks to my lords defense floor, there is zero damage on our side. Moreover, we were able to verify the usefulness of the defense floor.>>
This is the fate of those who vite the rule protecting us new Demon Lords?
I expected the punishment to be harsh, but not to the point that all dispatched monsters would be confiscated.
As for why I was still being protected by the rule, it was simply because the three knights were not under my control. In other words, I didnt attack the Demon Lords that were attacking Belial.
That didnt mean I transferred the right of control of the three knights to anyone though.
If one had the right of control over a monster or golem, there would be a link between the two parties. It was subtle, but if someone was sensitive enough to the flow of magic power, they would feel the magic power flowing between the owner and the one under control.
If I gave the right of control of the knights to anyone and Belial sensed magic power that didnt belong to me or Rorono, he would grow suspicious.
Moreover, normal golems were nothing but dolls that move ording to their mastersmands. So, the very idea of a golem not having a master was totally inconceivable.
Using these two points together, I was able to set my trap.
If Belial was an enemy and he wanted harm done to me, he should fall right into my trap. There should be no way he could hide his frustration at this turn of events.
And so, I looked at his face.
...what?
Belial was smiling. He looked in pain, but he was smiling nheless.
His smile seemed to suggest he was genuinely happy at hearing Dukes report.
That expressionsted for one short moment, and was gone the next. He returned to his usual self, only this time he seemed to be panicking.
I must know what that expression meant.
My intuition was telling me that Belial wasnt aplete enemy, but he also wasntpletely a friend.
He then asked why the enemy Demon Lords were still being punished despite the knights attacking their other monsters.
I proceeded to tell him while trying to get a look at the true face under his mask.
Volume 10 17
Through Dukes report, I learned of the anti-Procell alliances attack on Avalon while I was away.
Less than 30 minutes after they entered the dungeon room that specialized in defense and stalling, the attacking monsters were confiscated by the Creator as punishment for breaking the rule protecting us new Demon Lords.
What a harsh penalty. Really drives home how careful I must be to not break any rules, no matter how trivial it might seem.
Belial, who was beside me while I listened to Dukes report, suddenly stood up.
Shock was apparent on his face. However, just earlier and just for a moment, his face was this inexplicablebination of irritation and joy.
"What, how!? Im certain, that to protect me, you had to attack the other Demon Lords and thus forfeit the protection rule. So, how is it that they are being penalized for breaking that rule!?"
If this was the only reaction I saw, I would not hesitate in saying that he was caught in my trap and was nothing but a traitor.
"Well, couldnt it be that the ones that attacked you and the ones that attacked Avalon are different Demon Lords? Or maybe, they attacked me before I attacked them."
"But thats impossible!"
"Why? Do you have any proof that those scenarios are impossible?"
"...its obvious if you think about it. Given the timing of it all, the Demon Lords that attacked me must be the ones that attacked Avalon. Moreover, based on how things unfolded, its now obvious that they only attacked me so that they can lure you out. I regret only realizing this when I heard Avalon was being attacked. What a fool I am. I formed an alliance with you so that I can help you realize your potential, but here I am, holding you back instead."
Should I tell him? Oh, what the hell, lets.
"When you asked for my help, I already suspected that their goal was to gain the justification to attack me. So, I prepared a trap thatll let them think theyve gained that justification. And that trap was the three knights."
"What do you mean? Theyre your golems, so theyre treated as your equipment; their actions are considered to be yours. Golems obey only the orders given by the owner, so if you gave them to someone else, they wont listen to you. You might think that the new owner can just order the golems to listen to yourmands, but that wont work either because thats tooplicated of amand for golems."
Belials points were correct.
To be a bit more precise, golems were treated as a monsters equipment. As such, the experience points from the enemies they kill goes to the party of that monster. More importantly though, whatever their actions were, the monster was held ountable. Of course, this meant that the Demon Lord who had control over the said monster was also held ountable.
When and only when a Demon Lord had ownership over a golem could theymand it, and even then, themands couldnt be anythingplicated.
However, the three knights were no ordinary golems.
"No one ismanding the three knights. Theyre no mere dolls. These children possess the ability to think and feel. Theyre alive. Whats more, theyre incredibly loyal. I released them from our contract, and yet theyre still willing to cooperate with me."
This trap wouldnt have been possible using ordinary golems. It was only thanks to the knights miraculous ability to think and feelto be alivethat we were able to surprise the enemies.
I could have transferred the ownership of the ordinary golems to Marcho, sure, but then a magic link between them would be formed. The presence of anothers magic power on them was such a great risk. So much so that I chose instead to believe that the three knights would remain loyal even when I relinquish my ownership of them.
"I-impressive. I never knew such a tactic existed."
"I doubt learning of it is much use though. For one, this could only be done with the thinking and feeling three knights."
Believing in the knights loyalty was the safer bet, but it was still a gamble.
It was only thanks to Roronos words that I felt confident about it: For the three knights, masters their beloved father. And I their mother. They will never betray us.
"You know, using this method, you can attack older Demon Lords without worrying of being attacked back."
"I dont think Ill be able to. The Creator is likely to ban this method soon. Maybe immediately after this affair, even. From I what I can tell, that fellow dislikes one-sided situations because theyre less fun to watch."
A perfect example was when older Demon Lords gave [Steel], [Viscosity], and [Evil] some monsters. Not long after my [War] with them, an additional rule banning even non-guardian older Demon Lords from giving, without anything in return, monsters to new Demon Lords.
Things should progress simrly this time as well.
At least I was able to use it once, I guess.
"Oh, okay. But still, its so amazing. Your clever scheme managed to take down a whole lot of them. I have nothing but praise!"
"That was just a bonus. I had no idea the penalty would be this harsh. ...my ns real goal was something else."
Thankfully, this harsh and unforeseen punishment didnt interfere with my real goal, thus allowing us to safely carry it out.
"Could you share with me this real goal?"
"To identify the enemy Demon Lords. As stated in the report, the enemy side that attacked Avalon had a lot of A rank monsters. It might be easy to hide ones identity by using only small fries, but A rank monsters are different. They represent their Demon Lord. Moreover, devices which could capture events as moving visual images are installed and are active in Avalon, so even if some of Demon Lords might seem tricky to identify at first, well should be able to eventually after repeated watching of the recordings."
It was for this reason that we allowed Avalon to be attacked.
I have had enough of not knowing who my enemies were.
If I attacked them now that their elites were gone, crushing them would be easy. They would have their hands full trying to protect themselves that they should have a hard time backing each other up.
But if nothing else, this whole event was a great experiment to show how useful my newly made defense-focused floor was. In the span of 30 minutes and against a thousand enemy monsters, none of my monsters was killed or injured. Considering such a great result, it might be viable to transfer some of the monsters assigned to our defense force over to the attacking force. Im so excited to get back and see the detailed report on the effectiveness of the defensive floor.
"Using the enemies trap to identify them and, at the same time, lessen their numbers... Procell-sama, just how far ahead do you think? Ive clearly got a lot to learn from you!"
Right then, the Demi Lilith returned to the crystal room along with the three knights. So, all the enemies are gone, I take it.
I stood up and went to them.
"I thank you, my knights. It is because of the three of you that this n worked. I am proud of you. ...now, will you once again serve me?"
In response to my question, each of the knights bowed.
I proceeded to form a contract with them, and thus became their master once again.
They might be technically machines, but theyre unmistakably very important members of Avalon.
"Procell-sama, that device that, as you said, captures events as moving visual images, did you use it here in my dungeon? I mean, if you did, Id very much like to see your golems in action again!"
"I was not able to. The recording device, you see, is just too big. It would have been a great hassle to bring it here. I might not have made it here in time if tried."
That was a massive lie.
In fact, I was using the camera in my breast pocket to record what his crystal was disying. Furthermore, in order to collectbat data, one was installed in each of the knights.
I felt no need or inclination to disclose such things to Belial right now, though. At least, not until I have returned to Avalon and thoroughly analyzed all the footage we have obtained.
The recording of the attack on Avalon should be enough for us to identify the Demon Lords involved. I had a reason to analyze the footage captured in Belials dungeon though: to see if he made his monsters slip into the enemy army.
If Belial was an enemy, much like the other Demon Lords, he would have wanted at least one of his monsters be attacked by the knights so that he as well could gain enough justification to ignore the rule.
Of course, it was a melee, so his monsters could simply have been caught in the line of fire. But if we see that those monsters deliberately get in the line of fire, the hesitation in branding him a traitor would banish.
"Oh. I expected as much. I mean, such a fantastic magic tool has to be big, right? Still, its a shame we cant rewatch your gant golems in action."
"Yeah, sorry."
"Dont be, dont be."
Belial did not push the subject further.
"Anyway, Procell-sama, it seems like all the fightings over. At least, for now. So, what do you say to a celebration? Well, I say that, but my dungeon is not really the ce for one. So, how about we go to your Avalon and celebrate there? Ill cover the cost, of course! Ohh, and before I forget, let me return the Darkness Dragons you lent me."
"If you insist."
I said so and smiled wryly.
Belial has done nothing definitively, conclusively wrong today. If the footages of the attack on Avalon or of the battle on his dungeon reveals that his monsters didnt do anything strange, then perhaps I could learn to trust him.
Whichever the case, it was time to go back to Avalon.
And so, I asked Tiro to activate the Transfer array she set up earlier.
"Procell-sama..."
Belial called out my name, so I turned around.
He looked like he was about to say something, but then swallowed the words before they evere out of his mouth. In the next moment, he was smiling thinly.
"Meat or fish, which do you prefer?"
Noting to myself that this probably wasnt what he wanted to say initially, I replied with meat.
...and then, I set up myst trap for the day.
Demon Lords as well as humans were rightfully fearful of information leakage. Against magic and monster abilities, Demon Lords could protect themselves to an almost perfect degree.
And yet, they were still vulnerable to technological espionage. Well, no one else but me can make them, so itll be stranger if theyre aware of them, and stranger still if they knew how to guard against it.
The trap in question was cing two small listening devices here in Belials crystal room.
They were small, but each ones power couldst up to 3 months.
Once an opportunity or excusees up, I would return to this crystal room and pick up these devices.
With that, all of my goals today have been aplished.
Things were bound to get busy again tomorrow, but for today, we should celebrate Belials safety as well as our victory.
TL note: Yeah, the author changed the duration of the attack on Avalon from 15min to 30min. Its such a small thing, I just dont want to be called out.
Volume 10 18
We had returned to Avalon.
Immediately upon our return, I used [Floor Swap] to move the city floor back to being the first floor of my dungeon.
In order to keep the humans within the city, we announced that monsters were attacking the citys walls and closed the gates. In truth, those monsters were just monsters resurrected by Dukes [Enhanced Resurrection].
Thankfully, it was now fine to put an end to such an act.
And so, we made the Silver and Gold Golems exterminate the resurrected monsters.
I cherished each of Avalons monsters and despised losing any of them, but that didnt apply to the ones resurrected by Duke. For me, they were expendable units.
When we announced our victory, loud cheers came from the city.
In order for the confined citizens to watch Avalons might, we made use of Roronos Divine Revtion to broadcast the fight happening outside.
Such monster attacks could happen to any city. If we could show that we could deal with monster attacks swiftly and easily, the citizens sense of security would increase. So, instead of suffering a decrease in appeal, Avalon should only grow more popr.
"That was quite the show, Procell-sama."
"Well, Avalons a city, so we have to pay attention to these kinds of things more than an average dungeon would."
If Avalon had a weakness, this would be it.
"This might be staged and all, but those marvelous walls and the golems that fought outside should be able to take care of ordinary enemy forces, you know."
"Maybe. But those golems arent part of our main force. Those are though."
I pointed to the numerous artilleries lined up on top of the walls.
Those were actually golems. Unlike Rorono, the strongest golems that the Dwarf Smiths could make were only as strong as C rank monsters.
Because of that, their golems total power was quite low. To somewhatpensate, they specialized each golems role. In this case, the C-Rank-equivalent-golems were made into fixed artilleries. Compared to golems that wielded a heavy machinegun, these golems that were made into the weapons themselves could exhibit greater firepower, uracy, and loading speeds. Moreover, because these golems programming was limited to only what was needed to barrage the enemies with bullets, the overall shooting quality have considerably improved.
The fact that the Dwarf Smiths could make such golems by themselvesand without Roronos helpcouldnt be stressed enough. That made it possible to line up the outer walls with such golems. Like this, if a real fight breaks, these golems could rain bullets down on the enemies. Not to mention, these golems could also act as anti-air measures and take down flying enemies.
Depending on what was needed, these golems had no trouble switching from ordinary shotgun shells and armor-piercing rounds to high-explosive shells.
We definitely could count on it to protect Avalon.
"My, what a sight to behold. That reminds me, I have a request, Procell-sama. I want to see that dungeon room of yours where those 1,000 monsters were confiscated. I have no doubt Ill learn a lot from it!"
"Understood. Lets go there before we celebrate."
Even if in the end he was a traitor, there was no sense in hiding that floor from him since he could just ask the other members of the anti-Procell alliance.
I also wanted to hear the more detailed reports, so going there now was quite a good idea.
I used my Demon Lord powers to transport myself to the defense-focused floor. Meanwhile, Belial and the others were transported by Tiro via Transfer.
I instantly noticed Rorono and the Dwarf Smiths who were busy repairing things.
"Rorono, this room was quite effective, wasnt it?"
"Mhm. Its simple design made it strong."
We were currently in a cave-type room which looked a lot like the room guarded by machinegun-wielding Mithril Golems.
Its width and height were at the minimum value, but its length was set to the maximum possible of 2 kilometers.
Large monsters wouldnt be able to pass through, and those that could, would have to deal with the lump of metal that filled every inch of the path.
"......ahahaha, it certainly isnt easy to get pass this one, Ill tell you that."
In our desire to find orichalcum, we had amassed arge amount of other minerals. The orichalcum and mithril weve gathered were used in our equipment, but the other metals such as iron, gold, and silver were left mostly unused.
Some portion of those metals were used as currency to pay our transactions with the humans, but there were still a lot left.
And so, we decided to use it to fill this room from end to end. Digging a path through this 2-kilometer-long lump of metal was bound to be time-consuming. Moreover, because of the width and height of the room, only one or two human-sized monsters could fit per row, making the act of digging a path even more time-consuming.
"If the enemy side has a Rorono-ss alchemist, itll be a different story, but most ordinary monsters should have trouble breaking through, if they could at all."
"Mhm."
In fact, the 1,000 monsters that were confiscated after about 30 minutes havent even made it 40% of the way through.
Actually though, the blockade wasnt a simple lump of different metals.
It consisted of multiple 3-meter-thick metallic tes that were then stacked together. Each te had increased toughness via the Dwarf Smiths [Unchanging Status] enchantment, so even if there was a mineral or alchemy expert among the enemies, they still shouldnt be able to tunnel their way through easily.
Because the Dwarf Smiths were B rank monsters, their enchantments were quite strong. Even an A rank monster of such kind should have their strength drained from the effort.
There were almost 700 of these tes stacked in this dungeon room. Moreover, never were the same kind of metal tes stacked together, meaning each te needed a different type of alchemy or mineral-type magic. The more magic done by the enemy, the more exhausted they be.
This dungeon room might not deal any damage to the enemies, but in addition to buying time, it also made them more tired, which was perhaps more important.
Last but not least, 3 such tes were made of orichalcum and were prepared by Rorono who could use double enchant. These three special tes were without a doubt the toughest. Even Kuina had trouble breaking it.
"Master, once weve gathered enough materials for this barrier, lets make one more room like this one."
"Yeah, sure. But hmm, you know, more orichalcums never bad, and weve still got some DP as well as some golems to spare, so why dont we make another [Mine] room while were at it? Oh, but if were going to make another trap room, making it exactly the same is not interesting, to say the least. I actually have a couple of ideas. For example, what if we make a room with a downhill slope and when the enemies have reached thest third of the room, we let loose concentrated sulfuric acid from behind them?"
"I think thats a great idea. But I think I have something better than sulfuric acid. Ill think up of some other new methods too."
It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that this room would be vital in our defense in the future.
By the way, the other two dungeon rooms in this floor also specialized in defense and buying time, but each had apletely different way doing so.
We were grateful to have confirmed the usefulness of one room out of three before the enemies were confiscated, but having tested all three before would have been more ideal.
"What wonderful ideas. Id very much like to copy these rooms, if you dont mind."
"I dont mind, but without a workforce thatll continuously dig in the [Mines], I think itd be difficult to copy."
We were able to implement such a room thanks to the golems that tirelessly work to gather the materials as well as thanks to the B rank Dwarf Smiths that not only made those golems but also prepared the metal tes.
For everyone else, these rooms might be more trouble than they were worth.
"Doing it exactly like this might be impossible, but if we scale it down, we might get it to work for us. Well then, Procell-sama, lets go celebrate, shall we? Oh, but please invite your [Monsters of the Covenant] first."
"Alright. Those girls should be happy to be treated to some delicious food."
Belial was such a thoughtful guy.
I really hope hes a friend. And to that end, I must thoroughly examine those footages.
The party was so much fun.
Belial, the good talker that he was, livened the ce with his amusing stories. During it all, I was surprisingly learning a few things from him. So, he could act like a senior Demon Lord from time to time.
I found the parts where he exined how and when to use certain monsters particrly interesting.
It wasnt just me that listened intently, Kuina and Rorono did too.
Most of all, he wasnt just a good talker, he was a good listener as well. Like that, we conversed and conversed.
When Ruhe arrive and announced that she was going to sing a song, Ubel the Fallen Angel Lucifer, his [Monster of the Covenant], wanted to sing along.
And so, with Belial ying the violin, the two sang such a beautiful melody together.
It was truly such a fun time.
The next day, I showed [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias and [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian the footages we captured.
I had asked them for help in identifying my enemy Demon Lords.
"Well, that clearly belongs to the [Serpent] Demon Lord. And that one to the [Wood] Demon Lord."
"I also recognize some of these monsters... For example, that one belongs to the [Blood] Demon Lord, that one to the [Ice] Demon Lord, and that one to the [Insect] Demon Lord."
As could be expected from two of the three strongest Demon Lords, they were able to recognize who owned the monsters with just a simple nce.
We continued to watch most of the footages, but the ones we identified were only those five: [Serpent], [Wood], [Blood], [Ice], and [Insect].
So, these are my enemies. Finally, Ive learned the identities of some members of the anti-Procell alliance.
Instead of waiting for them to take action and then just respond, like I have been doing until now, this knowledge would allow me to take the fight to them.
"Thank you, to the both of you."
"This is the least I could do as your wife. Really the least."
"...hmp, I only did it because of Fels request. Moreover, dont you dare forget about the year-long premium membership to your casino that you promised as payment."
A premium membership allowed one to y at any of the casinos games without waiting in line. It also allowed one to use the special seats for watching the flying dragon races as much as theyd like. We also had golem slot machines that were exclusively reserved for our premium members.
Dan was probably demanding such a thing as a way to hide his embarrassment. I was willing to bet anyone that deep down, Dan wanted to help even for nothing in return.
"Master, brush Fels head more!"
Sitting on myp was a purring white-haired, wolf-eared girl. It was the monster known as Fel.
Today was the day for Fel to collect the Avalon Wine that I had promised Dan before. It was usually just Fel, but today, Dan came with her. He didnt want to impose, so he said he was willing to help out for the right terms.
...I had recently discovered that [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian was incredibly thoughtful to those that he considered friends, but would do anything to hide that thoughtfulness... in other words, he was one big tsundere.
"Really though, thank you. Now that I know who my enemies are, I can proceed to crush them at my own pace. Plus, not having to worry so much about defense means I could be bolder in my attacks."
As of the moment, because a lot of their A Rank monsters were confiscated, the enemy Demon Lords should not be in any state to go on the offensive. Furthermore, I had confirmed the usefulness of my defense-focused floors, giving me a lot of breathing room. There was no more need to hold back on deploying Duke and Ruhe.
It was time to crush each of my enemies. They themselves suspected they couldnt take me down by themselves, and thus sought out allies to aplish such a goal. So, as long as I fought them one by one, there should be no problem whatsoever.
Ill let them know what it means to go against me. I have no intention of showing them any mercy.
"Youve be such a fine Demon Lord. As your guardian, Im extremely proud of you."
"Then, why dont you stop treating me like a child like Ive asked countless of times before."
Marcho and I had entered a romantic rtionship, but she was still the same as before.
At any rate, we only had one more footage to watch and analyze.
It was the one recorded in Belials dungeon.
"Well, what do you guys think?"
"Hm, I didnt notice anything strange or suspicious."
"I agree. If by this point they havent done anything suspicious, it might be safe to say that hes clean."
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, I can trust Belial.
Up until this moment, I have been suspecting and doubting him to be an enemy, but if these footages and the listening device I nted in his crystal room couldnt prove otherwise, he might just truly be an ally, after all. If so, I would be giving him a [Creation] medal as a way of apology and as symbol of our bing friends.
Im looking forward to that day.
"That makes me so relieved. Well then, Marcho, Dan, you might have already heard of this, but the daughter of Kurt Arnoltwho is the worlds top bakerhas opened a restaurant in Avalon. Kurt Arnolt might be known for his pastry, but his dishes are wonderful as well. Now, imagine him saying that his daughter is more of a genius than he is. Thankfully, you dont have to settle with just imagining it because that daughter of his is holding a pre-opening event tonight, and these are the invitation tickets. ...theres already a long reservation list, you know. If you let this chance pass, youll have to wait at least a full year before getting another chance to dine there. So, how about it? Do you want to go?"
"Ill go, of course. Fufu, Im excited already."
"After hearing her talents surpass even Kurt Arnolts, theres no way I wont ept the invitation."
"Fel will go too. But it wont be as fun if Kuina isnt going as well, so I hope you can invite her too. ...Im not saying that because I think were like sisters or anything."
I couldnt help but smile. Fel was just as much of a tsundere as Dan was.
Like father, like daughter, I guess. Tonight, well enjoy great food, and then tomorrow, were going to crush the enemies one after the other. Cant give them too much time, after all.
Volume 10 19
We have identified some if not all of my enemies. They were [Serpent], [Wood], [Blood], [Ice], and [Insect].
Because we had identified them through their elite A rank monsters, there was little chance for them to disguise their identity.
ording to Marcho and Dan, the one who could pose the most threat among them was the [Insect] Demon Lord. Apparently, he had an A rank medal while the rest only had B rank medals.
It then made sense to take him down first.
The majority of his elites should have been taken away by the Creator as punishment, so he should be pretty vulnerable right now. In other words, if I was ever going to attack him, the sooner the better. And so, we began doing the necessary preparations as soon as we got back.
That being said, attacking now wasnt risk-free.
For example, all of the enemy Demon Lords could have ced a few of their monsters in each others dungeons in hopes of getting the justification they wanted from the beginning. That would then lead to the worst-case scenario where Avalon would be attack once again.
But then again, that might not be the case at all. They should be expecting me to want revenge, so sending out troops and spreading themselves thin wasnt something they would want right now. If they had some sort of guarantee that they would receive an equivalent force in return, then perhaps, but could they really trust and cooperate with each other in such circumstances?
If only the answer was a definite no.
Regardless of whether they put their own monsters in each others dungeons or not, I had little choice but to attack. After all, the rule protecting us new Demon Lords would expire after 2 and a half months. So, if I was going to get attacked by the others anyway, I would rather do it like this.
Within the dome in the new residential district, the Darkness Dragons and their container carriages were lined up.
My monsters were hurriedly moving about: they were loading weapons, ammunitions, healing items, and all sorts of things.
This was all in preparation for defeating the sole A rank medal holder of the five identified enemy Demon Lords.
Duke, first and foremost, as well as the other monsters that heldmanding positions were by my side.
"I hereby grant Duke themand of this mission. Duke, do what you see fit to aplish our goals. You dont have to wait for my approval. To everyone, treat Dukes words as though its my own."
"I am not worthy of such honor, but I will do all in my power to meet your expectations."
This time, I wouldnt be leaving Avalon.
Despite the risks I stated, leaving wasnt necessary. If anything, it was more important that I stayed so that I could use [Floor Swap] in case the enemies do attack the city. If we close the city gates under the pretext of a random monster attack so soon after thest time, Avalons reputation would suffer.
So, instead of preemptively using [Floor Swap], I would stay on standby here while the very capable Duke leads the attack.
"Tiro, Raph, the two of you must defeat the most number and the strongest of enemies, alright? Remember, your growth is directly tied to the growth of Avalon."
"Gaugau!"
"Yes, your majesty! ...you know!"
The blue-furred Tiro as well as the ck-winged Fallen Angel Raphael enthusiastically replied so.
The attack forcesposition was a little bit different this time.
Duke shall not only be a trump card but also be the head of the chain ofmand.
Thend force shall beposed of the Red Lance, the ck Armor, the several Avalon-Ritters, and the artificial heroes resurrected by Dukes Enhanced Resurrection.
Meanwhile, our air force shall beposed of the White Bow, the Darkness Dragons, and the ck Bird Nevans.
As for our forces in the other dimension, it shall beposed of the Ocean Singers and arge number of Abyss Howls. The forces there shall be led by the Ocean Singers that Ruhe picked.
Last but certainly not least, a few Dwarf Smiths would also be joining so that they could give maintenance to the numerous golems.
"Also, Kuina, without charging too far ahead, please protect everyone. As Avalons strongest monster, I could only ask this of you."
"Leave it to Kuina! Oh, and rest assured Kuina will be holding back just enough because Ill be making sure Tiro-chan and Raph-chan gets properly trained inbat."
Kuina was such a helpful child. So long as she was part of the attacking force, I was confident most situations could be handled. Along with Duke, she was the attacking forces trump card.
Moreover, even though the main goal of this fight was to crush the enemy, the secondary but almost as vital goal was the growth of Tiro and Raph.
Both were extremely powerful S rank monsters, but because I chose to let them be born at level 1 and be able to level upas opposed to having an already high but also static levelthey still were at a low level right now and thus couldnt exhibit their true might. Defeating an A rank monster right now might still be too much for any of them, so any chance to let them grow further mustnt go to waste.
By letting them form contracts with the three knights, they would gain the experience points of not only those they personally defeat but also of those that each knight defeats. If their group could ughter all of a Demon Lords monsters, the two should level up a terrifying amount.
"My lord, our preparations areplete. We are ready to depart whenever you say."
"Great job on that. Also, please, if you deem reinforcements are in order, send word immediately. If thend force is having trouble, Id likely send Aura; if the other dimension forces are in trouble, expect me to send Ruhe. Of course, if you think of something else, dont hesitate to make a rmendation."
"Yes, my lord! Wed do everything to maximize the chances of victory."
It was Duke, so he was most likely going to make the right calls.
"...Duke, you just had a child, yet here I am sending you away. Im sorry about that."
"Please dont mind it, my lord. Rather, thank you for this opportunity to do something my child would be proud of."
"Then, I wont say anything anymore. Except, of course, I leave the rest to you."
"Yes, my lord!"
With that, our meeting was over.
My monsters and golems then entered the containers, which was then carried by the Darkness Dragons toward the [Insect] Demon Lords dungeon.
The only Demon Lords in the anti-Procell alliance that could produce A rank medals were the [Pig] Demon Lordwho we had already defeatedand the [Insect] Demon Lord. After this fight, the others should be nothing more than small fry Demon Lords.
Because the others only had B rank medals, they werent able to make A rank monsters by themselves, which then meant that their war potential should be quite meager. Even if these other Demon Lords were able to work together, they shouldnt pose much threat to Avalon as it was at the moment.
After all, a B rank monster was something they would need their original medal to make, whereas it was just something being produced daily by my [Maelstroms].
They might pose no serious threat, but it was definitely better to crush them as soon as possible. If possible, I would like the anti-Procell alliance be taken care of within three months.
And for that, I prayed that Duke would take down the [Insect] Demon Lord quickly.
After seeing Duke off, I headed toward the city.
As important as it was to defeat the enemy Demon Lords, there were other things to do. Such as preparing for the time after I be a full-pledged Demon Lord. Unless I have prepared enough for when the rule protecting me has expired, I could end up falling prey to other, more dangerous Demon Lords.
And so, I wrote to [Wind] Demon Lord Sts and [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove, two fellow new Demon Lords, to call for a meeting.
When I arrived at my estate, the Mythological Fox working as the maid informed me that my guests had already arrived. Thus, I hurried to the reception room.
"Hey there, Procell. Been a while."
"Sorry, Im just nervous, w-What did you call us here for?"
"Wee. I called you two to talk about our future. Soon, we wont be new Demon Lords anymore. ...Marcho told me that ill-prepared new Demon Lords tend to be the prey of sly Demon Lords once they graduate and be adults. So, I say we prepare for it."
Upon hearing of the ill-prepareds fate, Ronove gave a short shriek.
"I heard something simr from Astaroth-sama. ording to him, theres generally two ways to defend against such a thing: joining a strong faction or simply bing strong enough to repel the others even by yourself. Which will you be going for, Procell?"
[Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth really doted on Sts, as evidenced on the extensive amount of education he had given her.
"Both. And if you two agree, the three of us are. In the next [Evening Party], which shall take ce exactly one year after we were born as well as when the rule protecting us expires, my n is for us to announce that we have formed a Procell Alliance."
In an [Evening Party], all Demon Lords would gather. And in the next one, us new Demon Lords would receive the blessing to be fully independent, while the Demon Lords at the end of their lifespan would have their life be celebrated before they were gone that same night.
Making an announcement at such an event made sense.
"But wouldnt that be dangerous? If we announce that were forming a factionposed of only new Demon Lords and are not affiliated with any strong factions, wouldnt the others target us more?"
"Thats why well be naming our faction after me. I have already defeated the [Pig] Demon Lord, and soon, the [Insect] Demon Lord as well. Thats two older Demon Lords that have A rank medals. I think thats enough to attach some amount of wariness to my name. Moreover, it wont be just the three of us. In the next [Evening Party], Marcho and Dan... I mean, [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian, will also be announcing their support for with us."
Those two were originally at the end of their lifespan. However, for Marcho, she was reborn as my monster through [Rebirth], and for Dan, he had been continuously extending his lifespan through his [Time] ability.
"If the others know that two of the strongest Demon Lords would not only live longer but also support us, they would likely not dare make a move. Well, those that havemon sense, at least."
"Oh, let me rify something: while Marcho is going to be fully part of the faction, the [Time] Demon Lord is only going to be a coborator."
Frankly, I was surprised that Dan was even willing to support us.
ording to him: Im not doing this for you, Procell. Im doing this because Marcho has be your monster. Im only doing this to help keep her safe. Not to mention, Fel would be sad if youre gone.
A tsundere like always.
"Thats still plenty amazing. That pretty much means were going to be safe."
Ronoves excitement was understandable. After all, their power really was overwhelming.
"Then, I approve of this n. Id like to add something though. In the [Evening Party], I want to announce that I have taken over [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth-samas inheritance, and that theyre my responsibility from that point on."
"I approve of that as well."
In order to take over Astaroths inheritance to her, Sts and Enlil were currently undergoing much hardships.
Once Asts dragons have fully epted them though, Sts would likely all at once be named as one of the top Demon Lords. After all, a [Dragon Emperor] like Enlilmanding an army of dragons empowered by [Berserk] was a force to be reckoned with. If you couple that with Stss Omnipresence which could create a copy of each monster, then you have a nightmare made real.
Even my monsters might note out unscathed if we were to fight such a Sts.
"Procell, Ive been wondering about something. Why didnt you call Belial to this meeting? Isnt he your new ally?"
"About that, well, the timing of him wanting to be an ally was just too suspicious. That said, most of my suspicions have been cleared the other day... but Ive thought of something, and Id like your cooperation on it."
I then discussed my idea to them.
At this point, I was basically ready to trust Belial. To put a term on it, this idea of mine was just an insurance.
Once this was all over, I wanted to hold such a meeting again, but with Belial this time.
Oh, how I look forward to that day.
Sts and Ronove then nodded to my n.
All preliminary preparations were thus done.
After the meeting, Ronove consulted us about the dungeon he would make once he had a crystal again.
It wont be long before were recognized as full-pledged Demon Lords.
Volume 10 20
Three days after Dukes group set off on a campaign to conquer the [Insect] Demon Lords dungeon, they had safely returned.
He had just given me his written report.
"...I guess its no surprise that there are some casualties. He is a Demon Lord with an A rank medal, after all."
"I beg your forgiveness for squandering your war potential, my lord."
"No, dont worry, you did just fine. Losing only 6 Avalon-RItters against such a formidable enemy is a great feat. If anything, you should be praised."
ording to his report, their losses consisted only of: 6 Avalon-Ritters, tens of golems, and about 200 resurrected monsters and humans.
Each of the Avalon-Ritters performance would be equivalent to an A rank monsters, and even an S rank monsters for the short while that their [Burst Drive] was active. Clearly, the Avalon-Ritters by themselves were plenty strong. Plus, the three knights, Kuina, and Duke were there as well.
So, quite frankly, to have 6 of them be destroyed despite my overwhelming attack force, the enemy was much stronger than I gave him credit for.
"It seems youve had a bit of fun yourself."
"...yes, my lord. I deemed it necessary to go to the frontlines myself in order to support them. Here is an extra report regarding the enemys elite monsters. It is my hope it would prove useful in improving Avalons strength further."
I had schemes and ns, but so did other Demon Lords.
Despite having an A rank medal, the [Insect] Demon Lord did not get conceited. He prepared all sort of things against those that wanted to harm him. Given that, I could learn a thing or two from him.
"Once were done, go and see Aura for a medical exam. Youve activated [Berserk] for such a long time. Some aftereffects might be present. Its better to be safe than sorry."
"Understood, my lord."
"Oh, by the way, did you bring back the broken Avalon-Ritters?"
"Of course. We have already delivered it to Rorono-samas workshop. ording to the Dwarf Smiths, their twin golem cores are safe, so itd be no problem for Rorono-sama to restore them."
"Thats great to hear. Id hate to permanently lose 6 Avalon-Ritters, after all. And did you manage get suitable recements for the lost undead monsters?"
"Yes, my lord. The enemy had many strong monsters, some even stronger than those that we lost. After all, among them were monsters that were able to take down the Avalon-Ritters. And thats before I resurrect them and strengthen them via my [Enhanced Resurrection]. So, in the end, we have a better undead force now. Those that I couldnt resurrect right away were ced in cold storage."
Duke, just like always, was so cunning.
If he wound up collecting stronger units than those we lost, losing those units wasnt an issue at all.
"Then, let me ask again: Duke, did any of my monsters die?"
"Many were wounded, but none have lost their lives, my lord. I have understood that you wanted to avoid deaths as much as possible, so I too made that a priority."
The thing I hated the most was monster death.
For that reason, Avalons general strategy began with making use of the golems as well as the resurrected monsters and humans as shields.
There were interesting points in his reports, so I decided to ask him about those.
"Nevertheless, cooperation among the enemy Demon Lords really is fragile, isnt it? For not a single reinforcement to be sent to [Insect] Demon Lords dungeon, unbelievable."
"I think the enemies alliance is almost non-existent at this point."
If the enemy Demon Lords alliance was working the way an alliance should, the [Insect] Demon Lord would have focused on defense and stalling, waiting for reinforcements from the other Demon Lords to arrive. And when reinforcements do arrive, they could then pull off a pincer maneuver with the [Insect] Demon Lords forces.
It was possible the others wanted to attack Avalon while we were busy with conquering the [Insect] Demon Lords dungeon, but even then, they would still be willingly letting the [Insect] Demon Lord die.
In either of those cases, the anti-Procell alliance was an alliance only in name.
"Thank you. I now have a better grasp of things. Duke, after youve been examined, go back to your home and give yourself a nice, long vacation."
"As you wish, my lord! ...or so Id like to say, but a long vacation, my lord? Wouldnt it be more prudent to attack another Demon Lord as soon as we have resupplied?"
"Yes, that indeed was the n."
After resupplying our attack force, we had nned to send them out to attack another before any of them could fortify their defenses further.
Such tenacity to do whatever was necessary was thankfully a trait present in my monsters.
"Was? Is there a reason it isnt anymore?"
"...this morning, the anti-Procell alliance has submitted a request to settle. This request was passed through [Law] Demon Lord Baal and then through Marcho. Baal seems to hold the greatest power after the three strongest Demon Lords, but more importantly, hes also a close friend of Marcho. That means that we cant simply ignore this request."
If the enemy Demon Lords presented such a request to me directly, I would have instantly turned it down, but now that an important figure was involved, I had to at least listen.
"Do those Demon Lords have no pride? They have ganged up on my lord, a new Demon Lord, and when their defeat is clear, they go to such a person for help? How shameless!"
"One could argue that life is more important than pride...but thats neither here nor there. What matters is that [Law] Demon Lord Baal is apparently a fair mediator. The terms arent so bad; I might even ept. Do you want to take a look?"
I handed Duke the papers where the offers were written.
The contents of the papers would suggest that rather than requesting for a settlement, they were begging for their lives.
The first point was that for the anti-Procell alliance be disbanded at once.
Next, all participating Demon Lords on their side shall make a [Blood Pact] and promise to not cause me any harm from now on. It was no simple verbal promise, it was a contract that bound their souls to the promise through magic and the power of blood. If they were to vite their promise, they would be crippled, or even be killed.
And then, aspensation for all the troubles that they have caused me, all the original medals they would make for a full year starting from next month shall be forfeited to me.
ording to our mediator, there were four Demon Lords who presented themselves as members of the anti-Procell alliance. This number was consistent with our own findings.
So, for me whose [Creation] medal needed another Demon Lords original medal to work, receiving almost 50 original medals was quite a boon.
"...it looks like this agreement will one-sidedly benefit you, my lord."
"It certainly does. Killing a Demon Lord or crushing their crystal would grant me the ability to select their medal as a given months medal, but this deal will give me their medals directly. Moreover, theyre willing to make a [Blood Pact] to not harm me, but are only asking for me to make a regr deration saying I wont harm them. I mean, I get that theyre desperate, but its as if theyre taking things too lightly. After all, I could just ignore that deration and end them once theyve given me all those medals."
Then again, if I were to do such a move, I would gain an unfavorable reputation among Demon Lords. Once that spread enough, I would be isted even more.
Nevertheless, I couldnt help but wonder why such a risky proposal came from their end.
"If I may be so bold as to share my opinion, could it be that this whole deal is so that you would lower your guard? Or could it be so that they could earn some time?"
"Both possible at the moment. What do you think we should do?"
"I think we should y along. If their goal is to make us drop our guards, wed just have to be continuously vignt. If their goal is to stall, we would have gained so much more strength than they would have."
I was in agreement.
Time was our ally. Rather than fear it, we could utilize it.
"I agree. Lets go ept their offer. And so, our feud with the anti-Procell alliance is hereby put on hold."
"Yes...though I cant say Im at ease."
"I know what you mean. We might have triumphed against this band of experienced Demon Lords, but we might have gotten the attention of other, scarier Demon Lords in the process. The only way for us to be truly at ease is to be stronger."
Things were likely to be even more dangerous if that was the case, but that would be outside of our full control. We could only hope that pushing until we have reached the end would be enough.
"My lord, that is all for my report."
"Ok, thank you. You may go now. Oh, and please spread the news that all participants in the recent fight are to receive a substantial bonus. Of course, that includes you as well. I hope you treat your family to something nice."
"I will, my lord. Today, were going to indulge ourselves."
Duke bowed and then left.
...I had a concern about his report: we havent found a believable ringleader.
Given their A rank medals, one might assume either the [Pig] Demon Lord or the [Insect] Demon Lord founded and controlled the anti-Procell alliance. However, both couldnt be the case. The [Pig] Demon Lord just didnt fit the bill. Meanwhile, though the [Insect] Demon Lord put up a bit of resistance, it was ultimately no challenge at all to break his crystal, making it hard to believe he could lead multiple Demon Lords.
So, assuming that there was indeed someone pulling the strings, this fellow might not be among the known members and were in hiding.
...its also possible that this settlement agreement is just a distraction so that I wouldnt go look for that mastermind. Either way, its just so hard to believe the list of members that their side voluntarily presented to be the definitive list.
Thankfully, Duke was able to bring back the [Insect] Demon Lord alive.
I had told Duke to break the [Insect] Demon Lords crystal, but also spare and bring back the Demon Lord himself if at all possible.
My n was to use every means at our disposal to extract information out of him. Even torture wasnt off limits. Obviously, I disliked such violent methods, but I wouldnt hesitate doing them for the sake of Avalon and my monsters.
Showing leniency towards an enemy was akin to putting an important friend in danger. If one let an enemy flee from the battlefield, they might find the next day that a friend was attacked by that enemy. I dont want to be the fool who cry and regret the things he could have prevented.
A short while after Dukes report, I exited my office. When I did, monsters who were waiting for me toe out surrounded me.
"Oto-san, Kuina did a lot!"
"Gaugau!"
"Your majesty, Ive be really, really strong! Ive gained, like, more than 20 levels!"
Kuina, Tiro, and Raph eximed so. Kuinas fox tail was swinging left and right; Tiros tongue was out; and Raphs wings were spread wide.
These three were among the easiest to guess what they were thinking out of all my monsters.
"And youve all returned safe."
When I replied so, the three then began talking simultaneously. I couldnt catch a word they were saying. As ever, theyre quite the handful.
"...hey, why dont we go for some sweets? Talking about what you did while eating them is a lot better than talking while standing here, right?"
Duke had already recounted the battle for me. However, his report was from the perspective of amander. The birds-eye view, if you will.
Hearing stories from other fighters, especially those that fought on the frontlines, could prove beneficial. Maybe Ill even discover something.
But above all reasons, these girls wanted to boast and listening to such things was also a Demon Lords duty.
I had travelled to Marchos dungeon.
This was the venue chosen for the settlement. It was safest for both sides to use the dungeon of a third-party Demon Lord. And since we were asking the [Law] Demon Lord Baal and Marcho to stand witness anyway, it was pretty much a choice between the two of them. In the end, we decided Marchos dungeon was the most neutral.
By the way, [Law] Demon Lord Baal looked like a strict, middle-aged man.
ording to Marcho, he put value in fairness more than any other Demon Lord, and as such, he would not intentionally favor one side more than the other.
Anyway, when all was present, we began the proceedings.
Just like what we initially discussed, I dered to not harm them anymore. Meanwhile each one of them swore through [Blood Pact] that they would not me anymore too, and also to give me one original medal each month for a whole year.
After that, [Law] Demon Lord Baal announced that his duty here was over and then left.
The former members of the anti-Procell alliance quickly followed suit and escaped.
And so, only Marcho and I remained. Finally, I can loosen up. Geez, that was so tiring. Im even tempted to say I would rather fight than go through this again.
"d that ended peacefully. Thanks to this, there shouldnt be any Demon Lord challenging you into a fight anytime soon."
Marcho said so as she walked to my side.
"I hope so, but Ill still continue to prepare. I mean, whether that proves true or not, Id still need to gain more power for my uing graduation."
"My, arent you a responsible and independent child? I guess theres nothing left for me to teach you."
"Maybe, but I can say with great confidence that I am who I am todayrgely thanks to you."
"I feel blessed as your guardian to hear you say that, but why are you suddenly saying such an embarrassing thing?"
"I dont know; I just felt like it."
Truth be told, I wanted to go on another date with Marcho now that the meeting was over, but sadly, I had an appointment. I was set to go to Belials dungeon.
I was going to use this meeting as the way to retrieve the listening device I nted in his crystal room.
This listening device was the final confirmation I needed.
Demon Lords typically stay the longest in their crystal rooms because it was there that they could monitor their dungeons.
Moreover, because it was the innermost ce in their dungeons, they assume that it was also the safest ce. In other words, they let their guards down there.
I must find out the meaning once and for all of that sudden and short reaction of his.
And so, even though I was reluctant to say goodbye to Marcho, I headed for his dungeon.
I had expected this day toe sooner orter. In ordance, I have been preparing as much as I could. I even borrowed the help of Sts and Ronove.
Alright, lets go end this doubting.
Volume 10 21
I went to [Despair] Demon Lord Belials dungeon.
I had expressed to him that I wanted the two of us to talk about something. He then replied that he would love us to meet in his dungeon. Within his crystal room, to be more specific.
I, who wanted to retrieve the listening device, found his proposal convenient. At the same time though, I couldnt help but think that there must be a reason he proposed to use his crystal room.
"Weve been going on a lot of tripstely and thats made Kuina quite happy! Kuina will make sure Oto-sanll be safe this time as well."
"Yes, I have nothing to worry about as long as youre by my side."
It was unkind to Kuina, but I wasnt going to rely on her protection this time. For the events ahead, I prepared some other things.
Furthermore, because Kuina was so easy to ready, I decided to keep her in the dark. It was just so much safer for her to know nothing than to make her act like she knew nothing.
Im so sorry, Kuina.
"Alright, lets head off to Belials dungeon"
"Kay!"
I instructed a Darkness Dragon to descend and rode it.
Hopefully, we would have a confirmation atst.
We arrived at Belials dungeon and was then uneventfully guided to his crystal room.
"Wee, Procell-sama. Ive heard of your settlement agreement. As always, aplete victory! To think you could make all those Demon Lords agree to your terms. A feat some, I daresay most, Demon Lords can never hope to aplish!"
"I didnt make them agree to anything. They offered the terms themselves. In any case though, Im d fightings over. I have no doubt Ill win even if it continued, but Avalon and my monsters might suffer some damage in the process."
In all honesty, that was number one reason I epted the settlement.
My monsters and my city of Avalon were extremely important to me. I couldnt imagine myself wanting something so much that I would happily put the things and people I love in harms way.
"Ahh, such confidence. And the might to back it up. Youre so magnificent, Procell-sama. Who wouldnt want to be like you? To be strong; to be able to act freely and proudly; to be able to live withoutpromises... Sadly, thats a life exclusive only to strong Demon Lords. For most Demon Lords, especially those that were born with only B rank medals, the only way they know how to live from the moment theyre born is to y along with the whims of those stronger than them."
"That may be true, but if they n for it enough, they could take down at least one Demon Lord with an A rank medal. My point is, the bnce of power can change in an instant. Its not easy, but its possible."
In fights, the strong doesnt always win. ns, schemes, tricks, and whatnot could be employed by the weaker side to ovee the might of the other.
It was risky, but the reward of being able to create the other Demon Lords medal and use their unique skill could be considered worth it.
"Ahahaha. I suppose thats true."
"In the first ce, you also have an A rank medal. Why are you talking like you only had a B rank medal??"
To that, Belial did not utter a word back. He only smiled.
However, that smile waspletely devoid of emotion. It was as though he was only doing it to mask something.
"Well then, Procell-sama, what is the matter you wished to discuss?"
"Lets not ruin the mood by getting down to business right away. Why dont we update each other while chatting idly like this for the moment?"
"Understood. Everything you say really is a morsel of wisdom. And while were chatting, lets also enjoy some tea and snacks, shall we? Ive been a bit obsessed with ck tea recently. Oh, do you know what that is? Fantastic. Well, I guess I shouldnt even have asked since there probably are so many blendsing to Avalon from all over the world. Speaking of those blends, I try a different one each day, yet I dont think Im close to having tried all of them."
I didnt dislike this "humanness" of his. In fact, I would say I liked it.
"Thats a nice hobby you have there. Id very much like to try out the blend you liked the most."
"Of course. Ill prepare it at once."
While we were chatting like that, I was busy with something else.
The listening device I had nted in this room was intact, but being seen retrieving it would be inconvenient, to say the least.
For that reason, I opted to recover just the recording it held via its data link feature.
In order to listen to the recording without raising any suspicion from Belial, I made use of a bone-conduction-type earphone and a yback device developed by Rorono. And to save time, the yback device had features such as automatic and high-speed data sifting, plus a yback speed of 16 times faster than normal which was still intelligible to me thanks to some training.
...this further proves that even though Demon Lords were capable of guarding themselves against normal and even magical espionage, they couldnt protect themselves from a technological one. After all, one couldnt prepare for something that they didnt even know existed.
At the current technological level of the world, listening devices, video and audio recordings, and data links were several times more mysterious than magic.
"This tea is delicious."
"d you liked my favorite."
And so, while drinking tea with Belial, I was analyzing the audio recording of his crystal room. It was several days worth of data, but thanks to the 16 times yback speed and AI that cut out silent periods, I finished the analysis in less than 30 minutes.
This endeavor revealed some truths to me.
The good news was that Belial was not a traitor.
The bad news was that the one before me was a traitor. This is almost as bad as the worst-case scenario I imagined.
"I think its time we move on to the main subject. I have something Ive been meaning to give you."
"I-is that?"
"Yes, its my [Creation] medal. Ive wanted to give this to you as thanks for giving me your [Desperation] medal, but my doubt of you won over. Now that the members of the anti-Procell alliance have been identified, I see that my suspicions were for nothing."
I smiled and then handed him my [Creation] medal.
It was one of the medals I had reserved for my allies.
"Thank you, thank you very much. With this, I could make a ridiculously powerful monster and be of more use to you."
"Well, you dont have to make it for me, but do please make the monster as soon as you can so that you can make a [Maelstrom] for its corresponding B rank monster. Can you imagine the improvement of even a single [Maelstrom] can do for your war potential? In some sense, thatll be the proof weve be true allies."
Belial nodded.
The strength of an S rank monster made with his [Despair] medal has already been verified through Fallen Angel Raphael. If he, someone who had superior knowledge on the properties of the [Despair] medal, used a third A rank medal for the Synthesis, the monster he would create could be stronger than Raph.
"So, this is the reason you came here?"
"...yes, and to apologize for having doubted you all this time. And now that Ive aplished both, I best take my leave."
I proceeded to stand and turn my back to him.
As though he wanted to stop me through an embrace, Belial also stood up and approached me.
And then...
I felt a cold, solid object pierce through me, followed by searing hot pain and the gushing of my blood.
In other words, Belial stabbed me from the back.
Even if he were to kill me, a new Demon Lord, he wouldnt incur any penalties. This was because when I attacked the [Insect] Demon Lords dungeon, some of the monsters we attacked were actually under Belials control. These monsters were originally made by the [Insect] Demon Lord and were only given to Belial, so no matter how much we review our footage, we wouldnt have been able to realize this. We only got this information thanks to our aggressive interrogation of the [Insect] Demon Lord.
"Oto-san! You! How dare you!"
Kuina fired a ming shot at Belial, causing thetter to hit the wall.
He was still alive, but his face was utterly expressionless.
And then, I heard a voice within my head.
<>
It was a voice I had heard before.
After all, whoever it was, it was using my own voice.
"That way of talking... is that you, [ck] Demon Lord? So, you really were behind all these..."
I had suspected an attack would happen at this time.
The settlement offers were too generous, clearly made so that I would lower my guard. After all, it didnt matter to them whatever they offered if they were going to defeat me and take over all my possession in the end.
<>
The [ck] Demon Lord was an enemy, but I still had some respect for him. So, when he said the words some small fry would utter, I was more disappointed than vexed.
"Belial... did you take control of him like this too?"
<>
At this reply, the corners of my mouth rose.
<>
"If youre asking that, I guess you really didnt notice anything at all. Belial has been continuously sending me messages. He keeps on the act like you want him to, but at the same time, he has been giving me hints. He has been going against you. Do you understand? I am not the prey here."
In order for me to not suspect Belial was being possessed, the [ck] Demon Lord likely allowed Belial some control over his own body. Quite ironically, this small amount of freedom allowed him to send me small and subtle hints that made me aware of things.
I wasnt sure this was the case, but after hearing the recordings of the listening device, I was.
<>
"You got me there. But lets go back to your question of why I still walked into your trap despite Belials hints."
From the start, I had suspected that the [ck] Demon Lord was somehow involved in all of these.
Coupling that with Belials hints, there was no way I woulde unprepared.
<>
"I guess the saying the only cure for stupidity is death is false. Youre proving that even death is not enough to cure it. I mean, to fall for the same trick twice. Let me tell it to you inly: this body is not real."
When "I" said so, "I" vanished.
And then, another me appeared alongside Aura.
The truth was that there was two of me in the room. One was the real me, the other was a copy made by Stss [Omnipresence].
Aura had used her wind to conceal our forms and presence.
"Lets talk about your [ck] ability, shall we? It allows you to slip into the darkest recesses of someones heart and take control of them. To make it easier to do so, you rile them up anyway you can. Unfortunately for you, you cant rile me up. How could you when youre nothing but a joke. My heart will never darken because of you. So, are you still going to challenge me?"
<>
He wasing at me.
This much was inevitable.
His original vessel, Belial, was gravely wounded and would soon die, so returning there was no use. On the other hand, if he were to possess Kuina or Aura who were my monsters, he would have to obey mymands.
ording to what I heard from the [Time] Demon Lord, once the [ck] Demon Lord has left his host body, he has approximately 10 seconds to don a new one or return. In other words, the moment the [Omnipresence] copy vanished, the countdown for his life began.
"Procellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll"
I also used my other trump card for this event.
That trump card was the silver watch I received from Dan as the reward for oveing his trial. It had the ability to use Dans own [Time] ability. That said, it was an item that could only be used once and only for a short while.
Just moments before he reached me, I touched the silver watch.
The [Time] function I chose was Time Stop. It was a very powerful function. After all, if my time was stopped, I was virtually invincible. I was isted from any external interference, be it physical, magical, or spiritual.
So, [ck], whose sess rate on me was already trivial, now had zero chance of sess.
A secondter for me and ten secondster for the world...
"Aura, can you sense his presence anywhere?"
"No, master. Hes really gone now. I kept careful watch until it happened."
I see. Im d, then. My fight with the [ck] Demon Lord finally came to a definite end.
"Please give Belial treatment."
"He has a 50-50 chance to survive right now..."
"Even so, please try. He has been a great benefactor. I cant simply let him die here."
It was because of Belials signals that we were able to piece together the truth. Despite being controlled by the [ck] Demon Lord, he kept on struggling.
There was no way my conscience would forgive me if I didnt even try to save him.
Aura took out a container full of Ronoves viscous liquid and poured some into the gaping wound. After various tests, we have concluded that Ronoves viscous liquid had highly potent healing abilities. This along with Auras healing powers probably made the best first aid treatment.
"Geez, Oto-san, why did you hide it from Kuina?"
"To trick your enemies, you have to trick your allies first, right? If your anger were to show beforehand, he might get an idea of what we know and what we n to do about it."
"...I understand. But Im still not happy about it."
I brushed the head of this pouting Kuina.
"Master, the worst parts over, but hes still in danger. For a full recovery, Ill need the equipment we have in Avalon."
"Okay. Then, lets Transfer back to Avalon right away."
Our first priority at the moment was Belials survival.
To that end, we could leave the exnations to his monsters forter.
Once he has recovered, I should go thank him again. For being a realrade.
Volume 10 22
We had exorcised the [ck] Demon Lord out of Belial, and then brought Belial to Avalon to treat the wounds he got from Kuina in the process.
Thanks to Auras healing powers as well as her improved version of [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronoves viscous liquid, we managed to get Belial out of the certain death.
That said, he was far from being out the woods.
Aura was still in the middle of treating of treating him. We were in my new residence where all her medical equipment was installed.
So that we wouldnt get in her way, we decided to wait outside of the room.
I had wanted to let his monsters know beforehand that we were taking him to heal him, but I feared they would all rush to their lords side. Worse yet, if they decided to see me as an enemy, they might want an unnecessary fight which could cause casualties. Such a fight would dy Belials treatment, so I decided to just take him away silently.
With me outside was a pouting Kuina.
"If Oto-san let me in on the n, I could have held back more."
"We needed Belial to look like hes done for though. Otherwise, the [ck] Demon Lord would have just gone back to Belials body instead of going after me. So, sorry again, but we really needed you to be in the dark. Im d you kept your promise though."
I told Kuina beforehand to not kill Belial, no matter what happens in the meeting. If Kuina didnt hold back, there would be nothing but ashes left Belial, perhaps not even that. Killing Belial would have still led to the [ck] Demon Lord being totally erased, but would have obviously removed all hope of saving him.
Kuina keeping her promise was what I pinned my hopes on.
"Yeah, but only barely. When Kuina saw Oto-san seriously wounded, I 90% killed him."
Kuina 90% killing Belial was no exaggeration. If anything, it was an understatement.
Without Aura and the mucus she developed, Belial wouldnt have made it this long.
After a while of talking with Kuina like that, Aura went outside.
"How is he? Is Belial alright?"
"It was close, but yes, hes safe now. A scar might remain, but I dont think there would be any other lingering effects."
"Oh, thank goodness. And thank you too. Really."
"My pleasure, master. I suspect hell regain consciousness by tomorrow. If he were to remain here to bathe in the revitalizing atmosphere produced by the First Tree, drink as much of the best-quality golden apple potions as needed, and then be given almost constant medical care by me, he should make a full recovery in a months time."
"Spare nothing then. I owe him, so please prioritize his recovery."
"Understood. I will do everything in my power to make sure he makes a full recovery."
I was so relieved to hear Belial was safe.
Around noon of the following day, Belial woke up.
Having just woken, it was understandable he would have difficulties in talking while sitting up. As such, I told him we could postpone our talk for when he has recovered a bit more. However, he told me now was fine and bid me to stay.
And so, even though pain was visible in his face every time he opened his mouth, we talked.
"[Creation] Demon Lord Procell, I am very grateful to you for releasing me from the [ck] Demon Lords control."
"So, its just Procell now, not Procell-sama?"
"...well, its quite creepy, isnt it? But please know that the respect I have for you is genuine. You walked a path simr to mine, but you have reached a different conclusion."
The face he showed while looking at me was aplex one. It was of both frustration and admiration.
"Ive heard about your story from Marcho...oh, I mean, from [Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias. ording to her, just like me, you showed outstanding talent among the new Demon Lords at the time. Pretty soon, you were able to go toe to toe even against older Demon Lords. However, this resulted in getting the attention of a few of them who then banded together to crush you."
"Quite so. Back then, the only thing on my mind was getting stronger. I was so preupied by the joy of winning that I failed to consider the consequences brought by my reckless pursuit for power. And when I was attacked, my allies did not have the courage, the inclination, or both to fight with me, forcing me to rely on anothers power in order to survive."
His bitter tone said to me he was still regretting his past actions.
"And that led to you bing the [ck] Demon Lords puppet?"
"Yes. He said to me: Ill give you enough reinforcements to repel your enemies. In exchange, when the timees that Ill need a new body, youll submit yours to me. A dyed death was much preferable to an immediate one, so I epted his terms...it was only muchter on that I found out that the one that organized and led the group that attacked me was none other than him."
That was such an underhanded move.
Belial having an A rank medal, a very useful unique ability, and a body with a still long lifespan made him a prime target for the [ck] Demon Lord. And I was supposed to be next. Much like what he did with Belial, he gathered others to crush me and then bided his time until my desperation was at its maximum.
Thinking about it now, he really was quite the fearsome Demon Lord. By iming the bodies of one Demon Lord after the other, not only could he prolong his life but also amass war potential.
It was great thing to have dealt with him now rather thanter.
"Thanks for sharing. That really rifies a lot. Somethings still bothering me though: why help me at all? ...and you were aware of the listening device I nted, right? I mean, Im confident you spouted all those things for the device to record. And then, there were all those out-of-ce facial expressions as well as those unnatural tones that made me conscious and vignt."
I was so surprised when I listened to what was within the listening device.
Belial acted like there was another person in the room, but the voice of this other person was just his own. His conversations with himself revealed a lot to me. Then it hit me, what if hes aware that theres a bug in his crystal room and are dropping these hints intentionally? ...wait, really? He knew what my listening device is and made use of it???
"Because the [ck] Demon Lord was wary a monster who was adept with reading minds might notice his presence, he gave me autonomy. That said, if I was to tantly go against him, he wouldnt hesitate to take full control. And so, to avoid notice, I had to get creative in helping you. As for why I helped you, I didnt want you suffer the same fate; I wanted myself to be thest he could possess. Of course, I also had selfish reasons such as enjoying meddling with his ns and having my revenge on him."
"But if you didnt help me and he possessed me, you would have freed yourself from him. Has that not crossed your mind?"
"Of course it has. Its just that its not my way of doing things, I guess."
That made him a good person in my books.
Coupling that with his intelligence, his fortitude, and his war potential, he was quite ideal as an ally.
"Alright, Id like to ask something. You might have approached me because of the [ck] Demon Lord, but do you want to be my ally?"
"Listen, even if I tipped you off, shouldnt you consider me an enemy?"
"Your help outweighs whatever offense you made. So, let me invite you once again: be my ally and fight together with me, [Despair] Demon Lord Belial."
I said so and then stretched out my hand.
He looked conflicted whether to grab my hand or not.
Could he be feeling undeserving of my offer?
"Belial, let me be frank. I think of you as my benefactor, and I want to somehow repay my debt to you. To that end, whether you ept my offer or not, I wont stop your treatment, take revenge, or ask you to return the [Creation] medal I handed. What I want to say is I dont want you to worry about anything else except how you want us to move forward."
At that, Belial smiled wryly and looked me straight in the eye.
"...and here I thought I was soft-hearted. How could I say no after that? Very well...no, let me do that again. [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, I humbly request permission to join your faction. I feel like I could aplish anything so long as youre by my side."
And so, Belial grasped my outstretched hand.
He gripped it with such force that it was hard to believe he was on the verge of death just a while ago.
He was finally, truly, and fully an ally.
Once his condition has improved a bit, I nned on introducing him to Sts and Ronove.
"Procell, I realize its too soon, but I have a request to make."
"What is it?"
When I replied, he took out a monster from his [Storage].
It was Ubel, his [Monster of the Covenant].
"Please get this girl back to my dungeon. I just dont want the rest of my monsters to worry about me. Theres no need to update her. Shes special in that even though shes inside the [Storage], she knows whats happening outside."
While Belial was exining, Ubel made a graceful bow.
"It vexes me to no end that all I could about Belial-samas dilemma was watch. [Creation] Demon Lord Procell-sama, on behalf of Belial-samas monsters, I thank you for breaking Belial-sama free of the [ck] Demon Lords curse."
At first, I thought she would resent me for causing his master to almost die, but thankfully, that was unnecessary worry.
"Its nothing. Well then, lets set up that Transfer array...Tiro,e."
"Gaugau!"
Upon my call, Tiro who was resting on the floor stood and walked toward me.
"Tiro, Id like you to bring her back to her dungeon. Oh, wait. Belial, Id like you stay here until youve made aplete recovery. ording to Aura, thatll take about a months time. Unless, of course, you have a monster with better healing capabilities than Aura..?"
"No, I dont think any of my monsters can treat wounds this grave within a month. So, Id like to take you on your offer and stay here."
"Understood. There you have it, Ubel. Please ry that to yourrades."
"Certainly. Well then, Id be borrowing your cute little puppy."
"Gauu!"
Tiro barked and then constructed a Transfer array that led to another one thats in Belials dungeon.
Soon after, she and Ubel left.
"......Sorry, but I think Im at my limit for now. I think I better go lie down. But before that, Procell, I ce myself in your care."
"And I in yours."
Belial smiled and then proceeded to rest.
The real Belial talked intelligently, such a far cry from his frivolous tone before. Having said that, I found myself curiously missing his old way of talking.
"Alright, this case is officially closed."
Finally, I could concentrate my efforts into preparing for the uing [Evening Party].
It was, after all, our factions grand debut.
A thorough meeting with my allies was therefore in order. Moreover, since that Creator would likely propose a sideshow much like he did thest [Evening Party], I should also consult with Marcho.
...oh shit, I knew I was forgetting something important. The deadline for using [Rank Up] is also almost here!
[Rank Up] was a reward I had received from the Creator.
If I dont use it within the given deadline, I would be penalized.
But then, who should I use it on? There were risks to it, so my S ranks monsters, who were the cornerstone of Avalon, were out of the question. I was not keen on subjecting one of my B rank monsters to its risks either.
Ill have to be smart about this. I guess I still cant fully devote my attention toward the [Evening Party], huh.
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