Bab 48: 47th Move | The Circle Grows Bigger
AN: I realized that in 30th Move, around the time when Relentless should be active, Ruberios wasn't even born yet, so instead I'm changing it to Nightrose.
In the previous chapter, I said how the Universe is the surface of a closed 4-dimensional hypersphere.
Correction: This will be changed as the Tensura Universe in this fanfic is an open one, and is only limited by the Cauchy Boundary Condition to ensure that there exist constraints.
tl;dr (for those non-nerds out there), the universe is infinite*
*but not really.
Also, CTC computers are impossible under normal circumstances, as they violate causality.
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This was a desolate wasteland as far as the eye can see. Simple greenery like trees or even just grass was like a bygone dream with how devoid of life this place was. Titanic rifts of a size comparable to the Grand Canyon in Colorado split the lands, their deep bottom glowing a baleful red with lava constantly spewing forth from underground.
The sky above this wasteland wasn't the pretty blue it should've been but instead clouded by towering plumes of toxic gases and ash that originated from distant volcanoes.
One can almost imagine this was what Hell looked like.
*Boom*
An explosion rang out as something crashed into the edge of a ravine, taking out a large chunk of the cliffside like a fist punching through a sand castle.
Moments later, clouds of dust and debris began to slowly rise above the crack in the ground akin to trees steadily growing in the summer. These clouds eventually reached hundreds of meters tall, yet only peaked a few meters above the top of the ravine.
"Are you done?" A 'man' with long red hair said. His arms were crossed and his eyes spoke of judgment.
The man hovered there above the ravine, silently, like an arbiter determining the fate of those being judged.
In response, all that the man got was a very loud animalistic scream and the ground underneath him churning and swirling along like the surface of a soup. The titanic ravine disappeared and instead turned into a whirlpool.
Sharp tips came up from that vortex of loose matter, hundreds in number as they surfaced like a submarine. They looked like the tips of drills that a miner might use, and just like a drill, they started spinning faster and faster before very quickly, they started to glow from air friction.
These drill tips were made out of a mixture of carbon allotropes like carbon nanotubes and lonsdaleite, to create try and minimize the brittleness of a crystalline structure and maximize durability, resulting in a material that's much stronger and more versatile than diamond.
Hundreds of sonic booms exploded as those drill tips were blasted at him at speeds fast enough to escape the pull of the planet's gravity. Alongside this barrage of drills were gargantuan pillars of holy light with a size easily rivaling skyscrapers that erupted out of the ground.
All of these were aimed solely at Guy Crimson, the first Demon Lord.
*Clap*
The barrage was gone.
The attack was dispelled with a single clap of Guy's hands.
An attack that can devastate a mountain was wiped away so cleanly from existence that the only remaining proof was memories of its existence in the minds of those who observed it. There weren't even any atmospheric side effects remaining from that attack.
"I see, that is your answer," Guy said solemnly, without his usual bloodthirsty grin whenever he faces down against an interesting foe, "You are an error in the World, the Error that proved Veldanava's death orchestrated by the World itself has finally started to bite back. You are Veldanava's Retribution. His hatred. Since I was tasked with the role of an arbiter and your existing prevents any further arbitration, I will end this quickly to avoid any further damage."
If this were a court, then this would be the part where the judge handed out the sentencing.
"Let it be known, that by the power vested in me by God Himself, I judge you; an Enemy of the World. The sentencing is true death."
Guy's right hand reached out with the palm facing the sky. It was as if he was about to offer something— an unusually red flame.
An open fire has several stages as the chemical reaction starts. Near the center of the flame is the hottest, where the fire burns blue, and then further outward is yellow before changing into orange as the temperature cools. Rarely is any fire actually red.
The flame in Guy's palm was completely red, as if it was a solid thing and it was painted a cover of bloody crimson.
The Primordial Demon then clenched his hand and crushed the flame like a bug.
*Bwooosh*
The fire extended out from his hands parallel to each other, lengthening and forming into something that resembled a spear.
It wasn't a solid spear, but instead, a lance made from the same bloody crimson as that fire, a spear made out of an existence-erasing flame.
Guy drew the spear back like an Olympian Javelin thrower about to launch it.
The whirlpool of matter underneath the Demon bulged up like someone blowing up a bubble. Akin to ICBMs on the back of special trucks, several knives bearing a monomolecular edge each larger than a house rose up around the edge of this matter bubble. Those knives were imbued with Disintegration magic and will wipe away any spirit that merely graces it.
Without any warning, the bubble collapsed, bursting like a normal bubble and blasting out a single figure of utter perfection. Alongside this figure were those knives and arcs of lightning.
"[Azrael | Reverse All Creation]"
Just before the Perfect Homunculus could touch Guy, the Red Primordial threw his flaming spear right into Relentless' abdomen and overpowered the tremendous acceleration it built up.
This spear instantly reversed the climb of the Error of the World into a rapid descent.
Relentless was nailed to the earth by that flaming spear.
The monster screamed out louder than ever as the red fire started to spread, steadily consuming more and more of its body.
"This is an ultimate attack of mine, made from [Azrael, Lord of Death], an Ultimate Skill I copied from the first Hero I killed eons ago. Ah, it's been so long since I've last used it. This ability will ensure you are completely removed from existence. It's such a true death that I think only True Dragons and... maybe a Primordial could still resurrect from it."
The fire fully consumed Relentless. [Reverse All Creation] steadily burned away the Perfect Homunculus into nothingness. There weren't even any ashes that remain after the fires of unreality extinguished itself now devoid of any fuel.
Obviously, Relentless struggled, trying desperately to remove the spear stuck in its chest even as the flesh on its fingers burned away, leaving only blackened bones that are also steadily being consumed by oblivion.
"..."
It took a mere 30 seconds. Nothing remained of Relentless. The particles that used to make up the Perfect Homunculus were gone. Thermodynamics and Conservation of Mass were both violated.
Guy stretched his limbs a bit afterward. Using [Lucifer, Lord of Pride], he found no remains of its spirit left. The Perfect Homunculus was as dead as it could be.
This was an act of ontological killing. A reversal of creation. It was a death so thorough that it wasn't mistaken to call it a murder of reality as the act of killing propagates backward in time like shockwaves from an explosion, slowly retroactively removing Relentless from the memories of everyone, including the World.
Very soon, in a few months, no one would remember who or what Relentless even is. Only those with an Ultimate Skill would still remember this Error of the World.
It would be as if Relentless never existed, a true death, a true deletion.
"[Reverse All Creation], what a great tool for a janitor."
Already, the landscape around Guy was being returned to how it was as if Relentless hasn't subsumed those particles and matter. While the wasteland was still there, the evidence of their battle was already steadily being erased, as the ravine returned.
Cracking his neck, Guy sensed a distortion in space several meters away from him.
Giving it a sideways glance as he tilts his head, Guy found some of the most powerful individuals in the World teleported next to him, all of them just like him hovering effortlessly in the air.
"Is it over?" A masked woman asked, being the one who stood at the forefront of this group.
Guy knew who this woman was. She was the one who warned him of this impending threat.
'A threat beyond that of a rampaging True Dragon.'
"The Hero Chronoa... well now who'd have imagined this? You of all people, need my help?"
Not only is she an oracle, but Guy's [Lucifer] also cannot copy her Ultimate Skill [Yog-Sothoth, God of Spacetime], making her someone that's very interesting.
The Hero, predictably in response, tightened her grip on the handle of her nameless sword.
The Red Primordial then smirked at the pissed-off Velgrynd.
The birthplace of Relentless was in the Eastern Empire about a month ago. On the first day, it slaughtered the city where the laboratory used to make it was housed. Then, the next day it slaughtered the task force composed of five Imperial Knights ordered to suppress it.
It was only on the third day upon which Velgrynd finally took to the field. By that time, a noticeable percentage of Imperial soil was on fire, and those beyond the Empire's borders were starting to question what was happening with the giant plumes of ash and smoke clogging the sky.
Velgrynd failed to fully destroy this threat, and the end result was the eruption of a brand new volcano when Velgrynd tried to bury the then-unnamed Perfect Homunculus deep into the earth. Desperate, Velgrynd threw Relentless into orbit and it crash-landed halfway around the world into the Kingdom of Thelium to let them deal with it.
It was there that the monster gained its name. 'Relentless', for how even when Thelium threw their best of the best soldiers at the Perfect Homunculus, it continued to walk without taking a single break and destroyed Thelium's capital in a single day.
Relentless. Unstoppable. Thelium quickly descended into a state of total anarchy with the head decapitated.
Third Prince Raegar Thelia, who was one of Thelium's strongest fighters, managed to rally several dukedoms near the capital and launched a counterstrike against this beast.
He conscripted every man, woman, and child he can find. For the men, he gave them any weapon he could find and sent them marching. For the women, he made them pack all their stored food for the journey. For the children, he made them assistants.
In the end, Raegar Thelia managed to acquire an army measured in the tens of thousands, and they marched at Relentless.
Raegar and his entire army of families died not a few hours after they started marching.
Wherever Relentless went, destruction and breakdown of order followed. The continent encountered a refugee crisis of unprecedented proportions as those who used to live under the banner of Thelium tried to escape the incoming carnage wrought by Relentless.
Heroes like Chronoa and Granbell managed to put a halt to the panic by reaffirming that Relentless will be dealt with.
They failed.
Again, and again, attempts have been made to kill Relentless but all have failed. Secret weapons were used, and weapons of mass destruction usually kept as a last reserve were used, hell, at one point, the Kingdom of Arcadia offered 10,000 of its own citizens' lives to any monsters to ascend them into a Demon Lord, with the only caveat being they must fight on the front lines.
The only thing that was slowing Relentless down was how large the continent was, but even then, that's only buying the Heroes very little precious time.
Even when Relentless wandered into the Jura Forest and started fighting against Veldora, it only slowed the Perfect Homunculus down by a few days before the Storm Dragon finally realized this was an exercise in futility and blew Relentless away.
Relentless was unbeatable, that was until Guy finally stepped in.
Facing his long-time rival, Guy taunted, "How weak must you humans be if you cannot beat such a weakling?"
Rudra didn't move at all. His armor stayed motionless, as did his Divine Sword Star that was strapped to his waist.
Guy and Rudra go back a long time. Both were the first of their respective classes, Demon Lord and True Hero. Both were rivals of each other, and the world was their chessboard. The only limit that the two placed upon themselves in this game was that none could personally take to the field.
"You're growing weak if you cannot beat such a being, Rudra, maybe it's time to end the game."
In response, Rudra smiled faintly, smug, as if he has a trump card up his sleeve, "Well yes, that would be your victory, except Relentless isn't dead yet."
Guy raised an eyebrow before silently scoffing.
What, is Relentless a new True Dragon now?
The first Hero of mankind pointed at the ground where the Perfect Homunculus had been nailed to by that spear of oblivion.
Just to humor his old friend, Guy exerted the seemingly unnecessary effort and glanced at the spot, not really expecting anything to have survived that [Reverse All Creation]—
Something was there.
It was like seeing the reverse of something being sucked into a black hole; an entire person erupting out of an impossibly small point in space.
Relentless has returned, and it is pissed.
The Perfect Homunculus howled loud enough to rival the roar of a True Dragon fully unleashed. Crimson veins grew all over its pale skin as its animalistic blood-red eyes stared hatefully at the Red Primordial. At the same time, Relentless set itself on fire.
It wasn't your typical fire, for the flames that now surround Relentless like a suit of armor were of the same bright red as Guy's [Reverse All Creation].
"What—"
Faster than even Guy could fully react, Relentless appeared right in front of the demon. The Perfect Homunculus' two hands collapsed in on the Lord of Darkness' throat while the group that Chronoa brought with her watched on in horror.
"[Longinuslanze Testament]"
Guy Crimson could feel a sharp pain making itself known. While this was happening, Chronoa blitzed forward to try and halt whatever the Monster was doing, except it was too late even when the Hero thrust her sword through its neck, almost decapitating it.
The first Demon Lord woke up with a startled gasp.
The darkness of the room he was in managed to conceal the fact that both he, or rather, 'she' was in bed with Velzard, and both of them were naked.
Sighing like an old man who's lived for too long, Guy got up and sat by the edge of the bed. Her movements were careful and graceful, all to ensure the True Dragon who's been her partner for eons remained in undisturbed slumber.
Gripping her head, Guy massaged it a bit before whispering to herself, "Damn, why did I get that dream again?"
"That nightmare again?"
The voice was sweet and heavenly.
The Primordial whipped her head around to face Velzard, who was lying sideways on the bed while leaning on her right arm. Most of the beautiful True Dragon's humanoid body was covered by the bedsheet.
"...Yeah."
Guy's voice was uncharacteristically weak. One can never imagine one of the strongest individuals in the World being this vulnerable.
And it was because of this vulnerability that the second oldest True Dragon looked at her partner with a gaze of concern, "Didn't your game with Rudra ended in an 'inconclusive' since that was ending?"
Guy Crimson thought about it for a few moments, then opened her mouth to say something when an announcement echoed throughout the castle.
""Lord of Darkness, Demon Lord Guy Crimson, we bear a message; Demon Lord Leon Cromwell wishes to speak with you.""
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The Frozen Continent, four days before Walpurgis.
At the very top of the planet was a land of always winter. It was a place that was dark for half of the year while daytime for the other. It was an inhospitable realm where the only residents were demons and the occasional sea mammal, for example, whales with a length of half a kilometer that surfaces to take in air.
One of the oldest legends in the world says that the main supercontinent where the humans and monsters lived used to be much larger. It was said that the primary mountain that made up Dwargon used to be the very center of the continent instead of being one of the most northern points.
Like blood spilling forth from a wound, the extinct supervolcano where the first Dwarven King build his castle parted the seas and made a truly gargantuan supercontinent, but because of a cataclysm that happened long before the birth of Relentless, much of the northern sections sank beneath the seas, and what remained drifted further north until it became a seed where ice caps grew and spread out.
At the very center of the eternal freeze lies a grand illustrious palace composed of ice. It stood defiantly against the snowy wasteland, standing out amidst a hostile land. Like sand in a desert, fallen snowflakes formed wavy dunes as the antarctic freezing wind chilled the whole continent to a supernaturally low average of -80 Celsius.
The home of the Red Primordial, the Palace of White Ice was a truly grand castle larger than the Forbidden City, hanging off a hand made up of ice, with what appeared to be a dragon coiling around the palace, almost as if it was a snake and the palace was its eggs.
The sheer grandeur of the Palace would take the breath away from most people.
Leon Cromwell is not like most people.
The humans call him the Greatest Traitor of Mankind, the Demon Lords call him the Platinum Saber, his people call him the Overlord of El Dorado, and his subordinates affectionately call him Bent Stream.
Leon is many things to many different people, but to himself, he knows that he is someone completely obsessed with a singular goal.
Nothing so grand as saving the world, but something far simpler, and far more selfish.
The sound of Leon's footsteps echoed throughout this frozen, and far too underpopulated palace once he entered through the ginormous front gate. The Ex-Hero only stopped once he reached another set of rather large doors.
Focusing on it, Leon found elaborate and fine carvings impressed upon the frozen door. There were various depictions, with the oldest one showing what was undoubtedly Guy Crimson raining death upon humans while the newest— still at least 370 years old— depicted the battle between Guy and Relentless.
Seeing the carving of Relentless's Rampage, a little fact surfaced at the forefront of Leon's mind. It was that supposedly, Guy Crimson, arguably the most powerful and ancient of the Demon Lords, changed drastically after the Rampage. It was said before, he was a battle maniac, one who fought against Velzard constantly.
There was even a joke that the snow that occasionally covers the whole world during winter was due to a fight between the Second True Dragon and Guy Crimson.
However, after the Rampage, Guy turned inward and became carefree, almost like a six-year-old second child of a noble. The Primordial behaved as if he had no worries or responsibilities and tried to enjoy life to the fullest.
*Creeeeak*
The large doors creaked open by two giant demons. Honestly, it annoyed Leon of how utterly slow it is, like seriously, is this much drama really necessary?
""Lord of Darkness, Demon Lord Guy Crimson, we bear a message; Demon Lord Leon Cromwell wishes to speak with you.""
Two maids announced— rather, it was more accurate to say that two of the strongest demon here aside from Guy announced. One of the maids has blue hair while the other has green— Rain and Misery, the two oldest subordinates of Guy Crimson, two of the Seven Primordial Demons.
The two who stood near where Guy's seat was bowed to him as he entered the throne room.
Dozens, hundreds of demons with the weakest being an Arch stood in attendance to an empty throne.
The large Throne that Guy Crimson sat on was a crude thing. It was an uneven monstrosity of spikes, jagged edges, and twisted magic metal. The broken and meshed together thing was a symbol of Guy Crimson's power, for it was made up of the armor and swords of the near countless Heroes he's slain over the eons.
In Leon's personal opinion, it couldn't even be called a throne. The legendary and mythical enchantments held within the armor and blades of those Heroes who died still linger and will attempt to lash out at anyone approaching.
It is a hedgehog— anyone who tries to sit on that throne will get stabbed.
Seeing that the Lord of Darkness isn't here, Leon clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Walking forward, the two maids approached and flanked him on either side. Once the Ex-Hero was mere meters away from the monstrous throne, he stopped. The two maids on either side of him bowed and—
"Alright, alright! I'm here, I'm here!"
A dark portal opened. From that portal walked out a beautiful young woman with a mop of red hair walked out, she was half-naked and the clothes that were on her were strung about.
The young female demon then took a seat on the metal throne even as it tried to repel it. As if realizing something, the female snapped her hand and her body changed to a familiar male.
Guy Crimson, is one of the three first-generation Demon Lords.
"Ah, the throne still fights against me to this day, the will of those Heroes still lingers, and because I've melted them all together, they gained about a human level's intelligence. Every time I try and sit, the throne tries to reject me, but that's all the more fun since I get to beat it into submission again and again."
Guy leaned forward on his throne, slapping one of the swords that poked out and bending its edge, "I could definitely force it to my will, but then I won't get any more fun."
Correction, Leon thought, that battle maniac is still there.
"How cruel, do you enjoy tormenting the spirit of Heroes that much?"
Guy shrugged.
"That's surprising coming from you, big ol' Betrayer of Humanity. I tried to mess with other humans, especially the nobles. Tried to have some fun with them, but they pass out or even just expire. Even when I tried to make myself extra vulnerable and appealing to the 'studs' of society; they are just too boring. I mean, seriously, there's this one ugly bastard that tried to mind-break me with some drugs but his heart gave out before I could fully have my fun."
Guy then ripped out a metal piece from his throne and started scratching his chin as if to get rid of an itch, "Although, I guess trying to use techniques used to pleasure a True Dragon tends to be an overkill."
Guy then looked at Leon with a teasing smile that the latter do not like.
Getting up from his throne, Guy walked forward and leaned in kiss to Leon before the Ex-Hero forcefully halted his advances, causing the Lord of Darkness to pout like a little child.
"You know, it's people like you that are no fun," The Demon sighed, "I think you would've enjoyed it. I mean, I've stolen away both the Hero and the Heroine, sometimes even both at the same time! None could've beaten me on the battlefield of the outside and the bedroom. All were conquered before being discarded once I grew tired of their annoying slutty moans and constantly repeating whorish screams."
Leon was once again reminded of just how ancient Guy Crimson truly was. To this entity, nothing about another person was sacred. Time erodes away all sacredness.
"I swear, you really do get tired of the same thing repeating again and again. The look of despair on the Hero's faces as I dominated their spouses grew stale after the fifteenth time."
A loud clang echoed around the throne room as Guy stabbed the metal piece back into the throne.
"But anyways, let's get to the real reason for this meeting."
He then got up and motioned Leon to follow him through the Palace of White Ice.
Reaching a large terrace overlooking the frozen continent, Leon Cromwell sat down on the chair beside the only table in the room while Guy just conjured up one.
"I'm guessing the thing you're wondering about the most was why I agreed to the Walpurgis, yes?"
"Yes"
Guy's arms crossed as he took a sigh, such a scene was so alien from the person in the Throne room that it was giving Leon whiplash.
That whiplash suddenly disappeared as Leon's mind registered what Guy had said next.
"Relentless has returned."
"..."
Leon was absolutely speechless before he quickly got his bearings back.
His immediate thought was—
"Impossible."
The Ex-Hero snarled out.
"Everyone as young as three knows that Relentless is gone, permanently, for the last 400 years. Otherwise, the world would've been long destroyed. My own nation of El Dorado was formed directly as a result of Relentless's Rampage. The shifting tectonic plates caused by that Perfect Homunculus severed the land bridge and expanded what was a small island into what it is today."
A look of pure amusement descended upon Guy's face as if he was savoring Leon's denial like a fine meal.
"Yes, that is the official story. What we didn't tell you was just how we got rid of the Perfect Homunculus."
Leon stopped all moment, his eyes gained a distant look.
"... 'We'?"
Guy conjured up a wine glass filled with a light pink liquid inside it, and did the same for Leon, for a glass of wine was now inside his hands. Taking a sip, the oldest Demon Lord stood up and saunter over to the railings, his gaze sweeping across the frozen wasteland wistfully. Guy's movement was subdued as if his mind was somewhere else.
Back facing Leon, Guy continued, "Yes, 'we'." The Demon Lord brought the glass up to his lips and gulped it down in one sip. Oddly enough, the moment the glass parted from Guy's lips, the same pink liquid started filling up its container once more.
"The first thing you must know and always remember about Relentless, and likely all future Perfect Homunculus, is that they are unkillable."
"Like True Dragons?"
Guy scoffed at Leon's response and dipped his head down, "Not even the True Dragons could match someone as perfect as Relentless."
Then, Guy's head tilted upward as he stared at the sky.
"My most vivid memory of Relentless is that thing reviving from an attack capable of putting down a True Dragon for millions of years. It is a soul-based attack, the supreme expression of Death itself, incorporated with extremely rare spacetime elements. It is a glimpse into His power. A facsimile of Him, made after eons of attempts to stand peer-to-peer with God..."
Guy took another sip of his drink.
"It didn't even put down Relentless for less than three minutes. The second time, for only one minute. I could still remember how hard we tried to permanently kill the Perfect Homunculus before it could destroy everything. For the first time across all of Time itself, the world came together, united against a single threat. Seeing human soldiers fighting alongside demons is a sight most have forgotten."
The demon sighed once more before opening his mouth again, muttering quietly, "That thing became a Law embedded into the World. An absolute constant even more enshrined than True Dragons."
Turning around to face Leon, the look of seriousness looked out of place on the normally carefree Demon Lord's face.
"So yes, 'we' as in, every nation in the world came together. Everyone from Nightrose, Sarion, Dwargon, Ingrassia, what remained of the Thelium Kingdom, True Heroes like Granbell Rosso, Chronoa, True Dragons like Velgrynd, all the Demon Lords to goddamn Rudra and his [Michael, Lord of Justice] Ultimate Skills, to fucking Feldway— Ahh... It was truly a breathtaking sight, everyone, fighting, all as one, all for a single goal, all for the sole reason to live, to have a last stand against annihilation. The war against Relentless was the most selfish yet contrarily the noblest war ever fought. It was for self-preservation; something that's in every intelligent lifeform."
Leon felt a chill down on his back as he listened to Guy speak, his mind racing to what She had told him a hundred years ago, warning him about Relentless's return.
"And we failed."
Guy spoke with such sincerity that the Platinum Saber couldn't help but believe him.
"We thoroughly tested its immortality. Whenever we did manage to kill it, Relentless always return. That Error in the World was unstoppable. Relentless." Guy cracked a smirk at that. "The most we could do was slow it down with whatever we had while another team focused on repairing the damage done. We threw truly everything we had at it. Ultimate-class sealing magic. Chronoa's [Unlimited Imprisonment] and time locking it with her [Yog-Sothoth]. Velzard's [Gabriel, Lord of Patience]. Velgrynd's [Raguel, Lord of Charity]. Rudra's [Castle Guard] can contain a supernova. Nothing we did mattered. It tanked it all. It walked through it all. Worse, we were making that thing more resistant to our attacks. To use terminology you Otherworlders would be familiar with, it was like attacking an enemy with auto-revive, no-clip, and evolutionary immunity. Even when we manage to kill or trap it, Relentless always returns. Near the end, we could barely damage it. Only dimensional and spacetime attacks were just barely slowing it down."
Leon internally took note of all this new information and focused on the one key issue, "So how did you defeat it?"
Guy let out a bitter laugh as he sat down on the chair once more.
"We didn't." Leon had to take a double-take on that. Guy chuckled a bit, "We never killed it. Instead, we got rid of its memories and threw it as far away as we can to another World in the System, making it their problem."
"..."
Leon took a sip of the drink and focused on the flavor. Sweet and sour, like orange juice. The drink had a bite to it, that burn, it was alcohol.
It would be a fine drink. Enough to buy whole mansions. The moment Leon finished and placed the glass back on the table, it started refilling itself.
"And... it has returned? Then why hasn't the world ended yet?"
The Primordial Demon merely smirked at the Ex-Hero's questioning, before it then dawned on him.
Alarmed, "Don't tell me, you agreeing for a Walpurgis— is the new Demon Lord Relentless?"
"Hehe~ Hahahahahahahahahaha!" Guy threw his head back with a full laugh. Spreading his arms out, droplets of alcohol spilled out to the ground, "You finally realized it? However, I do believe it goes by 'Scientia Tempest' nowadays. Haaa... quite annoying, Scientia is. None of my clairvoyant or precognition abilities work on the returned Relentless. The weaker Skills simply get shut down when I scour the Jura Forest, the stronger ones see a massive hole wherever that thing's technology lies, and the strongest ones only see the imprint Scientia's technology made on the world, seeing the soil underneath the roads she made instead of the concrete roads themselves."
Guy Crimson once again gulped down the drink in one sip.
"But... according to Milim, that's only a homunculus..."
"Relentless has a lot more in common with Milim than most would realize. Perhaps that's why she's taking such an interest in the returned Perfect Homunculus... going so far as to lie to the rest of us."
"Tempest?" A new voice belonging to a female called out.
Space warped and tore itself apart like paper, coming out of a dark void was the nude form of the Second True Dragon, Velzard, the Frost Dragon.
"So, my failure of a brother has aligned himself with Relentless, has he?" Velzard said as her clothes shimmered into existence, "It would've made for an interesting change to the Great Game if was still being played, and once again proved why it was the Herald of Change, altering the status quo that existed for the past 400 years. Like clockwork, just when we're due for another Great Tenma War too."
Sitting on the left armrest of Guy's chair, Velzard draped his arms over the chest of the Primordial.
Leon then spoke up with the tiniest hint of caution in his voice, and had it been anyone besides Velzard or Guy, they would've never caught it. "And who could forget you, one of the Four True Dragons in the World, the Ice Empress?"
"How could you forget me?" Velzard spoke in faux hurt, before playfully adding, "Well it is so... happy to see you again, Leon." Velzard smiled and spoke the word 'happy' in such a way that it made it obvious she was faking it.
Unperturbed, Leon returned with a "Well, in that case, I shall extend the courtesy and say it is... nice to meet you as well."
If looks could kill, both of them would die in an instant.
"Bah!" Guy threw up his hands, "Why do you two hate each other so much? Leon, if you're so jealous of Velzard, then all you need to know is just to say yes. I'll let you experience the pleasure someone with eons worth of experience can bring."
Leon clenched his hands hard enough that the wine glass shattered. He was entirely unamused by Guy's antics.
"Be serious."
Velzard's face did turn serious, "Tell me more about my brother and his alliance with Relentless. I stopped sensing him almost seven months ago and I had thought he had finally croaked and died."
Guy flicked his wrist and repaired the wine glass in Leon's hands as the Ex-Hero started to share the information, "From what intel I could get from bribing merchants that visited Trantor and my spies, Veldora broke the seal after the Western Holy Church forced Falmuth to declare war on the Jura Tempest Republic. The invading army sent in a small number of knights in order to create the justification for an invasion. However, just before the knights could cause any damage, they were murdered by the automated security of the City. The rage of these murderous knights apparently awakened Veldora, who was just about to rampage before Scientia managed to calm it down enough to make a deal; whereby the dragon be worshipped and get his own holiday named after him in exchange for becoming a guardian entity."
Leon took his first sip of the wine offered by Rain, "due to the simple fact that President Rimuru was killed by an unnamed Church Fanatic, Veldora had agreed to slaughter the invading 50,000 soldiers and took their soul to ascend Scientia into a True Demon Lord. Using the weakened laws of the world at the time to revive their beloved President."
Guy and Velzard both had a disbelieving look on their faces, akin to if Leon was stating the Sky is purple as a fact, before Guy chuckled, and quickly turned into a full-blown laugh again.
"Hahahahahahahahaha! I see I see, I was indeed right about agreeing to the Walpurgis! This one should be MOST entertaining."
_____________________________________________
The Citadel, Walpurgis Night.
There was a mirror that stretched from the floor to the ceiling in front of me. I looked into it, and my reflection stared back at me.
Golden eyes that remind me of Rimuru's, pale skin just like before, and ashen blonde hair like the remains of a log of wood mixed with gold dust. Right now, my hair was mostly tied into a bun, with two bangs off to the sides framing my alien and freakishly perfect face.
There's still this disconnect between me and the thing in the mirror. I couldn't fully recognize the face, even when I sent a mental command to open my mouth and the reflection obeyed, I'm still unable to really recognize that the one in the mirror is actually me.
My mind drew my focus back to the past week. Every night I stayed mostly awake despite the request of Arcueid, since whenever I do drift off, I always have the same nightmare: I stood above a field of other versions of me, littered about everywhere. There were so many versions of me lying dead or dying on the ground that, no matter how far down I dig, I couldn't find any dirt or stone.
It was as if I was on a planet made out of me, trillion upon trillion of bodies all coalesced into a sphere the size of a planet, with its own gravity and all that.
Recalling that vivid nightmare made me shiver a bit. I can't use neuroblocker drugs that prevent dreams since my body automatically destroys any foreign chemicals even if it's useful. The most I could possibly use was the Placebo effect but even that's not useful at all.
[Metaphysics] suggests the possibility of it being information coded within my very Soul but that's highly doubtful.
Shifting my attention back to the present, I reformed my Block-Form Singularity Mathematic into a gothic dress that seemed to fit the ideal of a 'Demon Lord'.
It certainly does look 'evil' enough.
Affirming to myself that this was the right choice, the Mathematic turned into a black liquid-like and spread across my whole body before solidifying into a pair of casual jeans and a long-sleeved black and gray false double T-shirt.
Becoming a Demon Lord seemingly made me like darker colors more.
I glanced at myself in the mirror once more in this casual attire that wouldn't look out of place if a teenager wore it to school. My mind couldn't help but wander around once more and reminisce about the geopolitical events that happened this past week.
Falmuth was dealt with.
It was called Operation New Republic.
To ensure the success of Operation New Republic, I offered those two Otherworlders pardoning of their crimes under the cover of 'child soldiers' and offered them political asylum if he betrayed Falmuth.
Safe to say, he spilled the beans on all important military and governmental sites he knew about within the city, including places where we can sneak in.
I think Tempest achieved the fastest time to capitulate a country commonly acknowledged as a 'Great Power'. Using Doormaker, we transported strike teams composed of a single Tripod and multiple companies of our Autonomous Marines and Officers into every major city within the Kingdom.
The Autonomous Marines were our foot soldiers. Two-meter-tall, heavily armored humanoid robots connected to a network alongside other Marines gave these robots the unprecedented ability to coordinate with each other and Officers as if they have one mind. For weapons, the Marines use plasma railguns that shoot out blobs of plasmoid which can turn the iron armor of a knight into an iron coffin.
By the start of the second hour, all targeted cities have been captured. Military installations like barracks and armories were destroyed, and governmental buildings were solidly under our control.
It was more like a coup than any actual war, especially since the Officers suffered no casualties. Once Falmuth's King believed that we essentially own his entire Kingdom, he signed a conditional surrender, with said conditions being he and his family are allowed to remain alive but under house arrest, and he will abdicate in favor of his eldest son.
We accepted his surrender.
Thus, the war ended not with a bang, but a whimper.
Acting like she didn't know anything, Ririna reported the mysterious annihilation of Corbin. The King of Falmuth collapsed to his knees as he wept since apparently, his favorite child was in the city at the time and now was gone with not even a body left to bury.
So ends Operation New Republic.
The next day, I managed to officially acquire Ramiris as an ally after I agreed to let her create an entrance to her Labyrinth in Metropolis, under the condition that the entrance be considered as an embassy.
However, then comes the problem with Eurazania and the build-up of Clayman's forces along the borders of Milim's domain and Eurazania. I'm predicting Clayman is probably waiting for Wallpurgis to happen before launching an all-out invasion of Eurazania.
The Animal Kingdom would be an easy conquest. Its capital is destroyed, and chaos runs amok across the countryside as nuclear fallout still periodically rains across its lands.
The disappearance of centralized authority in the form of Carrion is causing opportunists to come out of the woodwork and form bandit groups, acting like crows as they feast upon the carcass that is Eurazania, extorting villages of their food before leaving for the next. It was made even worse when most of these bandit groups were originally members of Carrion's army that went rogue.
The entirety of Eurazania fractured into several proto-warlord states.
We had mobilized several military VTOL aircraft to airlift many of our operatives, tourists, and merchants out of that dangerous land.
This sudden breakdown of social order has also caused displaced millions of people. Some decided to escape to Fulbrosia while most decided to move to Tempest.
Due to the rather hostile foreign policy that Eurazania had for centuries, most humanitarian groups, Not-for-profits, and NGOs like Foreign Support, Tempest Charity Foundation, and Asylum International were rather hesitant on helping them. Most Conservative Senators and District Representatives also didn't want to offer aid, so the government's hands were tied and just stood by and watched while Border Security processed everyone. Even with our open-door policy for any immigrants, the Eurazanian Refugee Crisis is projected by [Contessa] to continue until next year.
By that time, a lot of people would die from exposure and starvation.
Rimuru, in his good-hearted nature, had discreetly sent some supplies to the refugee camps along the Tempest-Eurazanian border when he heard of the terrible condition. Mostly tasteless rations.
A total collapse of society really does not allow basic necessities, huh? I mused, you know, that oddly reminds me of the Syrian Refugee crisis that plagued Europe during the mid-2010s.
I was left out of Operation Jistavic Freedom in order to focus on the preparation for Walpurgis, so I only know the just of what Rubedo and Ririna's plans were for the invasion and subje—I mean, the liberation of a nation consisting of millions of slaves.
I had planned to review the plans for the Operation, but that was interrupted by the appearance of diplomats from Sarion, more so when that diplomat was Eren's father.
_____________________________________________
6 days ago, Bob's Pizzaria
I chomped down on a slice of pepperoni pizza, my tastebuds savoring the flavor. I can tell why Eren likes to come here.
Both of us are sitting by a table, positioned opposite to each other as a single large pizza filled the table. Eren herself seemed a bit hesitant as she barely ate anything.
"Commander—"
"Call me Scientia, we haven't talked in weeks, have we? What with your training in the Military Academy."
My relationship during work with her has always been of pure professionalism, so we never got a chance to unwind and talk casually like right now.
"Right, sorry, I had to focus on becoming an Officer in the military." She seemed to want to say something, only to continue to chew on some of the potato fries.
Again, Eren seems to want to say something, except she feels awkward, like someone trying to confront a friend on something which could result in the cessation of that friendship.
[Silenced Emotion: 40%]
Let's just rip the bandaid right off, I thought to myself.
"Is this about me being a Perfect Homunculus?"
"Yes..."
I stared at Eren for a few moments before placing the slice in my hands down on my plate. Plucking out several tissue papers, I wiped the oil out of my hands before my body shifted from a relaxed posture into a more serious one.
The silence continued until it became awkward since both I and Eren wanted the other to speak first.
"I'm sorry that I lied to you." I finally broke the ice.
"It's not about the lie..." Eren's face crinkled in betrayal, "It's about why you didn't TELL me beforehand, Scientia!"
I felt my heart wrench at her screams.
"Why didn't you trust me enough to tell me these things? I told you my secret that only two other people know, and— and— and now it turns out you were a Perfect Homunculus? Like I could understand why you didn't tell me when we first met but—" Eren groaned out in frustration, tears flowing down her face as she struggles to turn her feelings into words, "I just don't understand, I thought we were friends..."
My face remained passive. In short, Eren had entrusted me with her deepest secret, one that she shared based on how similar my false backstory was to hers. Eren was hurt immensely when the truth came out that my backstory was fake. [Psychology] theorized Eren still looked at the world through these rose-tinted glasses despite witnessing something horrific, most probably as a coping mechanism.
That's a lot like Arcueid in a way.
Man, why are there so many traumatized people around me?
I was really paranoid during the first few months of my reincarnation. I mean, for crying out loud, I added biological kill switches into those goblins I modified simply on the possibility that they could betray me.
I couldn't help but cringe at that memory. Even if it made sense at the time, hindsight made me feel embarrassed.
I was about to run a Path on how to repair the relationship between me and Eren before dismissing it.
No, to use an Ultimate Skill to repair our friendship cheapens it.
[Silenced Emotion: 70%]
"I apologize," I said formally. My gaze was elsewhere off to the side as I couldn't bear looking at Eren's face, "I was extremely paranoid during those first few weeks. I am a reincarnated Otherworlder. You can imagine what it was like to be reincarnated as a Perfect Homunculus, so I lied and lied and lied, the only ones who knew before the Voice of the World revealed it was Rimuru, Arcueid, Veldora, and Milim, those four were the only ones who knew. I have no excuses."
Oh god, this is such a mess, your choices really do come back to bite you, huh?
Silence once again descended like the curtain at the end of a theater play. I'm grateful for the fact that there's no one else in the restaurant, otherwise, the awkwardness would be too much to bear.
"I need some time to think about these."
Eren quickly left me alone in the Pizzeria, leaving me alone to ponder my thoughts.
I was so busy all the time that telling Eren about my true nature slipped through my mind. Carelessness, never had I imagined this would again come back to bite me.
Looking at the pizza, my stomach twisted in revulsion as I could see every speck of oil and grease on it. I no longer felt hungry.
Dropping several hundred dollar bills onto the desk, I opened a Doorway beside me—
[Alert]
"My, my, I see so you are the one who has taken my daughter away from me?"
Instantly, my right hand morphed into a Particle Dissociator and leveled itself at the source of the voice, which turns out to be a cloaked individual standing by the main entrance of this restaurant.
"Who are you?"
The man took off his hood with a small fake smile on his lips, "Ah, so this is the new Demon Lord. And a Perfect Homunculus at that?"
'Who is this?'
[Data]
An elf? Silently, I switched the Dissociator into a dart thrower without changing its appearance and loaded a flechette with a very fast-acting paralysis poison that would paralyze the nerve endings going to the four limbs, causing the target to instantly drop to the floor.
"I am Erald Grimwald, an Archduke of the Sorcerer's Dynasty of Sarion, Eren's father, at your service."
I was still half tempted at firing the flechette. That was until the man's head hit the floor, Erald doing a... what did Rimuru call it? A seiza? No wait that's not right, it's like a seiza position except the body folded in such a way that his head touched the floor, and his two hands came together in front of his head.
"I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for taking in my daughter and sheltering her. I was a bad father, I realized that now after confirming the rumors and court gossip about that prince, Elyune would've been in hell had she actually married that prince. Unlike other lesser men, I see the happiness of my daughter as a top priority, and through spies, I saw how Eren was able to form genuine camaraderie with her fellow soldiers. I hope that you won't kick her out despite the fallout you two had that just happened."
The dart launcher was lowered as I stared at the form of the old man, part of me wondering where the hell was his pride as an Archduke.
"Show me your face, father of Elyune H. Grimwald."
The elf got up and quickly took off his hood, letting me fully see his appearance.
Taking a good look, I noticed how the blonde-haired green-eyed Archduke looked like a gentleman even in those heavy cloaks. He was middle-aged, though because of how elves live a long, long time, Erald could easily be thousands of years old, especially since all the elves I've encountered up to this point looked like they were in their late teens to early 20s.
Erald bowed deeply, his posture fitting perfectly within a ballroom during a dance, "I must again thank you for taking in Elyune. When she ran away from home over a year ago, I was worried sick! I... I just— please, I ask you as a father, not as a Noble, to let Elyune remain in your military, to keep her in a position in the backlines."
You'd think that he'll want Eren to quit the military, but I think because of Operation New Republic, Erald probably saw our technological supremacy and figured this was a good mid-point between Eren being safe and him being able to keep tabs on his daughter.
Interesting, but this really stinks of nepotism.
"I assume you are here for more than just looking for Eren?"
"Of course, I am actually here formally as a diplomat from Sarion, Director Tempest," Erald then introduced himself, "the Empress has given me her full support in whatever decision I make concerning this nation and..." he leaned in close, "let's just say that I plan to give her a good word in about your nation."
____________________________________________
"Come in."
Rimuru entered the doorway to the walk-in closet behind me, flanked by Shizue in her classic maid chassis.
The slime wore fairly light— just a simple set of black pants, a shirt, a fur scarf, and a trench coat that covered most of his body. If his hair were black and his eyes brown, I could make a joke about how he looked like one of those... what's that Japanese word called? Isekai? Yeah, an isekai protagonist. Poking out from Rimuru's waist was the handle of the Sword of Control, or as he named it: Kusanagi, currently in the form of a katana.
The blade was of stormy silver, its black circular cross-guard and gray handle made it very striking with the Modified Herrscher Core now residing on the pommel.
My right eye twitched ever so slightly.
Personally, I still like Claymore better.
Maybe it's the Westerner in me, but I like the simplicity in a claymore.
Big sword, long reach, and heavy damage.
But I guess that doesn't really matter when it comes to the Sword of Control.
Though to be honest, I still would have preferred to give Rimuru a gun. Is some enemy swinging a weapon around? Doing some crazy kung-fu moves? Just shoot them. Shoot them from a safe distance. Problem solved. Guns are the quickest way to kill something while remaining in relative safety.
The Mathematics altered its appearance back into that jet-black gothic dress almost instantly as I turned around to face the humanoid slime. The closet around me was filled with clothes that haven't been touched for a long time, and if it weren't for the effort of Shizue, they would've all gotten wrinkly.
They wouldn't have gotten dusty since the air filters I've placed within the Citadel is fine enough to capture individual virus cells.
"Hey, you ready?"
My posture changed as [Acting] took hold of me, my spine straightened, and my chin tilted up. It felt natural to act superior to others.
In fact, I barely need [Acting] at all, as [Aristocratic Dignity] made it second nature.
The corner of my eyes saw my reflection in another mirror. With my current dress and posture, I look like a real noble— No, not those pompous bluebloods commonly found in books, but those who know how to play the game of power and thrive in it. Those who can order the termination of a problem and get away scot-free.
"Yes," I spoke in a chipper tone, "I am ready for tomorrow."
"By the way, that looks good on you," Rimuru ended with a small chuckle, before turning serious, "are you sure taking Diablo and Jeanne with you is fine?"
During a Walpurgis, a Demon Lord is allowed to only take two attendees. Shizue wanted to be one of my attendants, but because Leon Cromwell would be there, I instead ordered her to train with her new Siberium body and Ultimate Skill.
For whatever reason, Shizue didn't count as a human anymore, and instead the Voice of the World recognized her as an Artificial Lich, making her technically a Majin so she received a gift during my ascension into Demon Lord.
Her Unique Skill [Degenerate] transformed into the Ultimate Skill [Eidolon, Lord of Skills], which essentially allows her to choose from a near-limitless selection of Common, Extra, Unique, and Ultimate Skills, the only caveat to this is that quality and quantity are mutually exclusive. For example, with [Eidolon], Shizue can choose, at one time, a maximum of 150 Common Skills, 40 Extra Skills, 5 Unique Skills, or 1 other Ultimate Skill.
It was honestly pretty powerful, however, she can only select what she wants with Common, Extra, and Unique, [Eidolon] seemingly has a mind of its own when it comes to choosing an Ultimate Skill.
"Yes. Having two Primordials as my subordinate would send a clear message, and make my power an unquestionable reality."
The air snapped as the two appeared.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear, or rather, they shall appear, I thought amusingly as I turn to look at the two Primordials. Diablo is wearing a butler uniform as always and Jeanne is the same, wearing the same uniform as she always does. Looking at them, I made up my mind to give them each a fitting weapon after Walpurgis.
[Nuclear Physics] and [Magicule Manipulation] gave me some ideas, perhaps Diablo would like that dimensional sword?
"My Lady, you look wonderful." Diablo praised while Jeanne fawned over my dress.
"Thank you, Diablo," I replied, [Aristocratic Dignity] hiding my slight cringe at his words of reverence.
People all had either two expressions when they meet me for the first time, they A) scream out in terror at how unnatural I looked or B) attempted to woo me.
Though one may wonder why I wasn't taking Veldora, to which I say, taking Veldora is a huge escalation. There's a difference between a Primordial and a True Dragon, the latter is an unstoppable wall while the former is only somewhat unstoppable. Taking Veldora would also send a hostile ultimatum, effectively declaring that anyone who is against me will be annihilated.
*Beep*
A holographic panel suddenly materialized mid-air in front of me to show that it has detected a spatial distortion and asked whether or not to nullify it.
"It's time?" Rimuru asked me.
"Yes," turning to face him, small pieces of jewelry formed around me, all fake to conceal the fact that they are actually bits and pieces of a Pocket Dimension generator, "now after I go into Walpurgis, you have a small window of opportunity to both annihilate Clayman's army that's built up around Eurazania's border. He'll most likely send them at the moment Walprugis starts so—"
"Yeah, yeah, I understand, I have a limited amount of time to both invade Jistav and take out the enemy forces. Don't worry about it, we'll be fine!" He tapped me on my shoulders to show confidence, yet I'm still worried nonetheless.
"Don't die on me."
Rimuru gave me a confident smile and pulled me into a hug, "You don't die on me either."
_____________________________________________
AN: Longest chapter to date! Sorry, it took so long.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone