章節 117: Chapter 47: Interrogation

Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?

Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.

Chapter 47: Interrogation

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- Felix -

"Just leave that bit to me."

There is an ability I've been wanting to test out for some time now.

Spiritual Domination is an Extra Skill I'd analyzed from Ramiris. I never had a reason to recreate it and try it out, but now I have one.

'Odin.'

'Notice. The Extra Skill: Spiritual Domination has been recreated."

'Thanks.'

Spiritual Domination allows me complete domination over a target's thoughts and emotions. The only way to resist is to have an extraordinarily strong will, or be powerful enough to fight off its effects.

Thought Domination is fairly similar to Spiritual Domination, Thought Domination is better for immediate control, while Spiritual Domination is more all encompassing. With Spiritual Domination I can control a person's entire being, while Thought Domination only controls the thoughts.

From what I know, Mariabell is incapable of fighting Spiritual Domination off.

"Before I summon Mariabell I'll give you two some information on her I was able to acquire since you two don't seem to know all that much about her."

"According to my sources, Mariabell is basically Granbell's second in command, she has access to basically all his resources, including the Rosso's secret forces, the Blood Shadow." I continued.

"The Blood Shadow?" Asked Rimuru.

"The Blood Shadow is a force under the Rossos that is composed of Otherworlders that have been enslaved with the Locking Curse."

Rimuru's eyes widened. "Then…."

I nodded. "Yes, it is likely that the attackers on Tempest were members of Blood Shadow."

Rimuru sighed but nodded, though I noticed him clenching his fists under the table. I'm sure he doesn't like that many people were killed in an attack they had no choice to participate in.

But the world is cruel.

"Anyways, using her position, Mariabell should easily be capable of mobilizing the Blood Shadow for this attack. Even the Chaos Dragon seemed to have been under her control."

"How did she control the Chaos Dragon?" Asked Rimuru.

Rimuru seriously needs to ask these questions to Raphael, I'm sure his Skill is capable of figuring these kinds of things out.

I did still answer him, though. "Using Greed. The Chaos Dragon didn't have much of an Ego, so Mariabell was able to dominate it fairly easily with Greed. I'm guessing she sent the Chaos Dragon to attack as a distraction. Perhaps to distract us with the big threat while her Blood Shadow quickly caused chaos."

Rimuru nodded.

"Anyways that's about all the information I have on Mariabell, one thing to keep in mind is that we definitely shouldn't kill her in Tempest if you want to build a proper relationship with the Western Nations. Even her public identity as a princess of a small nation could cause Tempest trouble in the future if her death is used against you Rimuru."

"Yeah, I already got that. I'm not that helpless at this whole ruler thing, you know." Rimuru pouted.

I nodded. "I did have an idea of how to take care of her, we could always just have her die in an unfortunate Monster attack, but what I was leaning towards was using her to lure out Yuuki and dealing with both Yuuki and Mariabell in one go. We can make it look like a crazy strong Monster attacked them both causing them both to unfortunately perish."

Rimuru's face cringed hearing me but he did eventually nod.

"Hmm, that plan could work. Perhaps I can lend a hand as well. I can send some members of the Church to investigate and confirm everything. Give the story more legitimacy." Said Luminous.

"That'll help, thanks Luminous."

Luminous looked at me haughtily. "It is no problem Felix."

Ah, what a tsundere. Maybe that's where Hinata got it from.

"Now that we got that out of the way, I'll summon Mariabell."

I got up and went towards an open area of the room and raised my hand.

'Beelzebuth.'

A swirl of darkness formed before my palm, and out came Mariabell.

She was ejected out and was unable to recover leading to her landing face first on the floor.

I smiled at her. "Thank you for joining us today, Mariabell."

Mariabell's gaze snapped to me, and I could see the sheer rage in her eyes, but behind the rage was some healthy fear for me.

"You!" She snarled.

Before she could do anything I crouched down and grabbed her by the face.

"Now, now, don't act like that. We just want some… information from you."

Hearing me Mariabell's gaze wandered to the table I was previously sitting at. Her eyes widened.

"T-Two more Demon Lords!"

I nodded. "Indeed. Cooperation is in your best interest, you know. I'm sure Granbell has informed you plenty about Luminous."

Mariabell's glare returned in full force. "Never!"

I smirked. "Heh, I was hoping you'd say that."

'Odin.'

"Wha-" Mariabell's resistance immediately faded.

'It is done.'

Ah, it's relatively easy to take control of someone with Spiritual Domination with Odin's assistance, too easy, in fact.

If I was a fat bastard I could totally abuse the shit out of this. But no! I am better than that! NTR is a trash fetish!

I set Mariabell down on the ground and let go of my grip on her face.

Mariabell had a far more compliant look on her face now.

"Woah! What did you do, Felix?!" Asked Rimuru.

"The most basic explanation is that I mind controlled her."

"Mind control!"

I rolled my eyes. "You've seen me tear Space apart, you've heard about time travel, we've even brought back the dead, but mind control you are surprised about?"

Rimuru rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well… when you look at it like that…."

"Anyways, Mariabell should be more cooperative now that she is under my control."

I didn't turn Mariabell into a mindless slave like I could have. No, instead, I just made her give up. I made her give up on resistance entirely and made her realize how futile it is to attempt to fight back against me.

At this point she was willing to basically do anything I said.

Spiritual Domination was a scary ability.

Ramiris was once the mighty Fairy Queen so it doesn't surprise me that she had such a Skill. Even weakened as she is, Ramiris can be a reasonably bothersome foe.

She is the Queen of Fairies so I assume she is able to order the Elementals under her to do various things. She could theoretically order the Elemental Lords, beings on par with Awakened Demon Lords, they could even fight on the Ultimate level.

Ramiris may be a brat with no personal power, but she sure as hell had some strong people she could call upon for aid.

Beretta and Treyni, on their own, are useful subordinates.

"Now, are you willing to answer my questions Mariabell?"

Mariabell sighed but nodded. "Yes, I will answer your questions to the best of my knowledge Lord Felix."

I nodded in satisfaction. "Great!"

"I'll leave the juicy questions for last. First off, why don't you give us some backstory about yourself as well as your relationship with Granbell Rosso?"

I already knew that she was his pseudo granddaughter and descendent, but it was always best to make sure my information is correct.

"My name is Mariabell Rosso, I am a descendent of Granbell Rosso's and the Princess of the headquarters of the Five Elders, the Kingdom of Siltrosso."

I nodded. "Continue."

"I was once a Queen, I had complete control over millions and caused much blood to be spilled for my own greed, many wars were waged due to my desire and in the end I always won. I lived a life full of enjoyment and would always receive what I wanted. In the end I died due to old age."

I nodded, I knew this was not Mariabell's first life, and it doesn't surprise me that she cared little for the lives of others, and was a spoiled brat. I could already tell that much.

While I'm not a saint, I'm not one to carelessly throw lives away just because I can. Something like that should always be a last resort.

Mariabell sure as hell is a bad cookie.

If I were to give Mariabell an alignment it would probably be Chaotic-Evil, while my own would probably be Neutral-Chaotic.

"After I was reborn I received the Unique Skill: Greed due to my vast desire to possess everything in the world. In this world I quickly gained influence inside of the royal palace by using my Unique Skill: Greed, I was treated like a Queen until my grandfather showed up."

Yeah…. I imagine it is relatively easy to dominate a country with Greed alone, it is one hell of an ability. Mariabell was just foolish enough to overstep her bounds, and she got burned for it.

"The moment we met, he knew I was different, it was as if he already knew about my Skill. I imagine that if I dared to try and control him with Greed, he would have killed me right then and there. After that first meeting both Granbell and I began working together, him as my grandfather and I as his granddaughter." Mariabell continued.

"And what did you two work together on exactly?" Asked Rimuru.

I nodded to Mariabell who took that as the que to answer Rimuru.

"Our dream was world domination."

Rimuru sighed. "Of course." He whispered.

Man, that's a really stereotypical bad guy dream, world domination, seriously?

"How did you plan to go about that? I highly doubt you had the raw power needed for world conquest."

This Granbell was apparently a Hero in the past, he of all people should know that there are some truly strong beings in this world that are not to be messed with.

With Guy and the other Demon Lords around, world conquest was practically impossible unless one was Veldanava himself.

Mariabell nodded. "Indeed, for some reason grandfather was against using all of our vast resources to forcefully take control of the world, and so we came up with another plan. We planned to dominate the world through the economy."

"The economy? How would you manage that when the currency used in this world is Gold? That is unless…."

Mariabell nodded to Rimuru's unasked question. "We planned to convert the global currency to paper, with each Nation having their own unique currency. The value of that currency would be determined by the Nation's power, and the Nat-"

"The Nation's power was determined by the Western Council, which the Rosso controlled." I finished.

Mariabell nodded. "Yes, it was a fairly foolproof plan." Mariabell then looked directly at Rimuru. "It was foolproof until you started making your moves, Demon Lord Rimuru."

"Hehe, well that's good then." Said Rimuru with a nervous chuckle.

"That was what this attack was about then? Dealing a blow to Tempest so that you could continue with your plan with ease?"

Mariabell nodded. "Exactly so."

I nodded. "Tell us more about this plan in detail then."

Mariabell nodded and continued. "Very well. Thanks to information we received, we were able to realize that Tempest was growing far too fast, too fast for us to counteract and maintain control over the Western Nations, and so we came up with a plan to destabilize that growth. The death of various royals and nobles would cause Tempest to have far far more difficulty expanding their relationship with Human Nations. Even with the support of Dwargon it would be difficult, if not impossible. Such a thing would set back Tempest's progress by decades."

"Hmm, that's true. It would have given me a much harder time with my goals." Commented a ticked off Rimuru.

"Well, at least her plan failed, huh Rimuru?" I taunted.

Mariabell ignored my words while Rimuru laughed along with me. "Yeah, it's good indeed."

Seeing as Rimuru and I were done joking around Mariabell continued. "During the attack it was my hope to gain control over the Demon Lord Felix and then use him to get the jump on Demon Lord Rimuru before finally converging on Veldora with two Demon Lords by my side. With the power of a True Dragon on our side, we would be unstoppable."

I had to hold my laugh in at hearing Mariabell's plan. Even Luminous looked flabbergasted at Mariabell's sheer… idiocy.

It would take a lot to mind control Rimuru or I, and even then we both could probably resist it with our Skill's help, Odin for me and Raphael for Rimuru.

Sure if they gained control over me or Rimuru the Rosso would have an easy time with a lot of things, but that plan of theirs was flawed in the first place.

"I did not think Granbell foolish enough to approve of a plan to take control of Veldora of all people, especially with your meager power." Said Luminous.

Mariabell nodded. "The original plan was to just take control of Demon Lord Felix due to being the easiest target."

"Excuse me?" I'm insulted! Me, the easiest target?

"Fufufu, Felix, the easiest target? Perhaps Granbell's old age is getting to him." Commented Luminous while Rimuru nodded along.

"It was our assumption that Demon Lord Felix was the weakest target due to his incomplete Harvest Festival." Said Mariabell.

"My incomplete Harvest Festival?" What's that all about?

Mariabell nodded. "Indeed, it was thought that since Human Souls were not used for your Harvest Festival, Lord Felix, that your Harvest Festival was incomplete or still in the process of being completed."

Ah, so they were just working off of wrong knowledge then.

They assume that using non Human Souls would affect my Harvest Festival, well I guess they are sort of right, perhaps if I did not have enough Souls I would have gone through an incomplete Harvest Festival.

Thankfully Clayman was more than willing to supply me all the Souls necessary, even his own Soul was used in my Harvest Festival, and as a Deathman his Soul was far more powerful than most Majin.

Granbell likely would have taken different action if he had the correct information. It was still foolish of him to work off assumptions however, I honestly expected more from someone who has been around for so long and basically rules a large portion of the world.

"Alright, continue. Where did the Chaos Dragon come in?"

"Originally, the Chaos Dragon was not part of the plan, but Yuuki offered up the idea of causing further chaos by usi–"

"You said Yuuki?!" I interrupted.

Mariabell nodded. "Yuuki Kagurazaka is the Guildmaster of the Free Guild and also my thrall."

That didn't sound right. "Your thrall? As in, he is under the control of Greed?"

Mariabell nodded. "Yes, it was fairly easy to control him, using his own Greed against him was child's play."

Both Rimuru and Luminous were staring at me as Mariabell said that she had Yuuki under control.

But… that's not possible.

"How did you get around his Anti-Skill?"

Now it was Mariabell's turn to look at me in confusion. "Anti-Skill? What is that."

I see. Yuuki really played all sides huh?

I sighed. "Do you know of Yuuki's abilities?"

Mariabell nodded. "Yes, I had him tell them to me when I first got him under control."

"And he mentioned nothing about Anti-Skill?"

Mariabell shook her head. "No, he never mentioned such a thing."

"What about his Unique Skill?"

"He said that it was a Skill focused on management and did not have much combat potential."

While that could be true, the fact that he didn't mention Anti-Skill when he is seemingly under Mariabell's control paints quite the clear picture.

"So Mariabell was tricked then?" Asked Luminous.

I nodded. "It seems so. If Mariabell really had Yuuki under control and asked what his abilities were, he 100% would have mentioned Anti-Skill. Not to mention it is impossible to control him in the first place with Greed thanks to Anti-Skill. It would have just negated Greed as long as Yuuki played things right."

"So it was Yuuki's idea for the Chaos Dragon to join in on this attack then?" Asked a resigned Rimuru.

"It seems so Rimuru."

Rimuru sighed. "I knew this meeting would probably involve something like this, but I truly hoped Yuuki wasn't involved."

I didn't know what to say to Rimuru, and so I said nothing.

"What other things has Yuuki been involved in, Mariabell?"

Mariabell looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "Many things, he is the one that located the Chaos Dragon in the first place and supplied it to me."

I'm sure if Milim heard any of this she would leave and immediately go and crush Yuuki's head. I guess it's good that I left her out of this then.

"Along with that it was his idea for Clayman to attack the Jura Tempest Foundation as well as Eurazania and eventually even the Harpy Kingdom to allow for easier trade between us and the Eastern Empire. However his plan failed and led to the rise of two new Demon Lords."

I could sense Rimuru's fists clenching under the table, I was pretty damn angry myself. But Yuuki would get what's coming to him, now that I know that he is for sure behind Saeko's death, his death is all but guaranteed.

"I see, is that all?"

Mariabell shook her head. "No, Yuuki has also been using our resources to Summon Otherworlders and sell them to the highest bidder. One of his most frequent customers is the Demon Lord Leon Cromwell."

Rimuru banged his fist on the table, spreading cracks along it. "That damn bastard!"

I sighed, hearing Rimuru. He was really against Otherworlder Summonings, not that I blamed him.

"Let's deal with Yuuki first, then we can think about Leon. He will be far more difficult to deal with, so it's best if we just stay out of each other's way, Rimuru."

"He's the one who Summoned Shizu!" Rimuru retorted.

I nodded. "I know, but realistically what can you do to him? Even if you are more powerful than him, which is doubtful, he has an entire continent at his beck and call, and an extremely well developed Kingdom."

Now it is fairly easy for me to just wipe out El Dorado from the face of the map, but knowing Rimuru, he would be against that.

"Not to mention that Leon seems to have some kind of relationship with Guy, a fairly close one."

Rimuru reluctantly agreed. "Fine, let's focus on Yuuki first, but I'm definitely punching Leon the next time I see him!"

"Feel free to do so."

I doubt a mere punch will escalate much. Plus, it's not like Leon doesn't deserve it.

I looked back at Mariabell. "Do you know how Granbell will react to all this? Your failed attack, as well as your future death?"

Mariabell casually ignored me talking about killing her and answered my question. "He will likely be fairly upset about the wasted resources, while the Rosso still have access to a large amount of Otherworlders, many of them were still wasted in this operation. But it is not a loss that will significantly weaken us for years to come."

I nodded. While Otherworlders were useful for the sheer power they had with minimal training, they still failed to reach the higher levels of this world without training. They were generally around the A Rank, and Special-A Rank for the ones a cut above the rest.

Most Otherworlders see themselves as special and so they assume they are people of significant value in this world, when in reality even the weakest of Saints are capable of mopping the floor with them.

It doesn't help that the vast majority of Otherworlders come from some variant of modern world Earth. With all the Isekai anime in that world as well as the so called "cheats" that those protagonists have, it is easy to understand why Otherworlders tend to get a bit of a big head.

With all of that "culture" from their previous world they probably thought that their Summoning was their chance to live out their isekai dreams.

"As for my death, I am not sure how grandfather will react. He is a hard man to predict, but I would expect him to not let his emotions cloud his judgment, he will likely step back and come up with a new plan for world domination, as in our previous plan my abilities were necessary." Continued Mariabell.

Hmm, perhaps Mariabell and Granbell weren't very close then, maybe their relationship was more transactional, Granbell protected Mariabell and she helped further his goals. Or maybe Granbell did care for Mariabell and was just good about hiding it, there is no way for me to know at this point.

"Very well then. I have no other questions to ask you now." I'll ask her more politically related things later.

I turned to Rimuru and Luminous and gestured to Mariabell. "You two have anything you want to pick her brain about?"

Luminous shook her head. "No, I see now the reason for Granbell's recent actions. I was surprised when he betrayed our alliance all of a sudden, but I now know that he was feeling threatened by Rimuru and wished to take him off the board so his plans didn't collapse. He was even willing to sacrifice his fellow Luminaries in this pursuit."

"Well they had it coming!" Said Rimuru.

Luminous nodded. "I do not deny that. They had reached too far and so they were dealt with. I have no use for rebellious pawns."

"Woah, that's harsh." Said RImuru.

"That's how things work in this world. Most powerful beings don't care much for their traitorous or subordinates who are not truly loyal. Not like I blame them, why care for them when they don't return that care with loyalty. You're not the standard Rimuru but the exception."

Rimuru blushed under my praise but still nodded. "Yeah, I guess I can see where they are coming from. It just doesn't feel right for me to treat my subordinates as lesser than me. As far as I'm concerned they're my friends!"

Luminous and even Mariabell were looking at Rimuru oddly.

"Well you keep doing your own thing, Rimuru. It's clearly working."

Rimuru nodded at me and then looked at Mariabell. "I did have one question. Are you aware of what Leon has been doing with all the Otherworlders he is having Summoned?"

Mariabell shook her head. "No, I am not aware of what Demon Lord Leon could want with such defective products."

Rimuru's Demon Lord's Haki burst out from within him for a moment, I quickly unleashed my own to contest against it and protect Mariabell, though Rimuru's Haki did reach her for a moment.

Rimuru quickly got his Haki under control and sighed. "Sorry about that, what she said ticked me off."

Yeah, Rimuru really doesn't like that whole slavery thing, Mariabell referring to Otherworlders as property seemed to have ticked him off.

"It's fine, I was able to protect Mariabell from the Haki so no harm no foul."

Since Demon Lord's Haki releases Spiritual Pressure the room itself wasn't damaged.

I looked at Mariabell, who was soaked in sweat and shivering. She was exposed to Rimuru's Demon Lord's Haki after all, if only for a moment.

I heard a loud exaggerated sigh. "How disappointing, I did not expect one such as you to lose control of your Haki Rimuru." Commented Luminous.

"Yeah well give me a break Luminous, I have a lot on my plate right now." Responded an annoyed Rimuru.

Luminous nodded. "Do learn to control your power. Haki is an ability that is highly influenced by one's emotions."

Even Odin isn't able to prevent Haki leakage unless she is actively monitoring my own Haki, which she normally isn't.

And even if she was she wouldn't suppress it in the first place. In Odin's eyes if I felt the desire to use my Haki, then who was she to stop me?

I imagine Raphael thinks fairly similarly.

Rimuru nodded and looked back at Mariabell. "Well? Do you have an answer to my question?"

Mariabell nodded, even as she continued to shiver. "W-We are not aware of what Demon Lord Leon wants with… th-the Otherworlders. We do know that one of his requirements was for them all to be young, so none of them had de-developed any Unique Skills of their own."

"He wanted children? If he wanted to recruit more forces for his territory why would he want children?" Asked Rimuru.

Mariabell shook her head. "I am not aware of w-why."

"Well, he was a former True Hero. It's safe to say he has an in-depth knowledge of Elementals. Perhaps he knew that Otherworlder children can be saved if they are contracted with a Spirit. That way, he can mold the children's thought process in a way that is beneficial to him while also recruiting someone who has high potential. He wouldn't have to deal with the inevitable thoughts of rebellion older Otherworlders would have that way." I chimed in.

I noticed Rimuru was getting more and more upset as I continued with my hypothesis.

Rimuru finally took a deep breath and sighed. "That would explain why he gave Shizu Ifrit then."

I nodded. "Perhaps."

"Hmm, Claude and Alrose's existence does give credence to that theory." Added Luminous.

"Claude and Alrose?" Asked Rimuru.

"The Black Knight Claude and the Silver Knight Alrose are Leon's chief subordinates. They are also Summoned Otherworlders." Responded Luminous.

Rimuru nodded. "I see, I don't know much about Leon's subordinates, he didn't even bring anyone with him to the Walpurgis."

"Yes, Leon is quite uncaring like that. He is confident in his power." Said Luminous.

"Well, that doesn't surprise me. He has an Ultimate Skill after all. One needs a specific… character to acquire an Ultimate Skill of their own."

Both Luminous and Rimuru's gazes snapped to me.

"Seriously? I didn't know Leon had one." Said Rimuru. He seemed surprised but he was overall pretty nonchalant about it, opposite to Luminous.

Luminous seemed ticked off. "Leon has an Ultimate Skill, you say?"

It seems hearing that Leon, a Human, or at least a former Human beat her to the race of getting an Ultimate Skill has wounded Luminous pride.

She is a True Ancestor, a being that, by all means, should be above a Human.

I shrugged my shoulders. "What can I say, it's a skill issue. You just hadn't gone through the experience necessary to awaken an Ultimate Skill. They can be kind of finicky like that, who knows what the exact requirements are for such a thing."

All I really knew was that willpower was key.

"I am not in need of your comforting Felix, I am just surprised that someone such as him has an Ultimate Skill." Said Luminous.

I rolled my eyes. "Sure… whatever you say."

Luminous seemed to be fighting down the urge to retort but eventually sighed and gave in.

"Hmph. On the topic of Ultimate Skills, are you willing to share who else you are aware of with an Ultimate Skill?" Asked Luminous.

I'm surprised she swallowed her pride and asked such a question. I guess she wants to be really careful of Ultimate Skill wielders, now understanding the sheer amount of power such beings wield.

I'm surprised she isn't on a bit of a power high at the moment; all things considered, she is acting relatively normally.

"Hmm, sure. I can consider you a friend so why not."

I could see Luminous suppressing a smile that was fighting to grow on her face, heh I knew she liked me!

I mean it's hard not to like me, I truly have a winning personality.

'....'

'You have something to say, Odin?'

'Negative.'

'Of course….'

"Well don't expect me to give you the details of their Ultimate Skills, but I'll share who I know for a fact possess one. Off the top of my head, for the Demon Lords, there is Guy, Milim, Dino, Leon, and, of course, Rimuru and I. Then Velzard, the Frost Dragon, has one and so does Veldora."

"Even that lizard?" Luminous grit out.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Despite his personality, he is still a True Dragon. Anyways those are all the people I am aware of with Ultimate Skills. Realistically barely anyone has one, we just tend to be in contact with the few who do possess one."

Luminous nodded. "I am surprised that Dino has one, but I suppose with his history it is not too odd. Thank you for sharing this information with me, I will not forget this favor."

"Heh, no problem. What's a little information between friends."

Luminous paused for a moment before nodding. "Indeed, friends."

Heh, I think I just won Luminous over! I'm still going to annoy her, she is just so easy to mess with, it's her own fault honestly.

"Hold on, what do you mean by Dino's history?" Both Luminous and I looked at Rimuru with deadpan expressions on our faces.

He had access to Veldora and Ramiris, and he still doesn't know all of this? He seriously hasn't been using them very well, they have tons of information.

While Ramiris doesn't remember everything perfectly due to her continuous reincarnations, she still knows far more than most.

I sighed and decided to fill the Slime in. "Dino is one of the first beings created by Veldanava, a Primordial Angel."

Rimuru's eyes widened. "Woah! Like Diablo?"

I nodded. "Sort of, their natures are opposite to each other, but they are fairly similar."

"Huh, I didn't know that sleepy-looking guy was such an important person!" Said Rimuru.

Luminous snorted. "Oh please, as if that one is important. After his creator's death he threw a tantrum and fell to this world, and has been leeching off of Dagruel ever since."

"I feel like I'm still missing a lot here…."

I sighed. "Just ask Ramiris or Veldora, you should use them more often, both have a lot of ancient history stored in their heads."

Rimuru nodded. "I'll do that then."

"By the way Luminous, even if one does not have an Ultimate Skills, it is still possible to threaten you, God Grade Equipment and Divinity are capable of bridging the gap, even sheer willpower can be enough in certain scenarios."

Sometimes I feel like this world works on shonen logic. Willpower can literally get you practically anything in this world should one have enough of it.

Luminous scoffed. "I am aware that nothing is absolute in this world, but I thank you for the warning nonetheless."

I nodded and looked back to Mariabell who had just been listening in on our conversation. It's not like I was worried about her knowing anything she shouldn't, she already had an expiration date.

"Now, what to do with you?"

Mariabell did not respond, she wasn't shivering anymore so she has recovered somewhat from her exposure to Rimuru's Demon Lord's Haki.

"Aha, I know."

I snapped my fingers and took down the Barrier that Rimuru had erected around the room.

"Felix?"

"Don't worry, I'm just going to call someone to take care of Mariabell for me for now."

Rimuru nodded.

"Arcueid, are you available?"

"Ah! My Lord, I am always available for your needs! How may I assist you?" Asked Arcueid.

"I just need you to take care of someone for me while I'm in this meeting with Rimuru and Luminous."

"It will be my pleasure, My Lord! Would you like me to come to your location?" Asked Arcueid.

"Yes, please."

It took mere moments for Arcueid to appear outside the doors to the meeting room.

I heard a knock. "Come in, Arcueid."

And in came my beautiful Demoness.

Arcueid bowed deeply in front of me. "My Lord."

I sighed, seeing that. "No need for that Arcueid."

Hearing me, Arcueid straightened up and greeted Rimuru and Luminous with a short bow. "Lord Rimuru, Lady Luminous."

Rimuru gave Arcueid a wave. "Hi Arcueid."

Luminous also responded. "I had heard that Felix had tamed the Primordial of White. I've even seen you from a distance, but it is quite something to see your devotion to your Lord in person, Blanc."

Arcueid looked at me before responding. "You can talk with her, Arcueid, no need to ask for permission."

That girl prioritizes me above everything else, to the point that she didn't even want to give a fellow Demon Lord any attention without my permission.

Arcueid nodded and then smiled sweetly at Luminous. "My Lord is a man with many talents, though I do prefer being called by the name My Lord had bestowed upon me, Arcueid." Arcueid said with devotion in her tone.

Luminous nodded. "Very well, I will keep that in mind. You seem much more agreeable than your kin."

Arucied tilted her head before nodding in understanding. "Ah, you mean Lalatina? She had told me of her clashes with you in the past, she even mentioned her fight with a Hero, she seemed quite excited to fight the Hero again but she never got the chance."

Luminous grit her teeth at the mention of Lalatina. "Yes… Lalatina, as she is called now, has always been an annoyance, always playing her games with no regard to the issues she causes for others."

Oops? Maybe I'll have to punish her for that, heh. I imagine Luminous will be quite upset if she finds out what exactly "punishment" is, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her.

"I do recall her various games over the millennia. I can only apologize for the issues my fellow Primordial has caused for you."

Arcueid seems to be awfully understanding with Luminous, I guess as long as Luminous is respectful, Arcueid will also be respectful.

Luminous shook her head before sighing. "There is no need to apologize. Lalatina is now the subordinate of my… friend. I suppose I can forgive her prior transgressions."

"I was not aware of your relationship with My Lord, I will remember that." Said Arcueid.

I'm pretty sure Luminous's standing just went up in Arcueid's books.

Arcueid then turned to me. "I apologize for getting distracted, My Lord."

I waved her off. "It's fine, you don't have to apologize for having a conversation, you should remember to enjoy your life a bit too."

Arcuied nodded. "If that is what you wish, My Lord."

I nodded. "It is what I wish." I then pointed to Mariabell, who had been staring at Arcueid ever since Luminous called her the Primordial of White. "This is going to be your… companion for the night. I want you to go out with her in public; make sure everyone knows she is alive."

I don't want any doubt when Mariabell's future death comes to light, Tempest can't be implicated in that. Having people see her after this attack will go a long way for that, rather than just keeping her in my Infinity Space until it is time for her final act.

Arcueid nodded. "Very well, My Lord."

"Ah, when you two are in private feel free to ask Mariabell what you wish, she may not look it but she basically rules the Western Nations as long as she does not go against her grandfather. See if you can learn any useful information or anything like that."

Hearing what I said, Arcueid now seemed to be a bit more interested in Mariabell.

"Very well, I shall make sure no information is kept secret. I see you have already brought her under your control, My Lord?"

"Yeah, she will answer whatever questions you ask and do whatever you tell her to."

"That makes things fairly easy then. I will disturb your meeting no longer My Lord, unless you have need of me?"

I shook my head. "No, feel free to leave Arcueid."

Arcueid gave me one more bow and then left with Mariabell in tow. Once she was gone, I replaced the Barrier I took down and then took my seat at the table once again.

"Now we have one last person to interrogate."

Luminous nodded. "The Clown."

"He might be a bit harder to deal with. He was far stronger than Mariabell and had a will to match that. In fact he was abnormally strong for just a Deathman. Those guys are said to be Demon Lord Class, excluding Clayman, even that Clown, Footman, was pretty powerful. For a Deathman to be as strong as the Clown that attacked Hinata…."

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, it does not paint a good picture. Are you capable of keeping him immobile as you had before?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem. I'll still try my Spiritual Domination, but I'm not sure that it will work."

All things considered, it should work. Spiritual Domination boosted by Odin is an incredibly powerful ability. But I decided to give a heads-up in case it somehow didn't work.

"Alright, you guys ready?"

Both Rimuru and Luminous nodded, and so I got back up and I summoned the Clown from my Infinity Space.

"Gah!" He, of course, immediately started struggling in my grip.

"Do you seriously have to do that? You should already know that it's hopeless."

My words only made the Clown struggle harder. What a pain.

'Odin.'

The Clown immediately stopped struggling in my grip.

'Both Spiritual Domination and data from Greed were utilized to put the Clown under the Master's complete control.'

'Heh, nice Odin.'

"Well, it seems we had nothing to worry about. The Clown is in the same state as Mariabell, except he is basically just a doll that can only follow orders, rather than Mariabell who just saw no point in resisting."

"Ugh, if it's that easy to mind control someone, I will need to take measures of my own." Said Rimuru.

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, I was aware of such Skills existing, but I did not think that it would work on someone as powerful as this Clown. Even Louis, at his full power is weaker than this Clown."

"Well, not everyone can do it the way I did it, I used multiple Skills to control this Clown, Skills I will be keeping secret." I did not want more people than necessary to be aware of my ability to copy Skills. A trump card is only a trump card if no one knows about it.

I imagine if that information got out, people would stop using their Skills in front of me which would be annoying.

I wanna catch em all! I mean, analyze them all!

Luminous nodded. "Very well then."

I set the Clown who was still in my grip down, the Clown made no movements, he just stood there waiting for orders.

I imagine that this guy would be useful, even in his current mindless state, he was strong and could get my grunt work done. But I agreed to hand him off to Luminous, and I'm not one to break a promise.

"Now, first off, what is your name?"

"Laplace." The Clown mindlessly responded.

"I see, I see. Laplace it is, then. Now, why don't you tell me about why you attacked Hinata Sakaguchi?"

"I was ordered to do so." He responded.

Ugh, one thing about making someone basically a mindless drone is that they were idiots. They didn't elaborate on anything unless asked. They were basically incapable of thinking for themselves.

"Who ordered you to do so?"

Laplace paused for a moment, as if he was resisting the urge to answer. He had an impressive amount of willpower for something deep inside of him to be resisting even in his current state.

Well, one doesn't reach his level of power by being weak-willed.

He must be incredibly loyal to his master.

"Yuuki Kagurazaka."

And there it is. Not that I needed more proof against Yuuki, but the more the merrier.

Rimuru sighed. "So this guy really is Yuuki's subordinate, huh?"

I nodded. "It seems so."

However I do wonder how Yuuki got someone like Laplace under his command.

"Well then, at least he wasn't helping with the Falmuth invasion or helping those other Clowns that were trying to unleash Charybdis."

I nodded. "That's true. He would have been an issue at that point."

I did still have Odin, so I imagine I would have beat this Clown, but it would have taken some effort. While I fought Laplace, his allies would have unleashed Charybdis, and Rimuru just wasn't capable of getting past Charybdis' Magic Jamming at that point.

Laplace may have even been able to get away after all that.

I focused my attention back on Laplace. "Who are your allies, Laplace?"

Once again, he paused before answering. "The Guildmaster of the Free Guild, Yuuki Kagurazaka, the Former Demon Lord Kazalim, also known as Kagali and the Vice Guildmaster. Tear, a fellow member of the Moderate Harlequin Alliance, the–"

Before Laplace could continue, I interrupted him. "The Moderate Harlequin Alliance? What is that?"

"The Moderate Harlequin Alliance is a group of powerful Majin that was created by our Mistress, Kagali, also known as Kazalim."

What?! Leon said that the Demon Lord was killed, and even Elmesia confirmed it.

That… that shouldn't be possible.

Maybe someone was just using Kazalim's name?

I have a feeling I'm going to be learning a lot more from Laplace than I did from Mariabell.

___________________________________________________________________

I have a discord server, come hang out if you want! https://discord.gg/VxR5Gn72Fp I also have a channel in Shiro's Gaming Omniverse.

Links: patreon.com/theogbasilisk

Author's Note:

Hello everyone, we finally get to learn who is behind everything, or at least Felix finally gets to learn for sure.

He now knows for certain that Yuuki was responsible, you can bet Yuuki is not going to have a good time, even Anti-Skill and it's bullshit won't save him.

Hopefully these last few exposition chapters have been enjoyable, they share a bit more about the lore of the world and what kind of schemes have been going on in the background.

Things are going to change a lot from here on. We also get to learn a bit more about the world, and hey look! Felix and Luminous became friends! Who knew it was possible.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed, peace.

Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.

Also, you guys should check out @BonVoyage Tensura fic, it's pretty damn good.

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章節 118: Chapter 48: Interrogation Continued

Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?

Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.

Chapter 48: Interrogation Continued

__________________________________________________________________________

- Felix -

"The Moderate Harlequin Alliance is a group of powerful Majin that were created by our Mistress, Kagali, also known as Kazalim."

What?! That Demon Lord was said to have been killed by Leon, even Elmesia confirmed it.

That… that shouldn't be possible.

Maybe someone was just using Kazalim's name as an alias?

I have a feeling I'm going to be learning a lot more from Laplace than I did from Mariabell.

I looked to Luminous to see if she knew anything but she shook her head, it seems even she wasn't aware that the Curse Lord had survived, if it was even the same person. The question is, did Leon spare her and lie to everyone else about it or did something else happen?

'Notice. Deathman are capable of surviving without their flesh, they are capable of roaming the world as an Astral Body for years and can possess a suitable host. It is likely that the individual Leon Cromwell was not aware of this, allowing Demon Lord Kazalim to escape and survive.'

'I see. That makes sense, thanks Odin.'

Then it seems this is the real Demon Lord Kazalim then. I'm not quite sure how powerful he was in his prime, I don't even know if he was an Awakened Demon Lord, or just a Demon Lord Seed, I'm leaning towards just being a Demon Lord Seed, I remember hearing that he had gone toe to toe with Roy Valentine, Luminous' substitute.

Roy, while powerful, was no True Demon Lord, so I imagine Kazalim was around Roy's level, therefore fodder.

I suppose Laplace may know for sure.

"We are currently a group of mercenaries for hire. Our current employer is Yuuki Kagurazaka who is allied with our Mistress."

I nodded. "Who else is in this Moderate Harlequin Alliance?"

"Our President is Kagali, I am the Vice President, Laplace, the Wonder Pierrot, then the main members were Clayman, the Crazy Pierrot, Footman, the Angry Pierrot, and Tear, also known as Teardrop. Now we are down to merely myself, the President, and Tear." Laplace informed.

So Clayman was a member then huh? And just like I thought, Laplace did have some kind of relationship with Footman and Tear.

"The main members? So do you have branch members or something?"

Laplace nodded. "We have various resources to call upon throughout the Western Nations, but our only true permanent branch member was Eva, also known as No Face."

"Eva? That wouldn't happen to be Clayman's former maid would it?"

Laplace nodded. "That would be her."

"I see." Eva had disappeared shortly before Clayman launched his invasion, and no one I asked knew where she had gone. "Do you know where she is?"

Laplace shook his head.

"I see, well tell me more about your President, start with how Kagali managed to survive when Leon claimed to have killed him."

"Kagali was an ancient High Elf, the princess of them in fact."

A princess? I thought Kazalim was male, weird.

"Her father, the High Elf King, had been experimenting on her, these experiments resulted in her death, her father brought her back to life as a Deathman with an ugly, rotting form. He cursed her. At which point Kagali had gotten into a dispute with her father as he was mistreating his citizens, in the end her father turned her into a male using the curse he placed on her, while also giving her the name, Kazalim."

That's…. yikes. I'm definitely not going to be showing her mercy just because of a sob story, but it does help me get a better understanding of Kagali at the very least.

"I did always wonder what happened to one of my kin's daughter, to think she would turn into Kazalim… how unfortunate." Said Luminous.

I turned to look at Luminous. "Did you know the High Elf King?"

Luminous nodded. "I was well acquainted with all of Twilight's creations, the so-called Pupils of the Ancestor. I had even met Kagali in the past, back then she was a kind innocent girl."

"The Pupils of the Ancestor?" That was a group I haven't heard about.

Luminous nodded. "We were a group composed of the various True Ancestors of each of the various races created by Twilight Valentine."

"Ah, I see." It isn't surprising that they had a group like that.

"Do you guys still meet up from time to time?"

Luminous shook her head. "No. The majority of us have already passed on, the only one I still regularly maintain contact with is Sylvia, Gunther, and Valentin."

"Gunther? Isn't that your butler? And who is Valentin?"

Luminous nodded. "Gunther is my butler and one of the True Ancestors of the Vampires. Valentin is the name that Roy and Louis had when they were a single being."

"Ah, I see. So there are three Vampire True Ancestors then huh?"

Luminous shook her head. "No, while I can technically be considered a True Ancestor of the Vampires, I am much more different. I am the single being that Twilight was able to create that was similar to him. He called me his other half, I am the only one of my kind, a High Blood, a being born Divine."

Talk about being a cheat. Being born with Divinity is incredible.

Luminous seemed to have caught on to my impressed look as she puffed up her chest and looked at me haughtily.

I ignored her and looked back at Laplace. "Continue."

Laplace obediently nodded. "After some time, the High Elf King angered Milim Nava, and so she attacked Kagali's country and destroyed it, killing the High Elf King in the process. She was one of the sole survivors of the incident."

Ah, well the High Elf King is one hell of an idiot, for thinking he would get away from kidnapping the pet of Milim Nava. He was a True Ancestor, there is no way he was clueless as to who Milim's father was, and yet he still proceeded.

Talk about stupidity.

"The President ended up using the Forbidden Magic, Birthday to create three Deathman, Clayman, Footman, and Tear."

Hmm, so that's where all the Deathman I have encountered have been coming from, Kagali created them all.

But one thing is a bit odd. "You weren't created at that time?"

Laplace shook his head. "No. I was created when my former self had drove away the Chaos Dragon, but suffered fatal wounds in the process, my former self made a deal with Kazalim, Kazalim would bring him back to life in his service, he warned my former self that I would not recall my memories, but he still agreed."

Hmm, so Laplace seems himself as someone different from his former self then?

"My former self ended up losing who he was, and I was born." Said Laplace.

"Just out of curiosity, are you aware of who your former self was?"

Laplace nodded. "The identity of my former self was Sarion Grimwald, the husband of Sylvia El Ru, and father to Elmesia El Ru Sarion."

My eyes widened upon hearing that.

Rimuru slammed his hands on the table. "What?!"

"After resurrecting me as a Deathma–"

"Hold on, go back for a second. You were Sarion? The Elven Hero?"

Laplace nodded.

"And your memories of when you were Sarion are just gone?"

Laplace nodded. "Kazalim had tried to delve into my Soul to attempt to restore them as a gift to me, but he was unable to. I did not have much of a problem with losing those memories."

I'm sure his former self disagrees.

Hmm, Asmodeus is a Skill that has some Authority over Souls, so perhaps it can help Laplace regain his memories?

'Negative. When the individual Laplace became a Deathman, the memories of the individual Sarion have been completely suppressed if not wiped, they may be located deep within the Heart Core, but delving that deep into an individual's being is incredibly dangerous and may result in the Soul completely collapsing in on itself. There is not enough data to safely extract the memories.'

I see, well it was worth a shot. Now that I think about it, that was a pretty unreasonable request.

"How unfortunate. From what I have heard, Sarion Grimwald was a good man, Sylvia had spoken of him fondly." Sighed Luminous.

"Ugh, what should I tell Elmesia?" Sighed Rimuru.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well she does have the right to know what happened to her father. I guess we just tell her what happened and let her mourn. The man that was her father is gone, all that's left now is… the Wonder Pierrot. We can worry about that later though."

Rimuru sighed but nodded nonetheless. Hopefully Elmesia doesn't act like a pain, her demanding for Laplace despite his crimes would be bothersome.

Laplace has his own crimes to pay for, Hinata's death, killing Roy Valentine, and possibly assisting Clayman in the invasion.

I'm not one to demand absolute justice about everything, in the end the powerful get to decide things, unfortunately while Elmesia is strong, she is the weaker party in such a thing.

Elmesia and her Dynasty against three Demon Lords, even she would be hesitant to go against that.

Though I would feel a bit bad to strong arm her like that, I do somewhat like her. And in the end Laplace is, or rather was her father, I can understand why she would want custody of him, whether it is to try her own methods of restoring Sarion, or even peacefully ending him.

In the end, we can just hope for the best and prepare for the worse it seems.

"Hmph! I am willing to forfeit Laplace to Sylvia, as a gift. Even after everything, I do still consider Sylvia a close friend. While I am upset about Roy's passing, I will simply have my fill with Laplace before forfeiting him over." Said Luminous.

Rimuru looked at Luminous in surprise. "Seriously?! You would do that Luminous?!"

Luminous nodded with a small smile as she looked at me. "Indeed, seeing as this is the birth date of a new friendship I hope lasts, I am willing to do this favor. It has been a long long time since I met someone I could consider a friend. The most recent one was Hinata and Chloe in fact. The life of an Immortal is only enjoyable if there are others to share it with."

"Huh, those are wise words, Luminous. Your age is really showing." I commented with an impressed smile.

For some reason, my comment only ticked Luminous off.

"My age, you said?" Asked Luminous with a serene smile.

What is this invisible pressure she is giving off?

'Is this some new Haki Odin?'

'Negative.'

'Do you have any idea what this is then? Even I'm beginning to feel pressured.'

'….'

'Don't leave me for dead now!'

Luminous was still glaring at me, as if hoping I would contentiously erupt into flames.

I just sighed, women were truly complicated creatures.

Still, I smiled at recalling what Luminous had said. Who knew she had some dere behind all that tsun. "But thanks, Luminous, I truly appreciate it. If you need me, just call me and I'll be there."

Luminous' eyes widened slightly as she recognized the worth of the words I had said. Having the friendship of someone as powerful as me was useful no matter who you were.

Luminous gave me a smirk and nodded, the invisible pressure she was releasing vanishing.

Heh, I'm sure Hinata would be surprised at Luminous, and my newfound relationship. It'll be fun seeing her expression.

Rimuru loudly sighed in relief. "Oh man, I thought things were going to get messy!"

I looked at Rimuru in confusion. "Why would that be?"

He looked at me as if I was missing something obvious. "And you call me dense!"

He just shook his head and refused to elaborate. "Ah, still that's a relief. Thanks a lot Luminous. I was worried about how to handle Elmesia. After everything that has happened, having an angry Elmesia was not going to help at all."

"Hah, it must be your sorta lucky day Rimuru."

"Yeah I guess."

I looked back to Laplace. "Tell us more about what Kazalim did after the Chaos Dragon's attack."

Laplace nodded and continued. "After the attack, Kazalim gathered some Elves that were still loyal to her and set out to make a place for herself. Unfortunately, the Elves that remained with Kazalim were corrupted as the Chaos Dragon's Miasma had been infused into the land itself, resulting in them becoming Dark Elves."

"I see, and was the Nation she established Jistav?"

Laplace blankly nodded. "Yes."

"Hmm, I see. Continue."

"At some point, Kazalim set out to return to her homeland which was now in ruins to acquire some of its technology. There she met Sarion who had set out to repel the Chaos Dragon as it was still terrorizing Elven citizens while the Demon Lord Milim Nava, and Demon Lord Guy Crimson continued their clash. He ended up suffering mortal injuries during that battle, at which point Kazalim found him." Informed Laplace.

Ah yes, the fight between Milim and Guy, the fight that lasted seven days and seven nights.

Hmm, though Kazalim just found Sarion huh? That makes me think of the fate Demon Lords and Heroes share that is bound by causality.

Perhaps Sarion and Kazalim were connected by fate.

"Eventually the Elves that did not remain loyal to Kazalim established their own Kingdoms, leading to the birth of thirteen new Elven Nations. At some point the Empress of Sarion came forth and consolidated all the Elven Nations under her rule, creating the Dynasty she now rules over." Said Laplace.

"I see. You can skip over Kazalim becoming a Demon Lord, start after the battle with Leon."

Laplace nodded and continued. "After facing defeat and her Physical Body's death against Leon, Kazalim wandered around the world for over a hundred years as a disembodied spirit. He managed to possess someone a few decades ago, however the person he possessed turned the tables on him, but decided to take pity on him and allow her to dwell within his body."

"Who did she possess?" Interrupted Rimuru.

"Answer him." I ordered.

"He Summoned and possessed the Otherworlder Yuuki Kagurazaka."

"Of course it was him." Sighed Rimuru.

Seriously, this guy is involved in everything isn't he? What could possibly be his goal, hopefully it isn't something as stupid as Mariabell's goal of world domination.

"Hold on, you said a few decades ago?" Rimuru asked, rubbing his temple in frustration.

Laplace nodded.

"That's weird, I was under the impression that Yuuki was a Stray Otherworlder in the Western Nations." Commented Rimuru.

"Well, he could have just been lying." I then looked at Laplace. "Where was Yuuki Summoned and how long has he been around for?"

"Yuuki Kagurazaka was Summoned in the territory of the Eastern Empire. He has been around for over 3 decades." ExplainedLaplace.

"See, he was just lying." I said to Rimuru. "Now continue Laplace."

"Afterwards Kazalim laid dormant inside of Yuuki while also subtly assisting him. He got Yuuki in contact with us, and also in contact with Clayman. With all of our help Yuuki was able to revive Kazalim in a new body." Informed Laplace.

"So Kazalim walks again hmm?" Sighed Luminous.

I nodded. "So it seems."

"He, or rather she was always a bothersome one. Always attempting to gain more pull among the Council. She even recruited both Carrion and Frey into the Council." Said Luminous.

"Well, he had to do something to make up for his weakness. In his mind, numbers likely helped." I guessed.

"If Kazalim, or Kagali as she goes by now is alive, how strong is she? She was able to go toe to toe with Roy in her prime so she is a threat." Said Rimuru.

I gave Rimuru a blank stare. "A threat? You could mop the floor with Louis, let alone Roy who was half as strong as him. But I do see your point, the majority of our people are incapable of fighting against someone of that level, only our strong subordinates are capable of that."

I turned to Laplace. "How strong is Kagali now?"

"She maintains her former strength, however her host body is limiting her." Said Laplace.

"Oh? What is her host body?" I asked.

"A homunculus purchased from Sarion." Responded Laplace.

I nodded in understanding. "I can see why she would be limited then. I recall that when they do sell their precious homunculus they only sell the weak ones with no combat potential. How much strength can she use currently Laplace?"

"Kagali can only bring to bear the strength of a Greater Majin."

"That's…."

"Oh how the mighty have fallen." Laughed Luminous.

I recall Rimuru placing the average Greater Majin has about 10,000 Existence Points.

To think a Demon Lord, even if only a Demon Lord Seed would fall that far. Well, I guess Kagali should just be happy to be alive.

"Hmm, at least that will make her fairly easy to deal with should she cause a problem." I commented.

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, while it is a shame what happened to her, should she be an enemy she must be dealt with accordingly."

Speaking of enemies. "How does Kagali see us Laplace?"

"She is wary of Demon Lord Rimuru and slightly hateful of him due to his hand in Clayman's death as well as Footman's. She feels neutral towards Demon Lord Luminous, and she despises Demon Lord Felix with all her heart. The only person she hates just as much as Demon Lord Felix is Demon Lord Leon." Said Laplace.

"Huh, well, that's something." I commented.

"Fufufu, it seems you are even capable of bothering those that you are not even aware of Felix, perhaps it is a natural talent of yours to be an annoyance." Taunted Luminous.

I pouted hearing her. "Hey! I didn't even know about her, it's not my fault that she takes every loss she has taken so personally. Maybe if she wanted her plans to succeed she shouldn't have been so weak."

"That's…" Rimuru seemed somewhat mixed about what I said while Luminous was nodding along.

"Felix is right you know Rimuru. In this world it does not matter if you are just or unjust, it does not matter if you are considered evil by the masses. What matters is if you are powerful enough to decide who is right and who is wrong, as long as you are powerful enough you can do as you please. Should Guy wish to destroy some Human Nation, no one will truly stop him, even among the Demon Lords. Hinata learned this lesson first hand from me." Added Luminous.

Rimuru seemed to be deep in thought, so while he was thinking I decided to hear more about what Luminous had to say.

"Oh? What did Hinata do?" I asked, curiosity tinting my voice.

Luminous smirked and elaborated. "When she joined the Holy Church she quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a Captain in two years. Eventually she caught onto the secret that the Pope was a Vampire and that the Pope's brother was the Bloody Lord Roy Valentine."

"Ugh, I can already picture what she would do. She was always less of the thinking type and more of the doing type."

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, your guess is fairly accurate. Hinata made her way to my Inner Sanctum and confronted Louis, leading to a fight between them, with Hinata against both Roy and Louis. In the end both Roy and Louis were at death's door, but Hinata was also beyond recovery by mortal means."

"Seriously?!" Rimuru exclaimed. "I know she is strong but even back then she was a total diva huh?"

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, it was an impressive show. In the end I appeared and healed Hinata as well as Roy and Louis. She went on to pass the challenges of the Seven Luminaries and fought against me. Once she lost I explained everything about the Holy Church and Hinata decided to serve under me, in order to maintain the peace that was present in Ruberious."

I nodded in understanding. I was somewhat aware of the circumstances inside Ruberious. Basically everyone is Luminous's sheep, they are easy sources of blood that she has free access to.

Everyone's roles are determined, there was no real freedom available for the people, but they did not care as they never even experienced freedom. How could someone want something they don't even know exists?

Everything was provided for them, everyone had a job to do, and thanks to this there was no hunger or pain, in fact the people could even be considered happy.

It was a realistic approach to achieving lasting peace, if a hollow one.

Seeing as our discussion was done I turned back to Laplace.

So Kagali hates me huh?

But why exactly does she hate me? Sure I ruined her plans and killed some of her subordinates, but to hate me as much as she hates her killer?

"Laplace, what exactly is Kagali's reason for hating me so much?" Rimuru looked at me like I was an idiot but I ignored him.

"Because you killed Clayman and Footman, two beings she looked at like her own sons."

Huh, well, that'll do it. I didn't think someone like Kagali, a cold-hearted Demon Lord, would look at those two that way.

"I see. Where exactly is Kagali now?" We know where Yuuki is, and obviously, Laplace is here, but I had no clue where Kagali and Tear are. If I can, I'd like to take care of them so they don't cause any issues down the line.

"They are in a meeting with Demon Lord Leon Cromwell in El Dorado." Responded Laplace.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"He has been one of the people to buy Otherworlders and soon we will be stopping such a service temporarily."

"And why is that?" I asked.

"We will be moving our base of operations to the Eastern Empire in order to rely on our foundation there as well as due to the vast resources we have available there."

"Is that so?" So I can't take on Kagali now then huh? I know just showing up to El Dorado is not going to go well. It isn't a big deal anyways, Kagali and Tear on their own aren't threats.

"Moving onto more recent events, why did Yuuki help arrange the Falmuth Invasion?"

I know Mariabell said that it would make trading with the Eastern Empire easier, but there is a very high likelihood that Yuuki did not tell Mariabell the entire truth.

"Due to the very existence of Tempest being in the way of his goals, he thought it best if Tempest was removed entirely, as well as thinking that having Clayman Awaken would be useful." Said Laplace.

"Oh? And what are his goals?" I asked.

"Yuuki wishes to rule the world." Answered Laplace.

Ugh, seriously? Does everyone want to rule the world now?

Luminous' bell-like laughter rang throughout the room. "Truly, the idiocy of Mariabell and this Yuuki astound me. Rule the world? What a joke."

I nodded. "I know, right? If he wants to rule the world, he's got a long way to go."

The Demon Lords wouldn't allow that, the Eastern Empire wouldn't allow that if their rapid expansion is anything to go by, they also have similar goals.

Even the Western Nations wouldn't allow that.

"And why does he want to rule the world, Laplace?"

"He wishes to make a fair society, one where everybody is equal, one where a Demon Lord can't just spontaneously decide that a country is an eye sore and get rid of it. One where he and his friends can laugh and have as much fun as they want." Said Laplace.

I had to hold in my laughter at hearing Laplace. The dream itself is nice, a world where we can laugh and have fun. But to actually reach such a thing is practically impossible, at least through world domination.

Mariabell had a better plan than that.

"Seriously?! Is he delusional?"

Luminous was nodding along as if agreeing with me.

"Equality in this world is not something easily achieved. I managed it in my own way, and even then it is merely a half measure." She said.

"Hey! I like to think people are equal in Tempest!" Said Rimuru.

I turned to look at him. "Sure, it's better than practically all Nations in this world. In fact, Tempest can be considered a paradise in this world. But to replicate such a thing worldwide? And through world domination at that?"

I shook my head. "It just won't work. People need to fight for their peace and freedom, otherwise they will just take it all for granted. Not to mention the inevitable resistance such a thing would have. World domination just isn't possible for someone like Yuuki who doesn't seem to realize just how high the heights of power truly are."

"Indeed, Felix speaks the truth. Many have tried for world domination throughout the years, and each has been crushed under the boots of their betters." Luminous said.

"At least Rimuru's plan has some feasibility to work, it sounds very far-fetched, but it is still doable." I sighed.

"It's not that far-fetched." Rimuru whispered.

"You sure about that, buddy? You want to create lasting peace between Monsters and Humans through understanding and through merging our cultures. That sounds very far-fetched, but you're already making good progress."

Rimuru chuckled nervously. "Well, when you put it like that… it doesn't matter! I'll accomplish my dream no matter what!."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well it seems to be working, so you do your own thing. Good shonen speech by the way."

Rimuru blushed and looked away when I called him out on his speech.

"Shonen speech?" Asked Luminous.

"I'll tell you about it later." I responded. Luminous nodded.

I turned back to Laplace, I'm sure he still had more information that would prove to be useful.

"Now, what did Yuuki do after meeting Kazalim?"

"He set about learning the language of this world as well as its history, once that was done he began building up his resources in the Eastern Empire. Eventually Yuuki met a man who had access to an incredible amount of resources, with his help Yuuki was able to take over a dark organization that had already taken root in the Eastern Empire, he calls it Cerberus.

Through Cerberus he was able to get involved in many things he wouldn't have been able to with his position as Guildmaster, kidnapping, Otherworlder Summonings, Monster taming, anything that could allow Cerberus to gain something they would do. They were also backed by various nobles and higher-up military personnel which eventually led up to him taking over the secret organization Echidna and rebranding it into Cerberus." Said Laplace.

So he has long since had some resources in the Eastern Empire then. Perhaps he wished to divide and conquer, since he had some foundation in the East, he wanted to establish some in the West before moving forward.

"After that he made his way to the Western Nations and got into contact with Clayman. It didn't take him long to go to a school funded by the Mutual-Aid Association and further learn under his teacher, Shizu." Laplace answered.

The Mutual-Aid Association is the precursor to the Free Guild. From what I've heard it's super inefficient, the rankings were done horribly, and the death rate of adventurers was sky-high back then.

At the very least, Yuuki did something good by reworking that entire system.

"Continue."

"Later on, Yuuki met Mariabell Rosso, and with her help managed to rise to his current position in the Free Guild as well as enforce his changes." Laplace informed.

"So that must have been when Mariabell began gaining control over Yuuki then, at least in her mind." I commented.

"Mariabell continued to stand in the way of Yuuki's plans, so he had to come up with a way to prevent her from getting in his way. He knew killing her too early would get too much attention on him, and so he simply had to make his moves from somewhere that Mariabell had no power." Continued Laplace.

"Somewhere Mariabell had no power, huh? Yuuki wouldn't move to El Dorado or the Ice Continent. Both are basically death wishes, so that only leaves...."

"So that's what he has been using his resources in the Eastern Empire for then?" Asked Rimuru.

"Answer." I ordered Laplace.

Laplace resisted my command for a moment before nodding. Still, resisting even now, huh?

"Yes."

"We do need to worry about what resources Yuuki may have in the East. It would do us no good to underestimate him." I muttered.

Luminous nodded along. "Indeed, hearing of their leader's death, they may either come for revenge or perhaps ignore it and have an internal fight while deciding who gets to take over."

"Then I better make sure I leave no traces that we were involved in Yuuki's death then."

She nodded. "Please do."

"Who exactly is part of this organization, Laplace?" The more we know, the better.

"The Grandmaster is Yuuki, then there are the three Heads of Cerberus that are directly under him. There is Damrada of Gold, a Merchant originating from the Eastern Empire. Misha of Women who is in charge of gathering intel, and then finally Vega of Power, a brute with more brawn than brains, but an incredible threat should he be underestimated."

Vega of Power, huh? He must be quite something for Laplace to think highly of him.

"Damrada? That name does sound familiar." Said Luminous. "Ah! That was the name of the merchant that had informed Hinata about Shizu's death and Rimuru's involvement in it. He also met with Hinata when my Night Garden was being invaded by this Clown; thankfully she was called back by Roy and was able to hold the Clown off until my arrival."

Ah, so did Damrada hope to distract Hinata while Laplace quietly infiltrated?

"Night Garden? Isn't that where Chronoa is?" Rimuru asked.

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, I am not aware if they know exactly who I have with me, or whether they just knew that I was keeping something important inside my palace in Night Garden. I am betting on the latter as no one should know about Chronoa other than Roy, Louis, and Gunther, none of whom would betray me."

"What about Granbell?" I voice out. "He had been your subordinate for centuries, who knows what he was able to find out during that time under you."

Luminous looked vexed but nodded nonetheless. "It is indeed… possible that he knows something."

"I see, then that is something we need to watch out for then." All of a sudden, a thought came to mind. "What if Granbell is attacking Night Garden now to get to Chronoa?!"

Luminous' and Rimuru's eyes widened.

It is highly likely he knew something was up with Luminous. There is a good chance he used his granddaughter as a sacrificial pawn and a distraction so he could get what he really wanted, Chronoa.

All of a sudden, I felt Luminous attempt to teleport away. She bypassed the Barrier I placed entirely since it wasn't meant to keep people locked inside, rather to keep people out and to keep our conversation secret, and then I helped her get through Tempest's Barriers

"Felix!"

I quickly grabbed Laplace and stored him in my Infinity Space and then I tracked the Spatial Coordinates Luminous teleported to and teleported both Rimuru and I to the same location.

Once we arrived, I saw a glowing blue coffin at the end of the room with Luminous standing in front of it.

We must be in Luminous's palace now, then. Now that I know where it is, I can freely travel here as I please. Most Barriers couldn't hope to hold me back either.

Rimuru and I slowly approached her. "So that's Chronoa, huh?"

Luminous didn't respond, but I didn't need one.

The figure within was completely nude, and seemed to be in a coma of sorts.

"Chloe…." Rimuru whispered.

'Odin, can you break this seal?'

'It is possible, however it will take time.'

'How long exactly?'

'Approximately six months.'

'I see. Well I think it's best to leave it to Luminous then. Wait! What about the Anti-Skill Dagger I got from Laplace?'

'Negative, it is impossible. Perhaps with the original Anti-Skill it is possible, but the weapon is mainly designed to negate and cut through Magics and Skills. It will not be nearly as effective against the Holy Ark that the individual Luminous Valentine designed. However, it will shorten the time that Odin needs to break the seal down to six months.'

'I see. What about Beelzebuth then? It can separate and fuse various things, even Skills, Souls, and the like.'

'Negative. The spirit of Chronoa will intrinsically resist making it difficult to consume her with Beelzebuth. Other complications may arise when attempting to separate Chronoa from the Holy Ark. If the individual Luminous has a method to release Chronoa it is recommended to follow that for safety purposes.'

'Got it.'

Looks like Luminous is going to have to be the one to unseal Chronoa, then.

I put my hand on Luminous' shoulder. "You good?"

She nodded. "Indeed, I apologize for my panic."

I sighed. "It's fine, Luminous."

She stepped back slightly and finally broke her gaze away from Chronoa and onto Rimuru and me. "Come, we shall continue this discussion in my meeting room, I do not wish to be away from Chronoa until her unsealing."

I nodded. "That's fine. It's probably best if you stay nearby in case Granbell does something."

"Yeah, I don't want Chloe to fall into his hands." Added Rimuru.

Luminous then led us out of the burial chamber, as she called it. Just outside of it Gunther and Louis were waiting. They quickly bowed. " " My Lady! " "

Luminous nodded. "Gunther, prepare some tea for the three of us. Louis, you may return to your duties."

" " At once! " "

And with that, they disappeared at speeds the human eye couldn't follow.

"Come, follow me." Said Luminous.

It didn't take us long to arrive at the meeting room.

We each took our seats at the long oval-shaped table.

"Now, we may resume our earlier interrogation, I apologize for my abrupt disappearance. I was simply worried that Felix's guess may have been true, none of my traps had alerted me to anything, but I wished to make sure." Said Luminous.

I waved her off. "As I said earlier, it's fine, I'm sure Rimuru agrees." At my words, Rimuru nodded.

"Now that we know that Granbell's plan was not to take advantage of the attack on Tempest and your distraction to get Chronoa, we can rest easily. If he knew about Chronoa and wanted her, he would not have missed this opportunity to acquire her, unless his personality is different from what we know." Said Rimuru.

I nodded. "Indeed, perhaps Granbell just wasn't expecting there to be an opportunity to acquire Chronoa? As far as I know, Granbell should not have known that Luminous was even attending the Festival, so he may not have even known there was an opportunity to take advantage of."

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, he should not have known. I had already long since taken care of any spies he placed in my midst."

"I see, well, that explains things."

Seeing as we had solved the mystery of why Granbell did not take advantage of the opportunity to snag Chronoa, I summoned Laplace out of my Infinity Space and resumed my inquiries.

"Now, why don't you tell us more about Cerberus? What about the general strength of the three Bosses under Yuuki?"

Laplace nodded. "Misha is extremely capable at Charm Magic and can extract any information from a target."

Hmm, is it just Charm Magic, or does she have a Unique Skill for Charm as well? Either way, it is something to be careful of. It likely won't work on me, but my subordinates are another thing entirely. I don't doubt that my direct subordinates can likely brush any sort of Mind Control Magic off, but a Unique Skill might be a bit problematic.

"Are you aware if she has a Unique Skill?"

Laplace shook his head. Well, that just means I need to be a little careful about Misha.

'Odin, are you capable of detecting Charm in my subordinates?'

'Affirmative.'

'I see. Let me know then if someone is Charmed and help them resist it if need be.'

'Affirmative.'

'Thanks Odin.'

'It is Odin's duty.'

'Yeah, yeah, I know.'

"Felix?" Asked Luminous.

Ah, I spaced out for a moment there when talking to Odin. I usually use Thought Acceleration when doing that.

I shook my head. "It's nothing Luminous."

She nodded.

"Alright, then continue, Laplace." I ordered.

"Damrada does not have any combat capability as far as I know, he is just a Merchant with vast resources."

For some reason, I doubt that, but if Laplace doesn't know anything, then there isn't much I can do.

"And Vega?"

"Vega is practically a force of nature. His Aura is extremely oppressive and capable of killing regular Humans instantly. He is a man loyal solely to his instincts. He follows those he sees as strong, he has a very caveman-like mentality." Explained Laplace.

Of course, it's another person who is not sane in the head.

"He is fairly impulsive and shows no remorse for his wrongs, he is a Beast. A Beast that cannot truly be trusted by anyone." Said Laplace.

"I see, do you know his origins?" I asked.

Laplace nodded. "He was born in the Kingdom of Ingrassia, his father went insane as he was a Magic Inquisitor who took in too much Monster power."

Magic Inquisitor, huh? I've heard a bit about those. They are basically Humans who take in the Factor of a Monster, which turns them into a Majin. They gain various abilities depending on which Factor they acquire. Their muscle strength is at least 10x greater than that of regular humans. They have skin as strong as steel, their skeletons are very tough, as they need to be to support their muscles. They are just overall a very good combination of Monster and Human.

The best of both worlds ideally, unfortunately incorporating a Monster Factor can have some side effects, just minor side effects that include insanity, dementia, mood swings, and extreme aggressiveness.

Like I said, definitely only minor.

Fucking Humans.

The Kingdom of Ingrassia is the one primarily conducting this research on the down low, the majority of people aren't aware of it, but of course Ingrassia was incapable of hiding that information from my subordinates.

"After his father went insane, he forced himself upon Vega's mother. Vega had an Ego from the moment he was born and was often scraping for scraps on the streets while avoiding those who would do him harm. At some point, he even began eating Humans, causing a kill order to be given to the Free Guild. Yuuki used Shizu Izawa to hunt Vega down and stage his death while secretly securing Vega while lying to the rest of the world about his fate. From there, Yuuki had experimented on Vega granting him more abilities." Continued Laplace.

Rimuru banged his fist on the table. "Bastard!"

If Rimuru didn't hate Yuuki before, he definitely did now.

Yuuki seriously has been involved everywhere, huh?

Before I could ask my question, we were interrupted by a knock.

"Come in." Said Luminous.

The double doors opened and Gunther came into the meeting room with a tray, three cups as well as some other amenities. He went to Luminous first and served her tea, and then to Rimuru and then to me.

"Thanks." Gunther bowed and then left the room.

I took a sip of my tea and then turned to look at Laplace. "Do you know what abilities Vega possesses?"

Laplace nodded. "Some of them, I am aware he possesses a Unique Skill, but I do not know of its abilities. Along with that, he has an extreme Healing Factor that allows him to regenerate from even an atom."

I sighed as Laplace didn't elaborate. "How extreme is his healing factor?"

"Should an arm of his be cut off, it will generate an entirely new body even if his original body is already healed. This new body can be used as a vessel for Daemons as it has no Soul. However we have learned that even his body alone has a corruptive influence, turning whosoever is using the body into a being with a similar temperament to Vega."

So even his cells are corrupted, huh? What a man.

We continued to question Laplace until we learned practically everything he had to offer, from Cerberus base locations to hideouts that Yuuki and Kagali have access to.

"Ah, one more thing Laplace. Do not tell anyone about any of the information you gave us."

The only reason I was doing this was because so far the plan was to give Laplace to Elmesia as a gesture of good will thanks to Luminous, but at the same time I don't want her learning what we are up to.

My order was engraved into his very Soul, so even should he break free of my control, he would still need to abide by it.

Hearing me, Luminous looked at me with approval, likely realizing what my goal was with that order. Even Rimuru seemed to understand and did not voice out any disapproval. Whether that was Raphael's suggestion or his own, who knows.

I slouched on my seat. "Ugh, we finally have all that taken care of. I'm gonna need some time to mentally process all of that."

That was a complete lie, with Odin I could practically instantly understand anything, but that didn't mean I didn't need a breather from time to time.

"You're telling me, Felix. I had no clue there were so many plots surrounding Tempest. Seriously, thanks, Felix. Without your help, I wouldn't have known about all these threats to Tempest." Sighed Rimuru.

"It's no problem. What are friends for?"

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, the purpose of having allies is to help each other out. When one is attacked, the other comes to their rescue."

"Yeah, what she said." I added.

"Still, I promise you both that I'll feed you the best food there is to eat after all this is over!" Declared Rimuru.

"I won't say no to that." I laughed out.

"Indeed, the food in Tempest, I have found, has been quite delectable. Though there is still one more issue to discuss." Said Luminous.

"Oh? What issue?" I voice out.

"Hinata's body. I would like for you to leave it here." Requested Luminous.

"Now, now, I don't know if that is the best idea. Hinata's body will be necessary after we free her Soul from within Chronoa. I am capable of keeping it in peak condition without any sort of decay happening."

"I am also capable of the same." Said Luminous, who had narrowed her eyes.

"That may be so, but you already have Chronoa with you." It feels like we are two divorced parents debating who keeps which child.

"And your point is?" She said.

"My point is that it really isn't the best idea to leave both bodies with you. It just isn't wise to keep two important things right next to each other when we have other options, and you don't strike me as a fool Luminous."

Luminous grimaced. "Tch. Fine, you win this time, Felix, but should I find that any harm has come to Hinata…."

"Yes, yes, you will slit my throat and torture my Soul for eternity or something."

Luminous nodded her head in satisfaction.

Honestly, I'm surprised that it was that easy to convince Luminous, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I stretched as I got up off my chair. "Well, since we have all this sorted out and have a general plan, I'm going to head back to Tempest. I want to check in on everyone. I haven't had a chance to talk to any of my subordinates since the attack."

Luminous nodded. "Very well, I will be in touch."

"Are you going to be coming too, Rimuru?" I asked.

Rimuru nodded. "Yeah, I still have some people I need to check on, it's probably best if I don't leave those nobles waiting for too long."

I nodded. "Alright, that sounds good to me." I then looked at Luminous. "I'll leave Laplace here, I trust you not to go overboard with your… punishment, we do still need him alive to give to Elmesia."

Luminous nodded with an evil grin. "Of course."

I turned to Laplace and stopped controlling him completely, giving him back some of his free will.

All of a sudden, his eyes went wide. "Damn it! Bastard!" He shouted. I knew he was trying to move but was unable to. He likely just received all the memories of our interaction. He knew all the information he gave to us would be used against his comrades.

"Feel free to do what you wish to him Luminous, I made it so he will follow all your orders but his old Ego has returned to the forefront, so he is the same person that killed Roy and Hinata. I'll come back to pick Laplace up when we have the meeting with Elmesia and perhaps her mother. Again, thanks for offering up Laplace."

And with that, I snapped my fingers, teleporting the both of us back to Tempest.

___________________________________________________________________

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Links: patreon.com/theogbasilisk

Author's Note:

Hello everyone, we're back with another chapter of Daemon. I know this arc has been dragging on pretty long, but there was a whole lot of ground to cover, the information about Hinata and Chloe and their trip to the past, Mariabell's information and about the attack on Tempest, and then Laplace's information. Sure I probably could have made it all into a short summary where Felix summarizes everything but I'm sure I would get a lot of complaints for that.

While this chapter has been exposition heavy, it was some information that Felix and co needed to get so it is what it is.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. We do have some meetings coming up, but after that we should have some action.

Alright, see ya guys, peace.

Support me if you want to read ahead on pat reon *.com* / theogbasilisk

Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.

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