Yuuko: Grandpa, grandpa! We came over to play again!
Yasutoshi: Yuuko-chan! Youâve grown up again! You used to be thiiis small the last time you were here.
Yuuko: Teehee! Oh, and grandpa, I have another joke to tell you!
Yasutoshi: Let me hear it.
Yuuko: Umm⌠If you want to know who is w~eally manâs best friend, put your dog and your wife in the trunk of your car, come back an hour later, open the trunk, and see which one is happy to see you.
Yasutoshi: Haha! Oh my little clown! You would make a killing in the circus!
Yuuko: Killing? Thatâs scawy~!
Yasutoshi: That means youâd make a lot of money working in the circus.
Yuuko: No! Me and Aiko decided that we wanted to be doctors like grandpa!
.
Clown: ⌠a dream?
.
.
Birth of a Demon Lord Arc
070. Harvest Festival
What the hellâŚ
The hell⌠what the hell is that fiend!!!
Seeing the chaotic dance of light and recognizing its danger, Reihim lay hiding inside a carriage.
The monstersâ city was still surrounded by the barrier, and nothing unusual was reported by his men.
So⌠whence has this monster come from�
The Saint Knightâs barrier, even an inferior one, should have protected against entry from high rank monsters.
At the very least, had one entered or left they would have been notified.
NonethelessâŚ
With a little thought, it was clear that the monster mercilessly slaughtering his men before him cared little for things like barriers.
The Blood Shadows squad he borrowed from Cardinal Nicholas dispersed into hiding and were observing the situation.
As expected of them.
Like Reihim, they were all pretending to be corpses.
If this is how it isâŚ
He lamented the inadequacy of his report.
When asked regarding reinforcements, he firmly turned them down.
After all, while they were declaring war on the city, they rampaged a bit and were able to cut down the only powerful demon â a woman â among them.
Nor was there any retaliation.
So this war should have went smoothly underneath the barrier.
Thanks to the battle barriers set up by the Western Saintâs Churchâs 1,000 division, every member of the army could be considered B ranked.
At the very least, it would unimaginable for them to have to go all out.
The monsters fleeing the city should have been easily exterminated by the kingdomâs knight alone.
So, he decided to reject Sakaguchi Hinataâs offer.
But, even if she had come⌠could she protect them against this?
That suspicion filled his head, and he hastily dismissed it.
Thereâs no way.
Sakaguchi Hinata is the strongest existence; how could she fall to a mere monster?
The moment he thought thatâŚ
Silence enveloped the battlefield.
As if freezing rain falling on his back, fear overtook his heart.
What⌠what the hell happened?
Those screaming in pain or crying out of fearâwhy have they suddenly turned silent?
At that moment,
ăOh, look⌠survivorsă
Merrily saying these words was a young girl, or perhaps a young lad whose voice is yet to change.
Survivors⌠she says?
But before he could realize that the words were directed at him and the blood shadowsâŚ
He felt an intense pain coursing through his body.
When both of his arms and legs were cleanly burned off, he finally beheld that demonic fiend.
At this point, he could no longer run away, nor retaliate.
All Reihim could do was pray to his godâŚ
ďźăďźăďź
Unique SkillăHeartless Oneă⌠huh.
Nah⌠I am pretty heartless, tee hee~!
Fear towards me is one thing, but when their hearts break I can activate the skill.
In other words, at that moment, my enemies souls are in the palm of my hand.
They live and die by my will alone.
Even if I let them go, should they choose to rebel again I can erase them that very moment.
And as this field trial has shown, it works even on enemies who are escaping.
It targets anyone I recognize as an enemy. In this case, the entire army I saw from the sky was target.
I had intended a complete genocide, yes; but even so, I had expected a few of them to run away. Well, thanks toăHeartless Oneă, problem solved.
I didnât think I could put the skill to use, but I guess I can.
It is certainly one desired by rulers who intend to rule with fear.
In the future, all I have to do to end a conflict is to break my enemiesâ spirit.
Oops,ăMagic Perceptionăis picking up something. 13 men.
The fact that they survived means their spirits arenât broken yet.
Of course, that excludes the king.
13 people still intending to fight.
Could any of them perhaps belong to the blood shadows who attacked the city?
For now, to prevent escape, letâs burn their feet off with Megiddo.
By the way, that.
There are many âpeopleâ whose legs I blown off, hands I burned off, or heads I pierced.
In short, they are a very scattered bunch.
My⌠what should I do?ăMagic Perceptionăis getting overloaded, and I am beginning to feel dizzy!
Ah, I did hear that evolution was about to start, so I guess Iâm going to lose my consciousness.
ăRanga, are you there?ă
ăAy, I await your command, my master!ă
There he is.
Ranga jumped out from within my shadow.
Without intending to hinder me, but in case something unforeseen happened, he was on standby.
Good,
ăRanga, gather up this filth and bring them into the city.
Do not kill them.
I am returning there ahead of time, Iâll let Youmu know, so hand them over to himă
ăWhat about those who have escaped?ă
I thought for a minute.
Three men escaped. Normally, Ranga would easily be able to win, but they are at least A ranked.
If they work together, it might be dangerous to send Ranga out alone.
But, I have no desire to let them go.
ăIâll send someone else after them.
Upon capture, Iâll leave them at your disposală
ăAy! I live to serve!ă
Confirming Rangaâs answer, as if taking a break, I began gathering my power.
And, startedăHigh Demon Summoningăritual.
As an offering, I will use the corpses under my feet.
I had considered eating them, but I doubt there are any useful abilities among them.
The Blood Shadows will have to suffice.
I donât know what kind of demon I will summon, but, considering that it probably wonât be able to materialize, as long as itâs of some use, Iâll be happy.
That is, as long as it can hunt down escaping fools.
ăI prepared thy meal, come forth, demon.
And serve me!ă
What appropriate words I now choose!
I wonder if the demons will be satisfied with the offering.
Just as I was thinking that, three demons appeared.
Considering the past Greater Demon, which was rank A-, they are inferior compared to Blood Shadow troops.
With that in mind, I had intended to summon 30 of them, but only managed three.
Hey, hey, are you telling me 15 thousand corpses were worth only this much? Well, I did devour their souls, so maybeâŚ
No good, since coming to this world this is the first time Iâm feeling such intense desire to sleep; my head is spinning.
ăHey, you guys, there are three escaping fools. Capture them alive and bring them to my subordinate Ranga.ă
I said as the dizziness became unbearable and I became to lose my consciousness.
I must reach somewhere safe!
The demons behind me,
ăWe are honored to receive our first order. This grand offering you have bestowed upon us fills our hearts with endless joy!ă
ăâTis but an easy task, oh forth-coming Dark Lord! Can we expect to be later put to use by You?ă
ăâŚ..ă
They expressed such a greeting, but my consciousness was quickly waning.
ăWe shall talk later. First, prove that you can be put to use. Go!ă
I said and transferred back to Tempest.
To bypass the barrier I had prepared a magic circle in advanceâit worked.
Benimaru rushed over to me so I had him take a message for Youmu.
And, sitting down at the place we prepared before hand, I lost consciousness.
That deep sleep I fell into was the first time I was completely unconscious since coming to this world.
ďźăďźăďź
When Rimuru had gone off to battle, the city split between those who worked to keep up the barrier and those who were on their knees praying.
The former gathered in the center.
Since the barrier dispels magic energy, they worked hard to increase it even a little bit.
Everyone was busy dutifully fulfilling their roles.
In the center lay the bodies of Shion and the others, preserved by a barrier.
In the very center stood the magic circle Rimuru had prepared, and shrine they had built to welcome the coming of a new demon lord.
Surrounding all this was the group maintaining the barrier.
Shuna was among them too, along with Myulan who volunteered to help.
Shuna thought,
Rimuru seemed to worry about the fact that he used to be a human, but that was but a trivial fact.
For Shuna, all that mattered was a connection to her partnerâs soul which would put her mind at ease.
It willed her endless euphoria and complete satisfaction.
If she were to lose Rimuru, she would definitely go mad.
ăRimuru-sama⌠we would be happy even if we had perished, as long as you continued living.
But, Rimuru-sama, losing even one of us throws your soul into such discordâŚă
She murmured.
Benimaru nodded at these words showing his complete consent.
It is possible for the kindhearted Rimuruâs character to change during his transformation.
If so,
ăWhen you become a demon lord, please spare us a violent characterâŚă
They prayed for this not to pass.
Benimaru, Souei, Hakurou, and Kurobee were on standby.
By Rimuruâs command.
That should he turn into a mindless beast (demon lord), that they dispose of him quickly.
Thatâs the only outcome they hoped to prevent.
ăItâs because youâre always sleeping, Shion⌠wake up already.ă
That whisper was more of a prayer than anything.
The one they prayed to was not any god, but a single monster.
One who had never betrayed their expectations and who would certainly deliver again.
So they believed.
And then,
?Announcement. Individual: Rimuru Tempest, the transformation into Demon Lord âHarvest Festivalâ shall now commence. Upon its completion, related monsters shall be blessed with a gift?
Every monster that had gathered in the city heard the âVoice of the Worldâ.
Seems that Rimuru was successful at destroying the invading force.
In that case, it is now their time to shine.
ăBrace yourselves! Our master has emerged victorious. It is our turn now!ă
Benimaruâs voice resounded throughout the city.
The city came alive.
Rimuru could not have been crushed by losing Shion.
And, as planned, Rimuru will be returning.
As ordered, they were to let Rimuru rest.
Upon reuniting, they decided on a code.
Just in case Rimuru had showed up as a mere beast.