Chapter V

Hello! Yes, back so soon with more, this is the story that has my inspiration most right now, so it is what I am doing. Hope everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, seems at least a fair few did, which is always nice. Let me know if you like this one as well. Thanks to Bakuto Masaki for following along with my... insanity, as always. That said, I suppose I should stop waffling and move on to the reviewer responses.

superpierce: If you dissect the name you can figure it out, but revealing more than that right now would spoil too many plotpoints.

Zaraki6: Something akin to one of those may be a possibility.

Skull Flame: Based on my limited interactions with you, I wouldn't call them rare.

It's certainly not an undesirable condition.

Sucker bet.

Yes. And kind of, though not to the degree I'm sure you're thinking.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Tensei Slime for short.

Indeed, he'll need them.

No, you got the right version.

Ominous is putting it lightly.

Eher: :) Peppering in a little Skyrim never hurt. Well, unless you're the Empire.

freeforall546: Okay, I have to admit laughing embarrassingly loudly at that.

Lawoi: It'll certainly shake things up.

Why would I deny it? Scheming MILFs are some of the best MILFs. And to a degree I'm almost insulted you felt the need to ask that question.

Hey: God Fuckin' Speed.

And done! Thus ends the reviewer responses, and on to the important part!

Gorgon grumbled, "My daughter did not 'become' a Gorgon, she always has been."

"… Ah…" Nanana mumbled, her head beginning to hurt.

"Though her elder sisters did enjoy tormenting my sweet little Medusa when she was little…" With a heavy sigh, Gorgon lamented, "Oh I hope Athena is keeping her word and looking after her…"

Suddenly, Shera raised her hand curiously. "Question."

Gorgon looked at her and nodded. "What?"

"So your race is the same as your actual name?"

Gorgon nodded plainly. "Yes, considering I am the first, adorable plump elf."

Shera stared at her in silent bewilderment for a moment. "Then who's your mother?"

Gorgon looked at the befuddled beauty silently for several moments.

"What?" Shera asked innocently.

Gorgon stared silently for several more seconds. "I'm… afraid I don't understand the question."

"If you're the first Gorgon, then who was your mother?"

Diablo, tired, sighed. "If you're done, we need to begin collecting the ore."

Gorgon put up a hand, interrupting him. "Hold on, Demon Lord."

"Yes, Gorgon?"

"Before we continue this relationship, I must know your name."

"It is Diablo."

Gorgon nodded, though Nanana, off to the side, pouted. "I'm still sad you quit using Momonga…"

That got Gorgon's attention, as she suddenly straightened her back in surprise. "Wh – What?!"

Diablo raised an eyebrow, confused. "Miss Gorg –?" but was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

"You're her father!?"

Diablo felt his confusion, and concern, rising exponentially. "… Who's father…?"

"Milim's!"

Diablo folded his arms in thought. "I do not bel – Grima!" he began before suddenly interrupting himself in realization.

"Where!?" Shera shouted, looking around frantically.

Diablo turned to her, not realizing he had spoken out loud, and tried to cover his tracks. "H – Huh? Erm, nowhere." 'That's why everything sounded so familiar…! It's the same Grima from the game! The one that helped me gain the Demon Lord Class!'

'You forgot that until now!?' Nanana shouted at him, doing her best not to say it aloud.

'It was a long time ago and the mission ended in her bedroom!'

'She never told you she was pregnant?!'

'As far as I knew she was just an NPC!'

'Obviously not! Now you're the neglectful baby daddy to a Demon God Dragon!'

Diablo's expression suddenly dropped sharply. '… It's sad to say that somewhat lines up with the rest of my life…'

Nanana stared at him in surprised sadness. '… What?'

Before the conversation could continue, Gorgon again spoke up. "Lord Diablo, while I do apologize for how my people acted toward you, I must still chide you for acting in kind."

"R – Right," he answered unsurely, his mind being drawn in too many conflicting directions.

"Now, is it correct to assume it is those rocks you came for? Nothing else?"

Diablo nodded. "That is correct. Unless you feel you have something to offer."

Gorgon smirked slyly. "If I didn't know the kind of woman Grima was, I would think you are asking for me."

Diablo just stared at her in disbelief, the girls staring at him knowingly. Diablo coughed into his hand and retorted, "I assure you, that was not my intention."

Gorgon nodded firmly. "I assumed so. Otherwise Grima would never have mated with you."

"So I can trust you and your people will harvest the materials? I will compensate you for your efforts."

"Indeed we shall. And thank you."

"Very well. We shall return soon. Let's go," he urged to the others, Shera nodding with a smile as they left.

After leaving the cave, she looked at him in thought. "How long should we wait for them to gather it all up?"

Diablo put a hand to his chin in consideration. "I will check tomorrow."

"Right!" she cheered.

As the group left the cave, they met with Rem, who held a basket filled with butterfly wings.

Shera looked at the sparkling wings in admiration. "Ooooh! Rem is such a good bug catcher!"

Diablo raised an eyebrow as he noticed Rem's expression stay static as she looked at him, her tail slowly swishing side to side. "At any rate, the only ingredient we're waiting on is the malachite."

"Question," the Pantherian interjected.

"Yes?"

"How will we turn the malachite into vials? We don't have a kiln."

Diablo remained silent for a moment. '… I hadn't thought of that…' "We will get one."

"Right…" she replied, uncertain.

Upon returning to the city, the sky red with twilight, Diablo noted the large amount of vials and bottles Aqua and Megumin had managed to buy throughout the day. "I see you two bought quite a lot."

The girls just groaned in exhaustion.

However, Darkness seemed to remember something and tapped Diablo on the shoulder. "Oh, Diablo, I'd like to ask you something"

"Go ahead."

"I heard you've established a Familia."

"I have," he answered plainly.

"I would like to join," she replied firmly.

"I understand. Let's return to the inn then."

Upon returning, and setting the supplies for the potions aside, Diablo looked at Darkness and ordered, "Right. Take off your armor."

Darkness' face turned vibrantly red with a mix of excitement and shame. "R – Right here, now?! You want to have your way with me before I can join!?"

Diablo slammed his hand on the nearby table, attempting to hide his flushed face, and shot back, "No! I need to inscribe the Falna on your back!"

"Oh…" Darkness answered with a sigh, almost sounding disappointed.

Diablo could only groan as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Geez… pervert…" Shaking his head of the thoughts, he pointed to the bed. "Expose your back and lay down." Thinking for a moment, he decided to head off any of her whimsies. "Only because I need to inscribe it onto your skin directly."

"R – Right…" Darkness answered weakly as she removed the upper portion of her armor.

Diablo, positioning himself next to her to begin writing, could not deny that, despite her obvious strength, her body was not overwhelmed with muscle, and her back was firm but not hard. He shook his head as he realized he was getting off topic with his thoughts.

"W – Well…?" Darkness asked apprehensively due to the long silence.

"Q – Quiet, I need time to work," he chided. Lightly pricking his finger and beginning the inscription process, he did the best he could to stay focused on writing her Falna instead of her soft, white skin, firm muscles, and round pillows the spilled out as she lay face-down. "Th – There, done…" he gasped as he leaned back, feeling his self-control nearly faltering. 'Dammit… why is someone so crazy so attractive…?!'

Darkness leaned up slightly, surprised, and somewhat disappointed. "That's it?"

Diablo, putting a hand up to block the sight of her pillowy twins. "Yes, that's it, now get dressed."

Darkness nodded slowly as she reapplied her armor.

Diablo released a sigh, doing his best to keep it quiet from the others. "I suppose that is it for now. Get some rest"

The next morning, just after the sun had risen, Diablo made his way back to the cave, and saw a small Golem waiting outside the entrance. Motioning to it, the creature turned around and entered the cave, Diablo following behind.

"Now… let's see how well they did," he noted to himself.

After a short walk they reached one of the antechambers near the mouth of the cave and there Diablo saw a small pile of variously sized pieces of light green rocks mixed in with pieces of pure stone and other materials.

"Well?" Gorgon asked as she slithered up to him.

Diablo nodded firmly. "I'm impressed. They are an amazing work force."

"Of course they are. Monsters don't waste time with petty squabbles about workflow or time, they simply do the job they need to until they no longer have the energy to competently perform it."

"Well you can give them all my thanks. Now, the issue of payment."

"Ah, that's right, you did insist on such a thing. And it would be appreciated."

"I assume money has no use to your kind."

"It does not. Money is only useful when bartering with the 'sentient' races, as they call themselves. We merely require something useful to us."

Diablo put a hand on his chin in thought. 'Hm… money isn't something they need, and no amount of it will change that. Food? I'm not too sure on that either, with this forest here, they likely get all the food they need. That, and… do Monsters even need to really eat? Ah, wait, what about mana?' After a moment rummaging behind his back, Diablo pulled out a large, luminescent stone.

Gorgon seemed surprised at that. "A Magic Stone?"

'That's what they call it? I think the game just called them Soul Gems.' "Yes, and loaded with mana. How about a certain number of these, of certain sizes, in return for the ore you mine?"

"I can accept that. We Monsters do not necessarily need to eat, as we feed on mana, but it does help us obtain and store excess mana when needed. Magic Stones provide the purest source of it."

"Good. What I hold is a medium sized stone. While the number of ores they mined is impressive, not all of it is pure malachite, like we need, some of it is simply pieces of stone or other materials, though those other materials we can use. How about five of these for that pile? More if you provide purer ore chunks."

Gorgon nodded in agreement and held out her hand for the stones. "I will relay this to the others. Now to transport it all."

Diablo put up a hand to stop her. "That will not be an issue."

"Oh? Do you have a container for them?"

"Of sorts," he answered as he approached the ores, grabbed several, held up in the air, and a magic circle appeared in midair that he dropped them towards, before they vanished.

Gorgon watched with interest. "What did you do to them?"

"It is a… spell, I know. It is called Inventory; it allows me to store items in another location and withdraw them at will."

"A useful spell indeed."

As he began placing them into his Inventory, he thought something and turned to Gorgon. "As useful as it is, placing this many in there individually is rather time consuming. Would it be possible to have some sort of container to put them in?"

Gorgon nodded and released a low, clicking growl.

After a moment, a large spider that, rather than a typic spider head, had something vaguely resembling a human torso attached to its thorax.

'An Arachne!' Diablo exclaimed in his head. 'They're far larger than I remember in the game.' He stood silently as Gorgon seemed to speak with Arachne in a series of hisses and clicks, the spider occasionally responding in kind.

Turning to him, Gorgon explained, "She says she will craft a sack for you to use out of her webbing if you don't mind waiting a few minutes."

"I have nothing else of extreme importance it would interfere with."

After less than ten minutes, the spider approached Diablo and handed him a large, well-crafted bag made from silk. He was impressed at the elasticity and apparent strength of the material, and began loading the ore pieces into the bag before dropping the entire sack into his Inventory.

"Anything else?" Gorgon asked, blinking in surprise when Diablo pulled out a very small Magic Stone. "What are you doing with that?"

Looking up at her, he explained, "To compensate her for her help. I do not want you or your people to feel as though this is a one-sided relationship. If you do something for me or mine, or give us something, I want the act to be returned in kind, and the reverse as well. So I am giving this to… actually, what is her name?"

"She does not have one."

Diablo blinked several times, perplexed. "Why not?"

"Most Monsters do not, while they have more intelligence than true animals, most of our interactions do not require the use or need for individual signifiers, as we do not operate in the same societal structure as the mortal races."

Diablo frowned further. "I see… so be it." After handing the stone to the Arachne, he made his way out of the cave. 'It's not something I have the time, or proper resources, to address. But at some point I need to see about giving them names.'

"When will Diablo be back…?" Shera pouted as she sat on the bed.

"I don't know…" Rem answered, somewhat concerned.

Nanana, however, sat calmly looking out the window. "Three… two… one…"

Diablo, as if on cue, entered the room with the silk bag of ore slung over his shoulder. "The first day's mining is done."

Shera practically jumped to her feet at the size of the pack. "Big bag!"

"And almost all of it is ore."

"Whoa…" she intoned, her ears drooping in awe.

"Before we can get any further we need to process it, then mold it into vials."

"Right…" Aqua remarked, realizing how much work was ahead of them.

"And then we start selling."

"Right!" Darkness answered with energy.

"The potions," Diablo stated pointedly, heading off any potential misunderstanding.

Darkness flinched back, drawing circles on the nearby end table with her finger. "I – I knew that…"

"Then let's get to it," Nanana urged, standing up.

"How do we process the ore?" Shera asked, confused but intrigued.

Nanana glanced at Diablo and began relaying the process to him.

"We wash all of the dirt and debris off, then heat it slightly, at which point it will soften for molding."

"Meaning we first need somewhere to wash it all," Rem noted.

Almost immediately, everyone turned to Aqua.

The blue-haired goddess looked around in confusion. "Wh – What? Why is everyone looking at me?"

"You have control over water, don't you?" Nanana asked. "So you can at least make yourself useful this time."

Aqua flinched back in realization. "Y – You want me to wash all that…?"

"Well it's not like you're doing a whole lot else besides eating up our money with booze."

Aqua nearly collapsed at the accusation. "I – I'm not…!"

Rem folded her arms and argued, "I may have only known you a short while, but I can still smell alcohol, and I know you've been drinking some somewhere."

Aqua completely slumped to the floor that. "I'm sorry…"

"Then prove it by using what limited power you actually have to clean these things," Nanana chided. "Once it's done we'll come back."

Aqua grumbled before looking at the huge pile of dirt-covered ores Diablo left behind. She then began quietly sobbing.

"I took this piece from Aqua as soon as she cleaned it," Diablo explained as he held out a cleaned piece of ore. "We now need to heat it to the point it softens."

Everyone just stared silently.

"Um…" Shera began slowly. "Does anyone know fire magic…?"

"I have Explosion," Megumin answered confidently.

"We need to heat it up, not vaporize it," Nanana grumbled.

Diablo placed the ore chunk on the ground nearby.

"What are you doing?" Shera asked.

"I'm going to use low level fire magic on it," he remarked. 'Okay… let's try something simple, like a second or two of Flames. Something really weak.' After a moment of stillness, a gout of fire shot from his hand at the ore chunk, enveloping it momentarily before dying out.

The girls all looked at the chunk of stone as it swiftly cooled.

"There. Now it's soft enough," Diablo noted. "Someone needs to mold the vials."

Shera reached a hand up excitedly. "Ooh, can I try?!"

"Certainly," Diablo answered, handing it to her.

Shera began folding and kneading the clay-like rock with her hands, but found it began to stiffen swiftly and so tried her best to finish molding it. As it became incredibly stiff she tried to force its shape only for it to snap. Staring in defeat she looked up at Diablo sadly. "It broke…"

"Yeah…" he muttered in return before he realized she was beginning to tear up and tried to think of a way to comfort her.

"Y – You'll get it eventually…!" Rem consoled with unexpected optimism.

"You really think so…?" Shera asked suspiciously, Diablo and the others nodding repeatedly.

Diablo added, "Of course." Confirming the malaise seemed to have lifted from her, he sighed in relief as he continued planning. "In the meantime, I need to craft more of the potion."

"Right…"

Sitting across from the curious Megumin, Diablo stared thoughtlessly as he mixed and prepped the ingredients with his hands.

Megumin spotted something off and frowned curiously before looking at him. "Are you feeling okay, Diablo?"

"Of course, why?"

"You're not making them nearly as fast or as well as you were before."

Diablo winced upon realizing the scenario that was leading to that, but tried to find an excuse. "… I… am trying some different methods."

"Maybe you should use just the one that works," Rem suggested.

"P – Perhaps," Diablo answered, trying to hide his apprehension. 'But I can only use that when I'm staring at Shera's boobs!'

Nanana sighed and turned to the elf, motioning to her. "Shera, come sit over here."

Shera blinked curiously at her. "Huh? Okay…" she answered curiously, sitting opposite Diablo.

Diablo, taking the hint, once again focused his attention on Shera's sweater puppets, doing his best to disguise that fact, and began once again preparing the potions in record time.

"Fast!" Darkness exclaimed, watching him.

"Y – Yeah," he muttered. 'Why is it like this…?'

Shera blinked in thought and then grabbed a few of the ingredients and began mashing and mixing them. "Ooh… So… it's like this… then… this…" She then held up a complete, albeit low quality, vial of the potion. "Tahdah!"

Diablo looked at her in mild surprised before patting her head gently. "Good girl."

Shera just smiled brightly with an adorable giggle, her ears wiggling happily.

Aqua twitched an eyebrow enviously. "… I can do it too!"

Nanana folded her arms defiantly. "Prove it."

Aqua growled and began mixing and mashing the ingredients before presenting the results, purified water. "… I'll try again." Again she prepared the mixture, only for water alone to result. "… One more time," she grumbled as she attempted the mixture yet again, only for the same outcome yet again. "… One more –" but before she could try anymore, Nanana took the alchemy supplies away from her.

"That's enough of our ingredients wasted," Nanana chided, Aqua just slumping over, sobbing.

Diablo sighed in return.

Turning to him, she noted, "If we're going to make these vials properly, we need a kiln."

"Then I'll go buy one."

"Just buy one!?" Darkness exclaimed.

Diablo looked at her, perplexed. "Yes. Why?"

Tilting her head, Megumin asked, "Don't they cost exorbitant amounts of money?"

"What if we built one?" Rem suggested.

Diablo nodded in return. "Let's do that." 'Hm… How to build a kiln… Better ask…' He then turned to the Pantherian. "Rem. Such trivialities are below my concern, so I am unaware how to build a kiln."

Nodding, Rem answered, "We would need to find a blacksmith or potter."

"Right. I'll leave such matters in your care."

Rem nodded firmly.

'Mainly because I have no idea how to find either of those…'

Nanana stared at him with a flattened brow. 'Have you tried looking for a sign with an anvil on it?'

Diablo winced, beginning to sweat.

'You idiot…'

Shera blinked curiously as she looked between the two of them, curious. "Um…"

"Yes?" Diablo urged.

"Why is there mana flowing between your heads?"

Everyone in the room stared at her blankly.

Nanana, her jaw almost falling loose, questioned, "You… can see mana?"

Shera tilted her head in befuddlement. "Can't everyone?"

"No!" everyone shouted back, startling her.

"… Oh."

Diablo making the connection, asked, "Is that how you saw all those elves in the forest?"

"Yeah," Shera answered, nodding, albeit still perplexed.

Rem then began to shift where she stood uncomfortably.

"Rem?" Megumin asked, noticing the cat-eared girl's discomfort.

Diablo's blood froze when he realized a troubling possibility. 'Crap! If she says something about that, Rem could be in trouble!'

Without a pause, Nanana took action. "Hey, Shera, what color is Diablo's mana?"

Shera looked at the pink-haired girl in thought. "What?"

"Doesn't the mana have colors to it?"

Her ears perked up in recognition. "Oh. Yeah." She then slowly panned around the room curiously. "Yours is blue. Megumin's is red. Darkness' is gold. Aqua's is… aqua. Rem's is green. And Diablo's is rainbow."

Nanana huffed before releasing loud laughter, hunching over and almost falling out of her seat.

Diablo was not so amused.

"Yours is fruity!"

'Shut up… or I am poisoning the pudding.'

Nanana's laughter halted immediately with a look of horror. 'You wouldn't…'

'Try me.'

Nanana stared at him in terror before pouting and silencing her guffaws.

'Good.'

Shera tilted her head in confusion. "Is that bad?"

Diablo merely waved a hand dismissively. "No. She is just an idiot."

Nanana smirked mischievously. 'Coming from the man that made the Four Knights.'

Diablo's entire body tensed as his face tinted red. 'It was just a phase!'

Nanana responded with a victorious grin. 'Those four still exist though.'

Diablo only twitched an eyebrow angrily.

Later, the group wandered around Faltra looking for someone to make a kiln.

"Now where…?" Rem muttered to herself, looking around.

"Is there a potter here?" Shera wondered.

"I… think so…" Rem remarked, putting a hand on her chin in thought.

Not paying much attention to the two's back and forth, Diablo asked in his head, 'When do you plan to disconnect your Telepathy?'

Nanana just shrugged. 'When you look like you actually know everything and not need me to ask for you.'

'Right…'

As they walked, Shera stopped and saw a shop with a sign hanging out front that a mortar and pestle emblazoned on it. "Is that it?"

"That is an alchemist," Diablo corrected.

"So they'd have one?"

Nanana shook her head in denial. "Probably not. Most alchemists just buy their vials, not make them."

Shera raised an eyebrow as she tilted her head in thought. "But wouldn't it make more sense to make them themselves? That away they'd know how strong the vial is and what it's made of."

Nanana did not have an answer for that and could only shrug. "Don't ask me…"

Diablo just looked at her before Rem once again grumbled, "Seriously… smart or dumb… Make up your mind!"

"Huh?" Shera hummed, not having heard the Pantherian.

"Forget it," Diablo urged, trying to head off another argument. "Let's see what this alchemist has for us."

Entering the small shop, the group looked around the main area, seeing a large variety of items, not just alchemical ingredients or potions, but unique accessories, equipment, and various magical items as well.

"I guess this is a general goods store rather than specifically a chemist," Diablo remarked, looking around. "Nice place, though."

"Where's the owner?" Aqua questioned, growing somewhat annoyed.

"Not su –" Nanana began before they heard a bump under the front desk and watched a small cup fall off and hit something soft.

"Owie…" a voice complained.

Diablo stared in surprise as someone stood up from the desk, a young woman with long, flowing, chestnut brown that reached her thin waist stood up, her voluptuous chest shifting in her tight-fitting purple robe as she did, only one of her dark chestnut eyes peeking out under her fringe, her fair skin almost shining.

The woman rubbed the top of her head in discomfort before bowing, her globes shifting in her robe. "W – Welcome to my shop, Wiz's. I'm the owner, Wiz."

"I am Diablo, Ms. Wiz," he answered, doing his best to keep his eyes off her chest.

She blinked several times in thought as she looked at him. "Diablo? I see. Is there something you need?"

Diablo looked around the room in consideration before deciding to get to the point. "… A kiln."

Wiz nodded in understanding. "A kiln? I see. Hm… I think we have one… but I've never used it, so I don't know if it works."

Diablo almost face-faulted in surprise at the answer.

"You're welcome to take a look," she offered.

"Th – Thank you, beautiful," he answered almost on reflex.

Wiz's expression stayed placid as her cheeks tinted red.

Diablo and the others followed Wiz to the far back of the shop and found a large, circular, stone, furnace-like structure on the rear wall of the building.

He looked the structure over curiously. 'If this were a computer I'd be able to understand everything about it in seconds, but this kind of thing is way outside my forte…'

"This is in very good condition," Rem commented, examining the interior.

"That's good…" Wiz sighed with relief.

"How do we get it home?" Shera asked plainly, to which the others merely stared silently.

After a long silence, Diablo turned to Wiz in consideration. "… Wiz, how big of a place do you have here?"

She looked at him, unsure what he meant. "Huh? I own the entire three-story building. Though I only use a couple of the rooms."

"Then let's make a deal."

Tilting her head, Wiz offered, "Like what?"

"If you allow my Familia and me to live here and use your kiln we will sell you," he paused, pulling out a few of the potions he made, "these at twenty percent off."

Wiz looked at the potions in amazement. "These are… hold on, Familia? Wait, you're a deity!?" she exclaimed in shock.

Nanana answered before he could. "Something like that."

"And? What relevance does it have?" Diablo argued.

"I – I can't charge any kind of rent from you…!" the busty brunette stuttered uncomfortably.

"I insist," he argued bluntly.

"I… I see…" she trailed off, seeming to accept his demand and focusing more on the potion. "This is… where did you get this?"

"We didn't get them," Rem explained. "Diablo made them."

"And we'd be willing to supply you with them," he added.

"R – Really…?" Wiz stammered in shock.

"Yes," he replied, firmly.

Wiz slumped back slightly, thinking heavily. "I – I see. Then feel free to pick whichever rooms you like."

Diablo gave a smile and nodded. "Thank you, Wiz."

Her face heated up before glancing at the ground. "R – Right."

He raised an eyebrow but decided to move his focus to the kiln. "Now to make those vials."

Rem raised an eyebrow in confusion. "How? Where's the ore?"

Diablo opened his Inventory and pulled out the bag of ore chunks. "Now let's begin." 'Okay… so my guess is that this works like smithing. But this doesn't look like a forge… hm…'

Nanana sighed and spoke up, "Oh, mind if I make the first one?" 'Since you clearly have no idea what you're doing?'

Diablo twitched an eyebrow with a smirk. "Not at all. You do need to earn your keep after all."

'Mean Momo.' "Everyone watching? I know Diablo isn't much of a teacher."

Diablo put a hand on his chin thoughtfully. 'Hm… I wonder if I should sell the pudding.'

Nanana turned to the others with an overly sweet smile that Diablo found eerily familiar. "Don't get too close though, or I might end up throwing molten malachite in your face."

"Right," Diablo deadpanned.

"First you need to heat the ore until it melts. Once it has, you can bring it out and let it sit for a few minutes. It'll stay soft for a while after it cools, but if you wait too long it'll turn hard again, and you need to start over."

"Right," Shera answered, paying close attention.

Diablo folded his arms in thought. 'This takes too long… I wonder if I can just make one… Probably not, there's no spell for that.'

Nanana retorted, 'Plus you'd make me look pretty silly. Also, I think you're underestimating magic a little.'

'Eh?'

Turning her attention to Wiz, Nanana asked, "Hey, Wiz, you're a Sorcerer, right?"

Wiz looked at her, surprised by the question. "O – Of sorts, yes."

"Mind telling me a little about magic while we wait?"

Wiz nodded slowly, somewhat befuddled. "Oh. Um, I don't mind, but I don't explain things very well."

She put a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Hm… okay, then how about this? Are spells the only way to use magic?"

Wiz shook her head in return. "No. They simply allow people to easily regulate their mana to activate magic. But the essence of magic is how your mana flows. If you have enough control over that then you can do things spells normally aren't capable of."

Diablo narrowed his eyes, thinking, before Shera drooped her ears in defeat. "I wish I could do stuff like that. But all I know are a few spells for archery."

Rem retorted, "Well your inclination is Archer, not Sorcerer. I don't know why you're so focused on being a Sorcerer."

Puffing her cheeks, Shera argued, "Because, being just an Archer would be lonely and boring. If I'm a Summoner then I can always have a cute Summon around!"

Diablo just stared at her. 'So cute…'

Megumin interjected, "Did you forget you've got all of us?"

Rem chided, "Not really one-shot wonder."

"Quiet kitty-cat," Megumin shot back.

"No."

"Okay, that's almost ready to go. Now for the hard part. Do you have any clay?"

Nodding, Wiz brought out a large chunk of clay and handed to her.

"Perfect. Diablo, a vial?"

Diablo nodded and handed her one of the empty vials Aqua and Megumin had bought previously.

"What are you planning with this?" Wiz questioned as Nanana began forcibly packing all of the clay in and around vial.

"A mold," she answered before flicking the packed in vial with her finger, causing it to crack and shatter.

The others watched in curious disbelief as she shook all of the pieces out of the clay mold.

"Perfect," she remarked with a smile before sticking the clay in the kiln as well for a few moments. "Now to make it. Once this mold dries we can pour the malachite in and it'll take the shape. This'll be a lot quicker and easier than hand-shaping each vial within the short window of time the malachite stays malleable."

"Good," Diablo added.

"And done," Nanana noted as she pulled out the mold from the kiln. "Darkness, your sword please?"

Raising an eyebrow, the armored woman handed her weapon over, which Nanana used to deftly carve the mold in half before returning it.

"There, now we just need to pour in the malachite, let it sit for a few seconds, and then take it out and done." To demonstrate, she squeezed the two halves together and dropped the molten malachite inside. After a few seconds she pulled the mold apart and inside was the fully-formed bottle.

"So pretty…!" Shera cooed at the reflective colors on the vial.

"All that's left is the seal."

"Seal?" Rem asked, confused.

"These things require a special seal so that the potions don't degrade."

Diablo nodded in agreement. "Indeed." 'How do you know so much about them?'

'When you guys weren't online, all I had was time. So I read the flavor text. On everything. It talks about this. That and I watched videos on the internet. Mostly cats.'

Diablo sighed in response. '… Explains the detail put into our super weapon, and Albedo.'

'Yup!' she chirped.

"Now to place a seal," Diablo remarked before placing his hand over the bottom of the vial, which glowed softly before fading, leaving an intricate marking on the base.

Nanana stared in surprise. 'Huh, so you do know some stuff.'

Diablo huffed confidently. 'I remember the exact appearance of each item in the game.'

Nanana flattened her brow in response. 'Ah. And yet you never read the flavor text?'

'It had no bearing on gameplay, so I had no reason to.'

Shera tilted her head as she watched them. "Um…"

"Yes?"

"You're both connected more."

"Hm?"

"Connected?" Megumin asked, confused.

"Their mana link," Shera explained.

The others all stared at the duo.

Rem narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Oh."

Diablo began to sweat in concern. 'Uh-oh…'

Rem just moved the conversation. "So how many vials do we need?"

Diablo scratched the back of his head as he thought. "I'd say we have enough ingredients for about one hundred potions."

"That's a lot," Darkness noted.

Rem nodded in return. "That should get us about three thousand Vals."

"Indeed."

"I'll finish making the vials," Nanana offered as she stuck more malachite in the kiln.

"Shera and I will prepare the potions," Diablo added.

"I'll help!" Megumin cheered.

Diablo frowned slightly.

"I will too," Darkness added as well.

Diablo's frown deepened.

Aqua opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off.

"No."

Aqua slumped her shoulders sadly.

Inside, Diablo sat down to prepare more of the potions before realizing Shera was sitting next to him unlike normal, with Darkness, who had removed some of her armor to fit in the small room, sitting across from him. '… Crap.'

Darkness looked over the pile of ingredients in thought. "So, how do we do this?"

Diablo gulped slightly. "J – Just watch. I don't have the time to bother explaining it."

Darkness nodded and leaned in to watch intensely, her sizable bust jiggling in her skintight suit.

Diablo decided not to fight the situation and just stared at his targets.

"Whoa! So fast!" Megumin exclaimed watching him.

Shera frowned slightly in response. "Yep! Though he did it a little slower this time. I wonder why?"

Diablo twitched an eyebrow as he looked away to reset his mind. 'Two big reasons… Wait… I wonder…' "Megumin."

"Huh?" she sputtered, not expecting him to address her directly.

"Come sit over here and watch."

She nodded enthusiastically. "Right!" She rushed over and pushed Darkness aside. "Move it!" she demanded before sitting in front of him.

Diablo then did his usual focus attempt as he worked with the potion ingredients.

Shera furrowed her brow in confusion. "Huh, that was kinda slower…"

Diablo practically slammed his face into the floor. 'So it's true! It's the boobs! The bigger they are the faster I make the potions!'

Nanana, having heard his lamentations, chastised, '… You're pathetic.'

"Oh my, there's so many," Wiz cooed as she looked at the number of potions on her counter.

"Of course there are," Diablo retorted proudly.

Wiz stared silently in thought for a few seconds before looking up at him. "And you'll really let me have these for twenty-four Vals?"

He nodded firmly. "That's the deal I made."

Wiz smiled in relief before leaning back with a sigh, her voluptuous chest bouncing in her robe.

Diablo, his mind still not fully removed from the proverbial gutter, began thinking. '… I wonder –' "Hey, Wiz."

"Huh, yes?" she mumbled, not paying full attention at first.

"Want to see how they are made?"

She widened her one visible eye in surprise. "R – Really?"

"Yes, you might want to wear slightly less though. It can be quite hot when making potions."

"Liar," Nanana chided quietly.

Diablo put a hand on his chin, thinking. "Hm… I wonder how much the pudding will sell for."

"I'll go find her something skimpy!" Nanana cheered before taking off out the door.

"H – Hey… that's not… what I meant…" he grumbled, Nanana already gone.

Wiz just tilted her head to the side, confused.

Minutes later, Nanana walked back in with a bag in her hands. "Okay, there was a Grasswalker at the clothing store, and she said this would be best."

Wiz looked inside the bag and her face nearly turned crimson upon looking inside. "D – Do I really need to wear this…?!"

"Yep!" She then grinned and teased, "What? Don't wanna show Mo – I mean Diablo your sexy body?"

Wiz slunk back, whimpering in concern before Nanana leaned close and whispered into her ear.

Diablo strained his earing to listen but could not make out what she said.

Wiz looked at the girl in surprise. "Really…?"

"Yep!" Nanana chirped. "Now get out of here!" she urged as she grabbed Wiz by the arm.

"W – Wait a –!" Wiz stammered before dropping the bag, revealing the outfit to be a small series of fabric straps, her face deepening in color.

Diablo stared silently. 'This will be amazing…'

Rem sighed in exasperation. "Geez… even for Shera that'd be – what the hell?!" she stopped in shock, looking at Diablo.

"What?" he wondered, perplexed.

"Y – You're bleeding!"

"Eh?"

Aqua held up a mirror to him, showing that blood was pouring from his nose.

Diablo just stared.

Nanana could not help but snicker as she pushed Wiz into a back room.

Wiz came out moments later wearing a single piece of white cloth that wrapped around her heaving bosom and clasped to a sarong at her waist. Uncomfortably she mumbled, "D – Don't stare too much please…"

"Sorry but you look amazing…" Diablo muttered mindlessly.

Shera pouted as she stood next to him. "Diabloo…"

The man quickly stiffened in recognition. 'Wait, did I say that out loud…?'

'Yep,' Nanana answered with almost sadistic glee.

'Shit…' "Erm… don't worry, you're cute too, Shera…"

Shera merely smiled and giggled happily, Megumin and Rem staring venomously.

Darkness frowned silently before Diablo coughed into his hand. "A – Ahem. Let's begin."

Nodding, Wiz sat slowly in front of him, her face still practically glowing.

"N – Now watch closely…" he urged shakily.

"I am," she nodded slowly.

'As am I!' he shouted in his head.

The girls all stared in disbelief as he had a handful done in mere moments.

Wiz blinked bewildered. "H – Huh? Can you do that again? It was too fast for me to see…"

Diablo looked at her in stone-faced surprise. "… Sure."

The group all watched, impressed.

"It's even faster than normal!" Shera exclaimed.

"Yeah…" Megumin muttered.

Nanana pouted slightly. '… Want to try mine next?'

Diablo remained silent for a moment. '… I'm good.'

Shera, excitedly, began wondering, "Hey, hey, why don't we go around and see if people will buy these?"

Diablo sat back and folded his arms in thought. "Sounds like a good idea."

Shera's excitement sobered slightly, thinking. "But… how do we carry them…?"

"Have someone pull a cart?" Rem offered.

"I'll do it!" Darkness shouted, her eyes twinkling with interest.

Diablo sighed before shrugging. "Get her hooked up to one."

Diablo walked behind the large cart of potions, his face twitching slightly at all the strange looks and whispers people were making in their direction as Darkness pulled the massive cart behind her, a panting smile of glee on her lips. 'This is so weird, but… she looks like she's enjoying it… Anyway… Best start attracting customers.' "We need to draw attention…"

Taking the initiative, Shera grabbed one of the bottles from the cart. "High Potions for sale! High Potions for sale!"

After several minutes passed of people watching curiously, a man in plain clothes walked up to the group curiously. "Are these the real thing?"

Shera nodded with a smile. "Sure are! Our god made them himself!"

Diablo winced as she said that, realizing it was drawing even more attention to himself.

A woman nearby put a hand on her cheek in shock. "So they are god made too…"

Instead of fighting it, Diablo decided to just steer into it. "H – Hmph, of course! I am one!"

After that, people began gathering around the cart in crowds.

He twitched an eyebrow before keeping up the act. "Now come one and all!"

Shera's ears wiggled excitedly at the people around them. "And be sure to come by Wiz's if you want more!"

Upon returning to the shot, Shera hopped with joy. "Woohoo! We sold out!"

Nanana nodded in return. "And promoted Wiz's shop."

Diablo leaned against a wall, holding himself up with a shaky arm. 'I hate crowds!'

Megumin noticed his shaky stance and approached him. "You okay, Diablo?"

Diablo stood up straight and tried to make himself look composed. "O – Of course. I just find being around so many weaklings at once exhausting."

Nanana gave him a sideways glance.

Diablo saw this and shot her expression back. 'I will throw out the pudding.'

She scowled at him. 'Do it and I pour hot sauce on your dick.'

Diablo winced back before Shera pointed at the two and accused once again, "There it is again!"

Rem just sighed before Megumin wondered, "What now?"

Diablo answered, "We take the earnings back to Wiz and then gather more materials."

"Right."

Wiz stared in awe at the pile of money. "O – Oh my! So much! Over twenty-five hundred Vals!"

Diablo nodded in return. "Good. It's no surprise with potions crafted by me."

Nanana grumbled in response. "… Well the potion is useless without my vials." 'Honestly, how'd you manage the Guild so well if you're this insecure?'

'Because none of it was real, so I was able to keep some distance. My sisters were the only girls I ever interacted with in real life.'

Nanana stared at him in disbelief.

"When will you make more?" Wiz questioned.

Diablo argued, "We must gather more ingredients first."

"Right…" she replied in dismay.

"Then let's head out!" Shera cheered.

"Yeah!" Megumin added energetically.

Darkness raised a hand and asked, "Before that, shouldn't Diablo update our Status?"

Diablo stood silently, completely clueless on what she meant.

"Oh yeah…" Megumin mumbled, realizing the same matter.

"Update?" Nanana asked, since she could see Diablo was like a deer in headlights.

Wiz took the opportunity to explain, "When a Follower does anything, fights, cooks, or just about anything, they gain an energy called Excelia that increases their abilities. But that Excelia isn't applied to their bodies and minds until the Status is adjusted by the deity. Until the deity applies their blood and activates the Status, any advancements they may have achieved won't be applied."

"Indeed," Diablo added, bluffing that he understood.

Shera looked at her with awe. "You're really smart, Wiz."

Wiz looked at her feet with abashment. "Th – Thank you. I just do a lot of reading."

Diablo nodded in return before looking at the girls. "Indeed. Now those with a Falna please strip down."

Darkness almost instantly had her armor and bodysuit mostly off.

Diablo put up a hand to stop her. "… I didn't mean all the way."

She stopped and merely pulled up her top to expose her Falna.

Diablo just sighed. "Forget it. Turn around." As she did, Diablo examined the Falna before frowning in thought.

'Something wrong?' Nanana asked privately.

'It's already changed. Her Stats are already different from before.'

Nanana was surprised by that and so decided to ask Wiz. "… Hey, Wiz, is it possible for a Falna to update on its own?"

Wiz put a hand on her chin thoughtfully. "I've never heard of that happening, but I suppose it's not impossible. It would need to be a Falna that's set up differently than most if that's the case."

"Like mine," Diablo noted. Looking at Darkness, he urged, "Anyway… well don't just stand there, Darkness, get dressed."

"Huh?" Wiz muttered.

Nanana scratched her head, thinking. "Hm… what about a Falna created by a Demon Lord?"

Wiz looked at her, puzzled, and blinked in thought. Twice. Three times. "… D – Demon Lord…?"

"God," Aqua corrected bluntly.

That seemed to confuse her even further. "Demon God?!"

"No, a god!" Aqua argued angrily.

Nanana smacked her on the head. "Shut it, he's a Demon Lord."

"No, he's a god!" Aqua shot back, rubbing her head in pain. "Because no demon can actively control angel golems!"

Nanana just stared silently. "… That's what has you so confused?"

"I'm not confused, you are!" Aqua retorted, poking the girl.

"Erm, Miss Aqua," Wiz spoke up, "are you assuming Demon Lords are actual devils?"

Aqua folded her arms obstinately. "Well yeah, they are. And Diablo here is obviously a Draph God."

Wiz shook her head in denial. "No, they're not. Demon Lord is a term for infinitely powerful beings, regardless of their actual species. It's not just devils that can become Demon Lords. Dragons, fairies, vampires, even humans can become Demon Lords. All that is required is for them to meet the requirements of the Harvest Festival."

Aqua stared in silent, defeated disbelief. "… Wait, seriously…?"

"Yes, from what I understand, goddess Freya's sister is a Demon Lord, the goddess Hild is also one."

Aqua seemed to lose all color in her face as she stared at Wiz silently. "… So… he isn't a god…?"

"That's what I've been saying, stupid!" Nanana snarled.

"But he made a Familia!"

"Hild of the Hild Familia has one as well," Wiz argued before putting a finger on her cheek in consideration. "Although, I am uncertain if she made her Familia before or after becoming a Demon Lord."

Aqua sighed heavily, slumping her shoulders.

"Actually, I don't even know how long she has been a Demon Lord, especially since she's on the Demon Lord Council."

Nanana scratched her head before folding her arms under her bust as she looked at Wiz. "Anyway, so it's possible him being a Demon Lord caused the abnormality in the Falna?"

Wiz nodded in affirmation. "It's possible, yes, but I can't say for certain." She then turned her attention to Diablo directly. "On that note, how did you gain the ability to control angelic golems?"

"A spell I learned from a fallen angel turned Demon Lord under my command," he explained.

Aqua blinked curiously. "Fallen angel turned… Elia!?"

"Who?"

"Silver hair, mismatched eyes?"

Diablo raised an eyebrow. "Yes, that sounds like Belial. I assume you know her then."

"Obviously I know her!"

Nanana sighed in recognition. 'Well that explains a lot. Must be best friends.'

Diablo folded his arms thoughtfully. 'So she thought I was a god because of that power?'

'Evidently.'

Aqua put a hand on her chin for several lengthy seconds before a switch seemed to flip. "If I become a Demon Lord will I get my powers back!?"

Wiz answered, "Probably not. Even as Demon Lords, Hild and Frey's most powerful abilities are sealed just like a normal god's Arcanum."

"DAMMIT!"

Nanana furrowed her brow in thought. 'Wait, does that mean yours are too?'

Diablo just shrugged. 'I can't say. I haven't had any reason to try and use anything that powerful. Why?'

'Well, if we do encounter anything really tough, it'll be a problem if all your aces are locked up.'

'I highly doubt we wi –'

'Grima.'

Diablo began sweating slightly. '… I'll test it out later.'

'Good. Maybe Gorgon will help? She seems strong enough to slap you around a little.'

He nodded subtly. 'I'll see when I go to collect more ore.'

'Right.'

Shera stared at the two, her cheeks puffed in a pout.

Later in the day, Diablo made his way out of the shop, Shera approaching him.

"Where are you going?"

"I will check on the ore. The rest of you gather the ingredients for the potions."

"Right," Rem answered with a nod, Shera's ears drooping somewhat.

"Oh, wait, I wanna come with!" Nanana declared, catching up to him as he left.

Outside the city, Diablo finally glanced at Nanana, curious. "And you're coming with me, why?"

"I wanna see how it goes when you talk to Gorgon," she answered playfully.

"Ah. You just want to be around in case she sends me through a wall."

She smiled to him. "You know me so well."

He just sighed before sending a wry smile of his own. "Well I suppose it's better than going alone."

She pouted in response. "You guess?"

"And I can't think of anyone better to go with than you, Tabula."

She smiled softly before adding, "You really should let the others see this side of you, Momo."

"Maybe one day, but not for a long time."

Her smile soured somewhat. "So you're really going to keep up this persona?"

"We're here," he answered, ignoring her question as he walked up to the cave. "Now let's go see what they've gathered."

Nanana just sighed as she followed him in.

Inside the main hall of the cave, Gorgon sat curled up, whipping her tail around gently as a baby, tiger-like monster played with it.

"Gorgon, are you here?" Diablo announced as they walked in.

Gorgon reared up on part of her tail as they approached. "Ah, I was wondering when you'd come back. And I see you brought your lover with you."

Diablo and Nanana both turned slightly red before looking at opposing walls. Coughing into his hand, Diablo redirected the conversation, "A – Anyway, how goes the mining?"

"Have you brought any Magic Stones with you?"

Diablo nodded and pulled a handful of large purple gems from his Inventory. "Yes, I brought a few.

Gorgon stretched out her hand as he dropped them to her. "Good to see Milim's father is a man of his word." Putting the Stones aside in a small cubbyhole, she turned back to the two. "As for the mining, it is proceeding smoothly, however, we have happened upon something unusual."

"Oh…?" Diablo asked, concerned what she was about to show him.

She extended her tail around a corner and picked up several pieces of a purplish black, metallic ore. "This. I do not know what it is myself, but since it is neither edible nor stone, I figured I would save it for you to identify. There are also other ores we have found, but this one was the most unusual."

Diablo and Nanana stared at the metallic object in shock.

"That's Ebony ore…" Nanana stated slowly in realization.

"Then I take it this has value to you?" she asked as she dropped the ore into Diablo's hands.

Nodding, he explained, "Yes, it makes for the most durable weapons and armor."

"I see…"

"Save any of it you find, I will provide extra Magic Stones in return."

"Understood. Anything else you wish of me?"

Diablo shook his head in response. "No, that is all."

'Really?' Nanana urged.

After a moment, Gorgon offered, "Would you and your love like to spend the night here? Rakala is away on an errand for me and her den is open for use."

Diablo stared at her silently before moment.

"Is something the matter?" She asked curiously, tilted her head.

"There is something you may be able to help me with."

"Oh?" Gorgon returned, folding her arms under her impressive bust.

Diablo did his best to stay focused, gulping. "I would like to test some of my powers."

"I see. On… who?"

Fin! There you have it, the fifth chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it. Be sure to let me know with a review if you did. If you were confused, unsure, or simply have questions on anything, such as where certain characters are from, leave your queries as a review and I will do what I can to address them in the next reviewer response. If you did not enjoy the chapter, review if you must, but suggestions on what you think might improve it would be more appreciated than simple roasting. That aside, no more waffling, until next time, bye-bye!