Chapter VII

Greetings all! I am back with more Demon Lord's Adventurers. I know, I know, but it is what my muse is currently stuck on, so it is what I will be writing. Wait a little bit and I have little doubt it will change to something else. It does that from time to time. As per usual, many thanks to Bakuto Masaki for his endless help, and endless patience, in helping me with this. I hope everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, so far most of you seem to be enjoying it, which is very nice. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter as well. So, time for the reviewer responses.

freeforall546: While I'm glad you enjoy my stories, I certainly hope it's not the only thing you have to look forward to amidst all this bullshit.

ObsidianUnknown66: Glad to hear it! Yeah, blending all the different worlds together is one of my favorite things to do with these stories, yet for some reason a lot of people seem to dislike that, which I find very odd. Indeed. Don't worry, Mordred will be appearing again soon.

Skull Flame: Sure thing.

Of course they are, Bikini Armor is a thing, after all.

Same.

Similar circumstances.

Indeed, hmm.

Thanos69: Puns. If you know anything about my stories at this point, you should know that if I can use a female character in place of a male one, I almost invariably will. Not the next chapter, but soon.

Lawiegg: Well harem is what I specialize in, that and blending nearly a dozen disparate worlds into one, semicohesive mess of titties.

Nondus: Did the mention of Orario not tip you off that they will be appearing eventually? Give it time.

tempace: English dude, English.

gotSaws: It's what I do. Glad you're enjoying it.

15songoku: Nah, Krebskulm's involvement will be much like it was canon. As for Loli action, Lolis aren't my preference, so you're not going to see as many of them, but there will be some like Lilliruca, Filo, or Hestia (Even though she's technically an Oppai Loli, but still). And no, I don't consider Megumin a Loli, but a Pettanko.

Oh you can count on it.

Bell does not exist in this story. As for Ishtar, that one's complicated, but you'll see when we get to it.

Indeed. Though as for Raphtalia, she won't stay as a Loli for long.

I'll be updating the next couple chapters sooner than normal since I'm off work for the quarantine. So there's at least that to look forward to.

correnhimself316: There will be plenty more hijinks to come.

Enough prattle, on with the show!

"That just means it'll be that much more fun," Diablo stated with a smirk as he and the others formulated ideas on obtaining a Filolial for Megumin to ride after testing her Explosion spells.

Sighing, Nanana spoke in her mind to him. 'Let's save that for later. You should just go help Megumin for now.'

Diablo's smirk disappeared almost instantly with a minute sigh. 'Fine.' "For now, let's go, Megumin."

The petite brunette nodded with enthusiasm.

"Good."

Very shortly, the duo made their way outside the city, Megumin scanning the area curiously. "Need somewhere good… Hmm… like a distinctive rock formation, or a big quarry."

After several minutes of walking, something caught Diablo's attention. Pointing to it, he offered, "How about a decrepit castle?"

"Huh?" Megumin mumbled before looking where he was pointing and saw a large castle overlooking the area, perched upon a cliffside that very clearly had not had any inhabitants for decades, perhaps centuries. Megumin's exposed eye lit up with sparkles. "Oh, perfect!"

Diablo moved to the side and leaned against a tree as Megumin readied her staff and began casting.

"Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark, I beseech thee, combine with my deep crimson. The time of awakening cometh. Justice, fallen upon the infallible boundary, appear now as an intangible distortion! I desire for my torrent of power, a destructive force: a destructive force without equal! Return all creation to cinders, and come from the abyss!" she called out as a large circle of magical energy appeared and fluctuated at her feet before she took one last deep breath and cried out as loud as she could, "Explooosion!"

All of the energy swirling at her feet immediately condensed into a brightly glowing ball at the tip of her wand before being launched like a missile. The small light vanished from view momentarily with distance before a massive ball of fire erupted from the castle, sending smoke and boiling stone in all directions, the pressure wave knocking down many of the trees close to the castle.

Diablo had to momentarily brace himself or risk being knocked off balance as the shock wave passed by him. He felt sweat drip down his cheek in disbelief as an entire chunk of the castle's guard wall had been virtually vaporized. 'It's like a goddamn nuke…' "… You need to tone it down. I felt that one in my –" he began as he turned to Megumin, only to realize she was no longer there, glancing down to see her collapsed on the ground.

"This is… the best…" she weakly and gleefully mumbled.

He could only stare at her in disbelief. "… You really need a different spell."

"I refuse," she said almost instantly with conviction.

'So resolute…' "Then tone it down."

Able only to move her head, she glanced up at Diablo as he approached her. "What do you mean?"

"Try saying the chant in your head instead of out loud next time, and try to limit the amount of mana you pump into the spell instead of all of it. A controlled, limited Explosion is much more dangerous than just blowing your load in one go."

"But…" she pouted.

Thinking for a moment, he decided on a different tactic. "Imagine if you could cast one hundred small Explosions and hurt that many more enemies."

Megumin's eyes widened exponentially at the realization to what he said.

Smiling to himself at the progress, he picked her up off the ground and slung her over his shoulder.

"H – Hey! What are you doing!?"

"It's easier to carry you this way."

"I look like a bag of rice!"

"So? For the time being, we're heading back."

"Right…" she grumbled quietly as Diablo returned to the city, the girl still flung over his shoulder.

"Welcome back, Diablo!" Shera greeted like a puppy when Diablo and Megumin returned. "How was it?"

"She used too much power," Diablo answered plainly before flopping Megumin onto a nearby chair. "And now she's unable to move at all."

Shera stared at the girl curiously for several seconds as Diablo walked away. "She almost looks like a doll."

Nanana gained a mischievous smirk as she heard her and tapped the busty elf on the shoulder. "… Maybe you should dress her up like one then?"

Shera's ears perked up enthusiastically. "Ooh! Great idea!"

Megumin just stared into the void silently. "… Help…"

Snickering at her own conniving, Nanana then noticed Diablo nearby, deep in thought. "Something wrong, Momo?"

Looking up at her from his seat he only shook his head. "Just thinking about Shera and Rem's collars. Along with the asshole from the Mage Guild. Gallon I think his name was. Or Gullpit."

Nanana just shrugged in response. "Doesn't matter. They're slave collars, right?"

He nodded plainly. "Correct."

"Then if you want to learn about slave collars, the best place to go would be a slaver. They likely know the most about them."

Diablo flinched where he sat, feeling his skin crawl. "… Ah. I'd rather not deal with those types."

Nanana just shrugged her hands. "Well you know what they say. The people who know the most about something are the ones who use it the most."

"… Fine."

"We need to find one, first."

"Then we'll head for the Mage's Guild tomorrow."

Shera suddenly ran into the room excitedly. "Hey, hey! Come here for a minute!"

Diablo raised an eyebrow curiously. "Hmm? Something wrong?"

Shera pulled Diablo into the main room where he saw Megumin, still paralyzed from her lack of mana, now wearing a frilly, black and purple dress with an insect-like hat on her head. "Tahdah!"

Diablo stared silently for several moments, Nanana next to him trying to prevent herself from falling over in laughter. "… Cute…" he mumbled as he patted Shera on the head.

"… Kill… me…" Megumin begged.

"No."

The girl just sat silently.

"You sure you don't mind living so far away from your shop?" Wiz questioned as Lilietta moved her belongings into Wiz's shop.

Lilietta just nodded with a smile. "Yes. Lord Diablo and the others are mainly going to use it to make and store armor and sell it here. As long as I get to keep my grandmother's shop I'm happy."

Wiz just smiled with a nod. "That's good."

Diablo walked into the main room where the others were and looked at a few of them before motioning to the door. "Nanana, Shera, Rem, we're heading for the Mage's Guild. The rest keep an eye on the place."

"Yes, sir!" Lilietta responded with a smile and a salute.

Diablo and the girls quickly made their way to the Mage's Guild, a large, ornate building made of white material at the center of the city, walking up to the front desk where a short girl with horns and a bountiful body saw them approach.

Diablo stared at the young woman in thought. 'Hm… she must be one of the female Draphs. I didn't realize just how short they are…' "I wish to see Celestine Baudelaire."

The girl tensed stiffly before nodding slowly. "U – Um, certainly, Sir Diablo," she stammered before getting from her seat and heading into the back of the building. Moments later the Draph returned, holding a small slip of paper in her hands. "M – My apologies, but Lady Celestina isn't here right now. She did leave this for you, though."

Diablo frowned slightly as he looked the document over.

"What is it?" Shera wondered.

"A job request. Take a basket of wine and fruit to the southern border gate for the guards stationed there. The reward is set for… twelve thousand Vals…"

Shera's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "That's a lot of money!"

"And very simple as well…" he noted suspiciously.

Rem sighed and noted, "She must be trying to pay us back for the trouble that jerk caused."

Nanana nodded firmly. "I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Right," Diablo returned as he folded up the paper and put it in his pocket. "Let's get going then."

Rem shook her head in denial. "I refuse to accept Celes' pity. Not after everything she's already done for me. I'll stay here and help Lilietta and Wiz manage the shop."

"That's fine. Be sure and let them know we took this job. Nanana, Shera, let's go."

"Right!" Shera cheered with excitement.

"A quest?" Wiz asked, surprised. "It sounds almost too good to be true."

Rem merely shrugged in return. "Well this one's directly from Celes, so we know it's fine."

"But still…" Wiz mumbled in concern.

"Something could go wrong…" Lilietta worried.

"How?" the Pantherian questioned.

Darkness stood up with anticipation. "If it does, I want to be there!"

Aqua smacked her on the head bluntly. "Quiet, masochist."

The blonde just stared at the goddess in shock.

Diablo put a finger on his chin as he walked with Nanana and Shera. "Hmm… the southern gate should be a three-day walk from here."

Shera gasped in slight surprise. "That's far…"

After a moment Diablo turned to the elf. "Tell me, Shera, do you know any teleportation spells?"

Shera almost guffawed at his question. "Huh? No way. If I did, things would be so much easier."

Diablo nodded to himself. 'I see. So warp abilities aren't common like they were in the game.'

Nanana argued, 'Or she just doesn't know how to use them.'

'Possibly.'

Shera, puffing her cheeks with a pout and frustration boiling, finally shouted, "Okay, that's it!"

"What's it?" Nanana questioned, confused by her outburst.

Staring at the two angrily, Shera demanded, "What's with the mana you two keep sharing!?"

Diablo and Nanana stared at the girl in disbelief, not sure how to react.

"Well?!" Shera demanded, almost in tears.

"It's mana-sharing," Nanana explained simply.

"Huh?" she asked, her previous frustration disappearing quickly.

"I have a little trouble making mana on my own, so Diablo often shares his with me."

Shera's ears drooped as she pouted in confusion. She remained silent for a few moments, her mouth occasionally opening to speak, but with no words. Eventually she just relented. "Okay… let's keep going…"

Diablo sighed in relief as the party continued on.

Soon, the trio arrived at the large stone gate separating the province from the plains.

Diablo stared at the wall in quiet thought. 'This wall looks less imposing than when we first came through.'

Nanana shrugged and replied, 'Probably because you know you could crush it with a single spell.'

'Maybe.'

Shera waved to one of the guards atop the wall with a bright smile, her chest swaying pleasingly as she did. "Hhii!"

The guard at the top of the wall stared down at Shera, practically drooling.

That got Diablo's ire as he twitched an eyebrow. '… I don't like the way he's looking at her… not at all…' "Ahem!" he growled out to get his attention.

The man shuddered as he finally took notice of Diablo. "L – Lord Diablo?" he asked as his voice cracked.

"I have come to observe my Followers on a quest. Now if you would be so kind as to not stare at her like a piece of meat…"

The guard's face went pale. "I – I was not. A – Ahem, open the gate!"

Diablo and the girls walked into the small fort and approached a man with armor that was significantly more ornate than the rest, presumably the head guard. As Shera handed him the basket, Diablo grumbled, "You should try and keep your soldiers restrained."

"R – Right…" the man muttered as he took the basket, slightly confused by Diablo's words.

Shera, however, was oblivious to the whole thing, just looking at Diablo.

"Good. Now, is there anything else?" the horned man questioned.

The head guard only shook his head.

Diablo turned to leave when another one of the guards ran up to the man in charge, out of breath and face like he had seen a ghost.

The head guard approached the man and sat him down. "What's going on?"

"They're… here… out there…!" the man gasped as he grabbed the commander's shoulder.

"Who?" he asked, befuddled.

"Them… out there…!"

"Who?! Who, dammit?"

"F – Fallen! Over one hundred Fallen!"

Diablo raised an eyebrow in thought. "That's it? Only a hundred?"

Nanana gave him a sideways stare. 'I know you're powerful, but don't forget, the Fallen acted as mini-bosses.'

'I know. Don't you forget I soloed most of their leaders.'

Nanana just shrugged. 'Right, right. Well still, a hundred of them at once is nothing to sneeze at.'

"Where are they?" Diablo questioned.

Saluting weakly, the man pointed to the plain outside the fort. "Sir! Coming over the hill!"

"Thank you for the information," Diablo replied with a nod before leaping over the railing and landing on the bridge below with a thud.

Shera ran to the railing after him, though correctly decided not to jump over. "D – Diablo?! Wait!"

Nanana folded her arms with interest. "Well this will be fun…"

"You can't let him go alone…" Shera begged, grabbing Nanana's hand.

"He'll be fine," Nanana responded confidently.

"If you say so…"

Nanana just smirked. "It's Diablo, he won't have any trouble with them."

"Okay…"

Her smirk vanished slightly as she looked down at Diablo approaching the edge of the bridge. 'Don't make me a liar you bastard…'

Diablo stood and waited, flexing his neck as he waited for the horde of monsters to approach.

He did not have to wait long before the first signs of the enemy appeared.

Many monsters of many types, tall, short, fat, thin, muscular, svelte, some with reptilian heads and scales, others with pig-like faces and skin like leather.

However, what caught Diablo's attention, when the advancing army got close enough, was the one at the head of their forces.

Riding atop a tall, long-necked reptile with white scales, sat a young girl with dark, wheat-colored skin, her lithe, slightly curvy figure barely hidden under the scant black and grey armor, a massive purple halberd in her grasp.

As the girl and her army got closer and stopped, Diablo frowned slightly. "… Really? You're the leader? I expected someone taller. And bustier."

Back inside the city, Rem sat across from Celestine inside the tavern, staring at her with light frustration. "Why would you do something like that?"

Celestine could sigh before answering, "For all the trouble Galluk, and by extension the Guild, has caused you and your friends."

"Y – You didn't have to," Rem argued weakly.

Celestine put a hand up in denial. "It's fine. Just so you know, I also expelled Galluk from the Guild."

"That's good."

"He did, however, tell me something intriguing."

Rem looked at her in confusion. "Huh? What did he say?"

"That Diablo truly is a Demon Lord. One from another world."

"We already told you that."

"The elf girl did, but she is an unusual one. So, it's true then?"

"Maybe. Although… he did give us a Falna…"

Celestine's expression slackened in disbelief at that answer. "He gave you a Falna…?"

Aqua chimed in, "Yeah! And that's something only a god can do!"

"That doesn't mean he isn't a Demon Lord," Celestine argued.

"There's no way a demon can do that."

"Are you still on about that?" Rem asked, irritated.

Celestine then explained, "A Demon Lord can be anything from any race, young lady."

"Huh, wait, seriously?" Aqua asked in disbelief.

Celestine nodded plainly. "Yes, take Grima for example."

Aqua just stared at her blankly for a moment. "Huh? Grimer?"

Everyone in the room just stared at her.

Celestine could only sigh in response before redirecting the conversation. "Rem, I'd like to ask you something very simple, and very important."

"What is it?" Rem questioned.

"Are you certain he's actually a Demon Lord?"

Rem nodded firmly. "I am. He told me once he even subjugated five others."

"Five others?"

"Five other Demon Lords."

Celestine's eyes shot wide momentarily before calming herself. "Many people can say many things. How can you be certain?"

Rem stared silently at the woman for a moment before nodding. "… I just am."

"I see… If what you said is true then he is not a Demon Lord, but a Great Demon Lord. And if what my scouts reported to me is true, it's certainly possible."

"Pardon?"

"I sent some people I trust to investigate the scenes of his last few battles."

"Ah. The Man-Eating Forest and Carne Village."

"Not just that, but the Cave of Gorgon."

"What? How did you…?"

"I have my methods. And the things I saw reported there were not something that should be possible. Elemental magic is normally nowhere near that strong. Just reading the reports sent shivers down my spine… I can easily believe he is on the level of power and rank as the other Great Demon Lords, Grima Nava and Krebskulm."

Rem frowned slightly in thought. "So… what do you want him to do then?"

"I… don't know. To be honest, he frightens me."

"H – Huh?" Rem stuttered in surprise.

"He frightens me. His power, what he can and would do. I want to believe in him, like you do. I do. But as the head of the Mage's Guild, I can't just let him go."

Rem frowned deeply. "… But he hasn't hurt me yet…"

Celestine nodded in return. "That's what I'm worried about. How do you know he isn't a Fallen planning to release Krebskulm?"

"Because if he was, he would've killed me already."

"I can see that, but –" Celestine began before a crash outside alerted them.

"Hey, you can't come in here!" a woman with short, pointed ears shouted as a man shoved her aside.

"Don't touch me, Demi scum!" a distorted, monstrous voice snarled.

Celestine narrowed her eyes suspiciously before the doors to the room slammed open.

Galluk stumbled into the room, clothes tattered, eyes bloodshot, hands dripping with blood, his face and arm twisted with what appeared as black vines wrapping around him from the pulsing, glowing dagger in his right hand. "L – Lady Celes…! Have… have you reconsidered what you said last night!? I mean, it's strange, isn't it?! Why was made to leave the Mage's Guild for doing the right thing!?"

"The right thing…?" Celestine asked, her temper flaring up momentarily before she got ahold of it. Sighing, she stood up and faced him. "I told you already, Galluk. What you did was wrong, plain and simple."

Galluk stood there, twitching and laughing weakly. "That's strange! It's strange, isn't it!? For someone as talented as me to be let go, there must be some kind of mistake! I – It has to be some kind of mistake… I had to give the people who came and tried to take my robes a good b – beating, and t – tried to make them say the truth… But, they kept lying! Th – They kept saying that I had been l – let go…"

Celestine narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Beating? Are the others from the Guild okay?"

Rem backed away from Celestine slightly. 'That's a pretty serious expression she has…'

Aqua, seemingly oblivious to the nature of the situation, stood up and angrily pointed at the man. "Hey! We're busy here, go away!"

"Quiet, whore!" the crazed man shouted.

"H – Hah!?" Aqua gasped in disbelief.

Galluk quickly turned his anger back towards Celestine. "Dammit, Lady Celes! Don't worry about those runts! Worry about me! That… that demon…! He's not right in the head! He disrespected me t - twice in a row! He's not suitable for Lady Rem to be around, so all I did was try to keep him away from her! Why do you choose to worry about those second-rate underlings instead of me!?"

Aqua finally had enough and stomped over to the man, enraged. "Hey! Don't badmouth hi –!" she suddenly stopped when a sharp pain hit her suddenly.

"I said quiet, whore!" he snarled as he plunged the dagger into Aqua's abdomen.

Everyone in the room remained silent for a moment before Rem shouted in horror, "Aqua!"

Celes quickly motioned to her two guards, who immediately ran over towards Galluk as Aqua stumbled away in horrified disbelief.

"Wh – What the…?" she stammered as her top was stained red. "Wh – Why…?"

Galluk cackled madly as the guards prepared to grab him. "They were right! They were right! There's no one in this world who can understand my gifts! It's strange, why am I not treated well and cared about when I am so clearly and evidently superior!?"

Rem's blood ran cold when she noticed the large gem in the blade's hilt begin to move, as if looking directly at her. She then watched as its sides curled in and covered the gem for a moment, blinking. Instantly she grabbed for one of the gems in her pocket as Darkness reached for her sword.

Wiz cautioned, "Wait, if you fight here, you'll damage the tavern!"

"Silence!" Galluk howled before raising his dagger high up before stabbing himself in the abdomen.

"The hell!?" Rem and Celestine shouted before black liquid like tar began pouring from Galluk's mouth and the wound in his stomach.

"Wh – What's going on!?" Megumin shouted.

The guards finally got close enough to grab Galluk, but when they did, Rem felt a sensation in the back of her mind screaming at her. "No! Get back!"

Almost immediately a powerful wave of energy shot outwards from Galluk's body before his skin and limbs began warping and twisting in inhuman ways.

However, the guards were quickly impaled by the writhing mass before it began to finally take the shape of a large, hulking, reptilian humanoid with dark blue skin covered in thick, black armor plating.

"This is bad…" Celestine muttered quietly.

Rem, not so quietly, shouted her realization of what was happening. "A… A Fallen…! Shadow Snake!" she shouted before throwing her crystal on the ground, causing a large, jet black snake to emerge from the small explosion and coil around the monster. "Ensnare him!"

The beast huffed in annoyance as it stood up. "Damned human. Why'd he have to waste so much time talkin'?" It was then he noticed the Shadow Snake coiling around him and grabbed its head, yanking and easily ripping the creature in half.

"Wh – What?" 'He dealt with a summon of that level with his bare hands…?'

The beast was distracted at a pained whimper nearby and looked down at Aqua slowly trying to get out of the room. "Hah? You're still not dead yet?"

"Oy," an annoyed voice growled from behind.

He turned to see who it was, only for a red and black, armored, high-heeled boot to slam into the small of his back from behind, sending him crashing out into the street through the wall.

The others turned to the source of the voice in confusion and fear.

Diablo stood silently opposite the tanned girl for a few moments. "So, tell me. What are your plans here?"

She wordlessly pointed at him, causing one of the large Fallens, a boar-headed monstrosity well over four meters tall to approach him. "Kill."

"Pork, I see."

"You small," the boar droned. "You small. Look weak. Kill…" it droned again before raising the massive club in its hand high up and slamming it down on top of him.

"Diablo!" Shera shouted in worry overhead.

'Soul Greatsword,' he said in his mind before swiping his hand, a large, ethereal, blue sword appearing in his grasp, slicing the boar down the middle. "Next?"

Two more giant Fallen charged at Diablo. The first one to reach him received a powerful punch in the stomach that sent the beast flying into a small hill.

"Wind Blade," he announced before a powerful flurry of nearly invisible scythes of wind swirled around the monster, chopping it to pieces.

Diablo disinterestedly huffed at the girl. "Is this how it will keep going? You send cannon fodder at me to die one after another until all but you and a field of corpses remain?"

The girl hissed angrily at his taunts.

Diablo folded his arms in annoyance. "Maybe I should just wipe out the field of weaklings in one move."

Snarling, she approached Diablo with determination. "I'll fight."

"Very well then, little one."

The girl puffed her cheeks in irritation. "Don't like being mocked."

"I'm not mocking."

Readying her weapon, she retorted, "May be small, but Edelgard is the best spear user of the Fallen. Won't lose."

Diablo sighed to himself before looking the girl. 'Well, at the very least, it seems she's the commander. If I take her down the rest will probably scatter. But I can tell just from looking at her she won't go down easy.' Stretching his neck, he looked at the girl in thought. "Now then, this should be a good warm up."

She stared at him for a few moments in silence. "Do it…? Don't do it… I'll do it!" she shouted before the head of her weapon began to glow brightly. "Lance Charge!" she called out before shooting ahead like a rock out of a cannon.

Diablo watched her curiously. 'A barebones basic attack. Any skilled player using it would cancel just after the charge finishes and switch to something else. Let's see what she does…'

Back in the city, Rem and the others stared at the figure that had kicked the Fallen.

A tall, curvaceous woman with bright, wild, flaming red hair and eyes to match, clad in a red top that looked more like a bikini, with a matching red bottom that covered very little, an overly long red cape, and thigh-high black, armored boots with red high-heels adorned with large, red and black wings. What stood out most, besides her chest, were the massive bone-white horns atop her head and the massive, blood-red ax she wielded with one hand.

Seeming to recognize her, Wiz paled even further and ducked behind Darkness to hide.

Darkness glanced at the frightened brunette in confusion, while Rem stared at the redhead in terror. 'Wh – What is this… this power…?'

The red-haired woman looked around the tavern in annoyance. "Tch… I could've sworn I sensed him here… Well, guess I'll deal with that later."

"Oy…" the Fallen snarled as he stood up. "The hell do you think you are?"

The red-haired woman looked at him annoyed and disinterested. "None of your damn business, ugly."

Rem glanced back when she heard a scream and sees people fleeing the Fallen.

Celestine then whispered just loud enough for Rem's ears to pick up, "This is bad, we can't deal with him and her at the same time."

Rem nodded subtly in agreement.

"Now get lost, furball," the ax-wielder demanded.

That only got the beast angrier. "I, the great Gregore, won't be spoken down to by –!"

He was cut off midsentence as the fiery woman shot a blast of red energy from her hand that blew his head to pieces, causing it to waver momentarily before collapsing to the ground. "I told you to go away. You only get one warning."

Rem shakily turned around in fear and watched as Gregore's body dissolved into ash, leaving a large purple stone behind. 'What… is she…?' she wondered in awe as she looked at the redhead.

The red-haired woman's attention was then drawn directly to Rem, causing her to narrow her eyes in thought. "Wait…" she mumbled to herself before approaching the Pantherian, only for Celestine to get in front of her. "Don't bother human, you'll just get yourself killed."

"Who are you…?" Celestine asked, attempting to keep the tremble in her voice to a minimum.

A tic mark popped on the woman's forehead. "Who am I?" Pointing to Rem, she added, "That girl is covered in Lord Momonga's energy and you don't know who I am?!"

"Lord who?" Rem muttered.

Sighing in relent, the woman just shrugged with a hiss. "Tch. Fine. I am Satan, Demon Lord of Wrath, of the Evil Lords."

Megumin looked at her for a moment. "… That was just a bunch of words."

The woman snarled at the petite girl. "What was that Crimson Eyesore?" Clearing her throat to maintain her composure, barely, she readdressed the others in the room. "Now, I have no business with you lot. Except the cat."

Wiz let out a small sigh of relief.

"So you're not here to bring down the city's barrier?" Celestine asked with suspicion.

Satan just raised an eyebrow. "Barrier?" She blinked when she realized what she meant. "Oh, you mean that pitiful thing? I just walked right through it."

"Wh – What…?" Celestine stammered as her skin went almost white as snow in horror. 'She just… walked right through it? Is that… is that even possible…?'

Motioning to Rem, Satan noted, "I'll interrogate you later, cat. For now, I'll leave the rest of you alive if you answer my question."

Gulping nervously, Celestine decided it best not to fight it. "Which is what?"

Slamming the end of her ax against the wooden floor, she angrily demanded, "Who blew up my castle?!"

The group all stared at her silently. "… Eh?"

"Somebody used an explosion spell on my castle and nearly blew it to pieces!"

Megumin stared silently as the others in the room slowly looked at her. "U – Uhh…" she stammered as Satan looked at her.

Narrowing her eyes, Satan demanded, "… Was it you, Crimson Eyesore? Did you blow up my castle and nearly kill my kitties!?"

"Uuuhhh…"

"You did, didn't you!?"

Suddenly, Aqua stood up in shock as she looked at her stomach. "Hey! I'm okay!?"

Satan turned to her, annoyed. "Shut up."

"Run!" Celestine shouted. She and the girls immediately ran out of the hole Gregore had made.

"Huh?" Aqua grunted before Darkness grabbed her and ran with the others.

Satan growled angrily as she rolled her eyes. "Supreme Beings dammit…"

As the girls ran, Mordred suddenly ran up to where Gregore had been and saw the girls running and then saw Satan. Drawing her blade, she shouted, "Go! I'll hold her off!"

Satan flipped her ax into a reverse grip as she walked towards the group. "Go home to Daddy little knight. You're not involved, yet."

Mordred's eyebrow twitched heavily at the demand as she raised her blade. "Okay, before I was just going to hold you off. Now I'm going to finish you off."

"I doubt you could even make me sweat, li'l kid."

Mordred lurched back before charging forward with a cone of energy around her. "Sonic Thrust!"

Satan effortlessly blocked the strike with her bare hand. "Hoh?" she hummed in surprise. "That's quite an impressive amount of force. Unfortunately it's not enough," she retorted before sending Mordred flying by throwing her by her sword.

"Gah!" Mordred growled as she was thrown against a wall. Standing weakly, she saw as Satan charged a large ball of energy before throwing it at her. "Guardian!" she called out before being surrounded by a large dome of energy that shattered as the energy ball hit it and exploded. As the dust cleared, Mordred only saw Satan immediately in front of her.

Satan followed it up by slamming a fist into Mordred's abdomen hard enough to dent her armor.

"Shit…" she cursed as she fell unconscious.

Diablo dashed to the side as Edelgard charged at him.

Edelgard stopped her dash right at its apex. "Swing Spike!" she shouted before she began spinning like a tornado with her blade almost invisible from the speed.

Diablo carefully avoided her movements before she finally came to a stop and stumbled about slightly, dazed. "Is that the limit of your techniques?" He narrowed his eyes as she steadied herself before glaring at him. "That seems rather trivial for a Fallen that wields such a weapon. And such a shame. Now leave."

Edelgard hissed as she lowered herself for another attack. "Not enough? Then… will use this!" She pulled her lance back as far as she could hold it, before the blade began to become enveloped in writhing black energy that soon spread over the entire weapon.

Diablo hummed curiously as he watched her prepare.

"Sacrificial… Charge!" she called out before taking off from her spot with such speed that some of the stone cracked.

Diablo, however, just grinned with intrigue. "Let's try it! See if you can damage me!" 'Sacrificial Charge is an attack you have to be at least Level Eighty to learn. How interesting.'

Edelgard charged at insane speed, the darkness around her weapon reaching out and impacting Diablo before her actual weapon did, with enough force to knock him back slightly.

Diablo managed to maintain his stance as Edelgard kipped up and spun in the air, nailing him in the side of the head with her weapon before leaping up into the and slamming her weapon down with all the force she could muster. 'This actually hurts…'

Edelgard panted for a few moments before jumping back slightly.

Diablo slumped slightly where he stood, the stonework around his feet buckling from the force. 'So… this is what it feels like to take damage… Not an actual wound, but almost like my strength is being sapped…' "How interesting," he remarked before standing up straight and stretching his neck.

The petite girl's entire body froze where she stood as she stared at the man in disbelief. "Not… possible… gave it… all I had. You're still standing…"

Diablo ignored her as he flexed his joints in thought. 'In the game Sacrificial Charge takes fifteen percent of your Health, which isn't much. But here, that means it dumps a quarter of your actual strength. Something like that could mean the difference between life and death.' "Now then… Submit," he demanded before pointing his staff at her. 'Part of me wants to keep this going so I can test things with her. She might be able to some higher Tier stuff.'

Suddenly, one of the knights came running out from the fort in a panic. "Sir Diablooo!"

Hearing his voice, Diablo turned to the man in a mix of irritation and worry. "You fool, stay back or you will get killed!"

The man almost skid to a stop before hastily blurting out, "S – Sir, I have a message from Faltra! There's a Fallen attacking the city!"

"What!?"

Edelgard's exhausted features lit up subtly with a smirk. "Gregore did good. He's dumb, but works hard."

Diablo turned to the confident girl and hissed in frustration. "Tch, son of a bitch… I'll need to wipe these fools out and return to Faltra immediately." Reaching behind his back, he pulled the large crystal he had taken from the Slane soldiers. "This has been fun, but I have places to be."

Edelgard readied herself as she recognized the Summoning Crystal.

Diablo raised it high before slamming it on the bridge. "Dominion Authority! Come forth and deal with these pests for me!"

In a blinding flash of light, the massive mechanical angel appeared in the air, overlooking the small cadre of Fallen.

The knights on the fort walls all looked on in awe, the Fallens behind Edelgard slowly inching away in fear.

Seeing this, she turned to them angrily. "What are you doing?!"

"If you have any intelligence at all, you will join them in retreat! So leave!"

"Will not. It is my mission to revive the Demon Lord, after all. That's why Edelgard tries hard, even if I die."

Diablo could only huff at the answer, assuming she was referring to Krebskulm. "Save the Demon Lord? You? Don't make me laugh."

The girl clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I don't like being mocked…"

"You understand nothing, girl! There is only one True Demon Lord. I! Great Demon Lord Diablo! Yet you, ignorant of this fact, devote yourself to a false patron!"

Edelgard's expression widened at her response before narrowing as she readied her weapon. "True Demon Lord…? No."

Diablo could only shrug before raising his hand in command. "So be it. Then know your fate was handed to you by the True Demon Lord Diablo!" Swinging his arm down towards the amassed group of monsters, he called out to the mechanical angel, "Holy Smite!"

The large spear in Dominion Authority's grasp began to glow brightly before shattering into dozens of fragments that began orbiting in the air above the gathering of monsters, the space between them filling with bright light that soon shot down in an immense pillar of pure light.

The surrounding area shook and rumbled violently, dust and debris getting sent flying in all directions, the people on the bridge holding on tight just to prevent from being blown away.

As the light died down and the dust settled, Dominion Authority dispelling into particles of lights seconds later, Diablo saw the huge crater where the opposite bank of the river had been. Only a few Fallen were left alive, outside the attack's range, but still horribly burned and scarred from the proximity. Looking around, he sighed before shrugging. 'She was kinda cute, shame it had to come to this.'

Flaring his cape as he turned around, he looked up at his allies. "Shera, Nanana, come, we're returning to Faltra immediately."

"W – Wait…" Edelgard's faint voice called out.

Almost not believing his ears, Diablo turned around to see Edelgard in the center of the crater, her mount vaporized and her armor in tatters, leaving her with barely anything, covered in light burns, but alive and intact. 'She survived that?! That was a Seventh Tier spell! Not only that, as a Fallen, it would've hit her with extra damage…' "You're much more durable than I originally thought."

"Wait… I said…" she demanded as she weakly, and fruitlessly, attempted to stand.

Diablo merely turned his back to her and waved as he left. "While I would love to, you've already wasted enough of my time. Just know you have earned some modicum of my respect, Fallen."

The girl stared up at him with a mixture of emotions as he disappeared beyond the bridge. "… True Demon Lord… Diablo…"

As the trio left the fort, Diablo grit his teeth in frustration. 'Dammit, it'll take two days to get back even if we sprint. And I don't think Shera could keep up a sprint for that long…'

'Can't you just create a portal?' Nanana questioned.

Diablo shook his head. 'Those portals only work with Touch Me's mirror.'

'Ah…'

However, he suddenly stopped in recognition. 'Wait! What about the Return spell?'

Nanana stopped in surprise at his sudden internal shout. 'Loud. And you lost me.'

'It's the most absolute basic spell in the game, used to teleport the player back to their most recent city.'

Nanana nodded with a shrug. 'No clue if it'll work, but it's our best shot.'

Nodding, Diablo grabbed Shera and Nanana's hands, causing the two to blush slightly. "Return!" he shouted before the trio were suddenly showered in a blinding light.

Back in the city, the girls ran through one of the side streets, Megumin ducked suddenly as a blast of red energy flew over her head, impacting a cart and exploding violently.

"Stop running, dammit!" the red-haired demon shouted in annoyance.

"If I do, you'll just kill me!" Megumin shouted back desperately.

"And if you don't you'll just die tired!"

"I'd rather take the third option, live!" she shouted as the group rounded another corner.

"You forfeit that option when you blew up my castle you brat!" Waving her hand out, she fired a spread shot of energy blasts.

Celestine momentarily raised her wand and created a small barrier just strong enough to deflect the shots.

Tired of constantly fleeing, Rem pulled out a slightly larger crystal and threw it down. "Aslau!"

Suddenly, a massive white bull with three horns appeared in a flash of light before charging at Satan.

The woman easily backhanded the beast away, sending it crashing into a wall before it dispersed into light particles. "Don't toy with me, girl. You may have Lord Momonga's mark, but if you get in my way I won't hold back!"

Seeing that behind them was only a dead end, Darkness stepped in front of the group and drew her sword.

"You can't be serious!" Aqua exclaimed in disbelief. "She's a Demon Lord!"

"I am," Darkness responded with a confident grin.

Satan hissed in annoyance, stopping when something caught her attention and raised a hand to block a wave of blue energy coming at her.

Mordred, battered but not downed, approached her, angered. "Don't think I'm letting you get away that easily, dammit!"

"You're a stubborn kid," Satan hissed. "Unfortunately, I don't have time to play with you," she growled before raising her ax, only for Darkness to suddenly charge at her. She blocked the strike easily, but her eyes widened momentarily at the force behind her attack. 'That's a lot of force for a human. I might need to take her seriously.'

"Sonic Thrust!" Mordred called out before shooting forward, encased in a cone of energy.

"Damn brat!" Satan snarled before grabbing Darkness by the arm and throwing her at Mordred.

'Shit!' Mordred cursed as she tried to stop her charge, only for Darkness to slam into her and knock them both to the ground.

Megumin tensed her fingers around her staff as she remembered what Diablo had said to her.

Diablo stood over the incapacitated Megumin after using her Explosion. "Try saying the chant in your head instead of out loud next time, and try to limit the amount of mana you pump into the spell instead of all of it. A controlled, limited Explosion is much more dangerous than just blowing your load in one go."

Megumin nodded to herself and raised her staff at Satan.

Aqua paled in horror. "A – Are you crazy?! You'll destroy the whole town!"

Gulping slightly, Megumin aimed at Satan and thought the name. 'Explosion!' A baseball sized blast of energy shot from her staff and hit Satan, impacting her with a large explosion that sent her flying. Her face lit up with joy. "It worked! It really worked!"

Satan stood up from her small crater and growled at the girl. "You little bitch!"

Mordred and Darkness both stood up and nodded to each other.

Darkness rushed at Satan with a wide swing that the red demon easily blocked.

"Sonic Thrust!" Mordred called out again before charging.

"Again!?" Satan snarled before reaching to grab Darkness, only for the blonde to grab her instead and throw her right into Mordred's path.

Hissing, the redhead managed to twist out of the way of Mordred's attack and slammed a knee into her gut, only to realize Mordred had latched onto her leg. "What the –?!"

Darkness readied herself to charge at the woman, only for Megumin to fire off another small explosion, sending Darkness hurtling like a cannonball and tackling Satan to the ground.

The redhead's temper was growing stronger at that point as she slammed a fist into the back of Darkness' head. "You're becoming a nuisance!"

Darkness, dazed but still conscious, stood and wobbled backwards. "Ow…"

A drop of sweat fell down Satan's face in disbelief. 'What kind of insane endurance does this girl have!?'

Aqua, deciding to get involved, charged at the woman with her right glowing brightly. "Goddess Blow!" However, before she even got close, Satan, without even looking at her, whacked her with the broad side of her ax, sending her hurtling into a nearby second story window.

Blinking, Satan looked around. "Huh. That must have been a gnat."

Taking her chance, Mordred tried another attack. "Beast!" she called out before charging with a shoulder ram, causing a huge ethereal monster head to burst to life made of mana that rammed into Satan from behind, damaging her cloak and sending her into a wall.

The wall exploded as Satan stepped out of it, her eyes glowing red with rage. "That. Is. IT! I have had enough of you little shits! I don't care if you do belong to Lord Momonga! I'll apologize after I kill you!" In an instant, Satan charged forward at Mordred, the blonde raising her sword to strike, only to watch in terrified disbelief as her sword arm was sent flying at the shoulder, landing nearby.

"There, now you won't be as much of a nuisance."

The blonde stumbled to the side, looking at the wound where her arm had been, the situation finally dawning on her mind. "N – No… No, no, no, nononono!"

"Mordred!" Rem cried out before grabbing for several more crystals on her belt. Throwing out all three, she shouted in succession, "Rock Wan, Stone Man, Dragonfly!" In bursts of light, a massive brown wolf, a large humanoid monster made of stone, and an oversized, bright green dragonfly appeared.

"So you want to be next, cat?" Satan huffed.

The dragonfly beat its wings at high speed, sending a barrage of wind blades at her, the wolf whipping its tail and sending spikes of stone flying out, the golem merely charging at her.

At the same time, Megumin fired multiple Explosions at Satan.

Satan swung her ax wide, sending out an arc of crimson energy that destroyed almost every attack, though several of the quills and one of Megumin's explosions made it through the smoke and hit her, all exploding on impact.

She hissed at the minor damage. "How irritating. You lot just don't give up, do you?"

Suddenly, Lilietta ran up behind Satan with a large board in her grasp and smashed it over her head.

Satan twitched an eyebrow slowly before turning around to her.

"What are you doing!?" Rem exclaimed. "Run!"

Satan did not give her time to react and swung her ax right at the girl's midsection. The impact moved Lilietta aside slightly, her dress torn, but she herself was unharmed. "… What the hell!?"

Lilietta, dazed, looked up at the redhead with a smirk.

"How'd you do that!?"

"Diablo's secret weapon," she retorted confidently.

Rem blinked in confusion before realizing what was going on. 'The armor!'

"Who?" Satan asked, confused.

Taking her opportunity, Darkness took up both her own and Mordred's swords and attack Satan from behind with two powerful slashes in the exact same spot, managing to leave a shallow gash in the redhead's back.

"Gah!" Satan howled as the surprise tumbled her forward. "You damned blonde bitch!" Satan snarled before turning on her heel and impaling Darkness through the abdomen with the spike atop her ax.

Darkness stood frozen in shock, coughing up a small amount of blood, before groaning as Satan hoisted her in the air on the spike and threw her aside, crashing her into a wall.

Flicking the blood off the top of her ax, Satan huffed in irritation. "That's two down."

In the nearby window, still hanging limply from it, Aqua sneezed.

"Now for the rest." Turning to the others, Satan pointed a finger at each of the group. "Eeny, meeny, miny, you," she stopped, pointing directly at Rem.

"Wha –?" she blurted out before her knee slammed into Rem's gut, buckling her and knocking her unconscious.

"There. Now for the little runt," she snarled before turning to Megumin. However, as she approached the brunette, she felt a rumble below her feet and saw a large mass of black energy swirling beneath her. "The hell!?" she cursed before leaping back just as a massive pillar of pure, black energy shot up.

Wiz, standing nearby with her hands outstretched, focused on the redhead. 'Forgive me, but I need to stop you from hurting anyone else until he gets back.'

"Who's there!?" Satan shouted as she looked around frantically.

"Negative Gate!" Wiz exclaimed before firing off a blast of pure darkness at Satan.

The demoness leapt out of the way just in time and turned to see Wiz, or rather, a hazy apparition, nearby. "Got you!"

"Dark Sphere!"

Satan turned around to see a large, black and red glyph forming in the air behind her and swung her ax at it, only for it to explode violently. "Gah! Damn you!"

Megumin watched the events in shock. "I don't believe it… she's actually holding her back…"

Satan rushed at Wiz with her ax readied, only for Wiz to launch another spell.

"Dark Laser!" A large black orb appeared in front of her that fired a barrage of shots at Satan like a machine gun, who had to stop and put her focus into deflecting them.

"Dammit all!" Satan howled, barely blocking the fire, some shots managing to strike her. "Who the hell are you!?"

"Dark Force!"

While still focused on blocking the Dark Laser's onslaught, Satan saw another swirling black mass appear at her feet. "DAMMIT!" A massive black spike shot out of the ground, knocking Satan into the air, resulting in the Laser's last few shots pelting her before the spike of energy shattered into dozens more and rained down on her, slamming her into the ground.

Weakly forcing herself to her feet, she snarled at Wiz before the area was suddenly filled with a flurry of lights that soon took the shape of several human forms. Before Satan had a chance to sort out what was happening, one of the shapes pointed at her as it was forming.

"Dark Bullet!"

She was suddenly hit by several shots of pitch-black energy that knocked her off her feet. "Who the hell are you!?" However, her eyes shot wider than ever as the light died down and revealed who it was.

And thus ends chapter seven! Bit of a crazy one, I know, but crazy can be fun. If you enjoyed the chapter, I would greatly appreciate reviews letting me know. If you have any questions or concerns about the chapter, or want to know what series certain characters are from, let me know in a review and I will do my best to address your queries in the next reviewer response. If you did not enjoy it, sorry about that. Leave a review letting me know what you did not like, if you must, but do try to be specific. Or, maybe, do something you actually enjoy instead.

Anyway! With all that waffling out of the way, until next time, bye-bye!