Chapter 13

Now that the fight was over, the Kijins and I headed back to the village, while I sent Rogue to find the others on the beach. The village was a mess. More than fifty percent of it had been destroyed by the Dragon King's attack, including the school and the hospital I had built. Looking at what was left of my home, my heart felt heavy. We had won the battle against the dragons, but it seemed that we had lost the war.

"Don't worry, Lord Rogan. Everything will be fine. We will recover." - Okimura said, seeming to read my mind.

"You're right. We will." - I told him, gaining strength from his words.

As we waited for the others to return, I thought about what to do next. We would go help Rimuru, of course. But what to do after that? The city was in ruins, repairing it would take at least six months, and even if we repair it, this attack could be repeated at any time. For a while now I have been thinking that we should move to the island, I think it was time to share my thoughts with the rest of the village and see what they think.

With my decision made, I went on to examine my new evolution. I was a Lich now. My new Lich form seemed to be based on my current Dark Elf form, with some modifications. My skin was white as snow, while my eyes glowed with a strange blue light. My hair, black as the darkest night and long to my shoulders, moved around me as if moved by a phantom wind, and above my head floated a beautiful crown of blue flames. With this new evolution my Magicule capacity had skyrocketed, becoming five times more than it was before, and I had obtained two Intrinsic Skills:

Intrinsic Skill "Reanimate": Which allowed me to reanimate corpses or skeletons, and turn them into undead creatures.

Intrinsic Skill "Undead Tyrant": Which gave me complete control over any undead creature I created.

With this new evolution I had become a true undead, even capable of creating other undead. This whole Lich and undead thing reminded me of a certain massive online video game I had played in my previous world about two warring factions joining forces to fight a Lich King...

The second form I tried was the evolution of my "Hellmoth" form, which had evolved into a "Hellmoth Queen".

I didn't think much of the name of this form, at least not until I transformed into it. Why? Because for some strange reason I had expected a male body!

Instead, I had boobs!

That's right. My new "Hellmoth Queen" form had evolved into a somewhat humanoid form. I had the basic body of a human being, if it wasn't for the four jointed hands, the giant moth wings on my back, and the antennae protruding from my head, I was sure I could be mistaken for a human… And the boobs! Let's not forget about the boobs!

Once I was done crying over the temporary loss of my manhood… poor Rimuru, now I fully understood him… I went on to try out the new skills I had gained from my new female form.

Extra Skill "Hatch": which was composed of two sub-skills. Spawning, which, as indicated, allowed me to create eggs from which smaller creatures of the same species would later be born. All in exchange for a large number of magicules, of course. And the second sub-skill, Parental Control, which allowed me to exercise control over the creatures I created with this skill.

Apparently, this being a female form, it allowed me to lay eggs...luckily after a few quick questions to the Librarian, I was able to learn that these eggs would be formed with magicules, and I wouldn't have to lay them myself, because that would have been a big no, no for me.

The other skill I had obtained from the "Hellmoth Queen" was "Spiritual Attack Resistance" which increased my resistance against spiritual attacks.

Once I left behind my female form… and her boobs… I changed into my new "Unobtainium Beetle King" form which, thank the gods, was very masculine. Just like the "Hellmoth Queen" it had attained a humanoid form. This body, much like that of a very muscular human, was covered in a powerful exoskeleton made entirely of Unobtainium. Apparently, during the evolution, the Librarian had stepped in and used his analysis of my Oculus to create a similar material using "Material Creation" and added it to this new form, making it even more powerful. In addition to an insane increase in physical and magical resistance, this form had given me two new skills:

Extra Skill "Magisteel Reinforcement": which allowed me to add Magisteel to my "Decaying Body Armor", turning it into a Legendary Grade "Exoskeleton Armor".

Physical Attack Nullification: which allowed me to be completely immune to physical attacks, thanks to the armor of this form.

I shapeshifted again, this time into my new "Hell Hound" form, which was Rogue's next evolution if he ever evolved. This new form was not much different from the old one; I had grown a few more meters and now two black horns protruded from both sides of my head, but there were no other major changes as in my previous forms. He had also gained two new skills:

Extra Skill "Chaos Rein": which summoned a rain of necromantic fire from the sky over a large area.

Ailment Resistance: Which increased my resistance against all kinds of diseases.

The next form I tried was the "Wind Dragon King". This form had only changed in size, as it was now as big as the "Space Dragon King" that I had fought a few hours ago. This new form had segregated two skills:

Extra Skill "Scaled Armor" which allowed me to create a thick scale armor on my body to protect myself from physical and magical attacks.

Extra Skill "Haki" which allowed me to use my magical aura to scare and coerce my enemies. It was the evolution of the Common Skill "Coersion".

Once I left the "Wind Dragon King" form, I transformed into my new "Fire Lord Spirit - Balrog" form. This new form hadn't changed much either. Its size had increased several meters and now it had flaming wings. The skill I had obtained from his previous forms "Combution" had evolved into "Plasma Core" which allowed me to heat gases to such a temperature that they turned into plasma, which I could release in large bolts of plasma.

Lastly, I took on my new "Arch Demon" form which couldn't be differentiated from a normal human form. It was a bit disappointing really. What was not disappointing, was that the Extra Skill "Material Creation" had evolved into the Extra Skill "Molecular Creation". While "Material Creation" was basically gathering magicules and transforming them into clothes and equipment, it was a "fake" transformation since items created by this skill were always inferior to real items, but this new skill "Molecular Creation" allowed me to literally transform the magicules into any other substance, be it atoms or molecules. It spent an immense amount of magicules, but with it I would be able to create matter at will. If I wanted Magisteel, I simply had to analyze an ingot of this metal and then replicate it using "Molecular Creation". Logically, such a great skill had to have a catch... and indeed it had. To create something as simple as an apple, I had to use a similar amount of magicule to the naming of ten monsters. But it was a useful skill, no matter what.

The form of Space Dragon King had not gone through any evolution, since this was the final form of the dragon race, but it had secreted two new skills:

Extra Skill "Spatial Storage": As its name suggests, it was exactly the same as the spell of the same name, the only difference was that it didn't spend as many magicules as the spell.

Extra Skill "Spatial Transference": It allowed me to teleport objects from one place to another that I already knew. Its only deficiency was that it did not allow living creatures to be teleported.

Now that I had finished checking my forms and skills, I had one skill left to explore. My sixth Unique Skill, "Skilled One" which I mysteriously obtained moments after evolving. When I asked the Librarian how I got it, the Librarian informed me that the requirements to get the skill had been to control five Unique Skills and be a Demon King Seed.

Having no idea what a Demon King Seed was, so I asked the Librarian to explain it to me. Apparently, a Demon King Seed is a creature that meets the necessary conditions to unlock the evolutionary path to a True Demon King, which I had achieved by possessing the Space Dragon King who also met those conditions. The Demon King Seed could, once they met the necessary conditions, evolve into True Demon Kings, through a ritual known as the Harvest Festival which multiplied the power of the Demon Lord Seed several times. The conditions for such a transformation were to obtain ten thousand human souls.

Since I had no plans to antagonize the humans of this world, I decided that I wouldn't pay too much attention to becoming a True Demon King for the time being. Instead, I focused on my new Unique Skill "Skilled One", which had the following sub-skills:

Unique Copy: Which allowed me to completely copy the effects of another Unique Skill, but it could only be used ONE time, and never again. If I only had one shot, I had to make sure to use it on a very powerful skill. That would be later though since the Librarian had warned me as soon as I got "Skilled One" that my soul wouldn't support another Unique Skill.

Skill Archive: Which allowed me to analyze and create a backup copy of my own skills.

Skill Synthesis: Which allowed me to combine my skills to create more powerful skills.

"Skilled One" was basically the best skill in improving other skills. I could already imagine the skills I would gain from using it!

I had just analyzed all my new skills, when the other members of the village finally returned. Their faces of sadness and sorrow when they saw the destruction caused by the Dragons, broke my heart. I had to do something to give them hope, so I used "Thought Communication" to talk to everyone at once.

"Guys, I'm so sorry." – I apologized wholeheartedly. "We managed to defeat the dragons, but the village suffered terrible damage. I think rebuilding the village here would be counterproductive. On the one hand, this catastrophe could happen again when someone else angers the dragons of Dragon's Peak, and on the other, we don't know what retaliation the king of Dwargon might take if he finds out that we are living in his territory illegally. – I could see that many of them shared my concerns, so I decided to propose my plan to them. "I have discovered a place we could go. Far to the north of Ingrasia, there is an island that is not owned by any kingdom or monarch. I propose to travel to this island and settle there. Make it ours."

"But, a trip to the island would mean crossing the ocean infested with monsters, Lord Rogan." - Dorian warns me.

"Because I defeated and possessed the Space Dragon King, I was able to evolve. I'm a Lich now and several times stronger than I was before. I'll see to it that we make our way to the island safely." - I answered.

The Dark Elves looked at each other, then at Tuatha, who nodded. "The Dark Elves will follow Lord Rogan, wherever he goes." – Tuatha said, and she, Browen and the other Dark Elves knelt in front of me.

Dorian and the Elven girls followed suit. "You rescued us from slavery, Lord Rogan. We will also follow you." - Dorian spoke.

"We will also go, Lord Rogan. We could be of help on the journey, too." – Triton said, while he and his family also knelt down.

"You gave us a home and a new family, Lord Rogan. Where you go, we'll go." – said Anne, Lara and little Jack, also on their knees.

"Our destiny is tied to you, Lord Rogan. If it is your wish to travel to this island, then we will make it happen." – Okimura said, as he, Hiroka and Yoshi also knelt down. Behind them, Rogue and the Bicorns did too.

"Guys..." - my heart galloped at full speed with emotion. For all these people and creatures to trust me with their lives sent butterflies to my stomach. I considered all of them my family, and apparently, they shared that feeling. "Okay everyone! If we're going to do this, we have to prepare. I and the Kijins will go to Rimuru City to stop the plans of those harlequins. While we're there, the rest of you will collect whatever you can carry with the Bicorns. Prioritize food and water, anything else can be carried with my new Extra Skill "Spatial Storage".

While everyone else set about gathering supplies, I and the Kijin prepared to travel to the Jura-Tempest Federation. Flying there would take a long time, so I would teleport all of us instead using the "Spatial Manipulation" of the Unique Skill "Grave Robber". Teleporting four people like this over such a long distance would take quite a chunk out of my magicule supply, but this was an emergency, so I didn't worry too much. Ultimately, I could always pay the Chaos Dragon a visit before we left for the island, and fill up my supply of magicules.

When everyone was ready, I teleported us to an area near Rimuru City. As soon as we showed up, we were attacked by what I can only describe as a giant, flying Shark.

Librarian, What the hell is that!?

Analyzing.

The designated target is a Megalodon. Megalodons are monsters summoned by the Calamity Class monster, Charybdis.

Charybdis? The harlequins mentioned something about that… Librarian give me all the information you have about Charybdis.

Analyzing.

Charybdis is a Calamity Class Monster, sometimes called the Ruler of the Skies. He was born from a cloud of Magicules belonging to the True Dragon Veldora, and is therefore considered by many to be his "child". It doesn't have a solid sense of self, so it operates solely based on its thirst for destruction. It's a spiritual life form, and therefore lacks a physical body. It can only exist in the physical world if it finds a host. It is extremely resistant to magic and the monsters it can summon, the Megalodons, also share this resistance. Being a completely spiritual creature, it is impossible to destroy, since by doing so, it will reincarnate sometime later in another part of the world, just like the True Dragons's race.

While listening to the Librarian, I used "Earth Manipulation" to propel a giant rock spear out of the ground, which impaled the Megalodon like a skewer, and before it died, I walked over and used "Selfish One". You never know when a flying fish might be needed...

Do you want to activate the Forced Possession sub-skill of Unique Skill "Selfish One"?

Yes

No

Yes!

Analysis completed. Skills gained through Unique Skill "Selfish One": Mimicry: Megalodon, Extra Skill "Magic Jamming". Magic gained through Unique Skill "Selfish One"": Monster Summon Magic: Megalodon.

After possessing the Megalodon and gaining its skills, I reverted to my Dark Elf form and off we went. It seemed that what those harlequins had planned was already underway.

As we headed towards Tempest, we spotted a huge figure in the sky. It was possibly twice the size of any of the dragons I had seen. It looked like some kind of weird one-eyed shark, shooting lasers everywhere. That must be this Charybdis thing.

Just as I was about to fly towards the creature to attack it, a girl, approximately eight or ten years old, flew in front of the creature. She had blond hair and was dressed in black underwear. And then, before my bewildered gaze, the girl released a torrential energy that completely blew Charybdis out of the sky.

I was so dumbfounded that I almost tripped over the Kijins who had come to a complete stop upon seeing such a sight. Who the hell was that girl?

Analyzing.

The target cannot be analyzed. The target's energy appears to be similar to that of the barrier surrounding the Chaos Dragon.

Did that meant that this girl was the one who had locked that thing up? Her power was totally insane!

After snapping out of my shock, I could see Rimuru flying towards the ground, carrying someone in his arms. We ran over to where he was, arriving just in time to see him use a rare skill to extract a parasite-like heart that was attached to a beast-man guy in black armor.

Librarian, do you know what Rimuru is doing?

Analyzing…

Rimuru Tempest is using one of his Unique Skills, "Gluttony", to extract and consume the Magic Core of Charybdis.

What exactly is a Magic Core?

Analyzing.

A Magic Core serves as a container for the astral bodies of spiritual creatures. Although not completely necessary, it ensures that the magicules of the spiritual being are stabilized in a physical body. Obtaining a physical body through this means can cause mutations to spiritual creatures causing them to become Spirit-Monster hybrids.

So that Magic Core is a kind of container for spiritual creatures… Librarian, do you think you can do a quick but thorough analysis of the Magic Core and then replicate it using "Molecular Creation"?

Analyzing…

Magic Core fully analyzed. Replication through "Molecular Creation" is now possible.

Ha! You're the best, Librarian.

This Magic Core would come in handy when Thorny returned with her spirit friends.

Once Rimuru finished, Charybdis's Magic Core disappeared in a black cloud of magicules. It was then that Rimuru noticed us.

"Rogan? What are you guys doing here?" – asked a confused Rimuru.

"We came to help you, but it seems we're a little late." – I said, and told Rimuru everything that happened in my village and with the harlequins.

"I see. I'm so sorry about your village. If you wish, you and your companions can move to Tempest." – Rimuru suggested.

"I very much appreciate the offer, Rimuru. But we already have other plans." – I replied, touched by his offer.

"Hey, hey, Rimuru. Who's your new friend? – asked the girl with pink hair who destroyed Charybdis.

When did she get here?

"Ah, Milim. This is my friend, Rogan." – He told the girl. "Rogan, this is Demon King Milim." – He said pointing to the girl, who smiled with delight.

This girl… was she really a Demon King? I guess that explains how powerful she is.

"Nice to meet you, Demon King Milim." – I said politely.

"Ha, ha, ha, likewise! Any friend of Rimuru's is a friend of mine!" - Milim said.

"So Clayman is behind this attack, huh?" – Rimuru said quietly, thinking to himself.

"Yes. This Demon King Clayman is starting to become a nuisance, really." – I said sighing.

Then, Rimuru threw a magic potion at the Beast-man, who was still unconscious after Rimuru extracted the Charybdis Core. He seemed to improve, but remained unconscious for the time being. Just then a human in armor appeared. No, not a human. A dwarf, according to the Librarian. It must be one of Dwargon's officers.

"Mr. Rimuru." – greeted the dwarf.

"Dorf, thanks for the help. We were able to beat Charybdis thanks to you." Rimuru replied.

"No, we did not defeat Charybdis." – Dorf said, looking at Milim. "Can you explain to us what that was?"

"Er, well... She's Demon King Milim and, well..." - Rimuru said, smiling a little awkwardly.

"Demon king?" - Dorf wondered, examining Milim from head to toe. "Ha, ha, ha, I see you like jokes." - Dorf said, to Milim's dismay. "If you had such a powerful magic weapon, you should have said so from the beginning."

"It's not a joke! I'm a Demon King! I defeated Charybdis!" - Milli yelled.

Normal that Dorf does not believe her, she looks like a girl and acts like one too.

"I see. You want to keep its origin a secret. I get it. You better hide your ace up your sleeve." - Dorf agreed.

"I'm telling you that I'm a Demon King!" – Milim shouted again, but we all ignored her.

"Charybdis would have been catastrophic for all of humanity and its defeat is a fortune. I will report it to my king, so I will withdraw for now."

"Hey!" – Milim shouted again, and again everyone ignored her. I was beginning to think that this was the normal treatment as far as she was concerned.

"You helped us a lot. Say hello to King Gazel." - Rimuru said goodbye.

After a few more goodbyes, Dorf made his way to his mount, a Pegasus, and set off with his men. Just then the beast-man finally woke up.

"Are you awake yet?" - Rimuru asked, after returning to his slime form.

"Where am I? What was I…?" – said the beast-man, looking disoriented.

"Do you remember what you did?" - Rimuru asked him.

"I'm so sorry! I did something unthinkable to Mrs. Milim and caused her a lot of trouble." – sayed the beast-man, and kneeled before Rimuru.

"Why did you…" – Rimuru began, but was interrupted by the arrival of Treyni and another Dryad.

"How did you know where Charybdis was sealed? We will not accept that you found it by chance." – Treyni said to the beast-man.

"Yes, well…" – the beast-man Fobio began, and told us the story of how a couple of harlequins had tricked him into becoming the core of Charybdis.

"Masked harlequins named Tear and Footman?" - Treyni asked, after hearing Fobio's story.

"That matches what happened in my village." – I added.

We talked a little more about the Moderate Harlequin Alliance, and about its three members, Tear, Footman and Laplace. Fobio deeply apologized to Rimuru and Milim, who forgave him. And then another character entered the scene.

"It's fine, right Carrion?" – Milim said, while looking towards the nearby trees.

"Mr. Carrion!" - Phobia exclaimed.

From the thickness of the forest a beast-man emerged. He was very tall and muscular. He wore fairly normal clothing, but it exposed his upper chest, displaying a tattoo of a paw on his right pectoral. His hair was blond and short, and his eyes were sharp as he looked at all of us.

"Did you notice, Milim?" – Carrion said.

"Of course!" - Milim replied.

This was the Demon King Carrion. I had already heard of him while I was in Ingrasia. He was the King of the Beast Kingdom Eurazania, where the beast-men, also called Lycanthropes, lived. He was one of the most famous Demon Kings. In fact, I had only been able to obtain information on three of the current ten Demon Kings. Carrion, the Demon King Frey who ruled the Harpy Kingdom of Fulbrosia, and few rumors about Guy Crimson, the Demon King who ruled the northern ice continent.

"Thank you for sparing his life." – Carrion said, once he approached. "You're the masked monster that defeated Gelmud, right?" - he asked, looking at Rimuru.

"Yes, it's me." – Rimuru replied, and transformed into his human form. "Do you want to avenge him?" - asked Demon King Carrion.

"Ha, ha, ha. No." – He told Rimuru, and turned to Fobio. "Stand up!"

"Yes!" – Fobio answered and stood up. Although he didn't last long like that, because then Carrion grabbed him by the head and slammed him to the ground. Poor Fobio lost consciousness again after that.

"I'm sorry. My subordinate lost control. I was negligent supervising him. I hope you forgive him." - Carrion told Rimuru.

"Eh, yes." - Rimuru replied.

"I owe you one for this. If something happens, you can count on me." - Carrion continued.

"In that case, I would appreciate a non-aggression pact with my country." - Rimuru suggested.

"That is all? Very well. As Demon King… no. As Beastmaster of the Animal Kingdom Eurazania, I Carrion, swear by my name never to raise my sword against you." - Carrion proclaimed.

"Thank you" – answered Rimuru.

"Good." – Carrion said and picked up Fobio from the ground and slung him over his shoulder, before teleporting away.

Rimuru thanked me and the Kijin for coming to help him, and invited us to spend the night in his city, but I had to decline his offer. In the ruins of my village, my other companions were still waiting. We said our goodbyes and I promised that when we settled down again, I would invite Rimuru to visit us. Afterward, use "Spatial Manipulation" to return to our village.