Chapter 17: Demon Lord Banquet, Walpurgis

Passing through the portal itself was nothing special; one second, he was in his office in Tempest, the next he found himself in a large circular room that had no other entrance or exit but the portal he stepped through along with Shion. At the center of the room was a large round table with several throne-like chairs, and sitting right on the other side from where he entered was a man. At least he was pretty sure it was a man, as he had androgynous features that were not quite male and not quite female, with long, blood red hair and piercing red eyes. And his aura was out of this world.

'That man...' he though as he took a good look at his aura 'Something isn't right. He's trying to disguise himself as someone who can't control his aura, but it's just a ruse. Anyone who can't properly realize that would fail immediately...' he thought in realization 'There's no way to tell just how powerful he really is...'

-'Hey Guy!' Ramiris suddenly buzzed by 'Long time no see!' she said as she flew over to the man, who ignored her and continued to stare at Rimuru.

'So that's Guy Crimson...' he though as he stared back. After a while, the Demon Lord closed his eyes and seemed to lose interest in the staring contest. Instead, he spoke up

-'Why don't you take a seat. If you keep blocking the door, you might get trampled on...' he said with a light smile

He was about to ask what he meant when he heard loud footsteps behind him; turning around, he saw a massive man, nearly three meters tall, stepping through the portal. He was so big, he had to duck his head to fit through. 'Hey, little guy...' he said in a surprisingly gentle voice 'would you mind moving aside?' he asked politely

-'Ah, sorry...' Rimuru said as he moved out of the way. As he looked at the newcomer move over to sit in one of the chairs, he realized he must be the King of Giants, Dagruel. His aura, too, was immense, and he made no attempt to hide it.

Deciding to stop blocking the portal, he moved to sit in the chair directly opposite from Guy. As he was sitting, he felt more people entering and turned to look. There were three of them; a man in a large black cape, an old man that looked like a butler and a maid. Their protruding fangs gave told him they must be vampires, the caped one leading them being the one named Valentine.

'His aura is nothing to scoff at, but...' he though as he ran his eyes over them, settling on the maid 'her aura is...it's hard to tell, but is it actually larger than his?'

Affirmative Raphael quickly answered Within the estimated range, the maid's magicules are higher than the current Demon Lord she said. Rimuru though over the reasons why, even considering she may be that old Demon Lord who 'retired' (and who, apparently, Veldora had once fought with, ending in destroying her city)...however, he dismissed it. There was no way someone powerful enough to leave an impression on Veldora would just submit themselves as a maid to someone else. There had to be a much simpler explanation. In any case, a sound brought his attention to the portal again.

A young looking man with simple robes and a cape walked in, yawning. 'What's with this dude?' he wondered. He had two swords at the hip and light blue hair with a single purple streak in it...and more importantly, his aura seemed quite large. The man walked by, utterly uninterested, and went to sit in a chair near Ramiris

-'Yo, Ramiris...' he said with a wave when he saw her 'Are you smaller than the last time I saw you?' he asked with a lazy smile

-'Are you trying to pick a fight with me, Dino?!' Ramiris yelled angry.

-'What'd be the point? I'd flatten you...' he dismissed her, which only got her angrier

-'Why you!' and started threatening him, but he sure as hell was not taking it serious. But then he took a look at Ramiris' attendants, Beretta and Treyni, and began freaking out

-'What the hell?! How do YOU have two servants tagging along?' he screamed as he pointed at the two, while Ramiris took on a very smug look 'You're making me look like a total dweeb for showing up alone!'

-'Ha ha ha ha!' Ramiris laughed 'That's right, fool! Tremble before their tremendous power!' Rimuru wanted to tell her badly that even together the two were no match with Dino, at least from the cursory aura he was picking up, but decided to stay out of it. Let her dig her own grave for all he cared.

-'Wha...and I though you were a fellow loner...anyways, can I smash em apart?' he casually asked

-'NO!' Ramiris screamed 'I'll tell you on Guy if you do that!' Rimuru looked at the demon in question, who was making to attempt to hide his eyes rolling. Rimuru decided to tune the two out. They were certainly too much trouble. After a few more back and forth, Dino sat down next to Valentine and...promptly curled up his head in his arms on the table, seemingly asleep. However, he wasn't, as Rimurur quickly discovered when he tried to pry a little to hard and Dino sent him a glare. Rimuru quickly pretended to look somewhere else.

More people walked through the portal, drawing his attention. In walked three people; two harpies and a large man with a lion mask. 'This must be the harpy queen, Frey...whoa!' Rimuru though as he took a good look at her. She was without a doubt one of the most gorgeous women he had ever seen, especially in the..'NO! Bad Rimuru! BAD RIMURU!' he quickly kicked himself mentally 'You are committed, remember? Remember?! Arggg, this is bad...so, so bad!' the kicks turned into an outright mental fistfight as he tried very hard not to ignore the harpy's many, many curves...

-'Lord Rimuru?' he heard Shion whisper to him

'Ah, this is super bad!' he though as he turned to her 'If she's can tell what I'm thinking and tells a certain someone, I'm doooooooomed...' he began contemplating his sad fate if it got out...however

-'Doesn't that male attendant bother you, somehow?' thankfully, Shion didn't seem to notice his previous thoughts (or look) directed at Frey. Thanking his lucky stars he was spared, he put away his previous thoughts and looked at the lion-masked man...

'Ah, he certainly dose. He seems pretty strong, but compared to the others gathered here its pretty meh...' he though 'However...his aura strikes me as familiar...' he though about the people that he may have met, and realized only a few met the man's likeness. The one that fit the best, however, he dismissed as unlikely even as Raphael said it.

sigh he though he could hear her blow a sigh, but he ignored that too. In any case, the portal opened again. Through it walked a single man, a tall, young looking man with platinum blond hair. His face immediately stired up an image within him, though he quickly realized it was not from his own memories, but from Shizu's. 'This man...' he though with anger 'Must be Leon Cromwell...' as the Demon Lord passed through the door and stopped, he and Rimuru locked eyes. Leon too seemed to contemplate something before speaking

-'So, are you Rimuru?' he asked in an even tone

-'Yes.' Rimuru answered as he stood up to look at him. 'Did you need something?' he asked back. Leon seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before he spoke again

-'No. Your face just...brought up some memories...' he said.

Rimuru looked at him with some contempt 'Were those memories involve Shizu, by any chance?' he asked. Leon didn't answer and just looked with mild surprise. 'So you do remember her...' Rimuru said as he walked closer 'I don't have to punch you until you do.' he said as he looked up at him 'She's dead, you know...'

-'I know.' Leon said as he moved away 'She died as she wanted; as a human.' he continued as he sat down in a chair next to the one Rimuru had sat 'If she had accepted Ifrit and became a majin, she would have lived. But she didn't.' Rimuru continued to look at him and said nothing, taking in his words 'Well, I didn't get to see her final moments so what do I know...'

-'Is that all you have to say?' Rimuru asked eventually

-'Yes.' Leon answered 'That's all. Well, I am just a bit interested in you, so...if you still have something against me, I can invite you over to my castle. We can talk or fight then, if you so wish...' he offered. Rimuru though it over and decided that settling Shizu's score with Leon could wait for another time.

-'Fine.' Rimuru said with a sigh and moved to sit down 'I'll take you up on your offer some other time.'

-'Well, that is...' Leon said as the portal behind them began opening again'...If you leave here alive.'

Two people walked in; one was a tall, lean man dressed in an all-white, expensive looking suit, caring what looked like a fox in his arms. The other was Milim, wearing her usual skimpy outfit and a large black cape. Rimuru had to hastily get out of his seat when he saw her, barely containing himself from just rushing over to her to see how she was 'Milim...' He called her name out loud without realizing. He didn't realize he was also smiling like an idiot, though thankfully for him neither Leon or Frey, who were the only ones at the table who could see it, said anything.

'Hm, he sure seems happy to see her...' Leon though as he watched him 'Maybe Guy was right...'

'Heh...'Frey mentally chucked as she took note of his reaction, then looked over to Milim 'I bet she's not much better...is that some red I see on her ears? Dear me...' she had to suppress the urge to smile.

'Oh thank god!' Rimuru though with relief as he watched her walk into the room 'She looks alright, at least. But that blank stare...is that guy next to her putting on airs Clayman, then?'

When they got a bit closer, though, suddenly Clayman looked down at Milim in contempt and, with no warnings slapped her over the head. 'Move quicker, you dullard!' he shouted. Any trace of a smile instantly evaporated from Rimuru's face. A deep tension set over the room as every single person turned to look at Milim; some, like Valentine, had a terrified look, as if expecting the dragonoid to fly into a rage and kill everything in sight. Others, like Ramiris and Shion, had to cover their mouth in shock, concern written all over their face. Most, like Guy, Dagruel and Dino kept a blank expression, though they too expected her to flip off and kill the dumb smallfry on the spot, in a very messy fashion. Nothing happened though, as she just continued to move past Rimuru.

'...' Rimuru could see nothing but red. A burning anger that he never knew he was capable of suddenly made its way to the surface and he could feel the lid he put on his aura break. His aura flared up, startling everyone in the room with it's intensity; everyone except Clayman, who seemed incapable of- or unwilling- to comprehend. 'That scumbag...' He could feel his body tremble 'That fucking scumbag piece of shit!' He didn't care about hiding his aura or true intentions free anymore. The only thing on his mind right then was Clayman's death, and nothing else whatsoever.

His body began to move automatically, taking a step forward...but then he suddenly went stiff 'What the hell?! Raphael!' he screamed as he wondered what happened 'What happened?!'

Notice: emergency overwrite; please calm down, Master. she said, a hint of worry in her normally robotic voice

'Did you did this? Why?!' he screamed at her to explain

Report: My only desire is Master's safety; you have tasked me with looking out for your best interests. If you do not calm down at this time, chances are you will do something against those best interests. she explained. He gritted his teeth 'Calm down...' he repeated 'How could I calm down after seeing this filth hit Milim like that?! How...'

Report: Milim should be fine, Master. Individual Clayman's aura is nowhere near enough to cause harm to her. she said, though he though he could feel some anger coming from her as well, directed at Clayman You have decided to go through with this meeting. If you do something rash now, I cannot predict the outcome.

She said that, but he could hardly accept it; his anger did not subside much, just barley enough that he understood what she was saying. Even so...it didn't mean he liked it at all. But, thanks to Raphael using though acceleration on him, what was a second in real time was a few minutes for him; enough to allow the burning rage to subside and turn into a cold, calculated anger. Still trembling, he finally felt Raphael release whatever she did; he regained enough control that he didn't slaughter Clayman on the spot like he wanted.

'Alright, Raphael.' he said, fist clenched 'I'll calm down. But do not ever do that again.' he said as stared at Clayman with contempt. The man seemed to have finally taken notice of him, having stopped next to one of the chairs next to his, looking down at him as if he was but an insect

No worries Master Raphael said to him, a hint of something in her voice he could't quite place He will get what he deserves... she declared.

The people around the room of course took note of the unrestrained anger Rimuru had shown at Clayman's act. Guy stared at him, face only partially visible as he looked up at Clayman 'Oh ho ho...interesting, indeed.' he thought with a small grin 'What beautiful rage...no wonder Milim is so enamored with him. hmm...' he had to suppress a laugh 'Oh, this is indeed going to be a fun Banquet!' his grin widened.

'Scratch everything I said before...' Leon thought, face still emotionless as he stared at Rimuru 'Guy was definitely right. Only explanation for that reaction...' he turned away 'Well, nothing that concerns me...unless he comes with Milim in tow when I invite him to my castle...' a flash of panic was barley visible in his eyes 'Then I'd be fucked...'

'Oh, Clayman, you poor, oblivious scumbag.' Frey though, just barley able to suppress her glee- and horror- at how powerful this Rimuru actually was compared with Clayman 'Doing that here, of all places, right in front of him...what a sad and pathetic attempt to assert yourself. You are already dead. You are not leaving here alive...' she looked at Rimuru as he trembled with barley restrained rage 'He will make you suffer. I no longer have any interest in you whatsoever.' she dismissed and put any concern she had away. All the waiting and gritting with Clayman's demands were done. She looked over to Milim as she approached the other chair next to Guy 'Milim, I kinda envy you, you know...you found someone very special...'

After a few seconds, Rimuru finally broke eye contact with Clayman and turned to look at Milim. She had made her way next to Guy and sat down in the chair, almost robotically. He could't make out what she was thinking as her expression remained blank and she angled her head so that her eyes were covered by her bangs. He noticed Guy and Ramiris looking over at her too; Ramiris was definitely concerned, but Guy was hard to read. In any case, his only concern was Milim

'What are you thinking?' he wanted to ask her aloud 'Are you really controlled? At least look at me...please.' he mentally pleaded, but nothing came of it. Fists clenched, he eventually sat down on his chair, a bit to forcefully, and waited for this charade to start. Finally, Clayman, who was still looking at him dismissively, began the meeting.

'Your death will not be a pleasant one, Clayman.' Rimuru thought.

Now, let us go back in time a bit for Milim's perspective...

As she walked in besides Clayman into the room, of course the very first thing she noticed was Rimuru, standing there in a black outfit with a warm smile on his face, directed at her. She thanked her lucky stars that she had thought to eat that stupid pepper to help keep her face blank, because otherwise her thoughts would be way to obvious

'Oh god, oh god...' she mentally panicked 'Don't go smiling like that at me after so long, goddangit! How am I supposed to keep up this act like this?!' even despite her best efforts, she could feel her ears heat up and her chest felt like it could explode any second from the pressure. Despite avoiding eye contact, she could tell quite well some things were different about Rimuru than before 'Is he...taller than me now?!' she realized 'Are you kidding me?! That's not fair at all!' she complained, but wasn't too upset. In fact '...though, he dose look kinda...kinda...h..hot...AHHH! I said it!' thankfully, her blank expression didn't falter. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room changed, and everyone looked at her in...concern? 'Eh? What's that about?' she had, in fact, literary barley even register Clayman hitting her. It was like an insect sitting on a dragon; not even so much as an itch, and just as quickly dismissed. She heard the dumbass besides her telling her to move faster, though she ignored him and continued to walk at her own pace. Suddenly, she felt Rimuru's aura flaring up, a look of unrestrained anger written all over his face, all of it directed at an oblivious Clayman.

'Wha...' she was surprised to see just how much he had grown, easily putting him on par with Dino or Valentine (the real one, not that pretend Demon Lord). 'Coool...' she thought as she admired his aura. It had quite the unique property to it, beautiful in a way she had never seen before; despite the anger seeping into it, it had a vibrant and warm feeling. As he continued to direct his rage at Clayman (and looking like he had barley stopped himself from killing him on the spot), she had a realization 'Wait...is he..angry about Clayman trying to hit me? He's that angry...for me?!' she could feel her ears heat up even more, and was fairly certain her face started to betray her too 'Oh no, this is...way to much...I can't...deal with this!' she panicked 'Calm down, calm down! Just, think bad thoughts, yeah! That'll make it better...erm, worse...' A memory of a dead dragon flashed by, allowing her to regain control over her expressions before she blew her act up. She didn't like remembering, but it was better than blowing it here after putting in all the effort she already did.

'Okay, just sit down and wait. It's almost over.' she thought as she got to her seat and sat down. She could still feel several people stare at her, including Guy and Ramiris. She really hoped they didn't realized she was faking it...well, she was fairly certain Ramiris was too oblivious right now in her child form, but Guy... 'Ah, fuck, he definitely knows...' she realized as she felt his gaze on her 'Son of a bitch...at least it doesn't look like he'll screw me over.'

She could also feel Rimuru look over at her with concern 'Don't...' she wanted to say 'Don't look at me like that...' she pleaded. Eventually, Rimuru looked away, and she had to unclench her fists, which she didn't even realized she was doing until then. Hopping no one noticed- or at least Clayman didn't- she listened to the scumbag start his dumb meeting. It was finally time to end this.

-'I would like to express my sincere gratitude for all pf you for coming here today!' Clayman said in a grandiose way; no one seemed to care, though 'Shall we begin? This Demon Lord Banquet...'

At the same time, the battle against Clayman's forces was beginning. Or rather, it was hardly a battle...

-'Everything is in place...' Benimaru said from his vantage point. He turned to look at his adjutants in this war, Albis of the Beastketeers, Geld and Gabiru, the ones who had the most experience in outright warfare. They all nodded, and on his signal went off to see to their part, except for Albis. He looked over the barren landscape; in the distance were numerous lights from Clayman's soldiers, marching to their doom. This was not, in fact, Eurazania, but Orcis, the former orc lands, still devastated by the harsh drought that brought about their famine. It was Geld's idea to lure the enemy here after evacuating the people of Eurazania; they had some beastment warriors dress up as civilians and pretend to run north, into Orcis, as 'refugees' fleeing the incoming army. They even had a majin pretend to be a merchant; he 'encountered' the marching army and informed their commander, who was bewildered at the absence of anyone in the villages he came upon, about the beatsmen fleeing from them north. The commander was so thankful, he even spared the majin (who had volunteered and was ready to die if need be). And so, Commander Yamza, the Middle Finger of Clayman, marched north into Orcis to slaughter the fleeing beastment. Of course, the beastmen allowed them just enough of a glimpse to keep them following, right into the canyon they set up an ambush. So, Benimaru though, this would not be a battle...it would be a one sided victory. They had already made their first move...

Somewhere else, the base camp of Yamza's command staff, there was confusion.

-'What the hell is going on?!' he shouted as he looked over a map of the area 'The beastmen just vanished...there should be thousands of them here...no way that many women and children would make it further in such a short time...' he reasoned to himself. In fact, the entire canyon seemed empty of life except for his own men searching behind every rock. So far, there had been nothing, not so much as a beastmen corpse. 'What's going on? Nothing...In don't understand...Lord Clayman will be pissed...' he shuddered. No one who disappointed the Puppet Master had an enviable fate. Becoming another slave was considered a lucky fate.

-'Sir Yamza!' a man interrupted his thoughts as he entered the tent; he was carying a wounded soldiers with him 'It seems this soldier was ambushed after he found some beastmen...' he reported. Yamza looked over at the wounded soldier

-'Hey, who attacked you? Was it the beastmen?' however, it was futile. The wounded man slipped his grip on the other one, and fell to the ground, dead. Yamza looked at the corpse. It had a knife still stuck in his back; he pulled it out and looked it over 'Dammit...were they beastmen warriors who escaped to Tempest? No, no way they could get back here in time...' he thought

A sudden commotion was heard from outside. He quickly ran out of the tent to see several orcs- heavily armored orcs- fighting a contingent of troops near the entrance to one of the many side canyons that led from the valley he was in. 'High orcs? What...' he wandered, confused. Suddenly, the battle died down as the orcs retreated despite doing quite well. He realized it was probably a trap, and so did the majin in charge of the troops, who shouted at them to be wary...however, it was futile.

'Geld...do it.' Benimaru gave the orc the order through telepathy.

'Understood.' The orc said. He stomped onto the ground, using his Earth Manipulation skill. Suddenly, the ground right bellow the contingent of enemy troops gave in, forming a large sinkhole that they had no way of avoiding. Most of them became tangled with each other, unable to move. A few managed to grab onto the edge as they fell, but the orcs quickly cut them down with no mercy.

A few other majin soldiers had the ability to fly and, sensing imminent danger, managed to get airborn just in time. However, they were immediately beset by a fast moving squadron of dragonnewts led by Gabiru and were killed within seconds. 'How unfortunate...' Gabiru said as he looked at them falling into the sinkhole 'Had you just fallen, you may have spared yourself more suffering.' and flew off to find more prey.

-'Looks like we're almost wrapped up...' Benimaru said as he looked over the scene, knowing that many other such were playing all across the canyon. Reports were coming in as his ambush squadrons were neutralizing the enemy at a frighteningly fast pace.

-'This has been an excellent display of leadership, Sir Benimaru...' Albis said 'I doubt someone like me could have done this well.'

-'Our victory was a matter of course, but let's not let our guard down. Now then...' he turned to her 'Did you want something?'

She smiled 'Yes. I wished for me and my companions...' she motioned to the other Beatsketeers 'to join the battle.' she said.

-'If Lord Carrion hears that we slacked off, he'll be mad...' Phobio said with a grimace

Benimaru looked over his companions and smiled; they had previously been mostly equal, but had talked him into taking full command of all their forces. 'So that's why...' he said aloud, smiling a bit 'Very well. I wasn't planing to hold you back anyway. Go wild as you please.' he told them, then turned to look at the unfolding battle.

The three went their separate ways to find their own battles. He continued to monitor the battle, and took especial note of Albis, who quickly went down to confront the enemy commander in person. He smirked at that; the poor bastard was in for an even rougher day.

Somewhere in the real, a Dragon Faithful was looking over the unfolding battle with Dragon's Eye, albeit a much downgraded form compared to their master.

-'Yikes...' Hermes said as he looked at the unfolding disaster 'It looks like they got completely routed...'

-'Hmph, weaklings.' Middray said, not even bothering to look 'Total weaklings! Yamza you bastard! You drag us into this mess and you are this weak! Pathetic!' he shouted with unchecked contempt

-'Well, even if he wasn't weak, it wouldn't have mattered. They got completely ambushed. The other side just had better strategy...as expected of Lady Milim's friend.' he said, but it only seemed to drive Middray even madder.

-'Dumbass!' he shouted 'Taking down underhanded tactics like this just takes more force!' Hermes didn't look impressed by the High Priest

-'No, not really...' he said with a deadpan expression 'Especially when the enemy themselves seems pretty strong...' he told him 'Though I wonder how Tempest got here so quickly...'

-'Hmm, I wonder too.' Middray said with sudden clarity 'Well, I should expect nothing less from Lady Milim's personal friend! Of course Sir Rimuru's forces would prevail! Ah, I wish I could test them myself...' he though, then grinned when he sensed someone approaching 'He he, It would seem I would get my wish...'

'Oh no...' Hermes thought as he saw a number of dragonnewts (and a beatswoman) coming to them at high speed 'Ah, Father, maybe we shouldn't pick a fight with Lord Rimuru's people...' he said, but it didn't seem to get to the older man. 'Guess we fight then...'

Yamza was panicking. Everything seemed to be going downhill faster and faster. He ignored all the idiots who were giving him reports; he didn't need them to tell him that everything was going to shit.

-'Sir, the Three Beatsketeers have been confirmed to be among the attackers...' one of them said.

That did it. He wasn't about to get himself killed over this... 'You guys buy some time..' he said 'I will head over back to Justav to bring Adalman.' the name quickly made everyone stop talking. The wight king was infamous even among the Fingers as a walking disaster, capable of raising entire armies of the dead. However...'I will bring him over as fast as I can...' he lied to them as he left the tent. In fact, Adalman could not leave Clayman's palace as he was bound there...and even if he could, Yamza had no intentions of going back there.

'Like hell...this battle is already lost, Adalman or not. Lord Clayman will execute me for failure, so I am getting the hell out of here.' he though as he walked away from the tent, planing to teleport away when he was far enough. However...when he tried to do so the spell failed to activate. 'What?!' he panicked 'It isn't working...is there some anti-magic field nearby?' he knew Mjulan was capable of something like that...did the enemy acquire the ability from her corpse? In a frenzy he ran back to the tent to round up the ones inside, but...they were all petrified. Literary turned to stone

'No way...just a second ago.' he though as he took a step back. Then he heard a voice

-'Where are you going?' the feminine voice said mockingly. He turned to see a snake woman standing some distance away over the corpses of the lookouts; her predatory eyes were looking at him like he was her next meal.

-'Shit...'

The Battle of Orcis did not last much longer; with the main part of the army incapacitated, it's leader soon to be dead, there was no hope left for Clayman's forces. At Walpurgis, the Demon Lord in question was yet still unaware of just how done he was.