It was later that night, that everyone gathered at Rimuru's household.
"To think there was another survivor from the Ogre Village." Rime said.
"Oh yeah, first time we came was right in the middle of that, wasn't it?" Captain Cold asked.
"Yep. It was right after we defeated Anise the Witch, too." David said.
"Wow, that takes me back. Cheetah being chosen by Faerie to find the Elementals and wield the Sword of Mana too." Al said.
"Wait, all of that really happened?" Valfor asked.
"Yes. To this day, I still don't know how it came to be." Cheetah said.
"No surprise. Especially since back then, we were still getting used to having you as an ally." David said.
"So much time passed since then, and here we are now." Ace said.
"He's right, Cheetah. There is a new side to you now. Far different than from what you had as an enemy." Sectonia said.
"That is very reassuring, Sectonia." Cheetah said before looking to Hiiro. "But back to the subject at hand, it appears we have discovered quite a new development."
"Yeah, we didn't know Hiiro was your lifelong friend from your home village, Benimaru. That's pretty awesome." Hope said.
"His face looked so similar to Mr. Benimaru's I almost thought they were blood brothers." Baril said.
"You're not wrong in believing that, Baril. Hiiro was like an older brother to us." Benimaru said.
"More like the group's ringleader." Hiiro piped in.
"Well, it's pretty obvious they respect the hell outta you." Connor said.
"'Respect', eh?" Hiiro asked. "It's deeper than that."
"Yes. It's like he's our real brother. See that broken horn? He got that from protecting me." Benimaru said.
"A badge of honor or something." Rimuru said.
"Yes. He would rescue Shuna and get into fights constantly with Benimaru." Shion said.
"Yes and what's worse is that he won all those fights." Benimaru said. "Perhaps the strongest in the village. Which would explain going to work for mercenaries."
"I had good comrades but not good employers." Hiiro said.
"Which country did you end up working for, anyway?" Benimaru asked.
"Distave…" Hiiro said.
"Wait…isn't that…" Naofumi asked.
"Clayman's turf." Theo said.
"I thought I could make good money…but then I heard the Ogre village was under attack so I deserted it. Of course, he did not take kindly to that. He sent his middle finger and only I was the one to make it out alive." Hiiro said.
"The middle finger… that would be Yamza. And you said you managed to get away from him?" Meitenkun asked.
"I wouldn't say get away. I was gravely injured from the battle. However I was saved by Queen Towa of Raja and given new purpose." Hiiro said.
"So she named you." Shuna said. "Naming a monster isn't something anyone can do on a whim. It's a risk on one's own life in of itself."
"Yes…Raja is a very small kingdom that makes their living mining gold. But some time ago, their miners depleted one of their largest veins. And it's not the prosperous nation it once was. Yet now, the queen is giving up her own life force to protect the kingdom and its people even if it costs her her life." Hiiro said.
"The way shes committing to her own kingdom… she wouldn't happen to be using a cursed item, would she?" Lysithea asked before being smacked. "Ow…"
"Be a little more sensitive." Connor said.
"Oh. I'm sorry, Hiiro." Lysithea apologized.
"It is true she is using such a thing but she still holds on. But the cursed poison still courses through her." Hiiro said. "That's why me and my soldiers came here…to try and cultivate this forest."
"I see. So you came here to ask permission to cultivate the forest to find a cure." Ty said.
"Indeed. Raja has heard the rumors about how the Storm Dragon Veldora was revived and protects the forest yet again. And in addition, how Rimuru successfully negotiated with him and prevented all casualties in this kingdom, save for Falmuth. I had hoped to come here to negotiate a peaceful resolution with Lord Rimuru, but I raised my blade to Geld… no, on the citizens of Tempest without thinking. I apologize." he said as he and the soldiers bowed.
"It's all cool. But…there's one thing you should know." Rimuru said letting off his aura. "I'm a straight up demon lord now."
"Agh! Rimuru, you cranked it up too much!" Connor said as some of the members not used to it were taken off their feet.
"Whoops, sorry!" Rimuru said, dispelling his aura.
"As for Veldora." Al said before pointing to said person. "Hey…is it okay for them to cultivate this place?"
"Huh…I don't have any problem with it. So long as they aren't too noisy." Veldora said, just reading his manga.
"Wait… is that really the Storm Dragon?" Hiiro asked, put off by his human form.
"Yeah, not what you were expecting, is he? We don't blame you, he wasn't what we were expecting either." David said.
"But all is well now since you have permission." Spade said before seeing a pink twinkle in the sky. "Milim is here." he said as it flew towards them, revealing it to be said demon lord.
"What gives? You all were having a party and didn't invite me?" Milim whined. "Bad enough you didn't invite me to kill that cockroach but you didn't invite me to whatever this is?" she said.
"This isn't a party. Honestly." Theo said.
"You can't fool me! Where there's booze, there's a party, and you didn't invite me, me, me, you meanies! I won't let this slide just because we're friends!" Milim said.
"Wait, this is a party?! No one saved me any booze!" Veldora said.
"Is it… always like this?" Alear asked.
"Not as often as you think." Mayumi said.
Rimiru, noticing that Alear finally spoke up, pushed Millim down and looked at her. "Wait a second, who's that?"
"Oh right, you haven't been introduced yet. Everything happened so fast, we forgot." Hope said.
"It's okay. I can introduce myself just as fine. My name is Alear, and I'm the Divine Dragon. It's an honor to meet you." Alear said.
"I'm the leader of the Jura Tempest Federation. Rimuru Tempest." Rimuru said to her.
"Did she say Divine Dragon? Is she similar to Veldora?" Hiiro asked.
"No. She can't turn into a full dragon, it seems." David said.
"I see. But in regards to the situation at hand, I would like to make a request of the Leader of the Jura Tempest Federation and the Guildmatser of Mythos Hearts." Hiiro said. "If nothing is done, the Kingdom of Raja will fall. I want to help Queen Towa, who saved my life, and the citizens she treasures so deeply. I beg you, for the good of Raja, lend me your aid!"
"Well…guess we should. He is like family to Benimaru after all." Theo said.
"And it's not like I wasn't gonna turn him down. Hiiro, would it be okay if we swung by Raja to wish Queen Towa a quick recovery?" Rimuru asked.
"Yes, of course." Hiiro said.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to accompany you to Raja." Alear said. "I'd also like to wish Queen Towa well, but there's also something I'd like to ask her."
"Alear…probably not good to ask about that." Dan whispered. "Would not be good if they think we're only in it for the bracelet."
"Right." Alear said.
"Then I guess it's settled." David said.
"Yeah…we leave first thing in the morning." Theo said.
The very next morning, everyone was ready to get going to Raja. Rimuru, Shuna, Shion and Benimaru were set, Ranga coming along as well.
"All right. We're all set. Set the course!" Jexi called out as they made their way out of Tempest.
"The breeze feels great." Simon said as he rode on top of Malphas.
"Hey, so, now that we've got a chance to say it, congrats on finally beating Zenos." Hope said to Theo. "Byleth told us how it was a pretty rough battle, but you pulled through in the end."
"It wasn't easy. Especially for Ethox." Cheetah said.
"Yes, Ethox had to go through quite the emotional and moral turmoil throughout the whole thing." Nesma said.
"What's he up to these days, anyway?" Bow asked.
"Right now, he, the Fatebreakers, and Seiya are actually checking up on Diablo." Theo answered. "You know, to make sure he doesn't go overboard and blow up Falmuth or something."
"Makes sense. Diablo is a demon primordial after all." Cheetah said.
"Demon what?" Alear asked.
"Right…you don't know. See…all demons…have origins. Their origins are from the primordials. The seven demon primordials. Each one is named after a corresponding color: red, blue, green, yellow, purple, white and black." Cobalt said. "Diablo is Noir, the black one. Guy Crimson is the red. Rain, his maid, is the blue. Mizery, the other maid, is the green."
"What about the other 3? Have you met them yet?" Alear asked.
"They're likely still in the underworld. Not likely to be summoned yet." Cobalt said.
"Diablo is Rimuru's second secretary. But uh… he doesn't really know about Diablo's true Identity. It's a secret." Hope said. "He'd probably freak out if he knew. But it's okay if he doesn't. He trusts Diablo as it is."
"So even demons can be trusted among Tempest's monster civilization… the worlds outside Elyos are amazing." Alear said.
"Yep. You'd be surprised what the multiverse has in store for you." David said. "So many cultures and civilizations yet to be discovered… Maybe even some like this, where creatures of many different races can live in harmony."
"You seem pretty emotional saying that." Alear said.
"David's big dream is to make a world where everyone, no matter the race, can live together in peace." Hope explained. "Truth is, both he and Jexi have big dreams for the Color-Verse that they wanna accomplish."
"Yeah…" Theo said. "We all have dreams." he said. "Like the tale of the dancer girl."
"You mean Primrose?" Flamberge asked.
"Huh? No not that one. I mean the other one." Theo said. "The story you're talking about is told from Osterra…the one I'm thinking of…is from Solistia."
"Solistia?" Ace asked.
"That's the first time any of us have heard of it." Glacius said.
"Oh yeah. A few months ago…one of the neighboring towns to the Town of Tales…unearthed 8 new stories with different characters under their titles." Theo said.
"8 new characters with different stories, huh? What's the new Dancer's story about?" Connor asked.
"It's about a girl from a small village going to achieve her dream of being a big time dancer on a big stage." Theo said.
"But it's not exactly a story that's been told multiple times like the last 8 Tales. Truth is, these stories haven't exactly been told yet." Ty said.
"Well yeah. We think the two sets were written at different points in time. And like we said, they were only found recently." Cobalt said.
"Huh…mind sharing what you know about these stories later?" Mark asked. "Can't help but think there'll be a quiz about it later…so to speak."
"It is definitely worth looking into, but first we need to help Hiiro." Ace said.
"It's not far now." Hiiro spoke up. "I can already see our borders."
Coming through the clouds, the group could see the Kingdom of Raja. it was centered smack dab in a huge valley, lush greenery and water everywhere. On top of a large hill was the castle where Queen Towa was likely living.
Connor whistled. "Talk about your fantastic locales."
"It's…beautiful." Alear said in awe.
"Getting kinda hungry." Luffy said.
"No worries. That nice lady gave us some cookies to enjoy." Alear said holding a box. "The one called Shion."
"Wait, Shion gave you those?! Alear, wait, don't open that-!" Adora tried to warn.
But it was too late. Alear foolishly opened the box and released the beast created by Shion upon the world.
"Damn it Shion!" Simon said.
"MY EYES!" Hilda cried.
"What kind of person would make such an… evil creation?" Alear shivered at the food's dreadful aura.
"SHION, YOU'RE THE WORLD'S WORST COOK!" everyone called out as they headed into Raja.
"I think we are all in agreement. Not…a word of this…to anyone." Leopardmon said.
"Right." Ruby said.
"Uh guys?" Al asked as they saw Mai and Ed eating some of it.
"How are they even able to eat that? It's not even close to edible!" Esmeralda said.
"Well, I don't know about Mai, but considering Ed has eaten his mattress more than once…" Double D answered.
"Okay, let's just…leave it at that." David said.
"Yeah, right now, we've got a kingdom to visit." Hope said.