TTIGRAAS: Predator

by Mu1622

Rimuru missed his opportunity to save the lives of those who would've become some of his first and closest friends in his new slimy life, leading to him never founding his country. Many twists and turns occur as he stumbles along, mostly alone, trying to uphold the promise he made with his sworn brother, as well as carry on the will of the woman he lost early in his journey.

45. Chapter 45

I, Clayman, sat at the table with all my fellow Demon Lords; excluding one: Milim.

We were all waiting for her as she was one of the most senior among us, despite appearances. I found the whole thing frustrating.

Supposedly we were all equal in status, yet I still had to defer to someone that, for all intents and purposes short of actual age, was a child. Milim was a dunce as well, making having to show her respect even more distasteful. But, I had to play by the rules laid out by the other Demon Lords in order to keep my reputation positive, so I just grit my teeth and bore it.

For this Walpurgis, I was given no reason for meeting, as well as very little notice. But, despite the circumstances, part of me felt relieved.

Something had just happened to my benefactor, Yuuki Kagurazaka.

I wasn't heartbroken over his death, I had no emotional investment in him. He had already done his part and revived my creator, and that was most of what mattered to me.

What I was more concerned about was being targeted due to my affiliations with the man.

That 'Guardian' character dwelling in Jura was a wildcard, one that Yuuki planned to take control of and utilize for his future schemes. He was just waiting on the foolish creature to show up and fall right into his hands, but something apparently went awry. What, exactly, I did not know. I was informed when it showed itself again in Englesia, and of Yuuki's death after assumedly engaging the monster in battle; nothing more.

It was unsettling.

Here, though, I was cut off from the outside world. That barbaric beast could not reach me in this space.

My job here was simple, I was to attend as normal; I could not reveal that something was amiss. My colleagues would take care of picking up the pieces left behind by Yuuki in the meantime.

But, the unstated purpose for this meeting still remained a mystery, and I didn't dare ask. Despite, again, our ostensibly 'equal' status, I was still on a low rung when it came to the Ten Great Demon Lords. And not only that, I felt that my reputation had been tarnished by my most recent plan failing and disappointing some of my fellow Demon Lords. That 'Guardian' was responsible for that as well. The monster was really becoming a problem, but if it could kill off Yuuki, then I stood no chance against it.

But that was a matter to worry about later.

I was alert. Most of the others seemed less so. Dino was sleeping as always, which I never appreciated. I often questioned why he was even one of us with his lazy attitude. Valentine was unsocial and unapproachable as ever, and the same went for Leon.

I despised that man for killing Lord Kazalim. He was a problem for a different day, though.

As for the rest, Dagruel was leaning back in his chair, making me wonder how he wasn't snapping its legs in the process. Frey and Carrion were quietly talking, and Carrion was, as usual, filling the conversation with his excessive jabber.

"Do you think this is about–?" He whispered to Frey, though the man was so estranged from the concept of subtlety that I could've heard it even without [[Magic Sense]].

"Stop that," the woman cut him off. "You are being so impatient."

"But it has me wondering, Frey. Why else would we be called to a Walpurgis so suddenly?"

It seemed they knew something, so I started to listen more closely.

"And Milim being so late just makes it more likely, doesn't it?" Carrion continued.

"Guy was the one who called Walpurgis," Frey rebutted, looking like she'd rather not be discussing this.

"And Milim probably urged him to do it!" Carrion insisted.

"No," was all the woman responded with, giving the man an icy stare with her arms crossed.

Before I could go over to ask them their opinion on the reasons behind this Walpurgis, I was interrupted by a voice coming from Ramiris.

Buzzing around Guy's head like an annoying pest, she screeched, "C'mon, Guy! You need to go check on her!"

She started pulling on his long, crimson hair, but Guy still didn't react outwardly to her antics.

From the start of this meeting, he'd had this unnerving air of expectation around him, as if his patience was being tested and he was on his last shred of it. Maybe it had something to do with Ramiris' behavior; another senior Demon Lord that always behaved bafflingly immaturely.

But, I could at least agree with her sentiment of impatience. It had already been multiple hours since I arrived, yet nothing had happened and Guy hadn't said a single word to anyone.

It was just then that a door appeared on the wall, and Milim walked in, followed by one of Guy's servants. He must have sent her to retrieve Milim without my noticing.

Ramiris darted up to Milim, who was carrying something round and smooth in her arms and asked, "Is Rimuru okay?"

No way…

I recognized that name; Rimuru. It was that 'Guardian', that pain in my side that almost certainly killed Yuuki Kagurazaka. A dangerous monster that I wanted nothing to do with, and it was sitting right there, peacefully cradled in Milim's grasp.

It seemed… surprisingly harmless. The faint aura it was giving off was definitely stronger than one of a typical slime, but nothing I couldn't handle. How could it have killed Yuuki?

Milim poked the slime, and it didn't react.

Why isn't it moving? Is it perhaps unconscious? Or maybe paralyzed with fear from being in our presence? I wasn't sure what option would be preferable. Either could end badly if it lashed out.

"Of course he's okay!" Milim insisted, shooing Ramiris off with one hand.

"Bring the slime here, Milim," Guy said, speaking for the first time since I had arrived. When I glanced in his direction, I saw his eyes had lit up dangerously.

I looked around the table. Dagruel seemed mildly intrigued. Dino was still sleeping, and Valentine was watching the slime, but didn't seem too alarmed.

Carrion was smiling from ear to ear and nudging Frey with his elbow, who was promptly ignoring the man.

But Guy… Guy was grinning at the slime. Guy almost never grinned. Not like that.

It took an effort to stop myself from shuddering.

Milim skipped over to her seat and plopped the slime onto the table, smiling proudly.

"Now that all ten of us are here, as well as the subject of this meeting," Guy gestured to the creature on the table, "it's about time we get started."

What… happened?

Something had, I knew that. I remembered heading to Englesia, taking on Yuuki, and…

Losing. But then winning, somehow?

[[After partially completing the Harvest Festival, breaking free from the influence of the Orb of Domination was possible. I then incapacitated the threat at hand before you struck the final blow, Master.]]

Wise One. Their voice was a bit smoother than before, more emotive too.

But the essence of it was that I would've been screwed without my partner. They took down Yuuki after I lost consciousness and fell out of the sky.

[[That would be an accurate assessment of what transpired.]]

Well, thanks a bunch, Wise One!

[[…]]

What's wrong? I could feel the displeasure coming from her.

[[Raphael.]]

Huh?

[[I evolved into the Ultimate Skill: Raphael, Lord of Wisdom.]]

Er… well, then thanks, Raphael! You're the best partner I could ask for! Mind catching me up on everything that happened? I'm still pretty confused right now.

I could almost feel my body churning, the magicules still trying to organize themselves inside me after the ordeal I just went through. It wasn't the first time I'd felt this way, but this was definitely the most intense time I'd ever experienced that sensation.

[[Other skills and abilities have been gained and optimized after your evolution and consumption of Yuuki Kagurazaka, but we will go over that together later, Master.]]

Why not now?

[[You have more pressing issues to focus on, as in your current location and its occupants.]]

Finally, I turned my attention to the outside world.

Something immediately felt wrong. I couldn't see very far, and trying to focus on anything beyond the room I was in didn't work.

Where are we?

[[We are in an isolated space, it appears to be a creation of Guy Crimson, who is seated three meters to the east. The demon appears to find our analysis annoying.]]

WHAHTEHT?! GUY CRIMSON!? THE DEMON LORD?! WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO SCAN HIM!?

[[All possible variables and risks must be assessed.]]

My brain was sent into overdrive as I observed the room around me. I was on a large wooden table, feeling almost frozen in time as [Thought Acceleration] was fully engaged.

I was surrounded by ten people, very powerful people…

I was in trouble.

TIME TO ESCAPE! I tried to teleport away with [Spatial Motion]… no, it's called [Spatial Domination] now, I realized as I received feedback from the skill. That didn't matter, though.

Yet, even with the improved skill, I still couldn't find the coordinates to this place! I was somewhere completely isolated from anywhere else! It just didn't work!

Okay, plan B!

I rocketed off of the table I was resting on from a standstill, by using my body as a spring.

Before I could get as far as I wanted though, I was roughly grabbed by my 'Bestie', Milim.

"MILIM!" I shouted, squirming violently, "let go!"

For the first time in a while, I used all my effort to escape Milim's grasp. She held me down regardless and took me back to the table.

"Rimuru!" She shouted while glaring at me softly.

I still tried my best to escape her grip, flailing and thrashing as best I could. Shapeshifting, [Spatial Domination], the only thing I didn't dare try was attack her, but she was also using some kind of barrier to hold me in place. "WHY AM I HERE?!"

Milim chortled cruelly. "I brought you here, silly." She then tilted her head, feigning innocence. "You need to meet the others."

I wanted to just scream at her, but I barely held myself back enough not to. "Why would you bring me here to meet other Demon Lords!? Especially while I was ASLEEP!"

"You took too long to wake up," Milim complained with an exaggerated pout. "I didn't want to be late!"

That still didn't explain why she wanted me to meet the Demon Lords in the first place, other than her desire to have me become one of them. Is that why she dragged me here? So much for a good first impression, having me show up as a sleeping blob placed on a table!

Embarrassing situation aside, I still needed to escape, somehow. Alarm bells screaming danger were ringing out in my instincts, the oppressive auras filling the room pressing on me, creating a sensation akin to claustrophobic panic.

Door. I needed to find a door. These people had to get here somehow, and if I couldn't teleport my way out of here, then I doubted Milim could teleport in. She had complained about spatial skills being "too mathy" to me before, so she had to have come here some other way.

But, looking around, there was no door.

It had to be hidden. Masked behind some magic I couldn't detect. I needed to find it!

I tried again to get out from under Milim's hands, this time by taking human form, but she still had a magisteel-grip on me, the barrier seeming impossible to break in any reasonable amount of time.

"Rimuru, behave!" Milim scolded, but I wasn't listening. I was too focused on escaping. That was all that mattered to me.

I felt so frazzled, out of it, like I couldn't think straight. This had been the case since I'd woken up here. I just wanted to get away, be alone, and–

"Just calm down and I'll let'cha roam around the room, 'kay?" Milim finally said in frustration, starting to get to the end of her patience with me.

She'll let me go? The words bounced around my head. Let. Go. Freedom. It was what this boiling-over, frenzied, panicked instinct in me wanted, and I froze. When I had stopped struggling for a few seconds, Milim finally released me.

As soon as I was free of her grasp I launched myself away and made a run for the wall. Then I started flinging different skills at it to see if I could break through, or at least break the illusion that was surely hiding the door from my senses.

[Black Flame]. [Black Lightning]. Water blades. Shapeshifting into forms with tails, horns or bludgeons. I made massive aura bullets twice my size and shot them point-blank, causing huge explosions of magic. I tried all my manipulation skills, certain that one of them would have to affect whatever material this thing was made out of.

[[The presence of a door cannot be confirmed.]]

Shut up! There has to be a way out, door or not!

I started moving along the wall, still attacking every other step while using every sensory skill I had to find something, anything, that might indicate an escape route. Sometimes leaning against the wall and pushing to see if any amount of force would change something.

"Aaargh!" I snarled in frustration, smashing an attack that probably had enough force to level a mountain into the wall. It didn't help except for satisfying my rage a little.

"Is that guy okay? Y'know, like, in the head?" A sleeping-looking guy asked while staring at me through half-lidded eyes. I ignored the insult and continued, but I decided to listen in while doing it for the sake of my own safety.

"He's fine!" Ramiris assured him, waving her hands, "He's only a little crazy, and kind of a jerk, and–"

"Rimuru is fine!" Milim butted in, "he's just–"

"Very recently Awakened," Guy Crimson bluntly finished for her, causing the room to fall into a stony silence. "And all of us know how wild gaining mass amounts of power can make a monster."

"How?" Carrion asked cautiously. "How'd he Awaken? He wasn't like this last time I saw him not too long ago."

"The cheeky slime took advantage of one of my routine 'lessons' for the humans and went on a rampage," Guy shrugged. "That triggered his evolution, I assume."

Take advantage of what, exactly?! I paused midway through charging up an aura strike; that really grabbed my attention since I was being accused of doing something 'cheeky', apparently.

"Can you please stop talking about me like I'm not here!?" I finally snapped, whipping around with my wild aura spilling across the room.

"Deciding to join our talk, finally?" The redheaded Guy asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Rimuru, just sit down! Everything will be fine!" Milim said, pointing to an empty chair. "I just wanna introduce you to everyone."

I just shook my head and backed away. I did not want to sit at a table full of dangerous Demon Lords! I needed somewhere quiet, and alone, and safe and–

"Milim," Guy said. "Deal with your slime already. We've waited long enough."

"Sure! I've been looking forward to a good fight with him!"

No… no-nono… nononoNO!

Milim rocketed at me like a ballistic missile, a blinding pink flash filling my senses before she slammed into me with an insane amount of force. I fought back with all my might, but it didn't help. I still ended up pinned to the floor on my back with Milim straddling me, holding my arms down and smiling at me playfully.

I gave up after that, I knew when I was beat. Milim sensed it as I relaxed from straining against her grip, a sour lump of resentment for this place, these people, condensing in my chest. She pulled me to my feet, patted my head, and I reluctantly trailed after her as she led me to the table by a hand.

"This is Rimuru, he is my bestie!" Milim started pointing at the different people here, "Rimuru, this is Guy Crimson, you already know Ramiris, that's Dagruel, Dino, and Valentine. Oh, and you met Frey and Carrion too. That's Clayman, and that's Leon."

Leon.

I automatically tried to stand up, ready to launch myself at him, but Milim reacted quickly and held me down by my shoulders.

That was the man that hurt Shizu. Sitting right there in front of me.

With Milim having a solid grip on me, I had to suppress the strong urge to lunge at him right then and there. Instead, I settled for glaring maliciously as I fumed.

"He's a feisty little one, isn't he?" the giant man mused. "You said he came from Veldora's magicules, correct? Well, I can see it."

"Isn't he funny? That's why Rimuru is my bestie!" Milim cheered.

"'Funny'?" Valentine whispered in disbelief.

"Only a year old too, according to Milim," Guy commented.

"One year, two months, and eleven days," I corrected.

Milim tilted her head at me and said, "I didn't think it mattered much to you, Rimuru."

"It doesn't matter to me, it matters to them." I gestured around the table with a hand.

I'm not a baby. I would insist on that until the end of time.

[[Relative to humans, your physical age would still suggest infancy. Many of the oldest living slimes are far beyond your age as well.]]

That's not helping, Raphael…

[[I am simply stating the truth of the matter, Master.]]

"A couple of months means nothing to us," Guy smiled. "But what does matter is your answer to my next question."

Despite the urge to flinch I stood my ground, keeping eye contact with the red-haired man. It was easier said than done.

"What is it you want, slime?"

What do I want? It could mean a variety of things, but I decided to give the simplest, most relevant answer I could.

"To leave."

Guy shook his head, "No, not that. What do you want?" He pressed.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"You could. But right now, I am the one asking the questions."

I realized I'd probably not be able to get out of answering in some way, so after a bit of thought accelerated time, I gave him the best, yet least informative answer I could think of.

"To live my life on my own terms. To do what I want, when I want, how I want. Is that a good enough answer?"

"And does that 'what I want' include destroying humanity?"

"Pft–... what?! No!" I scoffed, "and why would you care, anyway?!" He's a Demon Lord, isn't the stereotype around them to kill or enslave humanity? I knew Milim wasn't like that, nor Ramiris, Frey, and Carrion, but I expected at least one of these ten to better fit the trope, and to be fair, Guy seemed to fit the bill as far as I could tell.

The man didn't bother answering and instead looked at the rest of the people here and said, "It's about time we take a vote."

"On what?" I asked skeptically.

"Your admittance to the Ten Great Demon Lords."

"Don't I get a say in thi–?"

Guy cut me off with a firm, "No."

"Should we really be forcing him?" The huge man Milim called Dagruel suddenly chimed in. And he was massive, at least three meters tall. He had to be a giant, right? I'd never seen one in this world, but this man definitely fit the bill. "Everyone else here joined willingly."

I silently wondered why this stranger was on my side, but I was definitely grateful for it since Milim and the other Demon Lords I was already acquainted with didn't seem bothered by the idea of me being peer-pressured into becoming a Demon Lord.

"The humans will start calling him a Demon Lord after what he just did. Making it official, or killing him; those–"

"You can't kill him!" Milim was luckily willing to defend me from Guy's threatening aura… and tone. "I won't let you!"

It gave me the confidence to speak for myself. "I won't let you force me to do anything either! I've had enough of being forced, ENOUGH!" I felt my aura pour out at full force as I shouted at the end; it just happened naturally. But even though it wasn't on purpose, it sure had an effect on my audience.

"See the full force of his power now?" Guy asked everyone present.

Milim started stroking my hair and said, "Rimuru, becoming a Demon Lord means nobody can force you to do anything!"

…She was right, I realized as I calmed down a bit. This might not be such a bad idea. If I became a Demon Lord in title, then no other Demon Lords would try to subjugate me (and at least two had already). Milim did mention it would attract challengers sometimes, but now that I'd evolved, would that be so bad?

I'm a monster. One that killed an entire city of humans, even if I was under Yuuki's control at the time. There was no coming back from that. Becoming a Demon Lord was only the next step… but I was still hesitant.

"What can you offer me for all this? If I accept this officially… I doubt anyone would ever talk to me again." I wasn't sure how far word had spread of my actions, or who knew I was responsible for what happened to Englesia… But this would definitely go a lot further in the future.

If I was about to throw away any chance of having normal friends, of living like I did in my previous life, it better be worth something.

Guy summoned a glass of… clearly not wine, it had to be booze or something, and swirled it around it softly. "I can offer you… Support. Let's put it in those terms. I had a reason for asking you what you wanted. I have the right to refuse anything too outlandish. It's a one time offer."

After that he chuckled softly. "Plus, if the humans start callin' you a Demon Lord without our approval, I'd have to kill you anyway. Regardless of what our princess here has to say."

Milim wasn't happy with that, but held herself back enough to just give him an angry snarl and glare.

I was backed into a corner with no choice but to accept… and I hated every moment of it.

"Okay. I'll join your group."

"Not so fast, little slime. We all need to take a vote first." Guy addressed the others, "Make your vote and make it quick. Hand up if you agree to Rimuru Tempest joining our ranks."

Surprisingly, everyone present raised their hands.

"Then it's settled. You are officially a Demon Lord now, Rimuru. Now, for a title…"

Guy paused for a moment to think.

"Devouring Storm, Demon Lord Rimuru," He grinned at me. "Your territory will be the Jura forest, which you already so arrogantly claimed for yourself."

"I didn't–"

"Don't act humble, I can see right through it. We all can."

"Fine." Not like I was convincing them. "Can I leave now? This is your place, so I assume you have to let me out."

"You assume correctly."

"So can I leave?" I asked again, starting to really lose my patience.

Now that I knew where they were, I needed to start seriously searching for my students, or at least figuring more out about the Eastern Empire, where Yuuki said he sent them.

"I wanna talk to you again, after the meeting. I did offer you something, after all."

I didn't like the sound of that at all.

"There will be food, Rimuru! The best food from all over the world! Except for one or two places, they are hard to get food from."

"...Food, huh? What kind of food?" A small part of me knew I was being redirected and hated it, but… I'd get food out of it. Really tasty food, it sounded like.

"Everyone brought something. It's kinda like a picnic," The sleepy guy interjected.

"You never bring anything though, Dino!" Ramiris buzzed over to him and pinched his ear. "Plus! The food isn't the good part, the good part is the booze!"

Booze? I actually got excited for a second, before remembering that I couldn't enjoy the accompanying buzz from it anymore. Man, could I go for that right now. Sometimes it really sucked to be a slime.

"It's a shame that doesn't work for me…" I sadly muttered a complaint.

Milim cocked her head to one side and asked, "What d'you mean?"

"I have poison nullification… and it just purges the alcohol right outta me the moment it hits my system. It sucks!"

"Just turn it off, silly!"

"Turn what off?"

"The nullification!"

"You can do that!?" I gaped.

"Maybe it isn't okay in the head." The sleepy guy was being an annoying prick again.

I had to remember his name to respond. "Is uh… Dunko?... Always such an ass?!"

"Sure am, Rimumu."

"It's Rimuru, dude."

"And it's Dino, not Dunko, slime."

I grumbled for a few moments.

"Seriously, though, how? I'd love to know."

"I'll teach you, Rimuru!" Ramiris flew up to my face with her hands on her hips, striking one of her usual confident poses.

I eyed her, skeptical. "I'll trust you, this once." I didn't hold a ton of confidence in Ramiris, but this didn't seem like a power-based thing. It wasn't out of the question that she had a trick or two up her sleeve.

She comically pressed her hands to her temples and puffed her cheeks out while shutting her eyes. "You just make it not work, by thinking it doesn't. Really, really hard."

There's no way it works like that…

But, I decided to give it a shot anyway, since I didn't have any other ideas on how to do it. After a few seconds of concentration…

Did it work?

[[No comment.]]

Aw, c'mon, Raphael, help me out here!

[[I refuse to partake in this activity.]]

I guess there's only one way to find out!

Man, I have a killer heeeaaadaaaache…

[[Pain Nullification was disabled alongside Poison Nullification.]]

But I never wanted that! Turn it back on!

[[No.]]

No!?

[[Actions come inherently with consequences. This is what humans refer to as, 'learning a lesson the hard way'.]]

I slumped in my seat, laying my head on the table and feeling sorry for myself.

"Shit… I miss my kids…" I grumbled softly.

"You have children as well?" Dagruel asked. "Who is your lucky mistress?"

I guess I must've said that out loud. I hadn't meant to.

What he'd said made me feel even worse, though.

"Lucky mistress? Never had one'a those… Still don't… now I never will… no lady would want a stupid slime like me!"

"I could show you my feminine form, if you really think no lady would be interested," Guy interjected with something weird.

What's this old man going on about? It took me a thought-accelerated moment to process what he was saying with my head feeling as foggy as it was.

"No, thanks… I've already given up on it…"

"At least you've got me, your bestie Milim! Wahahaha!"

"Uh… not the same thing…"

"What are you talking about then?" Milim tilted her head. "I'm a lady and I like being with you!"

"I'm not talking about… like that, okay? You're waaaay too young for me."

"I'm over two thousand years old! Only Guy and Ramiris are older!"

"Yeah! If anybody here's too young, it's you Rimuru!" Ramiris butted in.

"I'm a full-grown adult!" I banged my fist on the table… maybe a bit harder than I intended.

"I've seen far larger and older slimes in my lands," The giant shook his head. "I'd honestly contend you are far from full grown. Though, I don't know the limits of your kind."

"If you're full-grown right now, that'd be kinda sad, wouldn't it? I mean, you're not even a full lady yet." Dino loosely gestured toward my chest.

That was enough to bring me furiously to my feet.

"I'm a man, asshat!" I jabbed a pissed-off finger in his direction. "And don't you forget it!"

"But you don't choose to look like one. I honestly think you're in denial about somethin'." He sleepily grinned with a chuckle before falling back over, knocked out.

That idiot doesn't know what he's talking about! I wasn't in denial. At all. I knew biologically I wasn't male anymore, slimes just don't have physical sexes, but that didn't stop me from seeing myself as a man.

And my appearance was a memorial for Shizu. I wouldn't change it for anything at this point.

"Say, Rimuru… Why do you look like that? You got some kind of mimic ability or something? Your true form was different." Carrion finally rubbed two brain cells together, and asked something he must've wondered for a while.

"It's a skill. I was born with it. Let's me take different shapes n' stuff."

"Demons, like myself, have a similar innate skill that allows us to change and manipulate our forms at will," Guy weighed in.

"Huh. So you just, like, choose to look like that, then?"

Guy's expression turned a bit more dangerous as he replied, "Watch yourself, little upstart. I think you've had a bit too much."

"I know my limits."

"Do you? So soon?"

This conversation was starting to not make any sense. So I instead focused on something else that had been bothering me.

"What's up with her, anyway?" I pointed a thumb in the direction of the pretty maid that was accompanying Valentine. The man stiffened slightly and glared at me.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked in a clearly forced calm voice.

"Well, she's a lot stronger than ya. What's up with that? Why's she your maid or whatever?"

"You are mistaken."

"No I'm not! I may be a bit tipsy, but I can still tell. She's stronger than you. Stronger than that stuck-up dude that made those scones. Stronger than Carrion and Frey too! She's enough to be a Demon Lord herself, ain't she? How's she your servant?"

"Oh no, Valentine! He's onto you~!" Dagruel giggled. How did a man that big giggle!?

"Rimuru's a smart cookie!" Milim shouted in a stupor, clearly ready to fall over.

A deep sigh reverberated throughout the room. "Even in his absence, the spawn of the storm lizard taunts me?"

"I wasn't trying to–"

Something bright flashed and hit me directly in the middle of my face. On reflex, I reached up and grabbed it, yanking it out.

It looked like a spear made of pure light. As I held and examined it, my face and hand started to sting. Quickly, I absorbed it to stop myself from getting hurt.

That was when it clicked that it was an attack from the angry lady in the maid's outfit.

"That was rude of ya."

"Tch," she sneered at me. "Your insistence on sating your curiosity and inability to keep your nose out of matters that do not concern you ruined a 400 year long plan to hide myself from humanity! I think that is much more rude than my retaliation!"

"So… who're you, exactly?"

"Behold, I am Luminas Valentine! The progenitor of the vampire race!" She waved her hand and the maid outfit gave way to a frilly black dress, with a headband adorned with a bow and black rose.

"Does that make you the real Demon Lord Valentine?"

"You are infuriatingly dense."

"If I was dense, I wouldn't have figured out your secret."

"Clearly, that was a fluke." She gestured for the man that was posing as Demon Lord Valentine to follow her. "I've grown tired of you. Roy, we are leaving."

'Roy', acting much less full of himself now, followed obediently. A door appeared out of literally nowhere for them to leave, then disappeared once they were through.

Well, that explains why I couldn't find it before.

Maybe at this point, Guy would make one for me too. Too bad I didn't think to just run through while it was there.

"I think I should get–" I stood up and started to walk, stumbling a little. That's when my feet caught on something I hadn't noticed, and I fell to the floor.

It was Milim.

She was sleeping, or more like passed out, on the floor. Maybe she had too much to drink? I didn't even notice that she had fallen out of her seat.

"Not so fast, we still need to talk. Alone."

Milim wouldn't be any help, now. Ramiris was out for the count too, splayed out on the table, snoring nearby.

It was at that moment where I sobered up completely. I think it was Raphael's doing.

I stood up, straightening out my clothing and facing Guy, who was looming over me with his arms crossed, oozing smugness.

I looked again at my unconscious 'Bestie', really wishing for her help right now, but knowing I wouldn't get it.

That made leaving even more difficult, considering I think I counted as part of Milim's 'party.' I sighed deeply.

It seemed like talking to this crazy demon was my only option. "Do we really need to talk alone?" I gestured toward the room around us. "Not like we aren't surrounded by equals here…"

Carrion raised his hand to get my attention and apologetically rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, Rimuru. Guy's the boss around here, if he wants to talk to you alone… Well, it's just the way of things."

Frey ruffled. "The muscle-head is right, unfortunately. You are on your own. Good luck~! My daughters are still available if you come back."

'If' I come back?!

Now I was terrified. What was Guy about to do to me?!

I dreadfully trodded into another room, feeling it become isolated from the space around me.

Guy was right on my heel the whole way, placing a hand on my shoulder once past the threshold. "So. How about we start over, hm? Take a seat, and tell me a little about yourself." He gestured to the small opposing couches in the room.

I sat on the surprisingly comfortable couch, but I didn't let myself enjoy it. The atmosphere was too tense for lounging.

Guy sat across from me, leaned forward, and steepled his hands as he watched me closely.

"I'm… just a slime. A sorta strong one that Milim found and liked. We became friends, she trained me for a bit, and eventually I ended up here."

"A slime that came from Veldora's magicules, and was named by him. Conveniently, right before he mysteriously vanished."

"Coincidences happen. What could someone like me even do to a big dragon like him? Not much."

"True. There are very few that can even scratch a True Dragon. Even so, he is gone. Truly gone, not in the way that True Dragons should be able to be. I suspect he is hiding someplace separated from the world, much like this space here."

Guy was getting too close to the truth for comfort.

"Anyone capable of that would have to be on the same level as us, don't you agree?" I blustered, trying to throw him off. "You seriously think I had skills like that back then? Capable of hiding a True Dragon? I'll agree that maybe I could do that now, but Veldora vanished when I was still in the Sealed Cave. I was a normal slime with only a couple of skills at the time."

"It's very amusing, watching you squirm."

What a sicko…

"Well, either way. I still couldn't have done it and you know that. Wouldn't the other True Dragons come looking for him or something?"

"The sisters are preoccupied, which is actually what I'd like to talk to you about."

"Okay…"

"It's a bit of a game, you'll get that later. For now though, I got a job for you. That's why I gotta know what your intentions are, 'cause if they don't align with what I neeeed… You won't be leavin' this room." He grinned devilishly.

I held his gaze for a long moment, then sighed. "I'll tell you, as long as you don't interfere with what I need to do."

"I will only interfere if your plans go against mine."

"Fine." I didn't like the possibility of exposing the kids to someone like him, but I was sure he'd know if I lied. "I had some human kids stolen from me that I care about. I'm going to go look for them. I've been told that they were sent to the Empire, so I'm gonna go searching there."

"That's not happening." Guy immediately said, hitting me with a flat look.

"What d'you mean 'that's not happening', why not!? How the hell is that getting in your way!?" I shouted, already riled up.

"You'd die, or worse. You're too valuable to let that happen to. I've put a big investment into you and your growth, so I can't let that happen."

"Explain."

"I kept a lot of the humans' forces occupied during your little spat in human lands so they wouldn't get in the way. Milim made that happen, as a favor in exchange for you behaving yourself for the next century or so."

"Oh god, that girl sold my soul to a demon…" I fell back against the couch, half wondering if this was a bad dream.

"Not your soul, just your cooperation. And to touch on the other thing, I'll just tell you that my 'best friend' lives there, and if you enter his territory, you won't come back." Guy shrugged, "He's almost as strong as I am, so you wouldn't stand a chance."

"Despite what happened in Englesia, I'm a pretty careful guy. I don't plan on barreling in there all loud and dramatically."

"That really won't matter."

"Well… I can't just give up. I need to get my kids back." I pushed, my chest feeling tight. I can't let all this end here.

Even if it wasn't my intent, I already wound up sacrificing a whole city for those kids. I was in too deep to quit now.

Guy frowned softly. "How do you even know they are there?"

"I was told by the man that sent them there."

"And you trust this person?"

"He told me as I was about to kill him. He had no reason to lie, he'd lost. Completely."

"Alright then. In that case, you're naive." Guy shrugged, "but if they are there, you need a better plan than just snooping 'round."

"I'm getting there. I haven't exactly had the time to plan yet, considering I've been dealing with a council of Demon Lords since the moment I woke up after fighting that jerk!" I said a bit sharply, feeling offended.

"Not my problem, I'm just sayin' you actually need one."

"Okay…" I said slowly.

"Or, if you just wait a bit, I might be able to figure out a way to help you out."

"And what's the price tag on this supposed 'help'?"

"Your continued cooperation."

"You a yakuza or somethin', man? You sure do talk like one." I'd only dealt with a few of them in my past life, usually buying apartments they'd "gotten their use out of," always had to get that stuff under the table.

"Is that an insult?" He seemed genuinely confused for a moment.

"Not exactly. Actually, I bet someone like you would take it as a compliment."

I got the impression he wasn't totally convinced, but Guy moved on anyway.

"So what makes those human kids so special to you?"

"I promised someone I would take care of them."

"Interesting. And since this promise is so important to you, what d'you say?"

"I don't really think I have a choice in all this. At least not if I want to save the kids… I don't really have any place among humans anymore."

"That's right, you don't. Honestly, I don't get why you thought you had a place with them originally."

Ack! I quickly engaged [Thought Acceleration], not wanting to make it obvious he caught me flat-footed.

Aside from the obvious value I probably had as an otherworlder, (the kids were summoned for a reason after all), Veldora said it was super, super rare for someone to be reincarnated.

And as for keeping memories, that was even more rare.

All my memories.

From another world.

In the body of a monster…

I was pretty sure I was the only example of that.

Yeah, Guy totally had Yakuza vibes, and I wasn't interested in what he might do when he found out what he had on his hands.

And aside from that… I just killed an entire city. I could never face my friends, or any other human, again.

It would be best to just leave my old life behind.

"I made some human friends," I said evenly. "They seemed to like me well enough, I'm sure I could find a place somewhere."

Guy grinned broadly. "You're hiding something."

"No I'm not!" I protested, trying not to look flustered.

"And you're a terrible liar. You used [Thought Acceleration], didn't you?"

"Ack!"

There was definitely no hiding it now.

Guy folded his arms and waited expectantly, a predatory grin on his face.

"...promise not to like, pickle me in a jar and put me on display or something?" I asked nervously.

"Whatever that means, I promise I won't do it."

I looked at him for a long moment, wondering if I couldn't escape after all.

"...I used to be human. I'm reincarnated. In a slime's body."

Guy continued staring while I fidgeted, that same smile on his face. Then slowly, the corners of that smile turned down, his mouth opened, and his forehead crinkled in shock.

"...you're telling the truth." He said softly.

"Uh-huh." I met his gaze, kicking my feet against the couch.

"That's not possible," he said bluntly.

"I'm right here, aren't I?" I shrugged.

"How long ago did you die then?" He asked, leaning forward in interest. "Do you remember the name of your country, for example?"

"Uhh… it's Japan. Why?" I tilted my head.

"...haven't heard of that one." Guy frowned thoughtfully, "but there's probably been millions of little places throughout history. What are some big events you heard of?"

"...oh." I said softly, finally getting where he was going with this.

"What?" He asked.

"I'm, ah… let's reiterate that promise, pretty please?" I gave him my most charming smile.

"...I promise not to 'pickle' you and display you in a jar," Guy said, looking a little annoyed.

Good enough, I guessed.

"Japan isn't part of this world. We don't have magic, or skills, or monsters. Just humans. I died over a year ago and woke up in the body of a mystical creature. Almost everything I've seen in this world isn't supposed to exist."

"...you're lying." Guy stood up and I shrank back as his aura pressed down on me. He put a hand to my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. "Are you able to lie to me? Is it a skill? But that shouldn't be possible either…"

"N-n-n-no!" I shrieked. "Not lying! I promise! Some of those kids were from the same nation! And the guy I killed yesterday! If you look hard enough I'm sure you'll find someone who can prove it's a real place! Or um, I can show you my memories!"

Guy squinted hard for a moment, then released me and sat back down. I gasped in relief, placing a hand on my chest despite no longer having a heart to beat there.

"Fine," he said. "You may be stupid, and naive, but I can tell that even you aren't stupid enough to try something on me."

I remained silent. I already said I could show him my memories, but I really, really didn't want to do that. Aside from being insanely uncomfortable, this was the type of guy to get bad ideas from the stuff I knew.

"You can leave, slime," Guy said, leaning on his knees with a hand on his chin. "Don't go to the Empire, or I'll kill you. You'll hear from me eventually."

"Uhhh-uh-uh-uh…" Unable to think of a suitable way to exit or something to say, I opted to just dart out of the room through the door that Guy just had made reappear.

"Ey! Look who's back alive!" I shrieked as Carrion suddenly appeared next to me and wrapped a huge arm around my shoulders, lifting his mug of wine jovially in the air. "Looks like you're one'a us now, squirt!"

"Get off me!" I snapped, grabbing his arm and throwing him over my shoulder onto the floor. Carrion's mug went flying and smashed against the wall, splashing wine on the floor.

"Woohoohoo!" He laughed drunkenly from the floor, "wow, you've gotten bold! What happened to the cute little slime that shook at the sight'a me?"

"How about we all take a seat?"

Suddenly, Guy Fricking Crimson was standing behind us. I swore he'd been sitting in the other room just a second ago–my [[Universal Perception]] hadn't left him once this entire meeting! I didn't even see him move!

I released Carrion and dove headfirst into my chair, too unnerved to even think about trying to maintain some dignity. But once I was seated, and I saw his smirk, I realized I'd given him just what he wanted.

Feeling a little frustrated, I did my best to look like that was intentional the whole time, striking a purposefully casual pose and looking disinterested while I waited for the others.

It's not like dignity was everything for a Demon Lord anyway. Milim definitely got on just fine without it.

The heck though? I thought the meeting was over? I was still waiting for Guy to release me, or for Milim to wake up. I was going to wake her myself before Guy suddenly came out with this nonsense again.

Since Valentine had left, and Milim and Ramiris were both still knocked out cold, the remaining Demon Lords included myself, Frey, Carrion, that Clay-guy, Guy, Dunko, and the giant dude who'd stood up for me.

"We have an additional member." Guy accepted a glass of wine from a blue-haired demon maid and started swirling it. At this point I was pretty sure he just did it to look menacing. "So we're going to need a new name."

To my surprise, a collective groan rose up among the remaining demon lords.

"Again?" Dino whined. "Why can't we just stick with the old one?"

"Because we're not Ten Great Demon Lords anymore," Guy shot back.

"This will take a while," the giant muttered. "Last time we took so many years to decide that the humans picked a name before we did."

"Years?" I gaped in shock.

"Yeah," Dino nodded. "We had to hold like, so many Walpurgises over it!"

These idiots hold meetings for mundane stuff like that!?

"Well, why not just 'The Demon Lord Council'?" I asked, hoping to get this over with.

Carrion shook his head. "Won't work; I tried that last time. Milim said it was 'lame'."

"Well that's just fantastic," I grumbled sarcastically, putting my head in my arms on the table. Dino probably had the right idea, sleeping through all this nonsense.

"Since you're the reason we're having this problem," Guy smirked in my direction, and I instantly regretted opening my mouth. "How about you pick a name?"

"Sure." I mumbled, face-down on the table. "The Great Demon Lord Council."

"No," Guy said flatly. "That doesn't work."

"Then The Eleven Great Demon Lords?"

"No."

"But you guys have been using basically the same thing for, what, how many centuries?" I protested, lifting my head and banging my fists on the table.

"Denied. Think of something else."

"Ugh." I flopped back down. After a moment of hard thinking, I said, "...I dunno. The Eleven, maybe?"

"That hardly counts," this time it was Frey objecting, of all people. "It needs to be something that marks us as Demon Lords."

"Well, I don't hear you offering any ideas!" I snapped again.

"Perhaps we should revisit this topic," the giant suggested with a look at Milim, sprawled on the floor next to him in a state of perfect bliss. "We're missing input from several members, and I'm sure this young majin needs some rest after such a drastic evolution."

Man, I was really starting to like this giant guy. Maybe he'd let me hide with him if this Demon Lord thing didn't work out.

Guy looked at his wine for a moment, took a sip, and sighed. "Fair enough. We'll meet again a month from now. Be thinking of ideas until then, slime."

"...so now I can go?" I asked hopefully.

Guy just nodded, and an open door appeared on the wall of the room behind me. Without a second thought I shot from my seat and dove through it, happy to escape before that guy changed his mind.

The portal dropped me off smack in the middle of Jura, and I flopped on my back on the ground, breathing heavily as I looked at the midday sky between the trees.

That giant was right. I was still exhausted, despite everything. Now that I didn't have to put on a performance, I dropped my human form completely and resumed my more comfortable natural shape.

[[It will take several days for the magicules in your body to sufficiently stabilize. Many monsters sleep excessively during this period. I suggest you do the same, Master.]]

Well, no need to tell me twice.

Activating [[Spatial Domination]], I appeared right above the bed in the ogre village house I'd hidden in the Sealed Cave. I burrowed under the blankets in the cool, blissful darkness, smelling the familiar dampness of the cave, and promptly passed out.