Now then, the last of the labyrinth squad—Adalman and the others.
Adalman possessed tremendous magical power, but she was ill-suited for close-quarters combat.
That said, she was also a genius of sorts who had developed the technique known as Holy-Demon Reversal.
It was rather odd that she could think so cleverly without a brain to serve as a processing unit.
She was a unique ability holder who carried calculation circuits etched into her very soul.
Naturally, she possessed the Unique Skills "Perfect Memory" and "Soul Cognition," making her an existence close to that of a Spiritual Life Form.
While she could nullify all simple physical attacks, a Legendary-grade weapon could also launch attacks against the Mental Body.
Hinata's Holy Spirit Armament operated on the same principle, and with Legendary-grade gear, there was no attribute that couldn't be cut through, depending on the wielder's level.
Given that Alberto had been holding his own against such an enemy with nothing but conventional weaponry, it would have been unfair to blame him for the outcome.
Once the vanguard Alberto had fallen due to weapon destruction, the defeat was, frankly, inevitable.
"I am most grateful for the reward, but a loser such as myself hardly deserves—"
Adalman protested with genuine regret.
But there was no need to worry about that.
"What are you saying? Your performance was magnificent.
I'm telling you so myself—do you doubt it?"
To begin with, they had repelled Shinji and his forces when no one had expected them to. It was clear that this was a result far exceeding anything Rimuru had anticipated.
The recent battle against Krisna of the Imperial Guard had simply been an unfavorable matchup.
And so, he decided to override Adalman's refusal and proceed with the evolution ceremony— "My Lord Rimuru, even so, I cannot forgive myself.
That this incompetent being such as myself would dare to claim the title of Demon Lord alongside you…
If you would grant me another opportunity, I would gladly accept the honor of becoming a Demon Lord then!"
She was clearly not one to let this go easily.
The labyrinth was, after all, the last line of defense, and its protection was paramount.
Indeed, rather than defending the capital of Tempest in the homeland, Rimuru had moved every critical facility deep into the labyrinth's innermost reaches.
As for the capital itself, it had been repurposed as a venue for hosting dignitaries from various nations—an elegant space for leisure and hospitality.
But even taking that into account, the labyrinth already housed the Ten Great Ones.
With multiple Demon Lord-class beings like
If anything, what Rimuru had once considered their playground had quietly transformed into an impenetrable fortress.
It would be perfectly fine to let Adalman become a Demon Lord, but ignoring her wishes wouldn't be right either.
"I understand.
I recognize your worth.
When the next opportunity comes, prove to me that my assessment was correct!"
"Haha! Rest assured, I shall answer your expectations without fail!!"
"Good. I believe in you.
Now then, setting aside the Demon Lord evolution…
From today, I grant you the title of 'Nether Spirit King.' Live up to that name, and continue to serve with dedication!"
"Haha! As you command!!"
Phew.
Speaking with gravitas was exhausting work.
In any case, Adalman would now hold the highest rank of "King" among Rimuru's subordinates.
Her influence would likely grow from here—if she were given the opportunity to speak, that is.
Now then, Adalman wasn't the only one who had performed brilliantly.
As for Alberto, Rimuru decided to award him new equipment to replace his damaged gear.
Even fighting with conventional weapons, Alberto had demonstrated overwhelming swordsmanship driven by sheer technique.
The most fitting armament would naturally be the Legendary-grade equipment seized from the Imperial Army this time— And then, an idea struck him.
The one Mythical-grade item he had acquired—who would be the best to wield it?
There was a reason Rimuru hadn't given the Mythical-grade gear to Geld.
While combining it with Geld's skills could eventually produce defensive performance rivaling Mythical-grade even with Legendary-grade equipment—that much was certain.
But beyond that, Rimuru had judged that Geld likely couldn't fully harness a Mythical-grade item.
One could see this from Caligurio's example—his abilities were by no means low. On the contrary, he was a warrior of considerable skill who even possessed his own Unique Skill.
And yet, he had been unable to draw out the full potential of a Mythical-grade item, understanding it as nothing more than armor with high defensive capability.
Mythical-grade items chose the owner worthy of wielding them.
Analysis had revealed this hidden truth as well.
Over the passage of countless ages,
If that was the case, then only a wielder of sufficient caliber could hope to use it properly.
For mortals with finite lifespans, such a thing was a dream within a dream.
But Alberto—a noble soul who had become an undead, possessing an inexhaustible lifespan without losing any of his skill as a Holy Knight—was another matter entirely.
With swordsmanship that might even surpass Hakuro's, Alberto was perhaps the most fitting candidate to wield this equipment.
After all, most of the senior executives who were on the verge of Demon Lord Awakening barely needed conventional equipment at all, manifesting armaments from their own abilities.
The performance was remarkable—reaching defensive capabilities on par with Legendary-grade in some cases. But even these garments were, in the strictest sense, nothing more than insurance.
They existed as a last resort, deployed only when the multiple defensive barriers they normally maintained were finally breached.
If pressed, Rimuru had considered giving it to
Besides, anyone with Physical Attack Nullification resistance barely needed armor to begin with.
And with enough time, it might even be possible to evolve Legendary-grade equipment into Mythical-grade—so there was no urgency in outfitting their gear.
Perhaps evolving the weapons Kurobei had forged would be the better path.
Most importantly, the Wisdom King had advised that giving it to Alberto was the best choice.
And so, Alberto's reward was the Mythical-grade equipment confiscated from Caligurio.
It was a full suit of plate armor, complete with a longsword and a kite shield.
"Alberto, your swordsmanship is exceptional.
Don't let your skills rust—continue to support Adalman from now on!"
"By your will!!"
As he spoke, Rimuru produced the full equipment set and handed it directly to Alberto.
Receiving the armament directly from Rimuru's hands, Alberto trembled with nervousness.
Perhaps he was taking it too seriously.
"This—this is!!"
Alberto examined the equipment and let out a cry of astonishment.
And understandably so.
These were heirlooms from the Age of Gods—artifacts of which only a precious few remained in existence.
To wield the finest armaments in the world was, for a knight, the highest honor imaginable.
"You can handle it, can't you?"
Rimuru left no room for refusal.
Under the weight of his gaze, Alberto answered in full voice: "Without question! I shall meet your expectations—you have my word!!"
And just like that, the equipment passed into Alberto's hands, and he was accepted as its rightful wielder with surprisingly little fuss.
Rimuru's one miscalculation was this: the true power of the Mythical-grade item that had been unleashed far surpassed anything he had imagined.
How was he supposed to know?! His analysis hadn't been able to "see" that far!
That was why the Wisdom King had reacted with a subtle "Hm?"—Rimuru finally understood.
You knew all along, didn't you? That was why you had recommended Alberto over Benimaru.
"The ability to temporarily elevate a flesh-and-blood being to the level of a Spiritual Life Form."
That was the hidden power of Mythical-grade equipment.
Spiritual Life Forms were, one could say, beings on par with gods. Veldora was one, and Rimuru himself could be described in similar terms.
Though he had no firsthand experience, they were undeniably close to immortal and ageless.
Agelessness was guaranteed, and their immortality was formidable.
The only ways to destroy them would be through Heart Core Annihilation or Magicule Dissipation.
Even temporarily elevating a being to that level of existence was a truly extraordinary ability.
But for the semi-Spiritual Life Forms like Benimaru and the other Youkai, let alone the full Spiritual Life Forms among the demons, this equipment would have been wasted.
It had found its rightful place. That was all there was to it.
Those were the Ten Great Ones directly under Rimuru, but Adalman's pet dragon shouldn't be forgotten either.
Yes—the Undead Dragon had also put in admirable work. Rimuru wanted to give it a reward as well.
He walked down to where the Undead Dragon sat in the center of the arena, alongside the four Dragon Kings.
The Undead Dragon tensed and lowered its head as Rimuru approached.
Its appearance was frightfully menacing, but it was actually quite a lovable creature.
"I should give you a reward too. So, I'll grant you a 'name.' From today, you are the Nether Prison Dragon King—Wenti!"
With those words, he named it before everyone present.
In that instant, a dramatic transformation occurred.
The Undead Dragon's colossal body—over twenty meters tall—shrank before their very eyes, and it transformed into a stunningly beautiful woman draped in dark robes.
But Rimuru had been prepared.
With monsters, anything was possible—a truth he had experienced and internalized to the point of exhaustion.
He maintained his composure, keeping up the attitude of "Well, obviously!" without letting any shock show.
He was rather proud of that.
"Oh, glorious and beloved deity of ours!
To bestow even a humble creature like me with your divine blessing—I am overcome with emotion!"
Mm, yes.
Well, "blessing" was one way to put it—it was really just a name.
"O-oh, great, Desu—uh, Wenti, that is!"
"Yes, Master. The deity has not forsaken me—"
"Mm, this too is the fruit of our devotion!"
"Indeed!"
A beautiful display of devotion between master and servant.
How nice. Rimuru felt somewhat left out of the exchange.
But the dragon seemed happy, so that was fine.
In truth, Rimuru hadn't used any of his own Magicules for this naming.
Instead, he had substituted roughly five thousand souls.
This was only possible because the Wisdom King had analyzed the souls and the
In the first place, naming a high-ranking monster of the Dragon class would have consumed an unknowable amount of Magicules.
The Magicules he had painstakingly stockpiled in the Gluttony King had already been depleted by the naming of the Demon Peerage.
If he had performed the naming without any reserves and fallen into a Low Activity State, that would have been a serious problem.
With the absolute quantity of Magicules he had now, there was no telling how long recovery would take.
This was not something he could afford to do in wartime.
It now made perfect sense why Demon Lords hadn't casually named their demonic subordinates on a whim.
At the very least, during wartime, it was simply too dangerous.
This time, by using souls in place of the vast Magicule expenditure, the burden on Rimuru was zero.
Thanks to the Wisdom King, of course.
He had determined there were more than enough souls to spare, even after the nine Demon Lord Awakenings.
The fact that the dragon had taken human form was surprising, but dragons disguising themselves as humans was a classic trope in folklore.
It wasn't exactly beyond the bounds of prediction.
In any case, the awards and evolution ceremony for the labyrinth squad was now concluded.
As a side note, the four Dragon Kings were directly under
Strictly speaking, they were excluded from Rimuru's naming ceremony, but in truth, she had properly distributed rewards as well.
A total of approximately 940,000 souls had been collected, of which roughly 10,000 had been used in the resurrection of the 700,000 Imperial Army soldiers.
That said, some individuals had carried an unusually large number of souls within them, so the actual count was somewhat higher.
She had intended to distribute the remaining 930,000-plus souls to Ramiris, but— "I don't really have any use for souls, so I don't need them!" she had said.
So instead, she had used them to resurrect Michelle and
This wasn't merely a temporary revival—they had been truly resurrected.
As long as the Heart Core was intact, soul restoration was no problem, so both of them should be able to use their Skills as well.
But giving her nothing but two people felt inadequate, so Ramiris had named the Dragon Kings just as Rimuru had named Wenti.
After all, they had been hunted down and tormented multiple times—this was the least they deserved.
Even as Elemental Dragons stronger than an Arch Demon, they had hit a ceiling with self-evolution alone.
So Rimuru had each of them use five thousand souls' worth and had Ramiris bestow names upon them.
Again, this used souls as a substitute for Magicules.
The result was, naturally, a success—the Dragon Kings had evolved into true "Dragon Kings" in every sense.
"Flame Prison Dragon King" Zephyros.
"Ice Prison Dragon King"
Each bore a name befitting the domain they governed.
Rimuru had come up with the names, but it was Ramiris who had performed the naming.
The Dragon Kings transformed, as expected, into stunningly beautiful men and women.
The evolution proceeded without issue, and they had successfully obtained the tremendous magical power necessary for human transformation.
However, this was merely one form of transformation—they hadn't become Dragonoids like Milim.
In the first place, Dragonoids were beings akin to Spiritual Life Forms that possessed physical bodies—a kind of Mutant existence.
Even as powerful Dragon Lords, as long as they were bound to physical forms, their power couldn't hope to match that of the original Spiritual Life Forms—the True Dragons.
The quantity of souls used in this naming was undoubtedly less than what had been spent on the Demon Lord Awakenings.
But the increase in combat power could be considered equivalent.
Demon Lords and Dragon Kings were fundamentally different to begin with, and above all, monsters didn't operate on logic.
Overthink it and you'd lose.
With this, the Dragon King evolution—which also served as a token of gratitude to Ramiris—was successfully completed.
Incidentally, while the Ten Great Ones of the Labyrinth were roughly equal in terms of raw Magicule quantity, their actual combat power varied significantly.
The four Dragon Kings, despite their formidable power as Elemental Dragons, were relatively low in terms of combat effectiveness.
This was due to their lack of combat experience—which translated to a lower level.
Perhaps the repeated defeats this time had stung deeply, as the Dragon Kings resolved to train.
Having gained human forms, they had become interested in human fighting techniques as well.
Rather than relying solely on elemental breath attacks and the physical power of claws and fangs, they sought to understand magic and incorporate it into combat.
They studied human combat methods and applied them in practice.
Some went so far that they actually became stronger in human form than in dragon form—a rather backward result, though Rimuru wouldn't learn of this until much later.
Now then, the remaining three members of the Demon Peerage.
What to do with them—that was the question.
Of the roughly 930,000 souls he had started with, the expenditures on subordinates' Demon Lord Awakenings and namings had reduced the count to roughly 210,000.
He could awaken two more…
Should he heed Geld's request and awaken
That would leave Testa and Ul—which one should he choose?
In the first place, these three were on equal footing with Diablo.
In Rimuru's estimation, Diablo was slightly ahead of the rest, but originally they had been evenly matched.
Diablo had defeated each of them before recruiting them as Rimuru's subordinates, and now he was held in a certain respect by the others.
Considering that, drawing a distinction of strength among the three "peers" besides Diablo was potentially problematic.
If pressed, one might even call it dangerous.
If they weren't awakened simultaneously, it could cause friction.
He considered awakening only Carrera, but giving power to the one who seemed the strongest didn't sit right with him.
An uncontrollable force would only lead to ruin—that was the feeling he had.
After all, the last spell she had used—"Gravity Collapse"—had she not been stopped midway, a small-scale supernova explosion would have obliterated Tempest's capital along with Geld and everyone else.
She had probably been confident in her ability to control it, but choosing that spell in that particular moment gave Rimuru a slight sense of unease about her temperament.
He decided it would be better to observe how the others controlled their newly awakened power before evolving the remaining three.
Diablo, reading Rimuru's intentions as if by telepathy, had been taking appropriate action as always.
He had completely controlled his own evolution and was thoroughly dependable.
"
The three of you served well as intelligence officers.
However, I intend to carry out your evolution at the appropriate time.
I did consider Geld's suggestion and the possibility of awakening Carrera alone, but I've determined it would be premature.
You may be disappointed, but I hope you'll understand."
"My Lord Rimuru, what are you saying?! How could we possibly hold any dissatisfaction!"
"Indeed."
"There is no issue. We are already sufficiently strong."
All three spoke in unison, denying any discontent.
They were, indeed, more than strong enough—likely stronger than
There was no need to rush their awakening, nor to plant seeds of future discord.
These three, when handled together, seemed to maintain a natural balance.
"It makes me happy to hear you say that.
Know that my heart is always with you.
But I can't exactly leave you without a reward…
I shall officially recognize you as executives as well.
'Testarossa, the Slaughter King.' 'Ultima, the Cruelty King.' 'Carrera, the Destruction King.' From today, you are permitted to bear these titles.
You may be newcomers to our nation, but I expect your continued service as my trusted retainers!"
"Haha! As you command!!"
The three bowed their heads in unison at Rimuru's words.
It seemed he had pleased them.
With this, Rimuru now had twelve "Kings" under his command.
Some of their titles overlapped with the Four Marshals or the Ten Great Ones, but officially, they would be called the "Holy Demon Twelve Guardian Kings."
The title wasn't what mattered, but it would serve as proof of their status as senior executives.
This made
Perhaps his reward would turn out to be the best one of all.
As Rimuru gazed at the Kings who had been standing behind him now lining up before him, these were the thoughts that crossed his mind.
And so, the awards and evolution ceremony came to its conclusion.
Word of the events that day would spread, and Rimuru would come to be known as the "Holy Demon Sovereign."