In the end, it was my offhand remark suggesting a "revival festival" that led to it being named the "Tempest Revival Festival."
Apparently, this festival is now scheduled to be held annually.
Two days passed after the festival concluded, and... there was a problem that weighed on my mind. No, this time it was a serious matter.
With a knock at the door,
We had captured fourteen prisoners alive.
Currently, we were in the middle of conducting various interrogations to gather intelligence.
And it seemed they had been quite forthcoming, because we had managed to obtain most of the information.
It appeared they had experienced such profound terror that King Farmas and the others began begging for their lives the moment they laid eyes on me.
Those who had undergone training in the Blood Shadow Berserkers, and even the emissaries of the Holy Church, had apparently learned of the existence of demons and, having given up all hope, confessed everything without resistance.
Demons were high-ranking beings capable of directly inducing terror in the soul and exerting mental domination.
Up to the High-Class Demon level, resistance was apparently possible, but once you reached a class like
In the end, even if it drove them mad, since their thoughts could be extracted regardless, they chose to speak freely.
Incidentally, even if they committed suicide, it was possible to manipulate the soul and directly tamper with the brain to extract information.
This was apparently achievable even at the Superior Demon General level, which was why it was said that suicide was meaningless in the face of a demon user.
In this world, if you wanted to reliably keep information secret, you had to kill yourself instantly without leaving a corpse.
The common wisdom of this world was that once you were captured by the enemy, all your information could be read like an open book.
Intelligence work in this world was not some life-or-death affair.
With that, the information had been obtained swiftly.
And the problem I had mentioned earlier was the matter of how to deal with these prisoners.
The anger that had been swirling within me had subsided once
Once that happened, I lost the will to kill those bedraggled men and the emissaries of the Holy Church.
Well, the fanatics were out of the question. Their execution was already decided.
I could not forgive those who carried out the orders.
Even from the testimonies we had obtained, the massacre of the town's residents had not been carried out under orders.
The ultimate source of the orders was Cardinal Nicolaus.
The content was a declaration of war.
However, since the precious Holy Knights could not be mobilized without Hinata's approval, what was deployed instead were his personal Blood Shadow Berserkers—and that was what led to this tragedy.
The truth was that the bloodthirsty mad dogs had grown complacent with their perceived superiority and gone on a rampage beyond what they had even been ordered to do.
Given this, it was worth considering how to handle post-war prisoners and other matters of wartime conduct.
If humanity, as a whole, regarded us as monsters, then we simply needed to act according to our own rules.
In any case, we could always kill them later.
So I decided to look into how nations handled such matters.
Youm and Elen and the others didn't have much knowledge of how nations worked, so asking them would have been pointless.
That was when I remembered Vester.
I had decided to consult his opinion first.
The moment he entered, Vester greeted me: "It has been too long, Lord Rimuru! What an unfortunate affair this has been."
It really had been unfortunate. Though it wasn't over yet.
"It really has. So, I want to ask—how do wars between humans work?"
I asked directly. I was no good at subtlety, and there was no need for it anyway.
And so Vester explained to me how wars worked.
First, among the nations participating in the Council, it was the current reality that wars were quite difficult to actually initiate.
For example, you had to follow the rules and declare war at the monthly Council meeting.
If you failed to do so, you lost your Council membership and were regarded as a common enemy by the surrounding nations.
War was easy to start but hard to stop. The fact that it was regulated by rules was surprising.
For now, let us proceed under the assumption that a declaration of war had been made.
First, the date and time would be declared, and until that date arrived, the evacuating of one's own nationals had to be carried out.
Then a start date for the war would be set, and until that date, neither side was permitted to take any action.
Espionage was also prohibited at this point. If discovered, depending on the circumstances, this constituted a violation of the rules.
So, in principle, there were supposed to be no spies, but even if there were, they had to be smuggled out during the evacuation period for one's own nationals.
If anyone was captured, and they hadn't voluntarily disclosed their identity beforehand, the rules violation would be strictly applied.
Well, given how strict these rules were, it made sense that espionage was prohibited in principle. If you weren't confident you wouldn't get caught, you couldn't become a spy.
Now, when a war actually began, there were two types: Limited War and Annihilation War. (Strictly speaking, there was also Economic War, but we'll skip that here.)
A Limited War was a location-designated war aimed at reducing the burden on civilians.
It was like an intensified version of sports—anything goes taken to the extreme.
Naturally, since terrain advantages would arise, it was the defending side, not the instigating side, that got to designate the battlefield.
This, along with the duration of the war and other details, was determined at the time of the declaration of war.
As for Annihilation War, that was truly anything goes.
The war would not end until the opposing nation either became a vassal state or was destroyed entirely. It was a type of war that was rarely chosen unless extreme circumstances demanded it.
When choosing this option, one had to consider that regardless of winning or losing, one could be attacked by other nations afterward.
Without justification that other nations would accept, it was nothing more than an act of aggression.
The risk of facing a counterattack from a coalition of neighboring nations also increased.
In other words, this was why such wars were exceedingly rare.
The Dwarven Kingdom had declared neutrality, so if it were attacked, no other nation would lend its understanding.
A coalition would form to counterattack.
But did declaring neutrality mean no one could attack from the outside? Not at all.
The Dwarven Kingdom was a technological powerhouse with immense value.
Naturally, it was targeted by other nations, but it possessed the national and military strength to repel such threats.
Justice without power is impotence.
The fact that declaring war on the Dwarven Kingdom despite its neutrality oath would earn no understanding from other nations—that was backed up by the sheer weight of its national strength.
No one wanted to be dragged into a self-destructive act born of greed.
Thus, many wars had been fought, the Council had been established, and things had settled into their current form.
These were the rules among the Council's member nations.
But what about nations that weren't members?
For example, the Eastern Empire.
It was a militarized state that had grown enormously by swallowing up the small nations around it.
The Council's rules did not apply to such a nation.
It simply attacked and ravaged unilaterally.
Therefore, some nations always dispatched spies to monitor its movements.
To those who defied it—death!
That was its style. After a nominal declaration of war, if submission was not shown within one week, an invasion would commence.
Fortunately, the Empire's sphere of influence was on the opposite side of Jura Forest, and it had not yet reached this side, so no Council nation had suffered damage.
But looking at the sorry state of the nations that had fallen under the Empire's umbrella, the threat was far from someone else's problem for the Council nations as well.
The Dwarven Kingdom had barely managed to maintain diplomatic relations with the Empire and had avoided invasion.
Well, there was also the interplay between national strength and the king's own power.
Listening to all this, the Council—which functioned like the United Nations from my previous life—seemed to be more of a mutual aid organization for the weak.
Nations with great power chose war and even destruction based on their own judgment, after all.
Of course, these were merely rules, so things wouldn't necessarily proceed exactly as prescribed.
I had gained a reasonable understanding.
So the flow of warfare was clear, but...
What about the main topic—how to handle prisoners?
Even Vester hit a wall trying to explain this.
The Council's rules strictly forbade any harm to envoys. This was probably universal across any world.
Moreover, it was exceedingly rare for a king to become a prisoner.
In an Annihilation War, actually going through with total destruction was also rare. Unless you were a fool, when the front lines reached your own borders, you'd raise the white flag and surrender.
Killing everyone without mercy at that point would only invite the enmity of surrounding nations.
Though, a king who let things deteriorate to the point of being invaded would quickly lose the trust of his subjects and fall from power.
In other words, there was no value in killing them at the cost of earning infamy.
I see.
So then—this time, I could argue they were killed in the chaos of battle, but it might be better to release them alive.
"That was very helpful, thank you. I'm glad you were here, Vester."
I offered my words of appreciation.
"Oh my, it was nothing at all!" he said, blushing crimson with embarrassment.
Sorry, but honestly, it was a bit unsettling.
His personality had softened after losing his horns, making him a refined nice middle-aged man... but a middle-aged man he remained.
"Ah, I forgot to ask—would it be permissible for me to report the general outline of events to the Dwarven King?"
"Sure, no problem. If he has any opinions, I'd like to hear them—please pass that along."
I granted permission.
There was no point in hiding it; word would spread soon enough. Better to convey the truth first.
I thanked the still-flustered Vester once more and had him take his leave.
That guy—was he really blushing, or was he just staring at me in admiration...?
During work, he had taken his human form.
And since his mask had cracked, he was currently having it repaired.
Could he be... a lolicon or shotacon? A terrifying suspicion surfaced in my mind.
I could only pray that wasn't the case.
Let me organize what I had just been told.
Given this, it would be better to keep the king and the envoys alive.
I possessed the Unique Skill "Merciless."
Their spirits had already been broken, and they would be unable to betray me.
Just as I thought that— 「Announcement. The Unique Skill 'Merciless' has been integrated into the Ultimate Skill 'Beelzebuth, Lord of
O-oh...
Here I thought it was a useful skill, and this happened.
I'd only used it once—what was the point of having acquired it? Well, I hadn't exactly wanted it anyway.
But hold on.
Even in its previous state, I hadn't been able to fully utilize my skills, and now they'd been significantly altered.
I'd need to verify them. With each new ability came more busyness.
Well, it seemed better to keep the king and the envoys alive, but that could be decided at the meeting.
The twelve Blood Shadow Berserkers had been left to Shion.
After extracting their information, they were probably being "cooked" right about now.
With the Unique Skill "Chef" she had supposedly acquired this time.
As long as she didn't try to make me eat it, I was fine. That sort of thing was a bit too much...
After establishing a rough plan for the future, I instructed Rigurd to schedule a meeting.
A meeting with all executive-level participants.
Through that, we would decide on our future direction.
Which brought us to the other problem.
I turned to Rigurd and asked: "How's it going? Has the investigation progressed?"
My abilities aside, it seemed that everyone had undergone changes accompanying my evolution—physical enhancements, new skill acquisitions, and so on.
The "Voice of the World" had apparently granted a "blessing."
Since it was tied to my soul lineage, that likely meant all the monsters I had named.
Rigurd nodded.
"Currently, we are conducting interviews with the town's residents.
The women mentioned rather unclear things, such as their skin becoming lustrous and their beauty being enhanced.
It appears their vitality has increased.
Among those in combat roles, some have acquired individual skills, while others have gained unified squad-level skills.
Most interesting are the Goblin Wolf Riders and the Star Wolf Tribe—they appear to have acquired the Extra Skill 'Assimilation.'"
The Extra Skill "Assimilation" was not a metaphor like rider-and-horse-as-one, but a literal ability of perfect synchronization.
By using Assimilation, they could become powerful warriors capable of high-speed quadrupedal movement.
Their strength was rated as equivalent to "A-." Not quite A-rank, but the strongest within B-rank.
Having a hundred of them was astonishing.
Rigurd's report continued.
The hundred individuals who had been revived from death—including children—had all rapidly matured to the level of young adults.
Their frustration at having been unable to fight had apparently driven their evolution.
The abilities they had gained were "Perfect Memory EX" and "Self-Regeneration EX."
Both were Extra Skills, and they synergized remarkably well.
In fact, even if their heads were blown off, their memories could be preserved through their Astral Body, so they wouldn't actually die.
In other words, they had acquired the same extraordinary regenerative ability that the Demon Lord of the Lizardmen had once displayed.
There were a hundred of them. It was mind-boggling.
Moreover, thanks to their fearsome recovery power, they had grown rather bold and were calmly enduring Shion's brutal training.
"After all, we can't die!"—or so went the words of a girl who had been a child not long ago.
I was speechless.
Should I say I was sorry, or should I say good luck?
Currently, their strength was only equivalent to "C+," but I had a premonition that they would eventually become Tempest's strongest unit.
The unit was named the "Shinigami Corps," meaning those who had conquered death.
Among
In particular, about a hundred of the strongest combatants had evolved into the Ogre race.
They were from villages that had initially sought my help, driven by their admiration for the Kijin.
These individuals were appointed as Benimaru's direct personal guard and named the "Crimson Flame Corps." They had become warriors equivalent to "A-."
Furthermore, those leading the unit had acquired "Heat Manipulation" and "Heat Fluctuation Resistance EX," forming a heat-based combat force.
Individual ranks remained at "C+," but their offensive power had surged.
I had intended to name them the "Green Legion" and have them distinguished in battle, but the transformation was unexpected.
Well, they were under Benimaru, and red would have suited them better.
The name was green. It didn't match. A failure on my part for not looking ahead.
But honestly, who could have predicted this?
Monster evolution truly made no sense.
I decided to embrace it and named them the "Green Legion," dyeing their equipment green.
Though, ironically, they were an offensive unit specializing in heat-based attacks despite the color mismatch.
The Hobgoblin race's evolution was also uniform across the group.
Their physical abilities had increased, and they had acquired "Iron Wall EX," an ability to freely manipulate earth and construct defensive barriers.
Furthermore, they possessed "Full-Body Armament," creating a configuration focused entirely on defense.
They had inherited nearly all of my resistances: physical attack resistance, and nullification of pain, corrosion, electricity, and paralysis.
I had even seriously considered having them eat Shion's cooking to grant them poison resistance.
There were individual differences, but as a military force, it was not a problem.
Each individual was at B-rank—a tremendously powerful army.
And this was the moment the "Yellow Legion" was officially named and began operations.
An ironclad defensive force capable of repelling all forms of attack. Currently, it was Tempest's main army.
The hundred Dragonewts under
Their physical abilities had naturally been enhanced to the equivalent of "A-."
The abilities they had gained were "Dragon Warrior Transformation" and either "Black Flame Breath" or "Black Lightning Breath."
Though slightly diminished in performance, they possessed more than sufficient power.
"Dragon Warrior Transformation" was something I didn't quite understand. They had acquired it but apparently couldn't use it yet.
I had a bad feeling about it and told them not to bother using it.
Maybe save it for a real emergency? I was being a bit dismissive.
They were wasted on Gabiru, those subordinates of his.
Having gained flight capability, their breath attacks from the sky were no joke.
They hadn't exactly acquired resistance skills, but as a race, they inherently possessed resistance to all elements.
Scales as hard as steel, clad in
Nothing short of a direct attack could penetrate them.
The ability to fly alone gave them an overwhelming advantage.
The unit was named the "Dragon Riders."
In all likelihood, they were currently Tempest's strongest force.
And so, that was the gist of the report I received.
My evolution and all the efforts up to now had finally borne fruit, blooming magnificently.
What I understood was that our military strength had increased dramatically.
Though the total force numbered under ten thousand, they could easily crush most armies.
They were unquestionably far stronger than the army I had once obliterated.
Truly, it was an astonishing turn of events.
Well, the small numbers were the weakness.
You couldn't easily increase those numbers, so that would be the challenge going forward.
That concluded the status report on the town's residents.
Next were the executives...
According to Rigurd, even the executives themselves couldn't fully gauge their own changes.
Of course—they wouldn't. Even I didn't fully understand my own abilities.
Before worrying about others, I needed to sort out my own situation first.
I asked Rigurd to conduct another investigation and moved to a new location to verify my own abilities.
I teleported to the familiar cave where the seal was kept.
Gabiru greeted me, and I instructed him to ensure no one entered. Then I stepped into the sealed chamber.
Now then.
I called out to the Ultimate Skill "Raphael, Lord of Wisdom."
Tell me what had changed with this evolution, I thought.
What I was able to perceive was as follows: Status Name:
Magic: [Magic Sense] [High-Level Spirit Summoning] [High-Level Demon Summoning] Skills: Unique Skill "Predator, Infinite Regeneration"
Ultimate Skills "Raphael, Lord of Wisdom"
...Thought Acceleration · Analytical Appraisal · Parallel Processing Chant Annulment · All of Creation · Fusion · Separation "Beelzebuth, Lord of Gluttony"
...Predation · Analysis · Stomach · Mimicry · Isolation Decomposition · Supply · Food Chain · Soul Consumption Common Skills: "Magic Perception," "Heat Source Detection," "Ultrasonic Sense," "Super Sense of Smell"
"Demon Lord's Haki"
Combat Skills: "Sticky Steel Thread," "Body Double," "Chaos Breath"
"Law Manipulation," "Elemental Transformation," "Thought Domination," "Demon Lord Transformation"
Mimicry: Demon, Spirit, Black Wolf, Black Serpent, Centipede, Spider, Bat, Lizard, Imp, Orc Resistances: Physical Attack Nullification, Natural Effects Nullification, Abnormal Status Nullification Mental Attack Resistance, Holy-Demonic Attack Resistance That was everything.
Various skills had disappeared, and through the Food Chain, the abilities of my subordinates were still being added—these were only the skills usable after evolution was complete.
It might seem like only the names had changed, but the effects had increased by orders of magnitude.
Thought Acceleration, for instance, could now stretch up to a millionfold.
It was hard to convey in words, but when used, it felt as though time had stopped.
I was about to ask for detailed explanations of each skill and turned again to query Raphael, when— 「Announcement. The analysis of the 'Infinite Prison,' which had been carried out per your command, has been completed.
Shall the release of the individual named Veldora be executed? YES/NO」
An absolute bombshell of a statement.
I was so stunned I couldn't respond for a moment.
But at last—finally.
It had taken over a year, but at last I could fulfill my promise.
The only thing left was a vessel, but that seemed manageable.
My own ability verification had completely vanished from my mind.
I'm releasing you now, Veldora!
And so, I thought YES.
The moment of liberation has arrived.