The veterans who had always looked down on him were now wearing expressions of shock.
After all, he'd only punched one arrogant woman.
By making those stubborn old fogeys bow before him, he could construct the true world of demonkind.
That was what Clayman had always believed deep down.
But… was this really the right call?
A flicker of doubt surfaced in his mind.
That person had told him, above all else, not to draw attention. And yet here he was, center stage for all to see.
Clayman caught himself and banished the thought.
It's fine. With the Demon Lord
By demonstrating that even the ancient Demon Lord Milim was obedient, he would crush any rebellious spirit in the other Demon Lords.
No Demon Lord would dare oppose him after being glared at by Milim, the strongest among them.
But was that really true?
Had he gone too far? And more fundamentally, why was he feeling so anxious?
He hadn't actually needed to hit Milim.
But when he thought about the gathering of Demon Lords — the Banquet of Demon Lords — and worried that he might fail to control them, that anxiety crept in…
No, wait. Something was wrong.
A calm, rational part of himself was sounding an alarm.
As his strategies kept failing, his follow-up plans were getting increasingly clumsy. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
He should consult that person…
But he'd been forbidden from making contact.
No. Calm down. It's going to be fine.
Clayman told himself this over and over.
He still had his trump card: Milim.
The Curse Art, Demon Lord Manipulation, had activated perfectly.
And his Unique Skill, Puppet Master, ensured total control over her.
After all, Milim was an incarnation of overwhelming power — the same force that had annihilated even Carrion without resistance.
Gradually regaining his composure, Clayman's smile deepened.
"Well then, I thank each and every one of you for responding to my summons today!
Let us begin our banquet.
I hereby declare the opening of the Banquet of Demon Lords!"
With the authority of the host, Clayman surveyed the gathered assembly and declared the Banquet of Demon Lords officially open.
And so, for the first time in centuries with all Demon Lords in attendance, the Banquet of Demon Lords commenced.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Guy watched Clayman's behavior with a faint smile.
The sheer absurdity of it almost made him laugh out loud — he had to struggle to keep it in.
The thing was, Clayman had it all wrong.
Or rather, he didn't understand a single thing.
The title of Ten Great Demon Lords had been coined by humans on their own — Guy had never recognized it.
Whether there were ten or a hundred, it didn't matter.
In reality, during the Great Holy-Demon War held every five hundred years, few survived, and the number naturally adjusted to fewer than ten.
Each time, newcomers fought over supremacy, and the upper limit of ten simply stuck through custom.
Humans probably preferred it that way too — fewer Demon Lords meant fewer dangerous entities to deal with.
It had simply become an unspoken agreement over time.
The first Demon Lord was Guy.
Without possessing any real power, he had fulfilled the wish of a human who summoned him, destroying the opposing nation.
As his reward, he destroyed the summoner's country as well.
That was all there was to it — unnecessary, but it was through this act that he awakened as a true Demon Lord.
After destroying the first nation, two "Greater Demon Generals" he summoned had become "Demon Lords" by the time they finished destroying the summoner's country.
From that point on, he allowed them to follow him.
And around the time Guy awakened as a Demon Lord, another had awakened simultaneously.
That was Milim.
The very first of the four "
Strangely, a Dragon who mated with a human lost the majority of its power to its offspring.
Since then, a Dragon producing offspring had been considered taboo.
Having lost its power, the Dragon took physical form on the earth and became the ancestor of the Dragon race.
It was because of this that the being who had been "a sentient mass of nature's holy spirit" came to be called a "True Dragon."
The Dragons currently proliferating across the land could all trace their lineage back to this one being.
To that True Dragon —
It was that True Dragon who, as a rebirth of himself, had given his daughter a Dragon. And a certain kingdom had killed it.
A fool had touched the reverse scale.
Milim was enraged and destroyed the nation.
And in that fury, she awakened as a true Demon Lord.
The rationality-less Milim rampaged further, clashing with Guy.
Their battle raged for seven days and seven nights, transforming the fertile western lands into a wasteland of death.
In the end, the fight ended in a draw.
Milim's rationality returned, and combat ceased.
It was
At the time, she reigned as the Master of Spirits. Exposed to the evil power of demons and the potent Demon Aura of a True Dragon, she had been warped and transformed.
But even so, she succeeded in stopping Milim's rampage.
And it was these three who mediated the truce.
These three were the primordial Demon Lords.
Each had different objectives.
One who sought the limits of power.
One who lived as she pleased.
One who wished to mediate the world.
But that was fine.
It was precisely because their goals differed that the three could acknowledge one another.
After that, a giant who guarded the Sky Gate and an ancient vampire became Demon Lords, and a fallen angel became the sixth.
This was the second generation.
Those inferior to the most ancient Demon Lords.
The giant, due to the holy attribute that clothed his body, could not sprout the seed of a Demon Lord.
But he was a fascinating being who possessed extraordinary power.
Apart from the giant and the fairy, the other Demon Lords had awakened as true Demon Lords through several Great Holy-Demon Wars.
Even so, they still hadn't acquired an Ultimate Ability like the ones Guy and Milim possessed.
However, the vampire and the fallen angel showed signs of awakening.
It was only a matter of time before they too gained an Ultimate Ability. He simply needed to wait patiently.
And then there was Clayman.
This fool actually believed he was controlling Milim.
It was almost too amusing, but such a thing was impossible.
Something Guy himself couldn't do — there was no way a bottom-feeder like Clayman could accomplish it.
You couldn't influence someone who possessed an Ultimate Ability with a lower-tier power.
Every law in this world operated only at the Unique level.
In other words, whether it was an Ultimate Ability or anything else, control through magic was completely invalid.
An Ultimate Ability required no spell incantation — its effect was granted the moment its user desired it.
The worst you could manage was perhaps a minor advantage in attribute attacks you were weak against.
Mental control attacks wouldn't work at all.
Such a feeble mind couldn't possibly obtain an Ultimate Ability.
Only an Ultimate Ability could counter an Ultimate Ability.
Therefore, Clayman couldn't do anything against Milim.
In truth, everything was merely a performance on the palm of Milim's hand.
What an idiot.
Guy smiled faintly and watched how the conclusion would unfold.
It looked like this was going to be an entertaining banquet after all.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Clayman was smugly explaining the situation.
Apparently, according to information he'd received from human informants, I was the one who had killed Demon Lord Carrion.
I mean, who the hell is Carrion? That was my first thought.
I knew he was Glussy's boss, but I'd never actually met the guy.
And honestly, Clayman wouldn't shut up.
I didn't even need to sleep, yet drowsiness was creeping in. Was this some kind of mental attack?
In a word: annoying.
I really wished he'd stop.
"Um, can I ask a question?"
When I spoke up, he glared at me with irritation.
"What is it?"
"Do Demon Lords really hold meetings about this kind of pointless stuff? I was imagining more of a 'fists over words' meritocracy kind of thing."
I was poking the bear on purpose.
At those words, the silver-haired girl let out a giggle.
She'd been shooting me glares of fury just a moment ago — had her anger eased a little?
Besides, when she laughed, she was oddly cute.
"Clayman, that one speaks the truth.
Your explanation is tedious. Be more concise."
The girl tossed those words at Clayman.
Clayman's expression twisted with rage.
Was he simple? Or genuinely petty?
If this was an act, it was a hell of a performance.
"K-… Don't look down on me! A lowly slime calling itself a Demon Lord!"
"Uh, what's a slime got to do with anything?
I didn't come here to listen to your boring-ass story.
And hey, what was the idea behind hitting Milim? I was patient enough to wait until the banquet started, but I'm done waiting. Say what you gotta say — it'll be your last words."
Clayman's face twitched with rage.
Whether from fury or something else, a dark, sinister Demon Aura began radiating from him.
He was a Demon Lord, after all. He had a decent amount of Intimidation on him. Decent, but that was all.
In that moment, Milim — who'd been standing as still as a puppet — briefly clenched her fist and struck what looked like a victory pose…
No, I must've imagined it.
I swear, you poor thing. I'll free you right away, Milim.
I made that vow silently.
"E-Everyone! Did you hear that?
This ignorant, lowly monster happened to obtain the seed of a Demon Lord and got carried away — and now he's even started a war with humanity!
Surely we cannot allow such a being to roam free. I believe we must purge him. What say you all?"
He was gesticulating wildly, trying to persuade the assembled Demon Lords.
But I kicked the table over.
"Hey, is it allowed to launch mental attacks while giving a speech at the Banquet of Demon Lords?"
The round table went flying backward, opening up a wide space.
"No. In this place, one is expected to appeal to others solely through the power of one's own words, fairly and square."
The red-haired Demon Lord — the most dangerous-looking one — answered with an amused, bewitching smile.
I signaled
Wrapping her fists in Demon Aura, she delivered roughly thirty blows in the blink of an eye.
With a satisfied look on her freshly-beaten-up face, she asked me: "Is that acceptable?"
…
You don't usually ask before you start punching?
And I only gave you a quick glance!
Sure, my intent was to tell her to shut Clayman up, but I didn't expect her to pummel him like that.
Well, what was done was done.
Because right in the middle of his speech, Wisdom King had detected the effect of a skill being activated.
It was probably some action designed to elicit favorable reactions, but unfortunately for him, he'd been completely exposed.
Clayman had made the first move, so I was well within my rights to claim self-defense.
If any Demon Lord wanted to get angry about that and declare themselves my enemy, so be it.
"You… You little — !!"
The dark Demon Aura enveloping Clayman intensified, healing his injuries in an instant.
It far surpassed the regeneration ability shown by the Orc Lord.
Then again, he was a Demon Lord, so this much was probably normal.
"I won't forgive you! Dance, my puppets!"
As Clayman shouted, he tossed five dolls from inside his coat.
The dolls instantly transformed into demons and lunged at Shion.
Each one was an upper-class demon.
He'd probably stolen the souls of demons and converted them into dolls he could control at will — at least, that was what Wisdom King's analysis revealed after a glance.
Honestly, the explanation made me want to say "So what?"
Sure enough, Shion drew her beloved greatsword, Goriroumaru, and cut down all five upper-class demons in one swing.
"Ha ha ha! You've got some skill! But it's useless!
My puppets will rise again instantly and attack you!"
Clayman shouted as he began chanting a spell.
Shion waited with a patient "Hmm."
But the dolls showed no sign of getting back up.
"Im… Impossible! Why aren't they reviving?!"
Clayman halted his chant, panic written all over his face.
I wanted to tell him — if you're going to chant, don't interrupt and just keep going.
"Well, I'll save you the trouble and explain.
That greatsword of Shion's devours souls.
Those dolls had no barrier protecting against either physical or spiritual attacks. Their construction was far too sloppy, so they shattered in a single hit."
I explained it like it was nothing.
This guy was going to become my meal soon enough, so if he wanted to know, I might as well tell him.
There was nothing worth hiding at this level.
"A sword that also delivers spiritual attacks!?"
"It's not that unusual, is it? Humans had them too."
"I-Impossible! That's a legendary blade!"
"Hmm. Whatever. We made it ourselves."
Shion's greatsword was something I had modified based on Hinata's sword.
It didn't bother with the seven-restraint system or any of that — it devoured the opponent's soul in a single strike.
On the flip side, it wasn't a guaranteed kill, but it delivered both physical and spiritual damage simultaneously.
If you resisted from the start, you could defend against it. If not, your soul was simply consumed.
The downside was that you had to also block the physical attack, which made it trickier.
"Oh my. So that's what it was! This is 'Goriroumaru, Mark II,' then!"
She didn't know…?
I was pretty sure I'd explained when I gave it to her. Oh well… that was Shion for you.
At that moment, Clayman rose to his feet.
He frantically resumed his interrupted chant, finally managing to activate the spell.
"That irritating little sword — I'll add it to my collection!
Devour — Demon Lord Manipulation !!!"
The sinister beam of light didn't come for me — it struck Shion instead.
Watching this unfold, Clayman cackled: "Kukukukuk! Rejoice! This is the ultimate curse art that can even dominate Demon Lords!
Using it on a mere demon like you is a waste, but oh well.
That lowly slime seems to rely on his subordinates, doesn't he?
In the end, you're just weaklings who struggled against an Orc Lord! You can die at the hands of your own servants!
Once I've disposed of your master, I'll elevate you to serve under me."
He went on a whole rant like that.
I could've pretended to panic — said something like "Oh no, we're doomed!" to string him along — but honestly, I was getting bored.
This guy was too weak.
If this were Hinata, she'd have cut him down instantly.
Well, maybe he wasn't exactly weak, but having seen
His Magicule count was even lower than Shion's.
And on top of that… the ability Shion had inherited — Perfect Memory — was such a special power that memories persisted even after death.
Meaning, it enabled thought through the soul itself.
The implication was that it completely negated all mental control abilities. It even nullified the vast majority of spiritual damage.
Which was why — "Hey, what kind of attack is this? It doesn't even tickle.
Do I need to wait longer for it to kick in?"
Shion's irritated voice echoed from within the black light.
Wisdom King had analyzed the barrier and confirmed it had no effect on Shion. I knew he wouldn't be wrong.
The way Clayman had hyped it up, you'd think it was some supreme secret technique. In the end, this was all it amounted to.
"Th… That's impossible!!!
There's no way this secret technique — the one that controlled Milim, Demon Lord Milim — would be defeated by a mere demon like you !!!"
Shion dispersed the black light with a burst of Demon Aura.
Watching this, Clayman fell into a full-blown panic. The outcome was decided.
"Everyone! Can you really let this madman run wild like this?!
He's looking down on Demon Lords! All of you need to put a stop to him!
Even Carrion, who fell to this man, won't rest in peace!"
With bloodshot eyes, he turned to the spectating Demon Lords and begged for backup.
The moment we entered combat, a barrier had instantly isolated us from the round table.
Well, I'd predicted as much from the moment I kicked the table away to make space.
But man, what a pain.
The second he realized he couldn't win, he immediately started begging others for help.
They seemed ready to back me up. I was glad I'd gotten to talk with them beforehand.
But just then — "Hold on. Since when did I die?
Besides, I'm meeting this monster called Rimuru for the first time today."
A deep, husky voice rang out.
He was one of the subordinates of the winged female Demon Lord who had entered with Clayman — a man with hawk-like wings.
He wore a rather cool mask, so I couldn't see his face…
Slowly, he removed the mask. At the same instant, a torrent of Demon Aura exploded outward like a geyser.
Whaaat!!!
In the blink of an eye, his attire transformed, and the Beast Demon Lord Carrion appeared before us.
Turns out his mask was specialized for sealing Demon Aura — even more so than the "Demon-Sealing Mask" I possessed.
If I'd been paying closer attention, I might have noticed something off, but since I'd never actually met Demon Lord Carrion, I couldn't have identified him.
Wait, but… what was going on?
"I-I… Impossible! How are you alive?!
…You… You betrayed me!
With wild, bloodshot eyes, Clayman glared at the winged female Demon Lord named Frey.
Judging by the situation, it wasn't so much a betrayal as — "Oh my? Since when did I ever become your ally?"
Frey said this with a perfectly straight face.
Women were terrifying.
"Stop… Stop messing around! All of you!!!
Fine. I understand now. I won't forgive any of you!"
Clayman suddenly regained his composure.
Had something finally snapped?
With a thin, cruel smile, Clayman declared: "Milim! Kill everyone here — every last one of them !!!"
The atmosphere turned tense in an instant. A ripple of tension ran through the assembled Demon Lords.
Though, to be fair, several of them remained completely unfazed.
I turned my gaze to Milim.
His trump card.
Was this the confidence that he was controlling Milim?
She had been controlled after all…
But this was extremely bad. Clayman was a pushover, but Milim was on a completely different level.
Even the current me might not fare well. And besides, I wanted to save her.
No — I had to save her!
Now, release her — Just as that thought crossed my mind — "Why would I do something like that? Rimuru is my friend."
Milim said, as if nothing had happened at all.
Um… what?
I wasn't the only one confused.
Even among the Demon Lords, some wore looks of bewilderment — like, "Wait, she just got punched and didn't react at all earlier?"
What on earth was going on?
Ignoring our collective shock entirely — "Hey, Frey! You brought it along safely, right?"
"Yep, yep. Here you go.
By the way, you were clenching your fists and pumping them in a victory pose, and your mouth was totally grinning…
You couldn't act at all. I'll give you credit for only getting angry after two punches, though."
"What can I do? I was happy that Rimuru was getting angry on my behalf.
If I could weaken Clayman's mental state a bit more, I might have gotten him to reveal the mastermind!"
As they exchanged these words, Frey pulled something from inside her coat and handed it to Milim.
It was the
Milim received it happily and slipped it on. Then she flashed a bright smile.
"I wanted to build up a bit more rage, but oh well. You're ready, aren't you, Clayman?!"
She fixed him with a piercing glare.
So the whole thing had been an act?
The Demon Lords, still stunned by the turn of events, were finally beginning to grasp the situation.
That's what I figured.
Of course it was.
I could almost hear those collective thoughts.
But — "Wait, wait, wait! Milim! You… You weren't being controlled?!
So you were beating me up for fun this whole time?!
And — and blowing up our sacred mountain was YOUR idea too?!"
Demon Lord Carrion's temple was bulging as he confronted Milim.
"Hmm? What? That's a trivial matter!
Right now, we've cornered Clayman! Let's make him reveal the mastermind!"
"Trivial my ass! You could've killed me!
…Ah, forget it. You're not listening anyway."
For some reason, I felt a little sorry for him.
Looking at the teary-eyed Carrion, I wanted to give him a comforting pat.
When you've both been deceived, there was something you could relate to.
But hey, Glussy seemed happy, and it was good that he was alive.
So that was it…
Milim had deliberately pretended to be under Clayman's control in order to flush out the mastermind behind him.
But why would Milim do something like that? The question surfaced in my mind, but right now, Clayman took priority.
Everything else could wait until after Clayman was dealt with.
The situation was already cornered.
All that remained was the finishing blow.