Now, on this topic, I had given a lot of thought about how to reward Ramiris. But how about leveraging this new discovery a little? In other words, I figured she\u2019d be tickled pink if I named the four Dragon Lords for her. They had no real connection to me, but with this soul-based approach, it\u2019d still work just fine. I really gotta hand it to Raphael for pitching the idea to me\u2014and besides, even after all this evolution, I estimated that I\u2019d still have over twenty thousand souls left over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s thanks to Ramiris that I was able to retain so many in the first place. In fact, she didn\u2019t want any from me at all\u2014\u201cJust take \u2019em! I ain\u2019t got no use for \u2019em!\u201d I felt kind of bad about that, so I thought this would be a nice, elegant way of paying it forward. Hope she\u2019s up for the idea. I\u2019ll remember to ask her about it later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
That ended the proceedings for the labyrinth gang. Now this celebration was at its climax\u2014and only two problem children remained. Who, you ask? Well, who else but the toughest nuts of all\u2014Shion and Diablo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on what I had seen so far today, I was convinced nobody was going to go out of control on me. But we can\u2019t let our guards down. This is Shion and Diablo, after all, the worst of the worst. If both went on a rampage at the same time, I couldn\u2019t even imagine the extent of the damage\u2014and with our top defenders all busy evolving right now, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyway, let\u2019s begin with Shion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShion, I hereby grant you the title of War Lord. Please continue to maintain as much calm decorum as you can, please.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf course! You\u2019ll never find a woman as calm and mature as me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Um, who\u2019re you talking about again? Because it sounds like you\u2019re <\/a>talking about yourself there, or something? Now that\u2019s what I call high self-esteem! I have<\/em> been impressed with her self-control as of late, but Shion\u2019s still got a lot to learn on that front. Best to take a long-term view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll not comment on that, but make sure you keep consulting with your comrades, protect our nation and all who dwell in it, and prevent yourself from going out of control for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With that, I granted Shion her souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But\u2026 Huh? There was an almost shocking lack of change. Shion looked at me, acting slightly put off. We had a staring contest for a while, but still no sign of transformation. Was that a dud, or what? Boy, is this awkward. Now it\u2019s like I haven\u2019t given her anything, huh? I suddenly had a crisis on my hands. I haven\u2019t prepared anything else for her!<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I was panicking over what to do, something truly unexpected happened. Nothing had changed with Shion, but the members of Team Reborn under her fell to the ground one by one, fast asleep. Then I noticed that a few members of her fan club who styled themselves as her elite guard were rapidly dozing off themselves. It varied from person to person, but it looked like all of them had received blessings from her. Shion seemed completely unaffected. What a strange phenomenon. No point thinking about it too much, though. They\u2019re under her direct control, so I guess that\u2019s the kind of thing that\u2019ll happen. Best to leave that to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRight. Well, Shion, let me know if you sense any abnormalities in your own body.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAbsolutely! By the way, Sir Rimuru, do you have any special rewards prepared like the one you devised for Gobta?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shion fidgeted a bit as she asked. Hmm\u2026 I had to empathize with her. I\u2019d conducted her ritual like all the others, but to the audience, it must look like I gave her a fancy new title and nothing else. Some people would be glad enough for that\u2026 But with Shion, it\u2019s not like she needed new weapons or whatever, so\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something like what I gave Gobta, huh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cVery well. In that case, I\u2019m going to teach you how to make a very special dish!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>\u201cWhat?! Are you admitting, then, that I am a better cook than Shuna\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAbsolutely not<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n How could she ever jump to that<\/em> conclusion? Shuna, listening on next to her, just rolled her eyes in contempt, although my immediate denial quickly restored her sunny disposition. Shion looked less than pleased with me, but when I whispered into her ear that I\u2019d have an expansion installed in the kitchen, she gave me a happy nod and went back to her column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Team Reborn, meanwhile, was evolving in very interesting ways. They seemed to be turning into spiritual life-forms, in a sense\u2014but with physical bodies, unlike demons by default. Rather close to demons but still primarily physical in nature\u2014and most importantly, they could still breed and produce offspring. It looked like we had a totally new species on our hands. Death-oni, I guess you could say? Shion\u2019s oni foundation seemed to be emerging more strongly on them than before, with some of them acquiring her body-enhancing extra skill Divine Force. No one was sprouting any horns, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their magicule counts weren\u2019t on the level of Team Hiryu, but given their immortality, it was hard to judge which group was stronger, really. You could\u2019ve said they evolved from hobgoblins, and anyone would\u2019ve believed you. The biological processes of these monsters truly baffled me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so, despite Shion herself having surprisingly little to show for it, her evolution ritual came to a close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n And now we were at the bottom of the list. Diablo. My biggest headache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He had been visibly fidgeting for a while now, looking at me with this expectant smile. Honestly, he\u2019d probably cause more damage if I stopped the event now than if he went into an evolutionary frenzy. If anyone got in his way here, they were as good as dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>\u201cDiablo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, Sir Rimuru!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had nothing but bad feelings about this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s little doubting that this evolution will make him the most powerful figure in this nation of monsters I\u2019ve constructed. I don\u2019t mean the strongest of my group\u2014I mean stronger than me<\/em>, no doubt. He claims<\/em> he can\u2019t beat Zegion, but I\u2019m sure he was giving himself a handicap somewhere. He overpowered Jiwu and Bernie, both formidable foes, at the same time by himself. Zegion\u2019s strength was<\/em> a surprise to me, but Diablo seemed like he was one step ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, he was already my strongest underling. In fact, if Diablo really put his mind to it, he might even outgun me<\/em> in his current state. If you compared him to me back just after I awakened, it wasn\u2019t even close. So how was he going to evolve now? I needed to be extremely cautious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDiablo, I can think of no title more appropriate for you than Daemon Lord. May you continue to serve as my right-hand man and unite all the demons under our banner!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Especially those<\/em> three demonesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKeh-heh-heh-heh-heh\u2026 I remain as ever at your service, Sir Rimuru!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seriously, Diablo. Please. I nodded and performed the ritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so a new fiend was born\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The evolution was over in an instant, it seemed. I suspected another Shion-type dud at first, but I was wrong. He was just exhibiting perfect control over all energy flows and not letting any changes show at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nice one, Diablo. What a masterpiece. Now he had evolved into one of the strongest beings in the entire world. A bit of it was flowing into me through our newly created soul corridor, and man<\/em>, what a fright. I now had a vague idea of the upper limits of his power\u2014and given how Benimaru\u2019s and Shion\u2019s evolutions were apparently disappointments, Diablo truly had become my most <\/a>powerful underling. In fact\u2026well, his magicule count was up there with mine, and considering the skills he\u2019d built up, I feared this was no longer someone I could defeat in battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guess that bad feeling I had was pretty accurate. I expected something like this, though, so I wasn\u2019t wrought out over it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cImpressive evolution there, Diablo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe compliment is most appreciated, Sir Rimuru.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So we\u2019re good? His personality was still the same. If he decided to overthrow me right now, it would<\/em> be pretty funny\u2026 And don\u2019t tell anyone, but I would<\/em> try fighting to keep my position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But despite the evolution completing itself, Diablo looked like he was trying to acquire some new ability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019re you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAh, well, you see, during the previous battle, I realized the usefulness of ultimate skills, you could say. I was ignoring them before since Guy was bragging up and down to me about them, but now I think I may as well gain one if it\u2019s available to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, huh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What kind of idiot is this? It\u2019s funny how stupid smart people like him can be sometimes. Feels like I\u2019m surrounded by a lot of those types, actually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo yes, I thought I\u2019d take this opportunity to learn one so I can brag about it the next time I see him, keh-heh-heh-heh-heh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUh-huh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He hates it when Guy brags to him, but it\u2019s okay for him to brag back?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, given his attitude up to now, I could easily imagine how much of an ego he copped with everyone besides me. I didn\u2019t need Raphael to spell that<\/em> out. But this would be aimed at Guy, not me, so I had nothing to worry about. As long as it wouldn\u2019t come back to haunt me, there was no use fretting over the little things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So it looked like Diablo\u2019s demeanor remained as rock-solid as always, and at this rate, I didn\u2019t think I needed to worry about a sudden mutiny anytime soon. He had full control over his evolution, even, so there was no reason for me to treat him as anything but the faithful, capable staffer I saw him as before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>Incidentally, as I found out later, Diablo\u2019s blessings were passed on to his second-in-command, Venom, along with the hundred demons under Venom\u2019s direct command. However\u2014and this is just a hunch on my part\u2014I think Diablo found a way to siphon as much energy away from those blessings as possible. I wasn\u2019t sure if such a thing was possible, but if Diablo could do it, I wouldn\u2019t be surprised in the least. Strength, after all, is earned, not given\u2014I\u2019m sure that\u2019s Diablo\u2019s line of thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless, Venom was showing some real growth. He had undergone an evolution of his own, becoming a full Demon Peer. He still wasn\u2019t nearly on the level of Testarossa and friends, though, and even compared to Moss and Veyron, I wouldn\u2019t call him all that intimidating. There was no way that someone who had reigned as the strongest for so many years could be defeated by an upstart out of nowhere. Even among Demon Peers, there was a clear ranking in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, of course,\u201d Venom told me. \u201cI\u2019m still a newcomer, you know; I haven\u2019t even been living for a century. I hardly even deserve to be compared to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I suppose Venom is something of an uncommon case\u2014a Contemporary-era demon with little experience to his name. Given the unique skill he was born with, however, maybe he was a reincarnate with some crazy story behind his history. He had no memory of his past life, he told me, but would sometimes recall words despite not knowing their meanings. Visiting my nation frequently gave him bouts of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu, apparently. If he was<\/em> a reincarnate, that certainly would make him something special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Venom still knew his place in the world. He had evolved to the same level as Testarossa and her friends, but he wasn\u2019t letting it get to his head, and he didn\u2019t look down on his other colleagues. He knew how much he had evolved, and he had picked up on the gap between himself and the next level. For a demon, experience is far more important than magicule counts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was real mature of him, I thought. But he also let me in on a little inside scoop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>\u201cTo tell the truth, I did actually challenge Lord Diablo once before\u2014and let me tell you, he made disgustingly<\/em> clear the difference between us!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was all smiles as he recalled it, but man<\/em>. Bad move there, dude. I\u2019d expect nothing less from Diablo\u2019s closest associate, though. Guess there\u2019s a reason why he likes the guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the sheer stupidity of that challenge, it sounds like it turned out to be a good thing. Venom learned from the experience, and he never made the same mistake twice. If he ever did<\/em> get carried away again, I\u2019m sure Diablo would rub him out anyway. He had no mercy for people too big for their britches, no matter how close they were to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning from your mistakes is a valuable skill to have. I look forward to seeing how Venom develops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for the rest of the blessing receivers\u2014well, to tell the truth, they were still having their bodies formed in our incubation capsules. All one hundred of them were now reborn as Diable Chevaliers. They couldn\u2019t quite match up with Arch Demons, but they were now demonic knights, up there with any other high-level magic-born and capable of killing a Great Demon in one hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They were way off the charts, really\u2026 But Diablo didn\u2019t really care about them at all. So they remained Venom\u2019s servants. Diablo preferred to keep himself free and mobile, retaining his position directly under me, and that convinced me most of all that he hadn\u2019t changed. No matter how much he evolved and surpassed me, Diablo was still Diablo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n So all my top staff had completed their evolution rituals. I\u2019m glad it went over without any major hiccups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the victory celebration wasn\u2019t done yet. I continued to call out to people who distinguished themselves in battle, thanking them for their hard work. Then we moved right on from there to a <\/a>celebratory feast, although one attended only by those still awake. We\u2019d have to wait until next time to assemble the entire gang, but until then, we enjoyed today\u2019s party well enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was disappointed, however, to find that Jaine and the Twin Wings weren\u2019t joining us. They were quite apologetic but said they had urgent matters to attend to, so they took off in a hurry after the coliseum event ended. Hopefully they\u2019ll be able to chill more with us next time they visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Right now, however, I\u2019m more concerned about a couple of people getting belligerent under the influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Sir Benimaru was out of my league anyway. I knew that all along!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, no, Lady Gobwa, you\u2019re quite attractive; trust me on that. But look at me<\/em>! Lady Alvis, the girl of my dreams, takes my hand\u2026and then she freakin\u2019 kills<\/em> me! That\u2019s beastmen for ya, y\u2019know? They like \u2019em strong. They want a mate who\u2019s at least as powerful as they are\u2026 And if you\u2019re strong enough, you can have as many women as you want. But me<\/em>, ohhh noooo\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGoodness, Sir Phobio, you\u2019re more than strong enough. If I<\/em> were stronger, I could\u2019ve stepped in between those two ladies, but\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey, you can drop the \u2018sir\u2019 stuff with me. You\u2019re plenty strong yourself, Lady Gobwa. You just had some real stiff competition, is all. Not even I could beat them, y\u2019know? It is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSir Phobio\u2026er, Phobio. Please, call me Gobwa, then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSure thing, Gobwa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPhobio\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whoa, can you not<\/em> do this in public, please? I\u2019m mature enough to not cause a scene over this, but this isn\u2019t some private candlelit restaurant, all right?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then again, though, two jilted lovers starting to kindle something with each other isn\u2019t such a bad thing, is it? Love works in mysterious ways, and so forth. I\u2019ll let it slide\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the night passed along happily, the party in full swing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So our nation had a set of new lords governing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n