Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 92: Empress Bullying
There are up to 15 chapters ahead of update schedule at [email protected]/theogbasilisk
______________________________________________________________________
- Kagali -
"Is everything ready?" Kagali asked, her voice calm but laced with anticipation.
Granbell swirled the wine in his glass, his movements slow and deliberate, before giving a curt nod. "Everything is ready." His voice was smooth, as if the impending chaos was nothing more than a minor inconvenience in his grand scheme. The wine in his hand caught the dim light, glowing a deep crimson, almost like blood. He took a slow sip, savoring it, his expression never wavering.
If there was one thing she could give Granbell, it was that he was rather elegant, he had a presence to him. Though he had been practically ruling over the West for centuries, if he could not act as befitting of that status then Kagali would be disappointed.
Kagali's eyes narrowed slightly as she nodded in response. "Good." Her gaze shifted to the figure standing silently behind Granbell, the towering presence of Razul engulfed the room. Even Tear seemed metaphorically tiny in comparison. Razul's black armor was gleaming under the dim light, but Kagali thought it looked less like traditional armor and more like an exoskeleton, like that of a bug's.
The intricate design was unnerving, made from an unknown material that absorbed light rather than reflected it, giving Razul an eerie, shadow-like presence. It was sleek, powerful, and menacing.
Not to mention the sheer Aura that Razul emanated was suffocating, far beyond anything she had encountered in her prime, the closest comparison was Leon when he… killed her.
She felt a ripple of cold fury at the reminder of her past, of Leon, who had been the start of the downward spiral in her life. It all started with him.
The memory of him, of his indifferent face as he struck her down, sent shivers of rage through her.
Back then Leon had claimed a portion of the territory neighboring her own. She had been building her influence back then as Demon Lord Kazalim and had wanted to get Leon on her side as she had with Carrion and Frey, to build influence. And that was the plan initially.
She had gone to meet Leon with her army as a show of power, yet Leon didn't bother with bringing his own people, as if he alone was enough. That had ticked her off but what really caused her to abandon all thoughts of an alliance was his face.
Leon was so beautiful, one of the most beautiful individuals she had ever met which drove her into a jealous frenzy as her own looks back then had been scarred by her father's experiments. And so she attacked him with relentless abandon, however he eliminated her army with ease before taking care of her with contemptuous ease. All she recalled was the intense feeling of the energy all around her, as everything glewed gold before she was practically erased.
She squashed the feelings of hatred. Personal vendettas would have to wait. The time for retribution would come, but not until the True Dragon-class Hero was under her control.
Razul's strength, terrifying in its own right, reassured her. With him, they could challenge even the strongest forces, including Demon Lord Valentine. Hinata Sakaguchi, the Western Church's blade, was already out of the equation due to their own efforts.
In the first place Granbell used to be a rival to Valentine, he could likely hold her off alone, let alone with the rest of the fighters they would have on their side. Granbell was not to be underestimated as she had learned. If he had a subordinate as powerful as Razul, chances were he may possibly be comparable to Razul himself.
Kagali's lips curled into a subtle smile. She relished the thought of Valentine's defeat, how her proud facade would crumble. Back before her… father had gone insane, she had met Luminous Valentine. Originally Kagali always thought that Roy Valentine, the Bloody Lord and one of her old rivals was perhaps descended from the ancient True Ancestor, but she had no idea what happened to her ancient relative until recently.
Back when she was a child, she was rather intimidated by Luminous Valentine. Her father, the High Elf King, had been rather welcoming of Valentine. Luminous had merely glanced at her, the princess of the High Elf Kingdom before looking away in disinterest. Even back then that had burned at her pride.
Demon Lord Valentine wouldn't know what hit her with this line up.
Granbell broke the silence with his calculated voice. "I've had the barriers surrounding the Western Council sabotaged. When the time comes, your people will be able to strike with ease."
Kagali nodded again. The sabotage would allow the Magic Inquisitors to infiltrate the council meeting, where Demon Lord Rimuru would also be present. The ensuing chaos would work in their favor. If representatives from several nations died during a conference hosted by Rimuru, it would shatter the trust Tempest had been building with the Western Nations. Even the flimsiest rumors of betrayal would stir the human nations into a frenzy, and once that seed of doubt had been planted, it would grow wild.
To outsiders, it would be easy to frame Rimuru as the mastermind behind the attacks, even the one that would be happening on Ruberious, taking the attention off of them.
After all, he was a Demon Lord, who else could control such powerful Majin? Humans, she knew, were predictable when it came to fear. Stirring paranoia would not only isolate Tempest but also destabilize the delicate balance of power in the West.
"Why don't we go over the plan one last time?" She said.
Granbell nodded, unfazed. "Very well." He understood the importance of precision. Everyone involved needed to know their roles inside and out. Only she, Granbell, Razul, and Tear were present, serving as the core of the plan. Once this meeting ended, Kagali would make sure the rest of their forces were equally prepared.
"First, you will strike the Grand Cathedral in Lune, the capital of Ruberious." Kagali began, her eyes flickering toward Razul. Razul didn't speak, didn't move. He stood as still as a statue, yet no one could forget him or the power he held. Though his silence unnerved her at times, she couldn't deny the comfort of having such raw strength on her side.
"Misha will assist with her tamed monsters, and your… friend Razul will serve as your backup."
Both Granbell and Razul nodded, their expressions cold and unreadable.
Misha had managed to tame an Arch Dragon of the Caanat Mountains with help. Her Orb of Domination in combination with Misha's own powerful charm capabilities managed to subdue the Dragon Lord, though it was weaker than the true lords of the mountain.
It was still incredibly difficult to accomplish without gaining the attention of Gazel Dwargo, but it had been done. Granbell had been the one to come up with the idea, and so he offered his own assistance which is what made taming the Arch Dragon without anyone's notice possible.
Dwargon had a base meant to monitor the Dragons of the Caanat Mountains, Granbell was responsible for making sure the guards in the base did not find out about anything. She did not know how he went about it, she guessed some sort of Illusion Magic or Mind Magic. In the end it didn't matter, they got what they wanted.
"Meanwhile, Tear and I will infiltrate Demon Lord Valentine's palace in Night Garden." Kagali continued. "During the distraction, I'll use my Orb of Domination to order the Magic Inquisitors to attack the Western Council, where Rimuru will be meeting with the representatives."
Granbell nodded. "I still have many otherworlders under my control. They will be assisting me in my part of the attack to create a large distraction for you to be able to safely extract the Masked Hero."
Kagali's eyes glinted at the mention of the Masked Hero. "Right." she said. "And Cerberus' forces will support Misha's attack."
Granbell nodded once more. "Perfect. With Demon Lord Rimuru distracted by the carnage, he won't be able to intervene when we move against Valentine. And should Demon Lord Felix make an appearance, Razul will handle him."
Kagali's expression darkened for a moment. "I mean no disrespect." She said carefully, "But can Razul handle someone who fought Veldora to a standstill?" At least that is what the rumors said.
Granbell scoffed dismissively. "That Daemon may have fought Veldora, but he's nowhere near the level of the Emperor."
Kagali's lips twitched hearing about the Emperor. The mention of the Emperor always brought a mixture of awe and trepidation. Back when they focused more on the Eastern Empire, the Emperor was one of their biggest fears. The current Emperor was one of the descendents of the original True Hero.
However she believed that the original True Hero had survived to this day, and the current instated Emperor was a mere puppet. How could a True Hero, a Spiritual Lifeform die of old age? She didn't believe what the people of the Empire believed when it came to the Emperor's survival. It was worrying that Granbell may have had a connection to the legendary Hero of Beginning, but it would be something to be dealt with later. She needed Granbell, she couldn't afford to alienate him now. Her circumstances were dire, but she would have to make use of what she had.
Her Unique Skill: Planner had ensured her that Granbell wouldn't betray them until the plan had been completed, after that however….
Granbell was an extremely valuable resource at this point as Cerberus' resources were drying up.
They had lost much of the control they held over the Eastern Empire's black market without Yuuki since most of their resources were now focused on the West. Kagali didn't mind though, once she had Chronoa under her control then anything would be possible. A True Dragon-class individual was that much of a game changer.
Only one other being was given the Catastrophe Class ranking other than the True Dragons, and that was Guy Crimson. True Dragon-class beings were that powerful that they were in the league of Guy Crimson, making acquiring Chronoa all the more important.
"Veldora was likely fighting at a fraction of his full strength." Granbell continued. "No stronger than a Saint due to his weakening from the seal. Razul can handle Demon Lord Felix if it comes to that. And with Hinata out of the picture, or so you have said." Granbell said with narrowed eyes.
She nodded. "Hinata is out of the picture. I have it from a reputable source that she was… injured or worse. The Western Church's announcement lines up with that."
Thankfully Laplace had managed to deal with Hinata. Whether Hinata was merely grievously wounded and was still recovering, or she was dead was unknown to her however. Lapalce's strength was overwhelming, she wouldn't be surprised if Laplace managed to kill Hinata entirely and the Western Holy Church was merely trying to reassure the populace that their Hero was still safe and sound.
Granbell nodded. "Very well then."
Kagali hesitated but nodded. "If Demon Lord Felix shows up, he's Razul's problem."
In truth, she doubted Demon Lord Felix would even learn of their plan, much less manage to teleport from Azeroth to Ruberious in time. The logistics of such a feat were nearly impossible, even for the most powerful of Saints. The amount of calculation that went into teleporting over such a vast distance was mind boggling.
Back when she was on the Demon Lord Council she even remembered Milim Nava complaining about how annoying teleporting over long distances was, if it was even difficult for Milim Nava then she could rest assured. She would always be in awe when Guy Crimson's maids, Rain and Misery, managed to teleport around the world to pick up each of the Demon Lords, but Guy Crimson's power was second to none. She expected miraculous feats from him and his subordinates.
She set her cup of wine down. "Very well then. It seems we have a plan then. In one week's time, Chronoa will be ours." She said with clenched fists. Once she had Chronoa under control then Kagali would deal with Demon Lord Rimuru and Demon Lord Felix. Laplace was still alive, she owed it to him to at least try to save him. Not to mention she was rather eager for revenge. Demon Lord Felix took everything from her, and Demon Lord Rimuru was involved in some way.
Her fingers tightened around the wine glass. They would pay, all of them. For Laplace. For her ambitions. For the life she should have had.
They would all rue the day they crossed her.
- Luminous Valentine -
In the depths of her palace, Night Garden, Luminous stood facing the grand windows, a delicate glass of crimson wine in her hand. The moonlight poured through the towering, intricately designed stained-glass panes, casting an ethereal glow that shimmered across the polished marble floor.
Each of the intricate panes depicted a scene from her own history or mythology, moments Luminous had witnessed firsthand, and others she had heard mere tales of. She had commissioned these windows centuries ago.
The flickering light caught on the glass shards of the mosaics, creating a cascade of colors that danced across the room. The delicate sound of a piano echoed faintly through the expansive halls. Gunther had learned to play the piano to keep her entertained some centuries ago, and he had gotten quite good at it now.
It had been three days since Saeko had left with Felix, and in their absence, the palace had grown too still for her liking. Boredom crept in like an unwelcome guest. Luminous had underestimated how much Saeko's presence had entertained her. They had cultivated a surprising friendship. Felix better be grateful that she had managed to turn Saeko into a half decent cook without relying on her Certain Outcome. That in itself, had been quite the achievement.
She closed her eyes. She could feel that the world would change soon. She didn't believe in fate, however some things were always meant to happen. The clash between her and Granbell was one of them. She was the Demon Lord and he was the Hero, that was how their story was going to end. She was always going to be the reason for his downfall or vice versa.
She opened her eyes, gazing once again through the stained-glass windows. The moonlight bathed the Night Garden in a pale glow, casting long shadows across the rose bushes and ivy-laden arches.
She thought back to the good times they shared. They weren't always enemies. There was a time when she, Granbell, and Maria would speak and joke around. Those were good times, but time waits for no one, not even her.
Immortality was a wondrous gift, but it had its costs, the world was ever changing, and she remained unchanging, but she preferred it that way.
A small smirk crept up on her face at the thought of Granbell. She was sure he would be rather surprised at her newfound strength, if he ever got the chance to witness her true power. Until recently the progress she had been making was minimal as she felt she had no reason to grow stronger.
She already had an attack that could kill a True Dragon in their entirety, yet Felix had managed to irritate her into training. Not to mention it was quite heart warming that he was worried for her, even providing her various techniques that would prove useful to her.
They were lovers now, so she would not hold herself back from making use of Felix's resources, just as he should not hold back from using her own resources.
The Magicule Circulation technique that she had been practicing had been improving her efficiency dramatically. She hadn't mastered the technique but any progress she made on the technique would directly improve her efficiency. Not to mention the progress she had been making with her Ultimate Skill.
Thanks to Saeko she had managed to test many of the ideas she had, most of them were not suited for a true battle, however some of them were. Then there were those Domain Expansions Felix spoke about. Those seemed like an interesting avenue of power, imbuing a barrier with her Asmodeus' power giving her some sort of control over all the individuals inside her Domain.
It wouldn't be exactly the same as a Domain Expansion as she wasn't quite sure how to incorporate the sure-hit aspect of a Domain, but it would still be a useful ability to have. Of course it wasn't an easy ability to develop, imbuing Asmodeus' power within a barrier alone required some practice, let alone everything else.
But anything that was worthwhile required time.
She swirled her wine thoughtfully, the liquid catching the moon's reflection. As far as she knew, Granbell had yet to achieve the status of a True Hero. Time had begun to wear on him, that much was evident. He wasn't the same man he had been when they had last crossed paths. But she knew better than to underestimate him. Granbell was dangerous precisely because he was a survivor. He had outlived Demon Lords, Tenma Wars, genocides and other various events in history.
He was a Human who had managed to clash against her in the ancient past through sheer skill, he didn't have as much energy as her, his body wasn't as strong as hers, and yet one thing she had noticed about Humanity was that they surpassed their limits and managed to do what many would call impossible.
Perhaps that was what had Veldanava so attached to the species. Even she could see the good sides of Humanity, yet she still stifled their potential for the good of her own people. The Humans under her were a fraction of what they had the potential to be, but they were happy, and wasn't that all that mattered in the grand scheme of things?
So she would continue training, she wouldn't allow Felix to bull– taunt her about her lacking mastery over her Ultimate Skill. His constant needling about her incomplete mastery over her Ultimate Skill had been a source of both irritation and motivation.
He truly had too large of an ego if he thought he could talk down to her as if she was a child that needed scolding. She would show him!
She was not doing any of this for any other particular reason either, it was solely for her own good, not for praise or anything similar. Not that she needed anyone's acknowledgement, of course. She was Luminous Valentine. She didn't require praise, or validation, or anyone's approval.
The music came to a gentle stop, and Gunther's quiet footsteps approached. He stopped just short of her, bowing slightly before speaking. "Is there anything else you require this evening, my Lady?"
Luminous took one last sip of her wine before setting the glass down. She turned to face him, her cold heterochromia eyes gleaming in the moonlight. "No, Gunther. That will be all for now."
He nodded and withdrew, leaving her alone once more with her thoughts. As the door closed behind him, she allowed herself one final moment of reflection before turning away from the window.
The clash with Granbell was coming, she knew Granbell well enough to know that he wouldn't wait for much longer. She knew Hinata also wanted to have her own go at Granbell, and Luminous was leaning towards allowing Hinata the opportunity to face her previous mentor.
It could be an opportunity for growth for Hinata, and she would not hold her friend back.
- Felix -
I flicked my finger in Saeko's direction, sending a force of repulsion toward her. The moment the invisible wave made contact, she froze, her muscles locking up briefly before the force catapulted her to the far end of the barrier.
She hit the ground with a resounding crash, dust clouding the area from the impact. The sheer power of the repulsion left faint tremors in the earth beneath us, and that was with me holding back a significant extent. Gravity Manipulation was no joke. If my greatest affinity wasn't with Space then Gravity is the next thing I would likely focus on due to the amount of potential that Gravity Manipulation has.
After my date with Raiden I had gone to pick up Saeko from Luminous' territory. The date with Raiden was rather enjoyable, I got to learn a bit more about what she had learned from Middray, as well as more about her hobbies, her thoughts on everything and whatnot.
Raiden was making friends which was good, apparently her and Frey have been communicating. Harpies like Frey respected species with wings for whatever reason, and Raiden had wings and destroyed her in a spar naturally earned that respect.
It was no small feat either, Harpies were notoriously prideful about their aerial prowess, and to lose in their domain was something Frey would never take lightly. Yet here she was, willingly maintaining contact with Raiden.
I'm guessing Frey was trying to network a bit, Frey was always someone that was good at navigating relationships in my eyes, it's how she ended up getting Milim as a protector.
When I went to Ruberious I also sparred with Hinata for a little bit as she showed me her advancements in Spiritron Manipulation. She got the basics down pretty quickly, but she was far from being able to create a Disintegration-like beam on her own just yet. Though I was sure she'd get to that level rapidly.
After that Saeko, Hinata, and I had dinner with Luminous. Saeko and Luminous seemed to have become closer friends, they were joking around and what not. Luminous ended up asking me a bit more about Domain Expansions as well. I'm rather curious if she will be able to develop a World System Skill on her own since it seems that any Domain Expansion becomes a World System Skill in this world. At least that was the case with Sukuna.
Luminous had made some good progress from what I could tell. I didn't ask about her training or anything, but her EP alone had risen by around 67,000 in a short few weeks. When you consider the fact that Greater Majin were at around 10,000 EP then 67,000 EP was quite a lot.
I also really need to bring Adalman and Albert to Ruberious at some point. I'm sure they both have some unresolved issues with the place with their history.
But that's something for another time, right now Saeko was my main focus.
Saeko had wanted to spar with me to show me her progress as well as test herself. She had been training relentlessly, and the progress she was making was noticeable. Her movements had become more refined, and the once erratic slashes of her ōdachi now flowed with precision, like a river carving through rock or something. I had never been good at metaphors.
Saeko and I hadn't sparred with each other in a fairly long time. Saeko usually spars with others closer to her level, but sometimes facing someone far stronger than you can be quite helpful as you can see the various issues in your combat form.
That was why I wasn't just using raw power to wipe Saeko out, I was trying to lower myself to her level while defeating her through finesse alone. Throughout this spar of ours I had been taking advantage of any weaknesses I could find in her swordsmanship form. To be fair there weren't many weaknesses at all, but they were still there.
Her strikes were sharp and precise, but occasionally, her footwork faltered. Each misstep was subtle, almost imperceptible, but I capitalized on it, forcing her to rethink her entire stance. Each time I would take advantage of a weakness Saeko would adjust her swordsmanship to cover for that weakness as best as she could.
Saeko may be magically incompetent, incapable of even teleporting properly and is incapable of truly understanding the Laws of the World, but she makes up for her lack of talent in Magic with her talent in Battlewill and swordsmanship. She didn't really need to understand the Laws of the World seeing as Saeko's Cook could do the heavy lifting for her when it came to manipulating the Laws of the World.
Everyone has things they are good at and things they suck at, not everyone is fortunate enough to have an OP Skill AI in their head helping them out. I considered myself lucky in that regard. Without Othinus, I might not have made it this far. But Saeko? She was pure grit and perseverance which I admired. Each of my subordinates were a rather special lot, I knew I was lucky to have them.
I believed that Saeko grew the most in combat, the same as Raiden. There is a reason Raiden has recently grown more than she had in months, it's because she has been sparring with Middray somewhat regularly. And a spar with that beast might as well be a life or death battle for Raiden. She had to claw her way through every fight, Middray pushed Raiden to her very limits and each time that happened Raiden came out all the better for it.
I really had to get a present of some kind for Middray, even if he had willingly taken Raiden on as an apprentice of sorts I still wanted to show my appreciation. Middray was a good guy, if a bit muscleheaded.
So I planned to have them help fight off Granbell's attack. He wasn't going to be attacking alone after all, he should be aware of Luminous' true strength, as well as that of Louis'.
Unless he is a fool he should have a plan to deal with all possible threats, hopefully sicking Raiden and Saeko on some of Granbell's helpers will be enough stimulation for the two of them to grow a bit. I'll probably throw in Kurumi and Sukuna as well, those two had been training rather hard and could use an enemy they can test themselves against.
They all needed more than just training, they needed real battles to push their limits and understand where they stood in the world, and this was the perfect opportunity. This world partially worked on shonen logic apparently, surpassing your limits through willpower was very much a real thing here.
With barely a moment of recovery, Saeko shot back to her feet. She raised her ōdachi high above her head before slashing downward, her blade carving the air as a powerful Aura Slash surged toward me.
The sheer force of it was palpable, the wave traveling multiple times faster than the speed of sound, threatening to cleave anything in its path.
The air cracked around the attack as the sheer force behind the attack kicked up the training ground. Normally, I'd just slap away something like that, but I was lowering myself to her level. Someone on her level wouldn't be able to casually slap away an incredibly powerful Aura Slash like that.
So instead I dodged to the side, avoiding the Aura Slash entirely, but it could tell it was just meant to be a decoy to buy Saeko some time. I could feel the Laws of the World changing as Causality itself was beginning to be warped, my eyes widened as I felt the intent behind what she was doing. Something like this was at the cusps of the Ultimate level.
All of a sudden Saeko gasped as she lost her footing and dropped her blade. Before she could collapse I appeared behind her and caught her in a princess carry.
Saeko covered her face with both her hands as she looked away in embarrassment. "Gah! I thought I would have it this time!" She whined.
"Moves like that take practice, Saeko." I responded as I channeled my own energy through her, aiding in her recovery. I couldn't tell what exactly she wanted to do, but manipulating the Laws of the World to the extent she was trying to do was incredibly difficult.
Saeko slowly lowered her hands and looked up at me, a crimson blush on her face. "A-Ah, thank you for catching me, Felix-sama."
I smiled. "No problem, any time you fail I'll be there to catch you."
"Kya!" Saeko yelped, turning away in embarrassment, her cheeks flushed a deep crimson. "Mou, that's not fair, Felix-sama!"
"Ghaha. I guess I don't play fair then," I chuckled, gently lowering her to the ground. As her feet touched the earth, she regained her composure, though a lingering blush colored her face. She picked up her ōdachi and sheathed it on her back, by which point her blush was under control.
"Thank you for your guidance Felix-sama! Even Hinata hadn't spotted the flaws you managed to take advantage of." Saeko said.
I shrugged my shoulders. "They were very very miniscule. I just had the speed and perception to take advantage of it." If there was one thing I couldn't continuously lower it was the speed of my thoughts, so it still wasn't quite a fair battle, but it is what it is.
"You've progressed a lot, good work Saeko."
Saeko preened at my praise as she puffed up her significant chest. "Thank you, Felix-sama!"
I snapped my fingers, releasing a subtle wave of magic that washed over her. The dust and debris that had clung to her clothing from our sparring session instantly vanished, leaving her pristine once more. Even the minor cuts on her sleek, purple secretary suit mended themselves seamlessly. The fabric reknitted itself as though time had reversed, and she gave a small nod of appreciation as she smoothed down the jacket.
She really did look good in that suit. The deep purple fabric hugged her tall, curvaceous figure, accentuating her curves and narrow waist. The jacket, fitted perfectly to her torso, had sharp, clean lines with silver buttons that gleamed under the light. Beneath the jacket, a white collared shirt peeked out, neatly tucked into her purple pants.
I lowered the barrier I had created around the training ground we were using. All around us many members of Saeko's Purple Guard were training relentlessly. Each of their shifts consisted of 8 hours of work which was primarily just training. That was 160 hours of training a month. A lot of progress could be made in that time span.
Many of her subordinates were gaping at us in awe. I sighed as I looked back at Saeko. "Well I'll leave you to it then."
Saeko nodded. "Yes! I will see you tonight, Felix-sama!"
I nodded. "See ya."
In an instant I appeared in my study. I sat on my comfy leather chair and spun around aimlessly.
"I have finished analyzing the High Human lineage factor using the souls that Guy Crimson gave you." Othinus chimed into my head.
'Oh? Well what did you learn?'
Not much information about High Human made it to this day and age, at least information easily accessed. At this point only the ancient monsters like Guy could tell me a bit about High Humans.
"Not much that you do not already know, but I did learn more about the general strength level that being a High Human award."
'Well share with the class!'
"According to my analysis an Enlightened High Human is possibly only a little below the level of current Humanity's Saints. A Saint High Human is hypothesized to be around the level of a Mid-Tier Awakened. A True Hero High Human has the potential to push to the True Dragon-class with enough training and understanding of the world. High Humans on average were likely from B to A Rank."
….
Holy fuck. Guy single handedly nerfed the entirety of the human race by getting rid of that broken race. No wonder Humanity was Veldanava's favorite, with such absurd stats his favoritism clearly shows.
If a Saint could be a match for a Mid-Level Awakened then with training they could likely grow even further. Currently Saeko, and Raiden are at the level of a Low-Level Awakened, just over 1,000,000 EP. a Mid-Level Awakened is upwards of 2,000,000 EP.
According to Luminous the members of that race had one hell of an ego on them, and I don't blame them after learning all that. The fact that Guy was able to wipe out two Kingdoms of High Humans just goes to show how much of a monster Guy is, both figuratively and literally. Guy was restricted to the level of an Arch Daemon when he was first summoned, yet he managed to beat an entire Kingdom of High Humans before incarnating.
According to Guy, Rudra was a High Human, he was one of the last remaining High Humans as that line had dwindled down to a few back then due to Guy's own actions, but a High Human nonetheless.
That would explain how a True Hero managed to fight Guy Crimson who fought the strongest True Dragon to a tie. Rudra even managed to name Guy.
A race with that much potential and the capability to reproduce without losing magicules would likely have a large amount of control over the Cardinal World in this era if Guy didn't eradicate them.
'Good work, Othinus.'
"It was no issue, I myself was rather curious about the High Human race."
Now what to do?
Why not mess with my new maid? Raiden had said to make use of Evelyn however I wished as she was my maid. I of course wasn't going to abuse Evelyn or anything, but some light messing around was fine.
I had to show Elmesia that what she did was pretty dumb. A small grin formed on my face as I called out. "Oh Evelyn~!" I called out.
I heard a squeak and a sigh come from the hallway in front of my study. A few moments later the door to my study opened up and in came Evelyn. The maid outfit she originally wore had been changed, apparently Raiden didn't like the maid uniform that Sarion supplied to Evelyn. Of course the maid uniform that Raiden supplied was a bit more tight on the curves and had a cleavage window.
I honestly have no clue what Raiden is cooking up, none of the other maids had such revealing outfits, but I'll leave it to her, I'm sure she has a plan. It won't go wrong. Probably.
"Y-Yes, Master?" Evelyn stammered out. I had been messing with her here and there over the last few days. Nothing major, just getting her to do maidly things for me. Could I have done them myself? Of course. But that wasn't as fun. Elmesia delivered herself to me, so I was going to take advantage of that.
I tilted my head as I considered how I could bull– I mean mess with Elmesia. "Why don't you rub my shoulders, they're feeling a bit stiff."
Evelyn's lips pursed as her eyes narrowed. We both knew I was talking completely bullshit, my shoulders would never get sore or anything like that, the muscles I had were made completely of energy basically. Elmesia should have known better than to give me power over her, or a version of her! I will take any opportunity I have to mess with figures of significant status without any consequences.
Evelyn pouted as she bowed. "Yes, master."
Through Lover I could tell that she was exasperated, slightly annoyed, a bit embarrassed, and very minorly aroused for some reason. I'm guessing she was having just as much fun with this. I didn't prod too deeply with Lover just yet so I couldn't tell exactly what she was enjoying.
But what matters is that she wasn't upset. If she was I wouldn't have gone forward with this plan of mine, I did respect Elmesia, and I didn't think of myself as someone who would use my power over others to bully them into compliance. Well at least I wouldn't bully people that hadn't done anything to me into compliance.
I smirked as Evelyn slowly approached, her eyes flickering between rebellion and obedience. Despite playing at being a maid, she was still an Empress, and she had been an Empress for centuries, that kind of pride was deeply engraved into her, as is normal after ruling for so long.
However, that made it more fun for me. I was self aware enough to know that it boosted my ego to have someone of such significant status massaging my shoulders.
I leaned back in my chair, spreading my arms out in an exaggerated stretch, exposing my neck and letting out a soft groan. "Ahhh, much better already." I teased, watching the faint blush rise to her cheeks.
She stepped behind me, her hands gently resting on my shoulders before starting to rub them in slow, careful circles. Her touch was featherlight, almost hesitant. I sighed in relief, despite never doing this before Evelyn was rather good at massages.
I could feel her making use of some sort of Magic to guide her as well as make the sensation more pleasurable for me. Seeing no reason to deny her Magic I allowed her energy to seep into my muscles, I'm sure Othinus would warn me if it was harmful. I raised a brow as the enjoyment I was feeling from the shoulder massage increased.
It seems it was something similar to Lover but to a far lesser extent. It didn't surprise me that Pleasure Magic, or Sex Magic existed in this world, in fact I would be disappointed if it didn't. It wasn't a surprise that Elmesia knew of those Magics either, she was an Elf, elves were always known to be the lewdest creatures in fiction!
Elmesia is an erofu!
"You're not putting your heart into it, Evelyn." I chided softly, rolling my shoulders back into her hands. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you didn't want to please your master." I teased playfully.
Evelyn's hands paused for the briefest of moments, her breath catching. "I-I'm doing my best, master." She stammered out, though I could hear the slight tremble in her voice. I could sense her desires going haywire through Lover. She was confused as well as enjoying the "power" she had over me, or rather the power she had over my pleasure? Or at least that's what I think, her desires were a mess.
Jeez, just how wound up was she? She was prideful that she could bring an individual like me pleasure while also being confused at her own pride. How the hell am I supposed to understand her desires when she herself doesn't?
What kind of fucked up head did she have? Though I suppose I wasn't one to talk when I entertained Lalatina's debauchery and even enjoyed it.
I knew I was probably getting a bit carried away but fuck it, why not go all in? Consequences? What are those? Can you eat them?
"Are you now?" I responded to her earlier statement as I reached up to gently pat her hand, my fingers lingering for just a moment too long. "I wonder... how else you could be useful today?" I let the words hang in the air, enjoying the way her flustered expression deepened. Evelyn was genuinely embarrassed by my comment but a lot of her expression was merely a show that she was putting up.
Elmesia was a true hag that couldn't be taken off guard with light flirting unlike Luminous. Elmesia had lived for a long time and had a lot of worldly experiences. Elmesia was likely the standard for the hags still around in this era, Luminous was the odd one with such a weak defense, though I'm guessing that's because of Luminous' NEET tendencies.
Her hands resumed their movements, though there was a bit more pressure now, as if she were trying to distract herself from my teasing. I chuckled, leaning back even further into her touch. "You know, Raiden certainly has an eye for fashion. This new uniform suits you much better... highlights all the right places." I added, glancing over my shoulder to catch the embarrassed look on her face as her grip tightened slightly.
I was probably going too far, but it'll be fine. Probably.
Evelyn's lips twitched. "Master…" She mumbled, her eyes darting to the floor in faux embarrassment. This wasn't even Elmesia's true body even if it shared a lot of similarities, so I guess Elmesia didn't really care about being ogled in this form of hers.
Though oddly enough her desires were still confusing me. She was prideful about her looks even though they weren't her real looks. Was this how women who became completely different people with makeup felt? I don't think I'll ever understand.
I'll just leave it at women being confusing.
Now just how far should I take this?
___________________________________________________________________
I am highly motivated by your guys' reviews and likes, so do that! I'll probably keep writing or something.
I have a discord server, come hang out if you want! https://discord.gg/VxR5Gn72Fp I also have a channel in Shiro's Gaming Omniverse.
Author's Note:
Sup everyone, back with another chapter of Daemon. Next chapter should be the start of the attack. I originally planned to start it in this one but Elmesia teasing got in the way. Even I'm not sure where I'm going with that whole relationship but fuck it we ball. It'll be fine. Probably.
Anyways, Kagali is coping as usual, she really is just a ball of angst after all the unfortunate events that have happened to her. Granbell is assuming Felix is weaker than he actually is due to the widespread belief that Veldora is weakened. Can't even blame Granbell for that assumption as Rudra and Velgrynd are making the same assumption.
Honestly Granbell is right to be somewhat confident in his plan. He knows Luminous likely doesn't have an Ultimate, can't blame him for not realizing she got one after the whole Hinata situation. He has Razul who is an absolute beast, magic basically doesn't work on Razul up to a certain level. Misha's monsters will cause a lot of issues for the church, + the Dragon Lord. He has another trump card that hasn't been brought up yet I'm pretty sure. Honestly Granbell is just unlucky this time, sucks to suck I guess.
We get to hear a bit more of Luminous' thoughts, she is being a tsundere as usual. Get a short spar with Saeko as well as some light flirting.
Now I know this feels like it's been dragging a bit, but we're finally going to get into the attack in the next chapter.
After this whole arc is done there will be some clean up then another world trip.
Anyways, thanks for reading, peace.