Translatorâs Corner (Cast: Kanzaki Yuuko and Yoshida Yasutoshi)
Yuuko: Grandpa, grandpa! We came over to play again!
Yasutoshi: Yuuko-chan! Youâve grown up again! You used to be thiiis small the last time you were here.
Yuuko: Teehee! Oh, and grandpa, I have another joke to tell you!
Yasutoshi: Let me hear it.
Yuuko: Umm... If you want to know who is w~eally manâs best friend, put your dog and your wife in the trunk of your car, come back an hour later, open the trunk, and see which one is happy to see you.
Yasutoshi: Haha! Oh my little clown! You would make a killing in the circus!
Yuuko: Killing? Thatâs scawy~!
Yasutoshi: That means youâd make a lot of money working in the circus.
Yuuko: No! Me and Aiko decided that we wanted to be doctors like grandpa!
.
Clown: ... a dream?
.
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Birth of a Demon Lord Arc
070. Harvest Festival
What the hell...
The hell... what the hell is that fiend!!!
Seeing the chaotic dance of light and recognizing its danger, Reihim lay hiding inside a carriage.
The monstersâ city was still surrounded by the barrier, and nothing unusual was reported by his men.
So... whence has this monster come from...?
The Saint Knightâs barrier, even an inferior one, should have protected against entry from high rank monsters.
At the very least, had one entered or left they would have been notified.
Nonetheless...
With a little thought, it was clear that the monster mercilessly slaughtering his men before him cared little for things like barriers.
The Blood Shadows squad he borrowed from Cardinal Nicholas dispersed into hiding and were observing the situation.
As expected of them.
Like Reihim, they were all pretending to be corpses.
If this is how it is...
He lamented the inadequacy of his report.
When asked regarding reinforcements, he firmly turned them down.
After all, while they were declaring war on the city, they rampaged a bit and were able to cut down the only powerful demon â a woman â among them.
Nor was there any retaliation.
So this war should have went smoothly underneath the barrier.
Thanks to the battle barriers set up by the Western Saintâs Churchâs 1,000 division, every member of the army could be considered B ranked.
At the very least, it would unimaginable for them to have to go all out.
The monsters fleeing the city should have been easily exterminated by the kingdomâs knight alone.
So, he decided to reject Sakaguchi Hinataâs offer.
But, even if she had come... could she protect them against this?
That suspicion filled his head, and he hastily dismissed it.
Thereâs no way.
Sakaguchi Hinata is the strongest existence; how could she fall to a mere monster?
The moment he thought that...
Silence enveloped the battlefield.
As if freezing rain falling on his back, fear overtook his heart.
What... what the hell happened?
Those screaming in pain or crying out of fearâwhy have they suddenly turned silent?
At that moment,
ãOh, look... survivorsã
Merrily saying these words was a young girl, or perhaps a young lad whose voice is yet to change.
Survivors... she says?
But before he could realize that the words were directed at him and the blood shadows...
He felt an intense pain coursing through his body.
When both of his arms and legs were cleanly burned off, he finally beheld that demonic fiend.
At this point, he could no longer run away, nor retaliate.
All Reihim could do was pray to his god...
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Unique SkillãHeartless Oneã... huh.
Nah... I am pretty heartless, tee hee~!
Fear towards me is one thing, but when their hearts break I can activate the skill.
In other words, at that moment, my enemies souls are in the palm of my hand.
They live and die by my will alone.
Even if I let them go, should they choose to rebel again I can erase them that very moment.
And as this field trial has shown, it works even on enemies who are escaping.
It targets anyone I recognize as an enemy. In this case, the entire army I saw from the sky was target.
I had intended a complete genocide, yes; but even so, I had expected a few of them to run away. Well, thanks toãHeartless Oneã, problem solved.
I didnât think I could put the skill to use, but I guess I can.
It is certainly one desired by rulers who intend to rule with fear.
In the future, all I have to do to end a conflict is to break my enemiesâ spirit.
Oops,ãMagic Perceptionãis picking up something. 13 men.
The fact that they survived means their spirits arenât broken yet.
Of course, that excludes the king.
13 people still intending to fight.
Could any of them perhaps belong to the blood shadows who attacked the city?
For now, to prevent escape, letâs burn their feet off with Megiddo.
By the way, that.
There are many âpeopleâ whose legs I blown off, hands I burned off, or heads I pierced.
In short, they are a very scattered bunch.
My... what should I do?ãMagic Perceptionãis getting overloaded, and I am beginning to feel dizzy!
Ah, I did hear that evolution was about to start, so I guess Iâm going to lose my consciousness.
ãRanga, are you there?ã
ãAy, I await your command, my master!ã
There he is.
Ranga jumped out from within my shadow.
Without intending to hinder me, but in case something unforeseen happened, he was on standby.
Good,
ãRanga, gather up this filth and bring them into the city.
Do not kill them.
I am returning there ahead of time, Iâll let Youmu know, so hand them over to himã
ãWhat about those who have escaped?ã
I thought for a minute.
Three men escaped. Normally, Ranga would easily be able to win, but they are at least A ranked.
If they work together, it might be dangerous to send Ranga out alone.
But, I have no desire to let them go.
ãIâll send someone else after them.
Upon capture, Iâll leave them at your disposalã
ãAy! I live to serve!ã
Confirming Rangaâs answer, as if taking a break, I began gathering my power.
And, startedãHigh Demon Summoningãritual.
As an offering, I will use the corpses under my feet.
I had considered eating them, but I doubt there are any useful abilities among them.
The Blood Shadows will have to suffice.
I donât know what kind of demon I will summon, but, considering that it probably wonât be able to materialize, as long as itâs of some use, Iâll be happy.
That is, as long as it can hunt down escaping fools.
ãI prepared thy meal, come forth, demon.
And serve me!ã
What appropriate words I now choose!
I wonder if the demons will be satisfied with the offering.
Just as I was thinking that, three demons appeared.
Considering the past Greater Demon, which was rank A-, they are inferior compared to Blood Shadow troops.
With that in mind, I had intended to summon 30 of them, but only managed three.
Hey, hey, are you telling me 15 thousand corpses were worth only this much? Well, I did devour their souls, so maybe...
No good, since coming to this world this is the first time Iâm feeling such intense desire to sleep; my head is spinning.
ãHey, you guys, there are three escaping fools. Capture them alive and bring them to my subordinate Ranga.ã
I said as the dizziness became unbearable and I became to lose my consciousness.
I must reach somewhere safe!
The demons behind me,
ãWe are honored to receive our first order. This grand offering you have bestowed upon us fills our hearts with endless joy!ã
ãâTis but an easy task, oh forth-coming Dark Lord! Can we expect to be later put to use by You?ã
ã.....ã
They expressed such a greeting, but my consciousness was quickly waning.
ãWe shall talk later. First, prove that you can be put to use. Go!ã
I said and transferred back to Tempest.
To bypass the barrier I had prepared a magic circle in advanceâit worked.
Benimaru rushed over to me so I had him take a message for Youmu.
And, sitting down at the place we prepared before hand, I lost consciousness.
That deep sleep I fell into was the first time I was completely unconscious since coming to this world.
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When Rimuru had gone off to battle, the city split between those who worked to keep up the barrier and those who were on their knees praying.
The former gathered in the center.
Since the barrier dispels magic energy, they worked hard to increase it even a little bit.
Everyone was busy dutifully fulfilling their roles.
In the center lay the bodies of Shion and the others, preserved by a barrier.
In the very center stood the magic circle Rimuru had prepared, and shrine they had built to welcome the coming of a new demon lord.
Surrounding all this was the group maintaining the barrier.
Shuna was among them too, along with Myulan who volunteered to help.
Shuna thought,
Rimuru seemed to worry about the fact that he used to be a human, but that was but a trivial fact.
For Shuna, all that mattered was a connection to her partnerâs soul which would put her mind at ease.
It willed her endless euphoria and complete satisfaction.
If she were to lose Rimuru, she would definitely go mad.
ãRimuru-sama... we would be happy even if we had perished, as long as you continued living.
But, Rimuru-sama, losing even one of us throws your soul into such discord...ã
She murmured.
Benimaru nodded at these words showing his complete consent.
It is possible for the kindhearted Rimuruâs character to change during his transformation.
If so,
ãWhen you become a demon lord, please spare us a violent character...ã
They prayed for this not to pass.
Benimaru, Souei, Hakurou, and Kurobee were on standby.
By Rimuruâs command.
That should he turn into a mindless beast (demon lord), that they dispose of him quickly.
Thatâs the only outcome they hoped to prevent.
ãItâs because youâre always sleeping, Shion... wake up already.ã
That whisper was more of a prayer than anything.
The one they prayed to was not any god, but a single monster.
One who had never betrayed their expectations and who would certainly deliver again.
So they believed.
And then,
âªAnnouncement. Individual: Rimuru Tempest, the transformation into Demon Lord âHarvest Festivalâ shall now commence. Upon its completion, related monsters shall be blessed with a giftâ«
Every monster that had gathered in the city heard the âVoice of the Worldâ.
Seems that Rimuru was successful at destroying the invading force.
In that case, it is now their time to shine.
ãBrace yourselves! Our master has emerged victorious. It is our turn now!ã
Benimaruâs voice resounded throughout the city.
The city came alive.
Rimuru could not have been crushed by losing Shion.
And, as planned, Rimuru will be returning.
As ordered, they were to let Rimuru rest.
Upon reuniting, they decided on a code.
Just in case Rimuru had showed up as a mere beast.
ãNow then,ãHowâs Shionâs cooking>?ãI askã
ãGot it.ãItâs horribleãis the response? Who the hell thought up this crap...ã
Rimuru sleepily said.
His head no longer spinning out of drowsiness, he muttered the complaint with little force behind it.
The one who had thought of it was Benimaru, of course.
He had not forgotten that she had forced a new recipe on him before.
So if she were to wake up with a complaint... yet another wish he made to Rimuru.
If only things went according to plan.
Benimaru and the rest desperately worked to bring the plan to fruition, completely forgetting the worldâs words.
That gifts were coming to them was completely out of their minds,
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Rimuru fell into deep slumber.
His consciousness slipping from his fingers, he could no longer maintain the human form and reverted to being a slime.
Failing to reach the darkness he was in,
âªAnnouncement. The transformation into a demon lord, the Harvest Festival has begun.
Body reconstruction has begun, transforming into a new speciesâ«
âªConfirmed.
Race: transforming from Slime into Demon Slime... successful.
All parameters have been greatly increased.
Ability to freely change between material and spiritual body has been added.
Species abilities areãDecomposition Absorption, Endless Regenerationã
Furthermore, with regards to acquired resistances, new ones have been added...
Physical Attack Nullification, Natural Effects Nullification, Status Change Nullification
Spiritual Attack Resistance, Holy Magic Resistance
Reconstruction has granted the following skills.
Now, with regards to daily skills,
ãMagic PerceptionããHeat DetectionããSuper OlfactionããAuditory PerceptionããDemon Lordâs Ambitionã
Have been added.
End of script, evolution has been completed.â«
And,
Being but a concept of a unique skill, without having any self-awareness, but for the sake of serving its master,ãGreat Sageãdesired to evolve.
âªAnnouncement. Additional evolution shall be attempted.
Attempting to evolveãGreat Sageã,
...failure.
...attempting again.
...failure.
...attempting again.
for what seemed to be an eternity
...integrating unique skillãShapeshifterã... success.
Unique SkillãGreat Sageãhas evolved intoãWisdom Lord Rafaelãâ«
After attempting a million combinations, finally a result...
The Harvest Festival bestowed upon it such a gift.
The ability to evolve a skill.
To what this world knew as the Ultimate Skill.
That was something thought to be nearly impossible to occur.
After many failed attempts such was the results.
That was something desired by the skill in order to fulfill itâs masterâs request; but, as a mere concept, it felt no joy.
It did feel sympathy, however.
But for it to feel sympathy and not joy...
With the new found ability, it went to work on itâs masters request.
But, to fulfill it... perhaps...
Again, evolution resumed.
ãGluttonyãintegrated withãHeartless Oneãand thus evolved intoãGluttonous King Beelzebubã.
In order to fulfill its masterâs request.
Thus, while Rimuruâs consciousness was shrouded in darkness...
In order to fulfill his wish, his skills evolved in silence.
But the Harvest Festival did not end there.
The Gifts Rimuru would bestow were granted to every soul he was related to.
That was the Festival that accompanied the evolution.
A festival where a demon lord species evolved into the True Maou.
The festivities have only begun!
Few True Maou existed in this world.
Evolving into such was for a demon lord as difficult as for a normal person to evolve into a demon lord.
Among the ten demon lords, only four were True Maou.
Even those who have lived for many eons were not guaranteed such status.
Orc Disaster would have become such, but was stopped in the middle of his transformation.
Thus, the demon lords watch each other, in hopes of preventing others from evolving above them.
And now, a new True Maou has been born among them.
An event which would destroy the balance of power and bring chaos to their ranks...