Chapter 225 - 154: Glassord, the True Giant
Story: I’m a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 154: Glassord, the True Giant
Tensura arc has begun in my patreon at [email protected]/theogbasilisk
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- Arcueid -
She sat pleasantly with one leg crossed across the other as she waited for the arrival of the representative of the Continent’s Wrath, Dagruel.
She could already sense him in her Lord’s territory, but it would be improper to teleport him here without his consent, if she even could do such a thing. And so she waited. It would give her time to think and modify her plans for Glassord’s presence. She hadn’t believed he would be the one to come, after all.
It was easy to learn just who it was that Dagruel sent once he arrived in her Lord’s territory.
Glassord, one-third of the Mad Titan Ashura and one of Dagruel’s siblings: a True Giant who was a monster in his own right. That was who Dagruel had sent.
She was surprised Dagruel would send his very own brother, but after further thought, it made sense. Who better to determine if her Lord was being genuine than one of the True Giants?
He was in the capital city now, so it would not be long. Especially since he was being escorted by Raiden’s Maid Corps.
The Maid Corps had quickly grown into the elite defenders of her Lord’s palace. They were acceptable enough that she would allow them to serve in her palace back in the Daemon Realm as well.
Raiden had trained them well, and seemed to be offering special lessons to Evelyn fairly often. That was an interesting maid as well, and the lessons were only getting more frequent as well.
She was easily able to notice the discrepancies with Evelyn; how her soul seemed to be less, how the vessel seemed to be less, and the connection that she could sense around Evelyn’s soul. And if she could, so could her Lord, so she just ignored the oddities, content with the fact that her Lord approved of her, and so she was of no threat. He clearly had some purpose in mind for her, and he would inform her if he deemed the topic important enough.
She quickly glanced through the variety of contracts she had prepared for today. She had multiple of them outlined based on the predicted priorities of the Holy Void of Damargania.
None of them were exploitative of course. This was all to make a good impression on the Holy Void of Damargania, and by extension, Dagruel. In fact, they had little to gain. They only desired the mere ores that were naturally occurring in the Holy Void of Damargania but impossible to find elsewhere.
Normally they would be valuable, with them creating Unique Grade equipment would be child’s play, and despite the armory of her Lord, Unique Grade weapons were considered genuine treasures by most inhabitants of the world. With some effort, the ore from Dagruel’s territory could even craft Legendary Grade equipment, which were national treasures.
And that was from an unrefined artisan. A true master could potentially create even higher quality equipment.
Even Dwargon’s own king merely had a Legend Grade weapon, and he was a descendent of the Dwarven True Ancestor.
But with her Lord’s power over Creation, they were of no relevance. He could create countless Legend Grade weapons with a thought, and had in fact done so already.
But if her Lord’s words about the alternate timelines he had mentioned, then she understood his reasoning for going out of the way to assist Dagruel, as the man would become a significant foe if he were to become an enemy, she knew that far better than most.
She had silently observed his fight with Guy, after all, and the man was an absolute monster in combat. Dangerous even to her for a multitude of reasons.
The fight had been incredibly close, and most of Guy’s abilities were made null due to Dagruel’s unique ability to negate many forms of power, a power that he and his siblings shared. And a power that his children inherited to a far lesser degree.
She was not certain what the true origin of his power was. Back then, her analytical capability was too weak to work on Dagruel, not to mention her analysis almost seemed to be negated as well. He was a true oddity.
His entire race and racial offshoots inherited his power to a certain extent as well. She did not know an incredible amount about Dagruel’s people unfortunately, but Lalatina did as in the past that land used to be considered her "playground" within the Cardinal World.
The Eastern Empire was considered to be her own playground, and the land of El Dorado Megumin’s.
She already had Lalatina tell her everything that she knew about the Giants, and Arcueid would not discredit Lalatina by saying she lacked information. In fact, Lalatina knew quite a lot. More than Dagruel’s children, at least, as they had been kept out of most important things. Due to their immaturity, she guessed, but they would be useful pieces nonetheless.
She knew not why Dagruel entrusted his children to them, but she would be a fool to not make use of them in this negotiation.
She would have thought that perhaps Dagruel wished to be rid of them, that they had fallen out of his favor, and that he scorned them, but from their own words that did not seem to be the case. They were seemingly raised with care and love, which made Dagruel’s actions all the more confusing.
And while she would not trust the children blindly, she was willing to believe them for the time being.
They already knew their orders, and their loyalty was assured, so she had no doubt that they would play their parts, making Glassord even more susceptible to her terms. The main thing she was going after with this alliance was to eventually expand to a mutual defensive pact, similar to what Azeroth and Tempest held with the Armed Nation of Dwargon.
When one kingdom was attacked, the others would come to defend. They did not officially hold such an agreement with Ruberious, but due to the close relationships developed, in practice they did.
She quickly went over the information she had gathered.
Lalatina knew quite a bit that she herself did not. From what Lalatina said, Giants were a truly intriguing race. A race created by Twilight Valentine and modeled after the True Giants, Dagruel and Glassord, with the third of the brothers having been sealed away.
The younger Giants were mostly reincarnations of the older Giants who passed away due to age as the lifespan of a Giant was a mere 500 years. Then these younger Giants essentially inherited the power and rage of their predecessors, carrying on their ancient power into the modern day.
These Giants inherit even their predecessor formidable Magic Resistance. Nothing like the nigh immunity she observed Dagruel having, but it was impressive.
She tested Dagruel’s children in the past to see how much of his resistance they had inherited, but she was disappointed. While their resistance was far above the norm, it was not difficult to get around with enough raw power.
Greater Giants were even more powerful. They had surpassed their life span of 500 years through some methods, likely training and developing their life force. She had not had a chance to examine those Giants, but she believed that they must have an even greater Magic Resistance.
"He has entered the palace, my Lady." Moss said from her side.
"Hmm, thank you."
Of her Lord’s subordinates, many of them were not present at the moment. Raiden and Kurumi were the only ones she could rely on, and to a certain extent Ingvild as well. Sukuna also recently arrived, giving her a far greater force than she initially believed she would have while her Lord was out, not that she believed such a force would be necessary.
Sukuna was indisposed it seemed as well. When he arrived he seemed to be deep in thought, and informed her that her Lord sent him back as there was some conflict within him.
With her power over lifeforce and the soul she was easily able to see what was occurring within him. The conflict of the two selves within him. She would have told him to eliminate the other ego entirely, but Sukuna seemed to believe that by combining, he could become the greater whole, and be of more use to her Lord.
He knew himself best, so she only gave him some advice and left him to his devices.
It didn’t take long for her to hear a knock on the door. "Come in."
The door opened and the first one to enter was one of her newest subordinates: Damrada.
Damrada had not been in her Lord’s territory as much as the rest of them. He had been managing the Western Nations and Free Guild in her stead, whilst at the same time providing information on all Cerberus personale and bases so they could be ransacked for her Lord’s use.
Damrada gave her a nod, one she returned. He was still adjusting to being her Lord’s subordinate, but she did not doubt his loyalty, her Lord assured her of it and he had explained the measures he had taken just to be certain.
Damrada was followed in by Glassord himself. At first sight of him, she could feel his barely concealed presence.
The man was incredibly powerful, and despite only radiating the power of a weak Saint, she knew there must be more hidden inside of him. A fragment of Ashura as strong as only a Saint? That was simply not possible. The more likely scenario is that his power was sealed off for whatever reason.
He seemed incredibly holy as well. As her Lord had shared, Ashura was created to be a defense mechanism of the Cardinal World itself, and so Ashura was holy by nature. He was aligned with the world and all it represented.
This holiness was spread even to the three fragments that made up Ashura as well, giving Glassord a level of holiness that none she had met could match. Dagruel was even more holy as well.
Holy was an attribute essentially all beings gained upon awakening, as taking a step further up in the hierarchy. Saints especially became incredibly holy following their evolution from an Enlightened.
Even True Demon Lords acquired a holy element, though this was not true for Daemons such as herself. Holy was simply too opposite to their nature to assimilate it into themselves to become a Chaos Spirit fully.
Upon awakening, they did acquire their own reserves of holy energy, but it was so miniscule when compared to their more demonic aligned energies that it is simply overtaken completely, being far less effective.
Instead they acquired Holy-Demonic Resistance.
Of course, despite not being holy, that didn’t stop her, or any suitably strong Daemon, from still using the attribute. It just required multiple steps and a certain degree of carefulness.
She suspected that since Dagruel shared an even greater level of holiness, as one of the stronger True Giants, it was impossible for him to develop a Demon Lord Seed entirely, similar to what Ramiris’ situation was.
And yet they were still so blindingly strong that they were at the same level as she was at least.
She could also sense the odd form of Magic Resistance he seemed to have, similar to Dagruel. It was likely an innate trait of the True Giants, but its exact mechanisms she could not understand, which was unfortunate.
She had hoped to understand the resistance to a greater extent for her Lord. If things did not go the way he wished despite his efforts, then information on Dagruel’s abilities would become far more valuable.
"You must be the Primordial of White, Blanc." Glassord said as he laid eyes on her. His gaze was analytical, nothing more.
She stood up to greet him. "Indeed, but I prefer to go by the name my Lord bestowed upon me, Arcueid." She responded with a pleasant smile as she brushed some of her hair behind her ear.
"Very well then, it is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Arcueid." Glassord said with a humble nod.
"Ara, there is no need for such formality, you may call me Arcueid."
Glassord nodded. "Arcueid it is then. Is Lord Felix not present?" He asked.
She shook her head. "He is busy with another task at the moment, but I assure you that I am more than suitable enough to act as his representative."
Glassord nodded. "I will not doubt you then."
She gestured for him to take a seat, as she took hers. First she looked to Damrada. "You may leave." He nodded and left them alone.
"After some initial discussion, we may enjoy the feast I have prepared for you. Dagrua, Liura, and Debura will be present, I am certain they would enjoy seeing their uncle."
They were already ordered to sell an alliance with her Lord to them, mentioning their excellent treatment, and all the benefits they had been enjoying, as well as all the power Azeroth had at its disposal.
At her words, a small smile formed on Glassord’s face. "I hope they have not caused you much trouble. I would have liked to give my thanks to Lord Felix in person for taking them in."
"They have been no trouble at all and have made excellent contributions in my Lord’s name. They seem to have become rather taken with one of the Eight Demonic Lords as well."
The Eight Demonic Lords were far from the household name that the Demon Lords were, but it was known that they were her Lord’s direct subordinates. That much information was known about all the Demon Lords, likely by Guy’s own doing. Even the Beastkeeters were rather famous, despite Carrion no longer being a Demon Lord.
"They wrote of her. Saeko, is it not?" Glassord asked as some snacks were served.
She hummed in agreement. Once everything was served, she passed Glassord one of the contracts. "Let us begin our negotiation then."
Glassord gave her a firm nod before he began to read through the contract. This was where she truly began to shine.
- Felix -
The moment we appeared, Milim bounded forward and hopped around us in excitement. "Hi Luminous! Oh and you too, the Hero I beat up in the past!" Milim said with a laugh.
Hinata’s lips twitched, but she didn’t say anything. I didn’t even know if it was Hinata that Milim beat, or Chloe.
Hinata ignored Milim and just walked to the window and looked out at the city.
"Greetings, Milim." Luminous greeted Milim as she looked around the living room with curiosity.
"This world truly feels odd." Luminous commented.
Milim nodded. "Mhmm! It took me a sec to get used to it!"
"It took you merely a moment?" Luminous said with a sigh. "This world feels far lighter, the energy in the air has far less weight to it. It will take me time to get used to this."
While Luminous and Milim were talking, I approached Hinata. Once I was beside her she spoke up. "We’re in Korea right?"
"South Korea to be exact."
"It feels quite odd to be looking at this modern city when I hadn’t expected to ever return to an Earth." Hinata stated.
"Hmm, have you thought about my offer to take you to your home Earth?"
Hinata nodded. "I have. It does scare me, confronting my mother, apologizing for what I did, even if it was for us. But I will never grow if I continue to run from my fears." Hinata looked to the side, at me. "You taught me that."
"Aww, you’re gonna make me blush, but I’m proud of you. I won’t pretend to know how you feel about everything that happened in your past, but the fact that you’re confronting it rather than running away proves that you’ve grown, Hinata."
Hinata gave me a small smile that said so much. "Thank you, Felix. It means a lot."
"No problem. Stand proud, you are strong."
Hinata closed her eyes and sighed. "And you ruined it."
"Are you two done speaking?" Luminous called out. She was now sitting on the couch, Milim sitting across from her with Sirka who had shown up while I was speaking with Hinata.
Megumin and Lalatina were still doing their own thing, but I imagine they’d show up shortly.
I looked to Hinata, leaving her to decide. She nodded. "Hmm, we are, Luminous." Hinata said as she moved to take a seat next to Luminous. I took the single love seat.
"Milim was introducing me to her new friend." Luminous told Hinata. "Someone native to this universe, and Milim’s newest subordinate as well. The next Walpurgis will be quite interesting if she comes along."
Hinata nodded along.
"Yup! Sirka is my newest minion and friend! She’s strong too! She’ll definitely beat up your minions! Muhahaha!" Milim laughed.
"I would not doubt that; she is incredibly powerful." Luminous nodded, all the while Sirka preened under everyone’s praise.
Despite her age, Sirka was a child at heart.
"Well now that you’re both here, let me tell you a bit more about everything."
Luminous and Hinata already knew the general bits of this world, but I went on to tell them the specifics as well. Where to go to see some interesting things, the interesting Humans that Luminous could look into recruiting, since I know that’s something she wanted to do.
I told them about how the Gates work in detail since Luminous asked about them. The Chaos World and how it was just a massive dimension created by overlapping dimensions.
I told them more about the Monarchs and Rulers, and how Sirka was one of them, which made them look at Sirka in an even more impressive light, which of course made Sirka preen even more.
Then I told them about the new things I learned. "The Phantoms are here?" Luminous asked with some surprise.
I nodded. "They are. Have you dealt with them in the past?"
Luminous shook her head. "Not personally, but Twilight had interacted with them, and researched them as well. His notes were quite thorough."
"Eh, those corrupted Angels you mean?" Milim asked.
I nodded.
"Eh, you don’t need to worry about them, they’re all weak!" Milim said with a laugh.
"That may be so, but they’re still worth accounting for." I told Milim.
"Phantoms. So the beings Antares is allying with originate from your world?" Sirka asked.
"Not exactly, they originate from another universe, but they were once part of our world as well, at least the first of them were." Luminous shared.
Sirka nodded, a thoughtful look on her face.
"Now I wish I still possessed his notes in that case." She sighed.
"What happened to his notes?" Hinata asked.
"Hmm, Pippin, Ashley, and Prelix took off with them once they split off from me due to our disagreements. I did not care about anything to do with Twilight, so I didn’t pursue them." Luminous shared.
"They’re the ones who established that Magic Tower you were telling me about, right?"
Luminous nodded. "Indeed."
"Hmm, I want to go there sometime. Maybe we can make a field trip out of it." I said with a laugh.
Luminous nodded. "It would be an excellent learning experience for the children Rimuru has taken under his care, and that you seem quite attached to. You would also enjoy it there. They have made a Kingdom based on magical advancement."
I wasn’t sure that was a good place for kids, but we’d have to see.
Luminous then looked to Hinata. "Perhaps you can go with them. You have been training to create a new Art. Perhaps you will gain some inspiration there."
"Hmm, we’ll have to plan it out then, but what were the disagreements you had with them really about?"
"It was their view on Humanity." Luminous began. "They believed that Humans needed to be actively dominated and oppressed, Prelix was the greatest proponent of this idea."
Prelix was another Vampire True Ancestor, though Luminous said he was more of a failure to Twilight. He was the True Ancestor of a specific branch of Vampires, the Night Stalkers.
Night Stalkers cannot survive at all without regular dosages of blood, and they are also extremely vulnerable to sunlight. In return, they were more powerful than modern day Vampires who are descended from Prelix’s younger brother, Gunther.
"I did not believe that such a thing was needed, so I refused them. Eventually, all their little insecurities regarding me added up, and they left." Luminous shrugged.
Despite how it may have seemed, Luminous did, in fact, not dislike Humanity, despite how her kingdom functioned essentially off of Humanity’s backs. Or at least it used to. Recently, it had changed to more of a cooperative viewpoint.
Luminous was mostly hands off when it comes to her church. She never ordered them to discriminate against half-humans, or majins, or any other species. She just didn’t care for any of it at all. So long as her people got the blood they needed to survive, and mostly harmlessly, then she would be satisfied.
Most of the bad stuff associated with Luminous was just Roy doing things on his own. But Roy was her subordinate, so she was still partially responsible, there was no denying that. Luminous was not a nice person, but that had never been a deal breaker for me, which probably said more about me than anything else.
"Eh, Luminous, is that you?" Lalatina chirped as she walked into the living room.
Luminous sighed. "I forgot that you would be here."
Lalatina pouted. "How could you say that after all we’ve been through?"
"If you mean you causing trouble, and me being forced to fix it as what we’ve "been through", then I’d prefer it if I didn’t have to see you again."
"Mou, even after that divine artwork I gave you?" Lalatina responded with a smug grin.
Luminous stiffened up for a moment before sighing. "Whatever, then."
I just rolled my eyes at their byplay, I could tell Luminous didn’t really dislike Lalatina.
Lalatina plopped down on my lap, causing Luminous and surprisingly Hinata to glare at her, but Lalatina just shrugged their glares off and cuddled up into me.
We continued to chat a bit more before I showed Hinata and Luminous where they’d be staying. I had to create some new rooms, but that wasn’t hard for me.
"Ara, will you not be sleeping with me, Felix?" Luminous asked as she raised a brow innocently.
"It’s the first day you horny Vampire. At least settle in first." As much as I wanted to have a good time with Luminous, that wasn’t all I wanted to do with her either. It would be much more satisfying to enjoy one another’s intimate company after enjoying ourselves first.
Luminous pouted with an exaggerated sigh. "Very well, and I wanted to try my new technique on you."
"Of course the wielder of Asmodeus, Lord of Lust, would say something like that."
Luminous merely smiled.
"Ugh, can you two have this kind of talk somewhere else?" Hinata groaned, but I could sense the jealousy in her.
"Heh, despite your age you’re still so immature in these matters." I said with a teasing smile.
Hinata’s eyes narrowed at me.
"Fufu, that is true. Perhaps you should correct that, Felix." Luminous teased.
Hinata’s face practically went nuclear. "W-Wha–!"
"Don’t force it, Luminous, but I did want to go on a date with you, Hinata. I was thinking Japan since it’s somewhere you haven’t been in a long time, and is your home country. But if you want to do something else, that’s fine too."
"Ackhmm. Very well, Felix, I would not be opposed to accompanying you."
I grinned. "Excellent. Let’s go in a day once you’ve had a chance to settle in."
Hinata shyly nodded. "Very well.’"
’Then we can go on our own after that.’
"Very well, Master. I will look forward to it."
I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do with Othinus, but I didn’t think too much on it. We both knew each other like the back of a book. We’d figure out what to do when the time came.
With Hinata, I planned for a more traditional Japanese experience. She had told me in the past that she liked some of the formality of Japan, as well as the beauty of its temples and gardens.
I also wanted to go out with Luminous some time, but I didn’t need to worry about her either. We had gotten to the point where we could be mostly casual in our relationship, just doing what seemed fun in the moment.
"You can stay here." I told Hinata. "I’ll create Luminous’ room across from yours."
Hinata nodded and went inside the room I made for her, not stopping to look at how fancy I made the door frame. I shook my head and looked to Luminous and gestured for her to follow me as I created her room.
"Another date with Hinata, hmm?" Luminous’ asked with a teasing smile.
I rolled my eyes, flicking her forehead through space.
She pouted as she lightly rubbed her forehead. "Hmph! You should be thanking me, you know. If it weren’t for me, that girl wouldn’t have mustered up enough courage to ask you the first time."
"I suppose, but we both know that you just want a threesome with the two of us."
Luminous clicked her tongue. "Tsk, you saw through me."
"Not that that’s hard to do." I said under my breath.
"What was that?" Luminous asked.
"Nothing."
"Hmph!"
I finished shaping Luminous’ room with a final wave of my hand. The door shimmered into existence. It had a polished wood frame with subtle golden patterns. She stepped past me to inspect it, running her fingers along the frame.
"Hmm, it is suitable." She said. "Perhaps with some effort it may be almost as beautiful as me." Luminous said haughtily.
"Mhmm, the keyword is almost." I said with a wink.
She shot me a sideways glance, but there was amusement in her eyes. "Would you accompany me for some time? I do wish to spend some quality time with my consort."
I didn’t have anything else to do, and who would reject their lover from something as simple as that.
"Of course, Luminous."
She smiled, grabbed my arm and pulled it close to her before leading me into her room.
We would of course be doing the most depraved of activities... holding hands.
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My eyes slowly opened as I woke up with a yawn.
I woke up in a different room than I had thus far in this world, but I did stay the night with Luminous. I shifted slightly, feeling a warmth against my side. Luminous was curled up next to me, her breathing slow and steady, with one hand draped across my chest.
Her hair was usually perfectly arranged, but was a little messy now. Even Spiritual Lifeforms needed a moment to arrange their hair, after all, but that made her look more beautiful in my opinion.
I smiled faintly. We didn’t have any lewd acts or anything, just wholesome cuddling and talking about things.
I had spent quite a few nights with Lalatina at this point, and Megumin seemed satisfied for the time being, though her and Lalatina had been at each other’s throats now. Not out of maliciousness, but Lalatina kept poking and agitating Megumin.
Eventually something would happen on that front; I was sure of it.
Luminous and I had talked about much over the night. Luminous was most interested in what I had planned for Hinata. In her own words, she was worried about her best friend, but she was a lewd Vampire through and through.
But I’d leave that line of thinking for the future when it actually became relevant.
Luminous and I did talk about much, and I got some of my questions about Vampire hierarchy answered as well.
There were standard Vampires; the ones who needed blood regularly and had a weakness to the sun.
Then there were different strength levels among the normal Vampires, but there was another stage built in after the standard Vampire racial step. This was known as Surmounter. These Vampires conquered their fears of the sun and had grown much stronger in the process.
This wasn’t a racial step, but it was similar to a status, similar to how being an Awakened was also a status.
Surmounters have a small gap to overcome before becoming true Awakeners. They were easily stronger than pretty much all Enlightened, and Luminous had quite a few of these Vampires under her, so her force was not insignificant, at least when not considering the outlier factions.
Luminous can create Surmounters herself as well by turning a humanoid into a Vampire. By default, they would be a surmounter, but of course they would be weaker than Vampires who worked to become Surmounters.
Other than that, the purer the blood generally means the stronger the Vampire. Thus far, Luminous had not sired a single Vampire. That was mostly done by Roy and Louis for the strong ones, which explains the wide range in Vampire abilities between Vampires of similar age.
Even if Luminous was technically not a Vampire herself, it seems she could sire her own if she wished. I wonder what they’d turn out to be?
Eventually, I carefully brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. "Morning, Luminous."
Her lips curved into a faint, sleepy smile as she opened her eyes. "Mmm, good morning, my consort."
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We all slowly ate breakfast as I turned the TV on.
After we woke up, Megumin and Lalatina did shoot Luminous their own jealous glares, even though I’d spent the most time with them so far.
I suppose Daemons are just extremely selfish by nature.
I raised a brow as I read the headlines.
"An S Rank Gate forming over Japan, huh?"
"That isn’t good, right?" Hinata asked as she put her utensils down.
"Eh, things should work out fine. This should just be the Rulers making sure everyone is prepared. Plus, there is a high profile target within that Gate."
If things are the same, and so far they had mostly been the same, inside that Gate is Legia, the Monarch of the Beginning. Which was a cool title, I could admit.
But I feel like mentioning that would only make Hinata more worried. In canon, Jin-Woo showed up after Japan and the S Rank they hired just failed to actually defend against the Gate, then he took care of it, killing Legia in the process as well. Though Legia was weakened after being sealed for who knows how long, and Jin-Woo wasn’t truly the Shadow Monarch at that point either.
The news said that Japan was working overtime to find S Rank Hunters to handle the Gate. This was made harder for them because they lost like an entire Guild of S Ranker in the Jeju Island fiasco.
Luminous, Lalatina, and Megumin ignored the news at my words, but Hinata was still staring at it with a worried expression on her face.
"Hmph, I could just punch it for you if you want Hinata!" Milim said as she pumped her fist up into the air.
Sirka who was sitting beside her didn’t even say anything, already used to Milim’s Milimness.
Hinata blinked at Milim’s support.
"I appreciate the sentiment, Milim, but I believe giving Humanity a chance to fight off its threats will be better for all of them." Hinata responded after a moment.
Milim nodded proudly. "Umu! You’re my bestie’s student, so that makes you, uhh, what does that make you?" Milim turned to me. "Felix! What does that make her!?"
I shrugged. "No idea."
Milim pouted before sighing. "Fine, that makes you something to me. I don’t know what, but it’s something!" Milim said proudly after a moment.
I nodded. "That makes perfect sense." I looked to Hinata. "If you want, we can have our date there around where the Gate is, and you can take a look at things for yourself. I imagine Japan is going to hire some powerful S Rank Hunter to take care of it since they don’t have anyone strong enough anymore due to their own actions."
I did try to find the souls of the Japanese S Rank Hunters who died, but something Beru did essentially fragmented the souls. His ability to acquire the traits/abilities of those he eats essentially cannibalizes their soul in the process.
Hinata’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at me. After a moment she smiled. "Thank you Felix. Yes, I would like that."
"Then that’s that. If they mess up and fail, you can aura farm and take care of it for them."
I said as I went back to eating.
"Aura farm?" Hinata asked in confusion.
"Ah, I know what this is. I was browsing the internet earlier." Luminous’ voice chimed in from across the table. "It is the act of gaining charisma, or "aura", by standing out and showing off in a specific way essentially." Luminous looked at me. "I believe many are calling you one such aura farmer after what you did on that island."
I nodded. "I did show off quite a bit."
It was amusing how Luminous of all people was now getting modern pop culture references. Truly, the internet was a wonder.
"Hmm, we can go tomorrow, give Japan some time to handle things a bit on their end." I told Hinata.
Hinata agreed, and so we all went back to eating.
"Can I go fight that Jin-Woo guy now, Milord?" Megumin asked as she finished her food.
"Hmm, sure, why not? He’s probably had enough time to adjust. But ask him first, and if he disagrees to the fight, then just leave."
Megumin grinned. "Hehe, alright! I’ll be back, Milord!"
With that, Megumin vanished.
"Jin-Woo, that was the new Shadow Monarch you said, right?" Hinata asked. "This world’s strongest person?"
I nodded. "Mhmm, he at least has the potential to be this world’s strongest."
"It is quite surprising that Ashborn chose a Human as a successor." Sirka said. "But Antares did always say that we never understood Ashborn and his motives."
"Hmm, from what I know he was always the oddball among the bunch."
Sirka nodded, as she grew more comfortable with the present company. It was rather amusing just how shy Sirka was, but that said more about the way she was raised than anything else.
From what she told me, she was raised to be a weapon, the new Monarch of Frost. All other avenues of development were shut off to her, even social avenues, so Milim had taken her under her wing and was teaching Sirka a lot.
Milim quickly finished up her food. "Mmm, that was good. Thanks, Lalatina!"
"Lalatina made this?" Luminous said as she finished her food.
Lalatina nodded proudly. "Of course! A proper slave should be capable of feeding their Master!" Lalatina said with a nod.
Even if both Luminous and Hinata knew about me having multiple lovers, I don’t think they were aware of the... finer details of my relationship with Lalatina. From an outside point of view, it probably looked bad.
Luminous merely hummed in agreement, but Hinata was looking at me with narrowed eyes.
I raised my hands in surrender. "It’s her fault." I pointed to Lalatina. "She turned this into a kink thing! At first, I only wanted her as my minion." I nodded with complete self-righteousness.
Yup, all of it was Lalatina’s fault.
"Ah, but then I felt your delicious touch upon my soul." Lalatina said dreamily. "From that moment on I was yours~" Lalatina moaned breathily.
"You aren’t helping me here, Lalatina."
- Sung Jin-Woo -
He sighed as he finally got the chance to rest in his own bed. He knew things would change after he went to the Carteon Temple, but even then he underestimated everything.
Now he just felt like... more. Like the very fact that he thought he was strong in the past almost seemed like a joke to the current him.
When he could swat his past self with a single hand now, it really put things into perspective with the kind of people he would be going against to protect Earth.
The trial itself was not difficult, at least until Kandiaru got involved, but even then he was able to handle everything since Ashborn was on his side.
Ashborn had already told him much of his own history, and his reasoning for passing down his power rather than using his body as a vessel to reincarnate into.
Jin-Woo could still remember the faint echo of Ashborn’s voice in his mind. "Power without will is hollow. I chose you because your will refuses to break."
Ashborn chose him because he had been watching him ever since he got the System, and now he had all of Ashborn’s power to himself.
He had what felt like an infinite pool of mana, even if it really wasn’t. He felt like he could shatter a mountain with a casual punch, and there was so much more.
The shadows themselves seemed to almost instinctively obey his whims, and his own personal Shadows had also been strengthened by his ascension into the Shadow Monarch as Ashborn had called him.
Then there was Ruler’s Authority which was the evolved form of Ruler’s Hand. Now he felt as if he could have crushed the Ant King that became Beru with only the pressure of his Ruler’s Authority and nothing else.
He could feel the power to create Gates to the Chaos World as Ashborn called it, and there were many more abilities that he wanted to explore.
Another big change was the new reserve of energy he could feel inside himself. Ashborn described it as Divinity, a type of energy that could empower attacks to an extremely high degree, and was what classified him as a "divine being".
Jin-Woo didn’t want to think of himself as a god, but Divinity was a useful power nonetheless. Especially so because he apparently would eventually be able to bless and empower others, creating his own "chosen ones" who could act in his name.
Once he tested that power out, he planned to "bless" his mother and sister. They both could use the extra protection, even with the Shadows he always had in their shadows.
Unfortunately, there was no control manual that came with all of Ashborn’s power, so he would have to go somewhere to begin to actually learn to control his power.
Ashborn said that was what separated him from his peers, and he was grateful for Ashborn’s words. They gave him a much needed boost in confidence.
Even so, the cost of that resolve was becoming clearer with each passing day. The Monarchs seemed monstrously strong, but perhaps that was only because he had yet to meet one, so he was overestimating them. But even then, he felt the constant desire to improve himself, to be better prepared.
He had already spoken to the Chairman after he came back from the temple, and the Chairman was incredibly happy to see him completely fine, which was heartening.
The Chairman was far too old for the job foisted upon his shoulders, but Jin-Woo would do his best to help him.
The power he acquired wasn’t the only change in him either.
His entire existence seemed to have changed. Ashborn had briefly described it to him how he was now a being of energy with no set physical form, but that his soul would likely shape his physical form back to what it always was due to its familiarity with that form.
Ashborn did say there were some side effects to this process, but did not have the time to elaborate, as by then he had already passed his essence onto Jin-Woo, meaning his time in the living realm had come to an end.
Now he also needed to find out the so-called side effects of becoming a being made of energy.
He heard a knock on the door to his home, but assumed it was something his mother ordered.
After a moment though he heard her call out. "Jin-Woo!"
He sighed as he got up. No rest for the wicked, he supposed.
"Yes?" He asked as he entered the living room, only to freeze at the sight of a familiar blonde haired, blue eyed girl who was grinning at him.
"Sup! It seems Milord was right, you did get stronger, a Spiritual Lifeform too." Megumin began as she crossed her arms.
He tried not to stiffen up, knowing that he was stronger now, that he could likely take her, but the sheer beating she gave him in the past didn’t just fade from his memory after becoming the Shadow Monarch.
"She said that she knew you, Jin-Woo." His mother explained as she went to the kitchen to get snacks for their guest.
"Why are you here?" He asked once his mother was gone.
Megumin’s grin didn’t leave her face. "Mmm, a lot more confident now." She said with an approving nod. He wouldn’t lie, it was a bit off putting how Megumin seemed to just be observing him, like he was a science experiment that she was trying to predict.
"Hmm, you’re good enough then I think. You just got a lot stronger right?"
He hesitantly nodded.
"Great! Then you wanna fight? I’m sure you wanna get the handle of your power, right?" She said, her smirk never wavering, as if she already knew his answer.
"I would not be opposed to that." He responded after thinking for a moment. It would be a good chance to use a bit more of his power. Megumin was by far the strongest person he’d fought, so he hoped she’d be able to help him learn some control.
"Great, then let’s go!"
"My mother is bringing snacks. We can take those to go." He stopped her.
"Ooh, okay! Snacks are good." Megumin nodded in approval.
While they waited he asked Megumin something that’s been on his mind. "What did you mean by calling me a Spiritual Lifeform?"
Megumin looked at him oddly before shrugging. "I guess I can explain. Milord seems to like you well enough."
She went on to explain what exactly being a Spiritual Lifeform meant, and he only grew more shocked as she went on.
Those must have been the supposed side effects that Ashborn was talking about.
Once his mom gave them some snacks, Megumin jumped up from the couch. "Let’s go! I’ve been wanting to fight one of those Monarchs!" She said with excitement before she snapped her fingers.
Jin-Woo could feel Space warp around him, and he knew he could resist if he wanted to, but he allowed her to pull him away.
They appeared in a bland desert. "Don’t worry, I placed barriers to make sure to protect the area around." Megumin said as she took her stance.
He nodded as he took his own stance.
"Let’s go then!" Megumin yelled before she vanished.
His eyes widened as his instincts warned him of the threat coming from above.
At least this time he could react to her and track her movements. Those were the last thoughts he had as he was forced to dodge, leaving Megumin’s foot to land on the desert ground.
The instant her heel touched down, it was like a meteor had just landed.
A thunderous BOOM split the air, the shockwave tearing through the desert before being stopped by the barrier she had in place.
He watched the cataclysmic effects that erupted from a mere kick from Megumin. Sand erupted in towering geysers, blotting out the sun for a moment, while the ground itself spiderwebbed with fissures that raced outward for hundreds of meters. Jagged shards of rock launched into the air like shrapnel, some embedding themselves deep into the surrounding cliffs, others simply pulverized into dust mid-flight.
The force was so immense that dunes in the distance collapsed, their crests sliding down in lazy, rippling avalanches. A small ridge that had probably stood there for centuries now lay in ruin, half of it simply... gone.
Yeah... it seemed like he’d have to go all out.
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Author’s Note:
Sup everyone, back with another Chapter of Daemon. Arcueid finally begins her discussion with Glassord to finalize an alliance with Dagruel, then Luminous and Hinata go over to solo leveling’s earth, and things are also moving along in solo leveling at the same time.
Then some more dates are finalized, one with othinus which has been long overdo, then one with Hinata.
Then of course wholesome handholding!
Jin-Woo has also become the shadow monarch, so I thought to show off some of the changes in him in an attempt to humanize him a bit more, over the cold aura farmer he is in the manwha. The fight with Megumin will not continue into the next Chapter.
Anyways, thanks for reading, peace!
Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta’ing this Chapter.
Last bit of editing -Omnax
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