Chapter 95: Guilt
The room went dead quiet. Every being present stared at Clayman, unable to believe he had just struck Milim and was still alive. Then out of nowhere a soul crushing pressure hit the room.
It flooded the chamber in a single wave, pressing down on the souls of the weaker Demon Lords and every attendant in the room. Varion hadn't moved, he was still leaning back in his chair with Prinz in his embrace, but his eyes had gone slitted. He was releasing both his Demon Lord haki and his dragon spirit haki at full power, suffocating the whole room without meaning to. The floor around his chair cracked outward in jagged lines, cracks rain through the air around him leaking light and warping slightly, as the space they were in struggled to keep itself together without reinforcement.
Every non-True Demon Lord in attendance was slammed into the ground. Frey and Carrion were driven into the table hard enough that it cracked and neither of them could lift their heads. Dagruel's massive frame tensed, the muscles in his arms locking as he was put on edge. Dino stared across the table in awe, with a small spark of devotion in his eyes as he looked sure of something now. Guy remained in his seat, a smile slowly making its way on his face as he watched the haki and Leon's gaze had sharpened with interest.
Rain and Misery were braced against the far wall barely holding themselves up, both of them sweating with eyes wide as they were shaking in fear. Rain's voice came out shaky. "How is a brand-new Demon Lord this much of a monster?"
Rimuri had not looked away from Clayman the whole time. Her own multicolored aura was already rising around her, completely untouched by the pressure along with Prinz. who simply leaned further into Varion's chest, one hand resting over his.
Luminous's reaction was entirely different. She had gone completely still in her seat, both hands clamping down on the edge of the table as her knuckles turned pale from her grip. A deep flush rose across her face, as she bit down on her lower lip unconsciously rubbed her thighs together. While periodically crossing and uncrossing her legs trying to keep her composure, but the way his haki pressed against her and was interacting with [Lust] was making it very difficult.
Stella was no better, she stood just behind Varion's chair staring at him heatedly as a blush spread across her face. Her knees had locked so her legs wouldn't give out but she could stop her thighs from rubbing together just like Luminous's, and she was fighting to keep her breathing smooth. The desire hit her just as hard as it had Luminous.
She forced her expression back into place and kept her hands folded, as her eyes found Luminous across the table. The small, unsteady smirk she managed was enough to show her superiority, even if her cheeks were still just as red as before. Luminous caught it and her jaw tightened and she glared at Stella.
Clayman was on the floor. Coughing Blood that as he struggled to stay on his hands and knees, the full weight of the haki's were unrelenting in trying to crush him. The only reason they hadn't was that Varion wasn't consciously activating them.
Varion's gaze shifted to Milim who was still acting like a puppet. His voice came out quiet and tired when he spoke.
"Milim. Please stop playing around. I'm not in the mood."
Prinz calmly intertwined her fingers with his and gently squeezed his hand. She turned her head to look him in the eyes, gently spoke with her voice coming out soft and warm.
"Varion, dear. Calm down a bit. You're damaging our host's hall."
The pressure stopped abruptly, then pulled back all at once. The fractures in the air mended shut, and the cracked stone of the floor knit itself back together beneath his chair. He let out a sigh and leaned his head to the side resting his cheek against hers.
"Sorry about that," he said softly. "I didn't mean to."
Milim stood frozen with wide eyes as she stared at her little brother. 'When did he get that strong? Why do his magicules feel different? Why are they so familiar? What all did I miss!!?' Then her brain picked out a specific detail. 'Why does he sound so hurt and tired?'
The other Demon Lords sat watching to see what would happen. The last person who interrupted her fun ended up dead when she decided to "play" with them instead.
One thought cut through the rest for Milim. 'While I was here playing around something bad happened to my little brother.
That single thought was enough to snap her out of the state she was in. She moved before she even thought to and appeared at his side instantly. Her skill Milim Eye was already activated. What she saw made her go still again. His soul was cracked across its surface, strained past what it should have been able to hold. There was damage beneath that deep in his soul that was far too familiar to her, it was similar to what happened to her all those years ago.
Anger slowly started to rise in her, but the worry she felt for him overshadowed even that for now. She spoke with her voice full of worry and care.
"Varion, what happened to you? Why are you sad? Did someone do this?"
He started to speak, "I'm fine. Nothing happened—" only to be cut off by Prinz.
"That's a lie," Prinz said, cutting him off, then looking him in the eye daring him to complain. She met Milim's sharp look without flinching. "Milim, yes. Someone hurt him, it was Clayman, he orchestrated an attack on Tempest while Varion and Rimuri were away. It caused the deaths of a lot of our people….. including my own. That then forced Varion and Rimuri into becoming a Demon Lord to bring us back."
When Prinz finally finished, Milim could only stand there in shock. 'This…this is my fault. I was playing, messing with Clayman, letting him believe I was his puppet while he attacked my little brother. Im- im a horrible big sister. I let him go through the exact kind of trauma that destroyed me all those years ago. I never wanted him to feel that kind of pain of losing a loved one, not after what happened to dad. I wanted to protect him from what came after, from being drowned in your own instincts due grief and rage until you slaughtered thousands without realizing it. But I failed. He's still suffering even right now because I was playing around and treated the man responsible like a game'
Milim stood there as her chest tightened until it hurt and she swore if it were possible her heart would have shattered. Tears welled up before she could stop them as she stared at her little brother's tiered eyes. Then all that guilt twisted into rage and directed outward at the other cause besides her.
"CLAYMAN YOUR DEAD!!!" she yelled.
Red and black stardust poured off her in a sudden rush. A red horn broke through the skin of her forehead as her body began to shift with wings and a tail forming. The older demonlords recognised it, it was the same form she had taken when she fought Guy ten thousand years ago. Her eyes narrowed into slits and darkened to a deep red. As the pressure in the room climbed again.
"It's happening again," Ramiris shouted, her voice high and actual fear. "Guy, stop her!"
Dino and Dagruel were already on their feet, both of them shifting backward toward the edges of the hall ready to run if needed. Guy's eyes narrowed. For the first time since the meeting started, something close to worry crossed his face. The walls trembled and jagged cracks ran up the stone. An organic red and black armor formed across Milim's shoulders and arms that had cracks that looked to have lava flowing through them began to form. The red in her eyes began to bleed toward pure white. Her expression had gone into one filled with feral rage.
Clayman dropped fully to the ground. He was shaking, staring up at her with open horror. The rest stood and backed away as fast as possible from the energy pouring off of her, Even Luminous was on her feet, moving slowly along the far side of the table toward Varion's side of the room.
Then Varion's hand landed on top of Milim's head and she froze right alongside her rising power.
"Milim," he said, voice soft. "Stop. I'll handle him. Okay?"
She looked up through the gaps in his fingers at him then after a few seconds she nodded, the motion was small and meek unlike her normal self.
"Ok."
Then her gaze dropped to the floor, as her hands started shaking. 'What if he hates me. What if he doesn't want to talk to me after this. What if he never trusts me again.' Her lip trembled and tears threatened to fall.
Varion watched her expression fall into that devastated look and could help a sad sigh that left him. He shifted over in his seat and pulled her down beside him. The second she registered where she was, she pressed into his side, buried her face against him, and locked her arms around his stomach.
The relief hit her all at once. 'He's not mad. He still wants me near him.' She hugged him tighter. 'I don't know what I would do if he hated me.'
Varion rested his hand on her back and gently rubbed it, while looking up. The other Demon Lords were staring, most of them looked surprised. But his eyes settled on Guy. The man was still seated, with a smirk back on his face. But something in the set of his expression did not match and it set Varion on edge.
Varion let out a deep sigh. 'I'm too tired for all of this. I just want to go home and bury my face in Rimuri or Prinz's boobs. Or Luminous's, those are great too. Or hell at this point Stella's would be great too, though she might try to do something more than just sleep.' The thought trailed off. 'Dear father, I could sleep for the next week and not worry about anything. But no. I have to deal with that shitty clown.'
Then he looked over at Rimuri. She was watching him and Milim with clear concern, but the eagerness to get at Clayman was still there and eager.
'I'll let her deal with him. I have my own person to settle a score with.' The thought of the man Stella had locked in the dungeon sat in a cold and dark place in the back of his mind.
"Rimuri," he said. "He's all yours. Just make sure it hurts."
She stood. Her magicules exploded outward in a sharp wave, multicolored light flaring around her as a pissed off smile settled across her face. She started walking toward Clayman slowly while cracking her knuckles.
"This is gonna hurt, like alot."