★102
WALPURGIS ARC.
ASTERI'S POV
From the other side, I can hear Rain introducing the Demon Lord.
"I guess it's time."
I murmured.
I stood up from my seat, space cracking as I made my way to my destination.
"I truly thank you all for responding to my summo..."
Clayman's speech came to an end when one of the unused portals suddenly cracked open. The colour immediately changed to suit my liking.
"W—what's this?"
"Enemy attack?"
"Anyone would be foolish to set foot here, unwelcome."
Dagruel stated. A soft giggle escaped from the portal. I took a breath, using magic to create white clouds as I breathed out.
"I'll let that slide just for today."
The man stepped out of the broken portal, it was Asteri.
The Demon Lords held their breath no one spoke, they couldn't, only few cour.
"A—asta kun? What are you doing here?"
"Ex-Demon Lords aren't supposed to attend Walpurgis."
Guy added. I smiled, ignoring them both as I headed towards an empty seat. Rimuru shot up from his own, his eyes staring in surprise.
"E...ex Demon Lord? Is that true—"
"Shh."
My finger on my lips, prompting him to stay quiet.
"Red said it'll be interesting so I tagged along. Please, ignore my existence and continue."
"R—Red?"
Rimuru took a glance at Guy and gulped before taking his seat. The hall went completely silent. He
"What are you waiting for, you whelp of a clown? Proceed."
I stated, my eyes locked onto Clayman.
"A—as I was saying. Thank you all for responding to my summons. I hear by declaring the commencement of the demon lords' banquet, Walpurgis."
Everyone was silent and so was I.
(Long story short? Watch Tensura ep 48 [1:47 to 2:00])
Carrion instigated Falmuth, leading them to invade the Great Jura Forest. Then he offered to cooperate with Tempest to fight them off and cause harm to humans. Then, after defeating Falmuth, Rimuru declared himself a demon lord and Carrion backed him up.
"Such self-serving behaviour violates the pact made by the Demon Lords. And in this way, my subordinate, Mjurran, who gathered this information for me was killed by this fool called Rimuru. This is why I made up my mind to take vengeance.
What's more, Rimuru conspired with Carrion in an attempt to kill me. Mujrran informed me of this with the last of her strength. And upon learning of Carrion's betrayal, Milim was enraged and she destroyed Eurazania and Carrion was killed.
Of course, I admonished Milim telling her that doing such an act without evidence is unforgivable. But please, do not blame Milim. She did it all for your sake.
I'm certain you will all understand now that this petty majin called Rimuru is a fool who gives Demon lords a bad name! I believe it'll be appropriate to purge him!
Thank you."
He bowed before taking his seat.
"We will now hear from our..."
"Such loopholes. You can't even lie."
I cut off Rain's speech.
"W—what?"
"Let's assume it's a triangular friendship. You all three are friends, Carrion betrays and Milim destroys him for your sake just like that?"
"Misfit Scourge, you're only here to listen, remember?"
Guy corrected, his eyes closed, arms folded.
My voice dropped to a low murmur, cold and controlled.
"Sloppy storytelling. Even sloppier attempt at manipulation. This shit is just too obvious. Rain, continue."
She was obviously glaring before recomposing herself.
"We'll now here from our guest."
Rimuru stood up and faced Clayman at Rain's words.
"Clayman, was it?"
He asked.
"You're a liar"
He came out straight.
"Are you saying that because of what the Misfit Scourge said!?"
"Not at all. It's you and me, I know what happened so I'll space it out for you."
He took a deep breath before proceeding.
"Frankly, the Demon Lord status doesn't mean anything to me. The thing about Carrion deceiving me was a lie, and Falmuth only acted out of their own greed."
"Hah! And who will believe such excuses? One of my subordinates was killed!"
"Mjurran is alive."
"I wonder what you'll say next."
"She is currently in my care in case you don't know. So I won't allow you to get near her and any testimony will never convince anyone."
Clayman laughed it off and asked.
"You would do something so cowardly?"
"Cowardly?"
"Did you tamper with Mujrran's corpse and place an evil spirit in it?"
"Yeah, I didn't expect you to believe anything I said. So...look at this."
He raised his hand summoning an orb above the table.
It displayed an image of Phobio being transformed into Charibdis. Clayman stood up from his seat.
"I—impossible!"
Followed by a conversation between Tear and Footman who are subordinates to Clayman. The two leaked information about a third party.
"This is what you call 'proof' Clayman."
Annoyed, he slammed the table.
"Th..this is all hogwash! How dare you use images you made with magic as a bluff?!
Don't waste our time with such low-level tricks, slime!"
"I sense annoyance."
I murmured to myself.
"It's no bluff, you moron! Your army's been wiped out.... and you'll be next."
Clayman immediately turned to the demon lords seeking help.
"E..everyone, do not be deceived! This slime excels at bluffing and trickery! He released Veldora's seal and destroyed Falmuth's army, he's merely trying to pass that off as a show of his own strength!
It's preposterous that a weakling like this should call himself a Demon Lord!"
"Why conspire with a low life like Carrion to destroy Falmuth when Rimuru has Veldora by his side?"
I asked.
"W—well because—very well. I shall explain. This lowly slime who knows nothing about anything was unfortunate to obtain the Demon Lord Seed!
Then, in his arrogance, he sought to find the truth about it in the human world. And then he selfishly starts a war with them and uses Veldora who has been sealed to slaughter them all!
If we allow one such as him to go free, our reputation as Demon Lords will be tarnished! Purge him! Yes! I believe it is necessary to purge him! What do you say?"
He slammed the table but it seemed like he was talking to himself as I was bored myself.
"Like I said, show us proof. All you're telling us is the way you wish it to happen. And I've said, you can't convince anybody with that."
"Do not mock me, slime borrowing the Evil Dragon's authority! It's unthinkable that one such as you could become a Demon Lord!"
"My being a slime makes no difference and Veldora is my friend. I didn't come here to listen to your boring ass stories. Just admit it—the majin called Phobio can testify that Charybdis was revived under your orders.
That suggestion came from those two clowns in the image you just saw. And one of your men did turn into Charybdis and went on a rampage. That's concrete evidence.
If you think I'm bluffing, that's fine. You can die with that belief."
He touched the table and it disappeared. My leg which was mounted on top of the table was now stationed midair.
"E—everyone!"
Clayman cried for help, noticing how the other Demon Lords didn't pay any attention to Rimuru's actions.
"Will we allow him to get away with such violence?! It's an insult to us Demon Lords! Do you not agree we should all punish him?!"
"I did worse and got away with it."
I replied, my eyes closed. As if to get back his attention, Rimuru sent a chair crashing next to him.
"If you'd call that violence. You were trying to control my mind while you were speaking weren't you? Attacks like that won't work on me. But is attempted mind control through speech allowed at Walpurgis?"
"Absolutely not,"
I replied.
"Exactly. In the interest of impartiality for everyone here, it is only acceptable to speak with your own words."
Guy added.
"B—but, Guy, he has insulted us Demon Lo..."
"Shut up."
Rimuru intervened and approached the centre of the hall, facing Guy.
"If you don't like me, this is between you and me, isn't it?
Like I told you, the Demon Lord status means nothing to me. I only want to build a nation where I can enjoy my life. I need human cooperation to achieve that which is why I decided to protect them.
Anyone who interferes with that, whether you're a human, Demon Lord or Holy Church, is my enemy. That means you, Clayman."
He declared, pointing towards his target. That very moment, two sets of eyes landed on me but I ignored them.
I took a deep breath.
"I'm proud. This is getting boring. Red, allow me to take over."
"We'll both arrive at the same conclusion so why not?"
"Based on proof, Rimuru prevails. But Garbage-man—"
"W—what?"
"You acted marvelously."
He flinched, not expecting that compliment.
"If you're a Demon Lord, The Marionette Master then defeat this lowly majin, a slime with your own strength. Power is one of the things that sets us apart from the Heroes."
"And you, Rimuru, do you proclaim yourself a Demon Lord?"
Guy asked.
"Yeah. I've already accepted the role of the Leader of the Great Jura Forest. In the eyes of the humans, I'm a Demon Lord."
"Very well."
"Interesting isn't it. You don't have regular witnesses here but Demon Lords. If you can defeat Clayman in front of us, which you can, I will recognise you as one of them."
"I wonder how you're going to do that Asta kun."
I opened my palm and my Demon Lord ring appeared.
"I can."
Clayman chuckled.
"My goodness. My unwillingness to soil my own hands has led to something more troublesome. This is truly a mistake.
I suppose too much scheming really is the schemer's downfall."
"Now you've admitted. If Rimuru somehow fails to deal with you, I'll extinguish your source myself."
"Rest assured for that won't happen. You're up, Milim"
He commanded and the Demon Lords all looked shocked.
At his command, Milim stood up as if possessed.
To be continued...