"WAIT-!" BOOM!
"I didn't mean to-!" WHOOSH! BANG!
"It just slipped-!" SZZZZ… BOOSHHH!!!!
"RIMURU, HELP-!" SHIKKK! THUD! THUD! THUD!
I spared a glance backward, at the corner of the room that'd been expanded to hold Luminous and Veldora as they 'fought', an impressive, shounen-style brawl that shook the very foundations of the dimension we were sitting in, even though neither participant was actually fighting seriously.
Currently, Luminous was slamming Veldora's head into the translucent green barrier separating them from us, as he pleaded over and over again for me to save him.
Which I had no intention of doing. He'd antagonized Valentine by revealing her identity, he could deal with the consequences.
If that meant letting Luminous, who'd dismissed her attendants now that her cover was blown, beat the crap out of him, then I was perfectly fine with that.
Neither side would bother using their skills or full power in front of this crowd, after all, so it wasn't like he was in danger.
"RIISAAA?!!!" Is Luminous actually stabbing Veldora in the gut?
Oh, well. Even though Luminous's magicule capacity was comparable to Risa's, unless she had one hell of an Ultimate skill, it was theoretically impossible for her to actually harm Veldora in any meaningful way.
As such, it wasn't my problem. "Hey, Risa. Can you use Horus to soundproof Veldora, so that we can finish the meeting up? I don't think Valentine's gonna stop anytime soon."
"Sure, Big Bro." Suddenly, the sounds of dimensional-shaking violence completely cut off. A look back proved that they were still fighting, but now we could ignore it.
"Okay, so to sum it up, Clayman's gone for Rimuru, Valentine's proxy is busted, and Carillon and Frey are both working for Milim now… Doesn't that mean that we're down to eight demon lords?" Ramiris wondered aloud.
It was like every single Demon Lord at the table had simultaneously been struck by lightning. Even Dino, for the first time since he'd sat down, lifted his head to stare at her in horror.
"Wait, does that mean that we have to rename ourselves again?" He realized, a tone in his voice that sent my danger sense into overdrive.
Daggrull groaned, a deep bass that didn't assuage my fears. "The endless meetings. However, in terms of our dignity, we must name ourselves."
"Yes, last time, the 'Ten Great Demon Lords' only stuck after the humans named us themselves. I remember convening several times, only for every single proposal to fail for some reason or other." Leon reminisced.
"It was a mess." Guy agreed.
"Oh, Rimuru's good at naming! He can think of a great name for us, no problem!" Milim volunteered me.
"Wait, what?!" I did not need this.
But the genie was out of the bottle. "Big Bro! You can do it!" Risa encouraged.
"Really, I don't think-" I was interrupted by the ornate table being cut right in half by a casual wave of Guy's hand.
"You wouldn't decline our generous invitation to name us, would you?" He asked, walking up to me. His hand reached past my cheek, to tuck a lock of my hair behind my ears. Yet again, my sense of danger was exploding again, but for a completely different reason. "After all, you are the reason that we're in this situation…" He whispered into my ear.
From most views, it may have looked like he was hitting on me.
No. This was a threat. A terrifying one, too. I could feel Shion's annoyance building silently behind me with every breath Guy took in my vicinity, simply making Guy's threat even more terrifying.
I leaned back in my chair, sighing as I mentally admitted defeat. "Alright, alright. Just give me a moment to think, okay?"
As Guy returned to his seat, having successfully passed the buck, I looked around the room.
Including Luminous, who was still silently and brutally beating on Veldora behind my barrier, we had eight Demon Lords here. While not all of us were technically 'True' Demon Lords like Risa and I, each of us were at least equivalent.
Ultimate Class, the step right below 'True Dragon' range.
We may not have been the 'only' True Demon Lords alive, but we were definitely at the top of the world.
I looked up at the ceiling.
Eight people at the top… eight stars in the sky… an eight pointed star…
"How about 'Octogram'?" I asked.
And thus, we became the Octogram. The Eight Pointed Star that lived in a league far above the rest of the world.