The demon that appeared in exchange for all the souls and corpses in the surrounding area took the form of a stunningly beautiful woman.
Her long, pure-white hair fell to her waist, and in sharp contrast, her eerily gleaming crimson face carried the dignity of a noble lady. But the overwhelming quantity of magicules pouring from her body, along with that unmistakable presence, told Vertis the truth at once.
Before his eyes stood the empress of demons, said to be the most dangerous among the primordial demons: Primordial White, Blanc.
"Well, this is unexpected. I didn't think a primordial demon would show up."
"Hmm? So you know who I am."
"It'd be harder not to recognize someone with that much magicules. So? Why did you answer my summons?"
"Heh. What if I said I found you interesting?"
"You find me interesting, huh? Should I take that to mean you want to become my subordinate?"
At his words, Blanc only smiled as if she found the whole thing amusing.
"Of course."
Vertis smiled back. Demons were, by nature, beings who acted according to their own whims and interests. And the stronger a demon was, the more plainly that tendency showed. Which was why a dangerous demon like Blanc was, paradoxically, easier to trust.
"Good. Then in return for your loyalty, I'll grant you a physical body and a name."
Giving a name to a primordial demon was an act so dangerous it could even risk the erasure of one's own existence. Even the one who had attached the surname Crimson to Guy Crimson had lost most of his power as the price.
For someone like him as well, naming a primordial demon meant accepting enormous risk.
Under normal circumstances, anyway.
'But I've got a cheat.'
"I give you the name [Testarossa]. From now on, call yourself Testarossa."
At those words, Blanc seemed to break free of a shell, gaining both a body of flesh and a name on the spot.
The demon Rimuru had summoned easily dealt with the remaining stragglers and returned to Tempest. On the way, he met Grucius, the beastman guarding the gate.
The moment Grucius saw the demon behind him, he felt his fur stand on end. Ranga had definitely introduced her as a Greater Demon, but the immense power he sensed from her was on par with an Arch Demon.
"...First time meeting one of your kind. An Arch Demon?"
"Kuhuhuhu, correct. Upper majin."
Even at first glance, Grucius understood how dangerous an Arch Demon was.
"You don't need to be that wary. From the looks of it, this one is very interested in Rimuru, so she won't attack."
"If that's true, then that's a relief."
Grucius turned his gaze to the two Greater Demons standing behind her. One of them was carrying an unconscious person over his shoulder. But those two demons as well possessed combat power on the level of upper majin.
Grucius slowly relaxed his guard and turned toward the city to guide the demons inside.
But at that moment, something strange happened.
Srrr—
"What the—?!"
The barrier surrounding the city suddenly vanished. As long as that barrier existed, no monster in the city could leave. In other words, entering was easy, but leaving was another matter entirely.
And now that barrier was gone. Worried about what had happened inside, Grucius immediately started running toward the central plaza.
There stood Rimuru.
No, he wore Rimuru's appearance, but he was not Rimuru. His blue hair had turned into beautiful silver, and he seemed slightly taller as well. More than anything, there was not the slightest trace of emotion in his eyes. Grucius had seen something like this once before. The atmosphere around Rimuru now was strikingly similar to what he had shown during the battle against the Orc Lord.
And around him lay Rimuru's sleeping subordinates. The concentration of dense magicules in the area had been so overwhelming that the humans and dwarves had fled long ago, and Youm and his men were nowhere to be seen either.
The only ones there were Mjurran and Rimuru.
Though stunned, Mjurran watched the scene without missing a single detail.
That aura was enough to steal one's soul away, and his appearance was beautiful beyond words. The Rimuru before her now possessed a holiness so absolute that the word divine seemed fitting.
The demon who had just arrived knelt respectfully before Rimuru in greeting. Demons excelled in demonic aura and soul manipulation, so they could distinguish the color of another's soul. Rimuru was carrying out a solemn rite for the monsters lying there dead.
But he lacked the energy needed to complete it. He had devoured everything in the surrounding area, including the barrier, with Beelzebuth in order to gather the magicules required for the ritual, yet even that had not been enough.
The magic Rimuru's proxy was trying to perform now was the secret art of returning souls, a secret technique that attempted the complete restoration of the soul as the step before reviving the dead.
It was an art beyond human understanding and nearly impossible to reach. That was the secret art of returning souls.
And yet the proxy was trying to perform it. Even among demons, only a tiny few could handle the enormous energy required for that art and control such power with precision.
"...Affirmative. The required amount has not been met. Life force will be consumed as a substitute."
The demon was startled by those words, by the declaration that his own life force would be used instead.
"Please wait, Master! There is no need to use your own life as a substitute... I have a better idea."
The demon turned her gaze toward the two Greater Demons behind her, then spoke with a satisfied smile.
"Please use these two. To be of help to our master is our greatest joy."
As if agreeing, the two demons stepped forward, knelt, and bowed their heads.
"Confirmed. They can supplement the required quantity of magicules. Proposal approved."
Without hesitation, Beelzebuth devoured the two demons. Space itself was swallowed along with them, and they were converted into pure energy.
To the demon, that energy looked like the light of ecstasy. She found satisfaction in the thought that it must be because their wish had been fulfilled: they had become useful to their master.
"Oh... how enviable you are."
A small light gathered in the proxy's hand. He clenched it tightly and declared,
"Confirmation complete. The predetermined quantity of magicules has been reached. Resuming the secret art of returning souls."
And then the miracle began.
A beautiful, colorless, transparent orb of light spread out and covered the faint purple membrane. That membrane was the soul and the astral body protecting it.
The success rate had been a mere 3.14 percent. But that figure had been calculated before evolving into a demon lord.
Now, after evolution—
Fwaaaash—
Brilliant light warmly enveloped the dead, their wounds closed, and a true miracle was performed. Yet even after accomplishing such a miracle, the proxy showed no change in emotion.
Three people witnessed that sight.
Mjurran, Grucius, and the demon.
Mjurran watched the ritual with a pale face, utterly captivated.
With her own eyes, she had seen the ultimate form of the soul arts she had longed for. She was glimpsing a feat that belonged to the abyss of magic itself, and through it, she could sense Rimuru's ability as a demon lord.
Someone on the level of an upper majin was no comparison at all. Realizing that making an enemy of Rimuru would mean their destruction, Mjurran swore that she would never allow Youm to become Rimuru's enemy.
Grucius, too, was transfixed by the miracle unfolding before his eyes, and at the same time felt awe.
The enormous energy, the magical control needed to command it all. Looking at Rimuru, who had controlled every bit of it, he could hardly believe this was truly a newly born demon lord.
And those eyes... they were the eyes of someone looking at something worthless. Eyes that seemed to regard his dead companions as no more than broken machines to be repaired. Eyes that said if it failed, they could simply be made again.
Which one was the real Rimuru? The one he had shown until now, or the one standing here now? Whichever was true, Grucius took it upon himself to warn both himself and the beastmen never to even think of betraying him.
That sacred and beautiful figure was like beholding a god. The Rimuru standing there was in no way inferior to a divine being, and his appearance was enough to captivate everyone who saw it. Surely this was what worshippers felt when they gazed upon their god.
Far away, Vertis's clone, who had been watching the scene, had a thought as well. Rimuru's current state felt very similar to what Rimuru had once described as [Great Sage].
The demon was filled with ecstasy. And then, suddenly, a question arose in her mind.
Was the one she had spoken with earlier really her master?
But she soon discarded the thought.
For a skill to possess a will of its own was a possibility far more remote than successfully performing the secret art of returning souls. A skill acting autonomously to fulfill its master's wish... as a demon who dwelled in the abyss, she could imagine such a possibility, but she pushed it from her mind.
For the demon now, what mattered more was becoming one of Rimuru's subordinates.
And so, a demon lord was born.
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