As Rimuru sat on his chair across from Violet, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in surprise. He had taught Shuna Holy Magic, but he hadn't expected for her to get this far in such a short amount of time. If anything he had expected her to use the Storm Magic Veldora had taught her.
He couldn't help but hold back a chuckle as he shook his head. She worked too hard.
Glancing back at Violet, he could see her eyes were wide with surprise, her mouth opened to speak, but no words came out. Instead, after a few moments, she burst into laughter. Her laugh rang throughout the entire room, and she even had to hold her stomach as she finally began to calm down.
"Alright, you got me." Violet finally answered, wiping a tear from her eyes. "I finally see what you see in him, Diablo. If you'd given me countless guesses as to how the fight would end, Holy Magic would be near the end. Still, isn't it ironic? The Empress of Monsters worships the goddess whose whole religion is killing Monsters."
"Luminous?" Rimuru asked with a grin. "Wanna take another guess?"
He had to give it to her, it was a far more reasonable explanation than the alternative. After all, the number of people who could manipulate Spiritrons could probably be counted in one's hands.
"Foolish as ever, Violet." Diablo responded with a shake of his head, letting out a wide smile, and Rimuru could almost say that his eyes were sparkling with joy. "Lady Shuna need not worship a false goddess. She is my Lord's wife, the only woman worthy of standing next to him."
Diablo seemed particularly set on this view, but when he remembered his reaction to the Slime plush she had given him, it made sense that Diablo held Shuna in such high regard. One way or the other, she had also earned Diablo's loyalty.
"Oh? Did you actually get Holy Magic to work through your Monsters?" Violet asked genuinely interested. "I heard about the churches, but I honestly thought that was just to stroke your ego."
From the casual way she was speaking now, it seemed that Tempest's show of strength was enough for her to see Rimuru as an equal. At least to some degree.
"Yeah." Rimuru answered with a shrug. "To be fair, Luminous did help us."
"What? You got that stingy hag to help you? How?" Violet asked with genuine surprise. "The last time I saw her be nice to another person was when she was hanging around with Chronoa."
"Chronoa?" Rimuru asked. "The Hero?"
"Yeah." Violet answered, playing with her ponytail. "She was really nice to me at first, but later on when we crossed paths she was a pain in the ass. Still, it was fun to mess with her."
"Can you tell me more about her? The Hero Chronoa." Rimuru asked in a casual tone, but behind his smile there was another question.
'Raph, what are the odds that the Hero Chronoa is our mysterious H. C.'
[Answer. The odds are now set at 78.78914…%] Raphael answered, and after going silent for a moment she added. [In addition, there is a high chance that the Hero Chronoa is the one responsible for the Prophecy of the Sky and Storm.]
Hmm.
If that was true, then that led him to another answer. One he didn't want to be true.
'Raph…'
[Yes. There is a high chance that the Time Spirit inside of Chloe is a fragment of the Hero Chronoa.]
That answer made him want to sigh, but in hindsight it made sense. The Time Spirit had come from the future, or well, a future. It had left him her Time Crest, and her memories behind before fusing with Chloe. Who's to say that said "Time" Spirit wouldn't be able to go back even further?
It would explain why someone from the time of the first Harpy Queen would know of him. As well as the warning she left behind for him about Englassia.
"Chronoa…" Violet answered, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Well, I don't really have much else to say about her. I only saw her in passing a few times when I went to bother Luminous. You'd probably have more luck asking Luminous directly.
Then, standing up, Violet let out a grin.
"Anyways, enough chatting around. Let's get this over with. I can tell you more once you are my slave." She said casually before dropping the friendly act. "Don't think that just because my servants lost that you can win. All that shows is that I have been too merciful with them. They are nothing but a disappointment."
Then, Violet released a wave of her Demon Lord's Haki, causing the glass around them to begin cracking from the pressure.
"Trust me. I'll make sure that they never put on such a disappointing display ever again."
Then, as if nothing had happened, Violet's Haki vanished as she let out a smile.
"I'm actually kind of excited for this fight. Ever since Jaune found her little toy she hasn't come out to play with me. So I will finally get to stretch my muscles. I hope you will not disappoint, Rimuru." Then with a snap of her fingers, the mansion they were sitting on transformed into an open field, mostly filled with sand, some random pillars, and some sparse vegetation.
"And here I was enjoying our conversation." Rimuru answered with a chuckle as he took off his coat and passed it to Diablo. "So be it, I have a vacation to get back to."
"My Lord, remember, she won't submit unless you have thoroughly dominated her. I suggest you not hold back." Diablo said, though judging by the stars in his eyes, he probably just wanted to see him fight with all his strength.
Violet on her part, rolled her eyes at the comment, but didn't deny it. Only stretching out slightly.
Violet's gaze locked with Rimuru's, her eyes glinting with manic delight. Then, slowly, a vicious smile curled on her lips. One deliberate step forward, and the moment her heel touched the ground, an overwhelming burst of Daemon's Haki erupted from her in a violent wave.
True to her name, the aura that surged from her was a deep, venomous violet, saturating the space around her with malignant intent. It was raw and unfiltered, a manifestation of poison in its purest form. Trees withered. Stones cracked. The very air hissed as if recoiling from the touch of her will.
Rimuru didn't need Raphael to analyze it, he could feel it. Her Haki was toxic to existence itself, a spiritual venom that threatened to rot the world around it. And yet, what truly impressed him wasn't just its corrosiveness. It was that, through sheer force of will alone, she'd replicated something disturbingly close to the decay of his own Beelzebuth.
Then, with a grin of his own, Rimuru finally let go of the aura he had kept trapped inside of his Stomach ever since he had evolved into a Demon Lord. Ironically, for something categorized to be Demon Lord's Haki, his own aura resembled anything but.
Dark lightning snapped around him as a beautiful, multicolored, flame-like aura roared into being. Golden flames surged brightly, slamming into the advancing wall of violet corruption and halting it mid-air with a thunderous boom. Violet's corrosive aura hissed and twisted against Rimuru's flames, but the golden fire-like Haki held firm.
"Oh?" Violet couldn't help but ask, her smile growing even more feral as she tried to push Rimuru back with her Haki. "Is that traces of Hero's Haki I see? On a Monster?" Her laughter carried a manic, gleeful edge. "Just what sort of beautifully twisted creature are you?"
Rimuru chuckled. The question wasn't new, but it never got old.
"Me?" Rimuru asked with a grin, he could feel Uriel inside of him calling out to him, almost desperate to assist him. "I'm a slime."
With those words, he focused Uriel through him, the feeling was almost intoxicating as the newfound surge of energy coursed through him. His Haki instantly burst with even more energy, burning brightly as the Dark Lightning around him grew fiercer.
Powered by not only his own will, but the will of his people thanks to Uriel, his Haki began to quickly gain ground over Violet's. Even the faint roaring of dragons could be felt inside of his Haki, probably from his connection with Veldora.
Violet's crazed smile faltered as she felt herself being pushed back.
"Tch." She clicked her tongue and straightened, the amusement draining from her eyes as her expression turned cold. "Enough silly games."
With a sharp pivot, she launched into the sky, putting space between them as her arm rose high. In an instant, the earth beneath Rimuru cracked and detonated, revealing the monstrous, fanged maw of a colossal violet serpent.
In the blink of an eye, the snake had shot out into the sky, consuming Rimuru in one fell swoop. And then, with another swing of her arm, the gigantic snake began to burn in dark, corrosive flames. Finally, with one final movement, Violet created a pitch black orb of pure Nihility Magic and shot it directly at the burning snake.
As the Nihilistic Core made contact, it exploded into a massive dome, consuming the snake and leaving nothing where it had once fallen.
"Did I go too far?" Violet couldn't help but ask, only to hear clapping from behind her.
"Sheesh, Diablo wasn't lying." Rimuru commented with some amazement.
He had vanished the moment he felt the distortion in the ground, slipping through space with Uriel's Spatial Manipulation and tucking his aura safely back into his Stomach. In doing so, he'd witnessed Violet's power firsthand, calmly watching her turn a battlefield into oblivion like it was nothing.
"My turn?" he asked, not waiting for permission.
Calling upon Uriel again, Rimuru extended his palm to the sky. Space itself twisted above his hand, rippling unnaturally. He focused everything into a single point, compressing the very fabric of the Daemon Realm. The resistance was immediate. Space groaned under the strain, the realm itself pushing back.
But with one final push of his own will, it gave.
A miniature black hole formed in his hand, barely the size of a marble, but dense beyond comprehension. He could feel the gravity around him being distorted as the air around them began to be absorbed by it, and down on the ground, sand and some of the rocks began to slowly float in his direction.
It was strange, that much he would admit. Back in his first world, something like this was enough to destroy the entire Earth. But the world here seemed far more resilient. Even if he were to do this out in the Cardinal World, Raphael's calculations assured him that the world would endure it.
Even here, in the Daemon Realm, he could feel it, the world itself pushing back against him to fix this anomaly. If it weren't for the fact he was actively holding the black hole in place, it might have already exploded in his hand.
'Fascinating.' He thought, even as he forced himself to stay focused.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Violet move again. With a casual flick of her wrist, she summoned dozens, no, hundreds of Nihilistic Cores, each one a miniature void tearing through the sky toward him. And, following them, she pulled out a purplish-black pair of swords from out of nowhere and rushed towards him.
It was smart, she was forcing him to choose between the black hole, protecting against her spell, or stopping her. Sadly for Violet, he could do it all at once.
'Beelzebuth.' Rimuru called out internally, summoning a gluttonous storm around him that swallowed every incoming core in an instant.
Then, without hesitation, he softly clenched his fingers around the black hole. Using Uriel, he folded space, ripping a hole in the world and placing the black hole directly beside Violet.
And then, he let go.
Freed from his control, the anomaly instantly collapsed in on itself. Gravity twisted, space buckled, and time momentarily fractured under the strain. It was less of an explosion and more of a forced implosion, reality folding violently inward with a screech of annihilation. The pressure alone would have expanded endlessly, tearing through entire sectors of the Daemon Realm had he not imposed Uriel's containment around it.
Instead, the destruction was isolated, a dome of annihilation sealed tightly with Violet in the epicenter. A temporary hell.
But to Rimuru's surprise… her presence remained.
Even through the distortion, even after the spatial fabric had been torn apart, Violet's aura still lingered inside the collapsing void. Defiant. Alive. And as the miniature supernova began to fade he saw her.
Suspended midair. Encased in a pitch-black cocoon riddled with glowing cracks, the structure pulsed as it strained to hold together. Each fracture was like a vein of burning poison, hissing as pieces began to flake away and dissolve into nothingness.
From within, she emerged slowly.
Her once-playful smile was gone, replaced by something colder, sharper. Not fury. Not pain. Just a calm, clinical focus devoid of any previous amusement.
She floated forward, rising higher into the air, her golden eyes looking down at him.
"Venom World." Violet muttered, a small smirk cracking through her poker face.
And with those words, everything changed.
The Daemon Realm shifted.
The sky twisted into a deeper hue, a sickly violet-black bleeding into the horizon. The air thickened, heavy with miasma that clung to Rimuru's skin like oil. The ground beneath him cracked, not physically, but metaphysically, his very senses screaming as the rules of the world warped. Even Uriel shuddered slightly within him, recalibrating just to maintain balance.
Poison didn't just flood the world—it rewrote it.
Testarossa had once told him that the Daemon Realm was a canvas. Raw chaos patiently awaiting to be painted by the will of a Daemon. And now, under Violet's will, he got to see that change first hand.
This was no longer a battlefield. This was her domain now.
"I underestimated you, Rimuru." Violet said calmly. "Not anymore."
[Analyzing Daemon Realm…. Analysis complete.]
[Attempting to hijack the Daemon Realm…. Failure.]
[Reason: This area has been under Violet's influence for several eons. Time required for complete overwriting exceeds acceptable parameters for the current battle.]
[Warning. The very space around you is becoming poisonous. Further exposure through the usage of Uriel's Spatial Manipulation will accelerate the disruption of the integrity of Absolute Defense.]
'So much for it being Absolute.' Rimuru couldn't help but think as he took in Violet's domain.
[...]
[Understood.] Raphael answered, and beneath her voice Rimuru couldn't help but notice a trace of frustration.
Still, he could feel Uriel's call from within, yearning to be used to win the fight.
'Raph. I'm only sacrificing some of my defenses, right?' Rimuru asked.
He understood Raphael well enough by now to know she would never recommend anything that put him at genuine risk. Her paranoia bordered on obsessiveness when it came to his safety, and if she was even entertaining the idea of swapping Uriel out, then it meant she had already calculated the worst-case scenario, probably five of them. Violet was pushing harder than expected, and if her poison could so much as graze Absolute Defense, then she'd earned the right to be taken seriously.
There was a part of him that wanted to listen, that wanted to trust her judgment and let Raphael take over with its usual, irritatingly perfect precision. But another part, more primal, more honest, perhaps even more childish, was sick of holding back.
Wielding Uriel felt natural, it felt right. And even if Uriel didn't speak to him like Raphael did, he could feel that the Skill itself was also eager to fight, to be wielded. It was a Skill he could use like the back of his hand. Even without Raphael's help, he could summon black holes into existence.
Who's to say how far he could push it?
Maybe it was just in his head, but he swore he heard Raphael sigh.
[Understood. Initiating transition. You may rely on my support.] Raphael's spoke. [Allow me to demonstrate why Raphael is the superior Ultimate Skill.]
'Oh? Didn't take you for the jealous type.' Rimuru said with a grin.
[Correction. Only facts have been stated.]
[Activating Beelzebuth…]
In an instant, the battlefield dimmed.
The dark storm unfurled around him, swallowing the light in a storm of hunger. If the world had become poisonous, then Beelzebuth was Raphael's answer, to consume the very world.
Rimuru didn't stand idle. He raised a hand, fingers reaching into the air in front of him—not through air, but through the thin threads of reality. He felt it. The static friction of space… and beneath it, a sting. A slow-burning rot at his fingertips.
Absolute Defense was slowly being chipped away at, just like Raphael had predicted.
Rimuru had to give it to Violet, she was strong, outrageously so. Even if she was using the entire might of the Daemon Realm to attack him, the fact that her poison was able penetrate through not only his Abnormal Condition Nullification, so much for that too, but also through an Ultimate Skill was an impressive feat.
It was terrifying. But also, exciting.
He had never thought himself as a battle maniac, but perhaps he enjoyed it more than he would like to admit.
Using the opening and protection that Raphael was giving him, he tightened his grip on the space in front of him. It resisted him, but slowly, it too began to tear apart, and with one final pull, he made a massive gash in the fabric of space itself.
With the opening created, he only had to focus on Uriel to force the gash to expand, leaving a massive void in the middle of the battlefield.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Violet shouted with some surprise as she tried to dash towards him, only to be cut off by the storm of pure hunger.
She tried to use her will to stop Beelzebuth, but any and all restrictions she placed on it would quickly be devoured, forcing her to focus entirely on it.
'Uriel.' Rimuru called out softly, stepping into the void inside of the gash and summoning his sword to his hand.
— –Violet– —
It was one thing to be pushed back in a battle of Haki.
That much, she could accept. It was just a show of will and magicules.
It was another thing entirely to be caught in a Gravity Collapse, or at least, a spell that closely mimicked one. She had fought Jaune more times than she could count. She knew that technique, had built counters specifically for it, and even then, it had almost failed her this time. Almost wasn't good enough. She could live with that too.
That moment had forced her to acknowledge him, not just as an opponent, but as a true equal.
But this? This was something else entirely.
She could feel it, her Domain being bent, reshaped, disrespected. He was manhandling it like it was just another battlefield, like her control meant nothing. Her grip over the Daemon Realm had never been questioned, not even once. Not by her siblings, not by any of the countless beings who had stepped into her territory and regretted it.
The Domain was supposed to be her answer to everything. Her anchor. Her throne.
In here, she was undefeatable.
Even when things got serious between the Primordials, the battles usually ended the moment someone invoked their Domain. Not because they were victories in any real sense, but because the moment one of them forced a fragment of the Daemon Realm into play, the others backed off. They had that much respect for the standoff. Enough control to slip away, create an opening, and leave before it got worse. It wasn't surrender. Just a tactical reset. A cold, unspoken agreement not to burn the whole board.
Hell, last time Jaune had used hers, Violet had mocked her for it for decades. "That desperate already?" she had said with a grin.
And now here was Rimuru.
Not only ignoring the rules, not only stepping into her Domain like it was nothing, but twisting it against her, folding it open and tearing into it like a stitched wound being unraveled. She hadn't just lost control, she had no idea what was happening anymore.
This wasn't what was supposed to happen. This wasn't how things worked.
And for the first time in a very, very long time, Violet wasn't sure whether she was annoyed… or afraid.
As she faced the black storm in front of her, head on, she had to hold back the urge to scream.
What sort of bullshit move was this?
She couldn't get close. She didn't dare get close. Not until she understood it. Every attempt she made to suppress it, contain it, anything, only fed it further. Her magic, her authority, her will, it all crumbled on contact. Every countermeasure she threw at it dissolved like sugar in boiling water. And even as she held back, trying to figure out some kind of pattern, some hint of a weakness, all she could do was watch helplessly as her Domain was torn apart before her eyes, piece by piece.
Gashes in space opened around her, one after another, wide, jagged tears that yawned like hungry mouths. She tried to ignore them, tried to focus, but she could feel it happening, the slow decay of her connection to the Daemon Realm, her control slipping like sand through her fingers.
"This is really how you want to fight?" She shouted, voice sharp and rising above the storm as she weaved through the madness, ducking and spinning with practiced precision. "You coward! Fight me head-on if you're not—!"
But the words never finished.
Something shifted behind her, wrong, fast, impossible, and before she could turn, a hand shot out from one of the rifts, latching around her throat like a vice. Her body froze as Rimuru's fingers curled tight and pulled her in without hesitation.
The world twisted.
Everything flipped, and for a moment, she didn't know where up was. When she finally landed, steadying herself and gasping for air, she looked around and her eyes narrowed.
"This…" She muttered, brow twitching as recognition settled in. "Diablo's territory?"
Of course. Of course Rimuru would be that kind of bastard, dragging her out of her own Domain, severing her from her anchor, and dumping her into enemy territory. And while she knew he couldn't use Diablo's authority to attack her directly, some rules still applied, even in this kind of match, it didn't change the fact that she was at a severe disadvantage. A Primordial removed from her Domain was just a very angry monster, not a god.
Her instincts kicked in fast. Raising her blade, she caught Rimuru's strike just in time, the metal clashed with a sharp, ringing force that vibrated through her bones, and the pressure alone forced her to slide back a step before she could brace herself again. The strength behind it wasn't something she could brush off. Not anymore.
When she looked up, she finally saw him clearly.
There were faint purple marks spread across his skin, the subtle sheen of poison beginning to show itself. He was burning it off with effort, but not fast enough. Her poison had taken root. She could feel it, just beneath the surface, seeping through his body, coiling through his magicules like a whisper of death. If she could just hold out long enough, if she could stall, play the game of attrition, then she could still win this. Her poison would not only infect his flesh, but corrode his power, unravel his very soul. Nothing would be spared.
And yet, even knowing that, she couldn't ignore the tightening knot in her chest.
Because Rimuru didn't look worried at all. That alone should've been her warning.
Six pairs of bat-like wings burst free behind her in a rush of black flame, her magic surging around her like a cloak, and as she stepped forward, ready to close the distance and end this, a sudden jolt of electricity tore through her body. Her muscles seized. The wings behind her faltered.
A soft moan escaped her lips as her legs buckled, the pain laced with something else, sharp, almost pleasurable, and she collapsed to her knees with a muted gasp. Her hand reached instinctively for her neck, and that's when she felt it. Cold, metallic, impossibly tight.
A collar. He must have slipped it on her neck when he grabbed her out of his domain.
Her breath caught in her throat, and for the first time in the fight, her instincts screamed. Something was wrong. Deeply, fundamentally wrong. She moved to tear it off, to burn it away with her magic, but her fingers trembled. Her body wouldn't respond the way it should.
By the time her mind pieced it together, it was already too late.
She was trapped.
Electric pleasure still hummed softly beneath her skin, fogging her thoughts just enough to throw her off rhythm. She forced herself to stand, to attack, to lash out, summoning everything she had and slamming it against the barrier that had formed around her. The entire space shimmered with her fury, the edges of the barrier warping under the force of her spells, but it didn't matter. It held firm.
Her magic rebounded. Her poisons dispersed without effect. The collar drained her power, siphoning her strength with every breath, every pulse of magic she tried to unleash. And no matter how hard she slammed her fists into the invisible wall in front of her, she couldn't even make a scratch.
She hated it.
"Give it up." Rimuru said calmly, his voice clear through the barrier as he stepped forward as he made the sword in his hand disappear. "That's the same barrier that held Veldora. Do we call this my win?"
The words felt like a slap. Violet's eyes narrowed, and her lips curled into a snarl as she screamed, slamming her fists against the wall again and again. Her magic surged in waves, but it was unfocused, panicked, running wild without purpose. She summoned her strongest poisons, poured her hatred into every spell she could muster, but it was like throwing dust at a mountain. Nothing worked.
"You…!" She shouted, her voice ragged with anger and desperation as she forced herself upright. "If you don't let me out right now, I swear I'll let that poison kill you!"
She bit down on the rest of the words, suppressing the other sounds threatening to slip past her lips, the tremble in her breath, the faint static of lingering pleasure still crawling up her spine. No. She wouldn't give him that.
She was Violet, damn it.
She wouldn't lose like this.
— –Rimuru Tempest– —
[Notice. Analysis of the poison in your system is complete. Starting extraction.] Raphael spoke softly, though he could hear the faint annoyance in her voice. [Please refrain from such risky maneuvers in the future.]
Rimuru felt a slight wave of discomfort as the poison inside of him began to move through his body, eventually reaching his mouth, from which he spat out a small dark purplish orb.
"Hm…" He mused as he turned it over in his hand a few times. This had to be the single, most poisonous thing in existence. Capable of harming even True Demon Lords. Primordials were truly something.
"Kufufu, as expected of my Lord." Diablo spoke up beside him as he took a few steps towards the Unlimited Imprisonment barrier. "Marvelous, isn't it, Violet? Do you finally comprehend your place?"
"Shut up!" Violet shouted from the floor.
"Ah, stubborn as always." Diablo answered, completely unbothered by her. "Truly, she is not worthy of serving you my Lord."
Judging by how much resistance she was still putting up, it was safe to assume they'd be stuck in the Daemon Realm for a while, days maybe, until she finally gave in. That was, assuming nothing changed.
'Raph…'
[Understood. Gradually increasing Asmodeus' potency.]
In the end, it only took around half an hour for Violet to break. Mainly due to the fact that Asmodeus had syphoned practically all of her magicules by that point.
"Diablo, I'll leave the rest to you," Rimuru muttered, finally averting his eyes from her and coughing softly into his hand. He didn't like going overboard. Not really. But even he had to admit this might have crossed a line.
"As you wish, my Lord." Diablo bowed without hesitation, stepping forward as the Unlimited Imprisonment barrier unraveled and lifting Violet by the collar like she was nothing more than a stray cat.
Rimuru didn't give her another look.
He simply turned and left, returning to Raja.
They had gone so overboard with their protection of Raja, that the only aftermath from the fight was some damage to the fields and surrounding land outside of the kingdom. Just in the time he had spent dealing with Violet, the aftermath of the war was already being dealt with.
The Holy-Elemental barrier had already been dismantled, and with it gone, countless of the citizens of Raja had also emerged from their homes, looking at the distance with curiosity. They had seen the entire battle from the safety of their homes, through the barrier, and couldn't help but be left stupefied.
Most had probably assumed that this was the end, and yet here they were, looking as repair crews began to work in the distance. By the time morning came, the outer zone would be restored. From within Raja, it would be as if nothing had ever happened.
"You're back." He heard a cold voice call out to him, and as he turned around, he saw Hinata, leaning against one of the houses watching the Tempestians working in the distance. "Did you come to an agreement with Violet?"
"Yes."
"Hm." Her eyes narrowed, and she exhaled through her nose, watching as a group of High Orcs debated whether the fallen tree in the distance should be replanted or replaced altogether. There was something distant in her gaze, as though her mind were working through something she hadn't decided whether to say aloud.
Eventually, she turned toward him.
"Do you need something?" Rimuru asked.
"No." She answered after a brief pause, though the word felt heavier than it should have. She met his eyes for a second longer, unreadable, then turned away without another word and began to walk off, her footsteps soft and steady as she disappeared into the distance.
— — —
"There are deposits of gold and iron in these mountains." Rimuru said, tapping his finger against the edge of the map he had created on the table, his pen circling two peaks northeast of Raja. "If you organize labor teams and allocate the resources properly, you should be able to begin mining operations within the next few months. Prioritize the gold if possible—it's one of the core metals we rely on in Tempest. We'll send over some mining equipment to help speed up the setup."
Queen Towa nodded thoughtfully, her violet eyes fixed on the map while the members of her council stood behind her, taking diligent notes. The tension in the room was gone now, replaced by a quiet energy, a sense that something new had begun.
"Upgrading the city's infrastructure will take more time." Rimuru continued. "I can dispatch some personnel to help train your local workers, but not right away. We're stretched thin right now. At best, maybe in a month."
"We've had to stagger our efforts." Shuna, seated beside him, gave a polite smile to Towa before gently adding. "Between reconstruction, training, and economic integration, our Empire is moving quickly, but even we have limits."
"That's fair." Towa gave a light chuckle, clearly understanding. "The fact that you're offering any support is more than we could have hoped for."
"It'll probably take a year or two to bring Raja fully up to Tempest's current standards." Rimuru said, rolling up the map and handing it to one of the aides. "But you'll be the ones building it. That part is important."
There was a quiet beat in the room.
With so many territories under Tempest's banner, it was impossible to directly uplift all of them at once. The Monster Tribes in the Jura Forest were already undergoing development ever since his official inauguration as Demon Lord. Eurazania was being rebuilt with a massive Colosseum on its way. Fulbrosia's towers were still growing taller. The Labyrinth still had countless floors to complete. And even Tempest's core capital was still expanding.
Thankfully, Jistav was not a big worry when it came to expansion since they were too busy dealing with the underground ruins.
They had the manpower. But not infinite hands. Not infinite time.
And in a way, Rimuru preferred it like this.
Letting each territory develop with guidance, not as passive recipients, but as active participants. The pride born from building something with one's own hands couldn't be replicated through simple handouts. People cherished what they had earned far more than what they had been given.
And it served a deeper purpose.
Up until recently, Tempest hadn't had a clear economy. It operated mainly on trade between Monsters. And while Rimuru wanted to maintain the spirit of unity within Tempest, he also had to plan for the future.
Raphael had already laid the groundwork, and with Testarossa's help, their paper based economy would soon be integrated into Tempest. A bank had already been created in the Capital where one could trade their gold and silver coins for Tempest's own currency.
With so many people working to expand their own territories, the flow of money would naturally accelerate. And as trade networks deepened and regional production increased, it would only be a matter of time before they could fully transition away from the traditional gold and silver standard, replacing it with Tempest's own paper currency.
Once Tempest's new economy was stabilized, they would be able to force the rest of the world to adapt.
"As for the lake surrounding Raja." Rimuru said, pointing to a blue section of the map now displayed before them. "It'll take around four to twelve months for the new fish populations to stabilize. I'll send over a few Mermaids and Water Nymphs to monitor the ecosystem for now. But until then, make sure the citizens know it's off-limits. Once that period's over, Raja should be able to enjoy the lake again without issue."
"This… this is amazing," Towa whispered, her voice full of quiet awe as she bowed. There was no formality in it, just genuine gratitude. "I can never thank you enough. Seeing all this now… it makes the chaos we went through almost feel silly in comparison."
"Don't thank me yet," Rimuru said with a light laugh. "There's still a lot of work ahead. Things will probably get a little messier before they start getting better."
War was on the brink of bursting out between Rimuru and Luminous. And, though their battles would be nothing more than a farce, it was bound to inspire other kingdoms to attack. Kingdoms that were not yet fully under Luminous' control.
He was sure they would be able to handle it. There was a reason why he had spent so much effort setting up a network of spies across the Human Kingdoms. With their eyes and ears everywhere, any plans the Western Nations created would be deconstructed and turned against them before they even had a chance to react.
But still, there was one big unknown. The Eastern Empire.
Souei himself had been unable to gather any information of real value. The true strength level of the Empire was unknown, Testarossa herself had warned him that they might use their "Holy War" as an opening to attack and attempt to conquer the rest of the continent.
At the very least, he would be prepared. Even if he didn't enjoy senseless murder, if it came to it, he would pull his people from the "Holy War" and send an all out assault on the Eastern Empire.
After a few more short discussions, Rimuru brought the meeting to a close. He stood, thanked Towa for her hospitality, and stepped out of the chamber with Shuna quietly walking beside him.
The halls of the castle were livelier now, nobles and citizens alike preparing for the evening's festivities. Music drifted in faintly from somewhere deeper in the palace, accompanied by the smell of warm bread and something sweet. People were beginning to celebrate.
"Are you sure you don't want to join the celebration?" Shuna asked gently, glancing up at him as they walked down the steps of the eastern wing.
"I think we've done enough running around for one day." Rimuru said with a soft stretch. "I'll be fine if we miss a small party."
"Well…" Shuna mused. "Have you thought of any names for Violet?"
"I was gonna go with Ultima." Rimuru answered with a complicated expression. "You know, in hindsight, there was probably a better way I could have finished the fight."
"Eh, she'll live." Shuna said with a quiet chuckle. "If anything, you were too nice to her."
"Oh? You're harsher than you look." Rimuru teased, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She answered, clasping her hands behind her back as she looked ahead putting on her best innocent expression.
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Special Thanks to my Beta Reader/Editor: The one, the only, the amazing @Basilisk.
Go Check out Basilisk's great story "I'm a Daemon, so what?"