Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 164: Conference Begins
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- Felix -
I woke up feeling two warm, soft bodies beside my own. It only took me a moment to process everything that happened last night.
It was certainly an… experience. It was my second threesome up until this point, and I easily saw the appeal. I just never directly went for threesomes since I didn't want to force any of my lovers into that.
It was one thing to willingly accept your lover having multiple other lovers, and another thing entirely to make love with another individual present. Something like that normally required a deep bond with the other woman.
With Luminous and Lalatina, both were completely accepting of it. In fact, Luminous was more than accepting, which was about as expected for that lewd Vampire.
And Lalatina and Megumin went back eons, and actually got along rather well when working together against a common cause. The cause in this case being worshipping me in Lalatina's own words.
"Mmm, Master~?" Lalatina murmured as she woke up. None of us actually needed sleep unless we were incredibly low on energy, but it was still nice and relaxing.
If I wasn't able to sleep I don't know what I'd do.
Lalatina fully woke up after a moment. "Hehe~! Did you like my present?" She asked as she leaned into my side, her breasts pressing flush against my side.
I rolled my eyes. "You know you don't need to do anything like that, right?" I didn't want her to think she had to do things in order to "earn" my affection, and I was pretty sure that Lalatina didn't think that, but I'd have liked to confirm.
That kind of thought process was incredibly detrimental in a relationship, even one as… irregular as ours.
Lalatina pouted. "Of course! But it was nice right~?"
"Alright, alright. It was amazing." I relented. Indeed, the experience of a threesome for lack of a better word was divine. Especially with women as needy and adoring as Lalatina and Megumin. Both of them are what made it actually special.
"Hehe~! I knew you would like it! See, I told you Megumin!" Lalatina bragged. From my other side Megumin also finally opened her eyes. She had been awake the entire time, but I could feel her embarrassment, she was just too shy to show herself.
Megumin nervously looked to the side as she dug herself deeper into the blanket.
"He's already seen all of you, Megumin!" Lalatina teased.
Megumin's ears twitched as she gave a muffled groan from under the blanket. "Screw you, Lalatina! That's what I get for getting caught in your pace." She mumbled. "You were always like that."
Lalatina giggled, clearly enjoying herself far too much at Megumin's expense. "Oh, come now, it's not like Master minds~."
"You do look incredible, Megumin." At this moment it seemed Megumin needed reassurance over anything else, but Lalatina was also helping in her own way.
Megumin was definitely an odd one, at least in the completely contradicting way she acted when actually having sex, to after sex. She was like this after the first time too.
From adoring and submissive to shy and reserved. Though it was adorable in its own way. I suppose that was the appeal in gap moe.
"Th-Thank you." She said as her head peeked out from under the blanket. Her cheeks were glowing red. "G-Good morning."
"Morning." I said, unable to suppress a small grin. It was endearing, really, the way she could literally nuke a continent out of existence without any effort, but act all embarrassed whenever anything intimate was involved.
Our morning was spent mostly like that, Lalatina teasing Megumin lightheartedly, and Megumin reacting. Though I did have to stop her when she got too embarrassed since she was going to send a Nuclear Cannon at Lalatina.
Instead, she just ended up flashing out of the room leaving Lalatina and I behind.
______________________________________________________________________
"Oh wow, I've never flown on one of these before." Rimuru said as he looked around the plane in wonder.
"I haven't either." I responded to Rimuru. I had flown on planes in the past, of course, but this was something else entirely. The private plane that Adam was taking us to the United States in had every possible luxury that could be accommodated within a plane.
We were heading to the Global Hunter's Conference that I was invited to by Adam. In fact, he personally came here to escort all the people of interest that he invited from Korea.
Meaning myself, Jin-Woo, Jin-Woo's Vice-Guild Master who seemed to be in between asking me for an autograph and staying away from me, and the Chairman, but he was able to quickly accommodate once I said I had some friends I wanted to bring along.
I did quickly introduce everyone to Gunhee and Jin-Woo, though none really seemed to have a deep interest in either of them, at least beyond seeing a person who was from a comic book in real life.
Even Ramiris had no idea how it was possible that comic books and manga from one world could actually be real worlds. Though she was also lacking a lot of her memories.
Adam had already briefly met Lalatina and Megumin already as well.
Still though, Adam looked to be on the verge of losing it. He was accommodating some of the strongest beings on this planet. Me, Rimuru, Veldora, Milim, Sirka, and I guess maybe Ramiris if she whips out one of the random artifacts we've given her for protection.
The Rulers did ask to speak with me one more time before I headed to the conference, as they came up with a plan they wished to try; one that I was a bit curious about, so I agreed to it.
They planned to have all their vessels assembled at the conference, both for added security, as they would be stronger with larger numbers, and as bait. The hope was to lure the Monarchs to the conference as they were getting a bit reckless now with how much they were trying to have Phantoms possess humans.
Recklessness signified desperation, so the hope was that the Monarchs would take the bait, thinking that it would be possible to quickly blitz a vessel and then take off.
When this happens, they asked to rely on me to keep them from getting away, and seeing as an alliance was formed on two fronts, I decided to agree to a certain extent.
I wouldn't one-shot all the Monarchs for them, but I say that I'd at least lock the surrounding Space so that they couldn't just create a Gate to escape, which was more than enough for them.
I, of course, told my group, who were all on board with it, Milim most of all.
"Ooh! Is that one of those tablet things?!" Milim asked as she pointed to the screen in front of every seat.
"Yeah, they usually come preloaded with a bunch of movies, TV shows, games, and a ton of other things."
All of us were escorted to our seats. The plane wasn't big enough to give each of our groups our own private area, but that wasn't a problem.
It was pretty funny to see the looks everyone was giving Milim, Ramiris, and Gaia though. Milim had become famous when she went to that S Rank Gate, Ramiris was a tiny Pixie, and Gaia was a tiny Dragon.
Once we were all settled in, Gunhee finally made his move as he scooted a little closer to us.
"Felix." He nodded. "I hope that your stay has been enjoyable thus far?" He asked as he took a seat next to me.
Rimuru had rangled Veldora, Milim, Sirka, and Ramiris to give me and him a moment of privacy, which I appreciated.
"It's been great. Thanks for arranging everything. Let me know if you want some gold or something."
Gunhee or rather whoever he had placed in charge of keeping me satisfied had done a great job. Every whim of ours was basically instantly met, whether it was to go to some exclusive place, try out some new gaming gadget, or whatever else came to mind. It was all instantly met. For such excellent levels of buttering up, I was willing to give a bit of a boon.
"Hohoho, there is no need for that. Your mere presence is bringing business to Korea. That alone is more than enough." Gunhee immediately responded. "According to them, you are to be afforded the greatest care as one of our closest allies as well."
"Ah, they caught you up to speed?" I asked, referring to the Rulers. During our meeting, they had said they would be bringing all their vessels up to speed so that they could have a truly united front.
Seeing as I hadn't seen any public crash outs in the news, I imagine all of them took things rather well.
"Indeed, we are aware of the plan. All of us will be at the Conference, so that we would be able to support one another in the case of an attack." Gunhee said.
"That might still not be enough. It's not like you'll all be together 24/7, right? Despite there only being three Monarchs left, they could still ambush one of you and take you out quick enough to be gone before reinforcements arrive. The majority of you vessels would be beaten quickly if someone like, say, Antares were to show up."
Go Gunhee nodded. "We are aware, but we are doing all that we can."
"You should be fine if Lucian manages to possess you."
"Lucian?" Gunhee asked in confusion.
"Ah, so they didn't tell you about that. It's the name I gave to the Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light."
"A name? I see." Gunhee most definitely didn't "see", but I didn't care to explain the functions of naming to him.
Though it was interesting to note that he didn't feel any effects of the changes in Lucian as his vessel. I imagine the power that Gunhee had access to would not change, as his power level as Lucian's vessel wasn't based on Lucian's power, but on how much Gunhee's vessel could handle.
Gunhee was still in the process of spiritualizing, so maybe once he completed that, becoming an Enlightened, he would begin to feel a change.
We continued to speak for a little longer, with him asking questions about the people I brought alone, and me answering him since I had nothing to hide.
Safe to say Gunhee's blood pressure increased by several degrees when he learned two more Demon Lords were here, (one the daughter of God, though he didn't know that), a True Dragon, the Fairy Queen, and the originator of Dragon-kind in the Cardinal World. Oh, and Sirka who was also a Monarch, though she fell a bit on the backfoot with present company.
Though seeing as the Phantoms were still a threat to be dealt with, either after the Monarchs or at the same time, I could feel that despite his stress at our collective existence, he was still glad to have us on his side.
After learning all that, he left to go sit next to Jin-Woo. The two of us had spoken earlier, so there was no reason for Jin-Woo to approach me at this point. He just gave me his thanks for letting Megumin "train" him a little bit and the advice I had given. He didn't say anything else before going back to minding his own business, which is what I liked about him.
Of course, almost right when Go Gunhee left, Adam came from the pilot's area of the plane. "Mind if I sit here?" He asked me.
"So long as it's temporary."
He nodded. "Of course. I just have a few more questions to ask you, and I will be able to answer your questions as well."
"By all means then." I responded.
"Thank you." He said as he took his seat next to me.
"So, what questions do you have?"
"There are multiple. First, I would like to confirm if the pink-haired Demon Lord is a friend of yours, along with the other ice mage?"
I looked at him like he was an idiot. He sighed and raised his hands in surrender. "It's part of protocol. I need to ask it."
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Milim is my friend, my bestie if you will."
"That's right!" I heard Milim yell from across the plane.
"You heard her." I said with a grin.
Adam nodded as he wrote something down on his tablet. We just went on like that with Adam asking pointless questions and me answering, mostly because he bribed me with good food and drinks.
He eventually shut his tablet down, having gotten all the information he needed. He mostly asked questions like "how much longer will you be staying here", as it seems he had completely bought the fact that I came from another world, which wasn't that hard to believe with everything coming to light.
He also asked if I had anything important that I wanted to say at the conference. Originally he only invited me as a formality, an order by a high higher up, the Chairman of the American Association, to show that I wasn't an enemy, and to focus on the other present issues.
It was a smart move all things considered, especially since back then I'm sure that Chairman lacked a lot of the essential knowledge he may have now.
But seeing as I was planning to offer a helping hand and explain a bit more about this world's situation during the conference, having an allotted time would probably be best. I originally planned to just barge in and take over a section of the conference since no one could really stop me from doing that.
"You wish to make a statement at the conference?" Adam asked with confusion and a hint of worry.
"Mhmm, don't worry about it, it's for your own good."
"That does not make me feel better." Adam said.
I paused. "Yeah, that's totally what a villain from some shitty movie would say."
"You're aware of that trope?" Adam asked with surprise.
I rolled my eyes. "Of course. I was born on an Earth, you know?"
His mouth fell open. "No, I did not know."
I paused. "Right, I don't think I told you that. Well, it doesn't matter anyway."
"No, I feel like it does matter." Adam attempted to argue back, but I just ignored him and continued on. Though I did note that he felt rather comfortable with me to argue back, not that I minded. I wasn't going to take offense to a Human "daring" to go against my words.
I didn't have that large of an ego… yet.
"What is the schedule like for us once we get to America?" I asked.
Adam sighed, seemingly realizing I wasn't going to answer his question. "When we land, a networking event will already be happening at the airport. It is up to you if you wish to attend or not, but we will have to pass through the event to leave the airport."
"A networking event? Never been to one of those before. Well, maybe you could consider meeting with the others on the Demon Lord Council a networking event." I mused.
"There is a Council of you all!?" Adam asked as he lost his composure.
I nodded. "Yes, but nothing you need to worry about."
Adam sighed but didn't argue. "As for if we'll attend the networking event, that depends on if I see anything or anyone interesting, but my friend Rimuru will probably want to attend."
"Rimuru?" Adam asked.
"He's the silver haired femboy."
"Hey! I heard that!" Rimuru shouted from across the plane. It was pretty funny how none of them were even hiding the fact that they were eavesdropping.
"Is he another one of—"
"Yeah, he's another Demon Lord. Except he's interested in making some trades with the people of this planet, and that doesn't just mean your country. Don't underestimate what he has to offer. Equipment, blueprints, magic; he can offer them all depending on what he is offered in return."
Adam immediately nodded as he whipped his tablet back out to send a message.
"He is messaging his Chairman to prepare as many valuable resources as possible in the hopes of securing a better deal for his nation."
'That's about what I expected. Let the message go through.'
"Very well."
I think I remember reading a panel of the networking event in the past. I think it was the one where that chinese guy was aura farming a bit. That was about all I remember about it.
Well that, and Thomas Andre's minion getting his ego a bit hurt by Jin-Woo's dad, and so he took it out on Jin-Woo, except Jin-Woo was too strong, and so he took it out on Jin-Woo's much weaker Vice-Guild Master.
Speaking of, "Make sure no one causes any trouble for us, and by us that includes the Chairman, Jin-Woo, and his Vice-Guild Master."
Adam blinked in confusion. "Of course, that was always the plan. Do you expect something to happen?"
"There is the possibility. Just keep an eye on Jin-Woo's Vice-Guild Master. Everyone else here is more than capable of fending for themselves."
Adam quickly realized what I was getting at. "You expect someone to attack him?"
"As I said, it is a possibility. Just do your job and nothing should happen."
There was a chance with everything that had happened in this world so far that Thomas had that one guy's leash far tighter. He was a pretty irrelevant character, so I don't even remember his name, and I don't care to search my memories for him either.
Adam nodded. "Of course, thank you for the information."
Adam then went on to tell me a bit more about the schedule of the conference. It was a three day event, with the first day just having the networking event at the airport, then the other two days being the conference itself.
Quite a few things were on the schedule to discuss at the conference, especially since this was the second time such a conference had been held. The only time in the past a similar conference had been held was after the strongest S Rank Gate to date had been completed. It was the very same conference in which the title of National Hunter was given out.
I didn't care for most of what would be discussed in this conference though. It was things like the increasing Gate activity, the increase in S Rank Hunters, the increase in rogue Hunters, etc.
Apparently, I even had a category for myself and Milim on the list to be discussed as well. Knowing how humans who had an inflated sense of self-worth acted, I was sure that it was going to at least be interesting if nothing else.
Part of me was curious if the Phantoms were half-way competent and had actually managed to rig things against me in the hopes of stirring up some chaos. They were planning to infiltrate into human society in the hopes of making it easier to run rampant on this planet, after all.
This had even been confirmed by the Rulers who had managed to get into contact with me a few days ago through Gunhee. I forgot to leave them a way to contact me, but the system we had now worked perfectly fine.
Gunhee told me that the Rulers had managed to snuff out some Phantoms that had infiltrated into human society, more specifically into people with political power. They were well hidden, so they weren't detected before, but now that the Rulers had all their vessels in a mostly compliant state, they had actually managed to get things done.
Though I didn't expect them to catch every single Phantom. In the end, the Phantoms were a race sort of originating from the Cardinal World, and whether it was my own bias coming in, I expected some of their techniques to be beyond even the Rulers. At least when it came to infiltration, something the Phantoms literally specialized in.
With that, Adam left me alone, and everyone else came back to join me at our seats.
Once everyone was seated again, Rimuru spoke up. "Hmm, do you think anyone is going to be causing trouble? Other than Hwang Dongsoo?"
I blinked. "Who?"
Rimuru gave me a dry look. "The guy with the brother that Jin-Woo killed?"
"Ah, him? Well, who knows. I just know how humans tend to act when they feel like they have no control. I'm not expecting an attack on us or anything, that would be beyond idiotic, but I am expecting some people at the conference to try and make use of politics to get something on me." I said with a shrug. "It doesn't matter much, won't work on me anyway."
"That does seem likely." Rimuru sighed.
With that, our talks devolved into more casual matters.
"Mou, humans are always annoying like that!" Milim said with a pout.
That had to be racist.
"I can just blow em up for you, Milord!" Megumin said with a grin. She had quickly returned back to being her normal self, she just needed a chance to get her thoughts together I'm pretty sure.
"It's not just humans that act like that." I said with a shrug. "One could say it's almost reasonable to grasp at any power one can when you feel like you have none, but that doesn't matter."
Milim just shrugged, seemingly not caring about my point, which was just like her I guess.
- Antares -
He closed his eyes as he waited for the rest to show up. The time in which they would take action was quickly approaching, and preparations had been made. At least as many preparations as they could make with their more limited resources.
It did amuse him how the odds shifted so dramatically in this timeline when compared to the rest. And it all started with the appearance of that man. Demon Lord Felix, as he called himself on that broadcast.
From that moment, everything changed. And even if that Demon Lord was not on their side, Antares wished to have his curiosities satisfied. He wanted to know just why such a being decided to appear and create havoc in this universe.
Antares didn't mind that he appeared and ruined their plans; every being was free to do what they wished so long as they were strong enough, but he was curious about the Demon Lord's reasoning. What sort of reasoning could such a being have to ruin everything Antares and the Monarchs had been working towards for eons?
Then there was the other pink-haired Demon Lord that appeared and fought another one of the Ruler vessels to a standstill. Though he could tell that the pink-haired one was holding back. How much, however, he did not know.
That was one thing he could praise the humans for. The internet and social media made it incredibly easy to gather any kind of information. Any event that took place around the world was easy to hear of.
Then after the pink-haired Demon Lord, there was the black haired woman that appeared in the country known as Japan. She's the one who invaded the Gate they discovered that Legia was sealed in, and then he could only assume that Legia was killed by her as well, as his power had returned to Nidhogg.
It seems there were quite a lot of rogue factors in this timeline, but he was enjoying himself. He hadn't been pushed like this since he had to plan against Ashborn for reaching too far.
The Rulers were easily dealt with until this point. Fighting them for eons had grown… boring.
Though it seems even the Rulers seemed to be taking more active action this time around. All around, it was all becoming more interesting.
He was especially curious what plans his "ally" was making in the background. Scorpius may have thought himself sneaky, but Antares was eons more experienced than the Spectre. There were not many who could hide their intentions from him.
For the time being, Scorpius was useful. He was powerful, and his forces would serve as useful fodder during the war. After that is when Antares believed the betrayal would become inevitable. Until then, they were better off together than separate due to the threats converging on Earth.
"Hello my dear Antares." Querehsha purred as she arrived in a flash of light.
Antares merely gave her a glance before closing his eyes again. He heard Querehsha sigh, but he ignored it.
"Have your preparations been made?" He asked, his eyes still closed.
"Yes, I have gathered the most venomous bugs I have access to."
Antares deigned to open his eyes and grace her with a nod. "Good."
The bugs would infiltrate ahead of time and poison their enemies, making them weaker for when they attacked later on. Even those Ruler vessels would fail to detect Querehsha's bugs in this case as they were a facet of her authority. Such a thing was simply above mere vessels.
Perhaps some may call it cowardly, but that was another form of strength. As the Monarch of Plagues, it would be a waste to not make use of Querehsha's authority.
After Querehsha, Tarnak arrived, and then Scorpius.
"Look at that, all of us gathered up again, it's been a while since that's happened!" Scorpius said with open arms. That was another thing that Antares noticed. As time went on, Scorpius began acting more and more boisterously, his personality deviating from the body that he was possessing.
Antares did not know what that signified, but it was something of note.
"Indeed, it has been some time." Querehsha noted.
"I assume this means it is time?" Tarnak asked.
Scorpius nodded. "Indeed! The Humans are holding a conference in which all their strongest and most influential gather, including the vessels. It would be an ideal time to at least eliminate some of the threats while most are distracted."
Antares was already aware of everything Scorpius was repeating. The meeting was for the sake of the others.
"From my sources, I believe that Demon Lord Felix will be present as well. He was invited by the American Association and had accepted the invite."
"Oh~?" Querehsha purred with an excited grin.
Querehsha had been rather fixated on Demon Lord Felix. If there was one trait that Querehsha had that Antares could note, it was that she was incredibly vain. And Demon Lord Felix's power attracted her. She wanted him "under her boot", in her own words.
Antares did not care for her interests, so long as they did not get in the way of his plans. Though he did wonder where she got her confidence from.
Demon Lord Felix took out three of their numbers at once. Those three were weakened, but that was still three Monarchs he took out at once. That was a level of strength that was on par with his own, far above Querehsha.
It was becoming rather clear that this Demon Lord Felix was likely against them, so Antares would not waste much time on an attempt to recruit the Demon Lord either unless he could do so at no cost to himself.
"In that case, Tarnak, Scorpius, and Querehsha; the three of you will be responsible for taking out Gunhee."
"Isn't that overkill?" Tarnak questioned.
Antares nodded. "That is the point, we will use overwhelming force to eliminate the threats. We cannot afford any more losses. After Gunhee, if you have the opportunity, aim for Zhigang. I will take out Thomas Andre. After that, we will improvise depending on the situation."
All the vessels would likely be gathered. Thomas Andre, Liu Zhigang, Christopher Reed, Siddharth Bachchan, Go Gunhee, and Jonas. Thomas Andre was noted to be capable of even fighting a weakened Monarch in a previous timeline, showing he was rather compatible as a vessel. Which was why Antares would be personally swatting him away.
Together those 6 posed a significant threat. It was best to "jump" each one individually as the humans said.
"That sounds like a reasonable plan!" Scorpius laughed.
With that settled, Scorpius went on to continue his report. He had some of his Phantoms infiltrate human society. They were weak enough to barely have a presence, all of them were charged with possessing humans of significant political power for future use.
Scorpius planned to have some of his Phantoms create a ruckus at the conference by discrediting Demon Lord Felix. It was nothing significant, it was more meant to create a large distraction that would allow them to take out the vessels more easily.
Though Scorpius did note that some of his Phantoms had actually been caught and eliminated already. They were eliminated by the Ruler vessels, in fact, which suggested a higher level of awareness when compared to the previous timelines.
So there was a chance that Scorpius' plans would not even work if they were already suspicious of their activities.
But they had established their plans. Now it was their role to stick to it, and adapt if necessary. In the end, strength would win all. Planning could only do so much.
They briefly discussed other arrangements to be made, such as how they would unleash hordes of their armies around the planet to create more chaos, bloodshed, and death.
If nothing else, it would cause extra destruction and perhaps serve as a distraction.
- Felix -
We all remained seated as the plane shook from the landing. Well, all of us except Milim who was peeking out through the window excitedly.
Throughout the flight, Adam had come by a few times to make sure our group was satisfied. Say what you want about him, but he was rather diligent at his job. He had mastered the art of sucking up.
After a few minutes, Adam came to escort us out and through the networking event. I still wasn't decided on whether I'd actually stick around through it, there wasn't a lot I could get out of it, and I doubted I'd find someone I wanted to speak with, but I'd still give it a shot.
I'd probably just end up grabbing some free food and then leaving if nothing interested me. If Adam still let Jin-Woo's Vice-Guild Master get kidnapped, then that was just a skill issue at this point.
Rimuru would still be staying however. The goal was that he was seen together with me, so he'd be associated with me which would give him a leg up in negotiations, since despite being a monstrously strong Demon Lord, no one actually knew that. And just saying that he was strong wasn't enough.
"Right this way please." Adam said as he led our rather large group. As Adam led us through the airport, more and more people spotted us and pointed at us, or rather more specifically me and Milim, seemingly recognizing the two of us. Though some were also pointing at Lalatina, Megumin, and Rimuru, though for different reasons.
"My, those three do look rather wonderful."
It was mostly just people praising how pretty the three of them looked, which was something I got a kick out of when it came to Rimuru. The man himself was irritated, but he had some self control.
"I am sorry about them." Adam apologized.
"It's fine, I thrive when I get attention, and Milim does too."
Milim nodded as she puffed up her chest. "Umu!"
"He's right, you know! The both of them can be real show offs!" Rimuru huffed. "I blame Milim, she's a bad influence."
"Hey! I'm the best influence!" Milim retorted.
Adam just nodded towards Rimuru, seemingly not knowing how to respond.
"Ooh, this is a party, right Felix!?" Milim asked as she hopped around in excitement.
"Hmm? Yeah, pretty sure."
"Will there be snacks!?" She asked excitedly. What kind of networking even would it be without free food? But I wasn't actually certain.
I looked to Adam for an answer. He quickly nodded. "Yes, there will be an assortment of snacks as well as other food items."
"Yipee!" Milim shouted. She had plenty of people just staring at her with pale faces, but that didn't seem to affect her energy at all.
I did notice that Adam pulled out his phone to send a message to someone.
'Othinus?'
"He is informing his higher ups that Milim may be susceptible to good food."
Well played.
Eventually, we arrived at the main entrance to the party.
The door was being guarded by a suited man with glasses. He shared a look with Adam before opening the door, not paying any of us a second glance.
The moment the door opened there was a flood of noise, not that any of us cared for that. Milim dashed in carelessly as she immediately ran towards the snack table. The area itself was a massive banquet hall, and there were hundreds of people littered all throughout the hall.
"Do you mind showing Rimuru around?" I asked Adam. "Show him who he should speak to for what he wants." I said, referring to Rimuru's desire to make some trades.
Adam looked around at our group nervously. I waved him off. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."
He sighed. "It's not you I'm worried about." He mumbled.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." He quickly answered. "Very well, if you would follow me, Sir Rimuru."
"Thanks." Rimuru said to Adam before the two of them went off. Hopefully Rimuru would get what he wanted out of his trades. I'm sure that anything he had to give would be of help to this planet. From what I'd seen, Unique Grade equipment was basically the limit for this planet, and that too for Jin-Woo's weapons that he got from the System in the past.
Even a Rare Grade weapon would likely be of help.
"What do you all plan to do?" I asked Veldora and Ramiris.
"Hmm, I'll just watch from your head!" Ramiris said before taking a seat on my head. "Wow, so many little humans!"
"You're one to talk." I said as I rolled my eyes.
She floated off my head and in front of my face. "What's that!? You got a problem!? I'll beat you up with my super duper wombo combo 9,000!"
I rolled my eyes. "Sure." I said as I pinched her head and placed her back on my head.
"And you Veldora?"
Despite how he acted, Veldora did know how to act like a normal person now. He received quite a bit of character development when trapped in Rimuru's Stomach.
"Hmm, I shall join Milim in analyzing the quality of this gathering's food!" Veldora said with a self-assured nod.
"Uh huh, sure, go analyze the quality of the food." I said with a roll of my eyes.
Veldora gave me a firm nod. "Of course. It may insult my reputation as a True Dragon to do such menial tasks, but I will do what I must for my friends."
With that, he marched off towards the table of foods. I just shook my head at his shenanigans. Jin-Woo, Gunhee, and Jin-Woo's Vice-Guild Master had already been guided away by someone else in a suit.
That left just Lalatina, Megumin, Ramiris, and I.
Lalatina latched onto my arm, pulling it into her bust. Her smile was all sweetness, but I could feel the smugness radiating off her. "This does seem to be a rather lovely party, Master~" Lalatina purred. "It would be an insult to your standing if you did not have a date with you!" Lalatina nodded.
I looked around the room once again, almost everyone had a date of some kind, not that I cared for something like that. But Lalatina was just messing around, not that I even minded having her pressed so close to me.
Megumin narrowed her eyes beside us. "Mhm, lovely party indeed." Megumin said, her tone even. Her eyes flicked down to Lalatina's hands clinging to my arm, then back up to Lalatina.
Then all of a sudden, Megumin swooped in and seized my other arm, hugging it tight against her chest. "Then I shall also partake in this activity." She declared.
Lalatina's eyes narrowed at Megumin, who was just smiling smugly. I sighed. I suppose I was the fool to expect them to get along better after… getting to know each other better the other night.
By now, everyone had noticed our entrance, and were pretty much just staring at Milim and I, which was getting old. Before I could tell the entire party off, someone else entered the room.
"I've been looking forward to meeting you." Thomas Andre said as he approached me, though he did eye Ramiris who was on my head. Behind him was a blonde haired woman carrying a tablet. She was his assistant, if I remember correctly.
The atmosphere relaxed slightly as the man who was obviously the #1 Hunter on this world arrived. Most people bought the bullshit that while I was strong, a National Hunter could "put me in my place".
With Thomas around now they were probably more relieved about their safety, since pretty much the moment I was noticed, I could feel the fear in the room spike up. While I did have a humanoid appearance, black sclera could freak many people out.
"The name's Thomas Andre." He introduced himself.
I raised a brow. "I would have thought that Milim would be the one you'd like to see again."
He grinned. "Her too." He said as he offered his hand. I freed my arm from Lalatina's grip making her pout and shook the offered hand.
"Those angelic fucktwits told me a lot about you. Looking forward to working with you!" He said with a grin as he gripped my hand tightly, tight enough to crush a normal person's hand to dust.
Lalatina and Megumin's collective Aura descended upon Thomas, but before their Auras could crush him to dust I stopped them. Thomas looked spooked, and he hadn't even felt a fraction of their Aura before I stopped them.
"Let me handle it."
I just gave Thomas an amused smile at his mancho-man bullshit as I all but crushed his hand before he could attempt to pull back like his instincts must have warned him to. Thomas' eyes widened as he suppressed a cry of pain as I released his hand. "Nice to meet you." I said.
He stared at his hand with shock for a moment before laughing. "Bwhaha, nice to meet you indeed." He didn't seem to care about his hurting hand. His secretary looked ready to drag him away, though.
"Hehe, that's what you get! Felix can totally beat a meanie like you up! And I can beat him up so don't you mess with me!" Ramiris said as she began to shadowbox around my head.
"Ignore her."
Thomas slowly nodded before his gaze drifted to the two women at my sides. At this point, Lalatina had returned her grip to my arm, and was pressing it tightly against her bust. "Quite the company you have." He commented.
Before I could respond, I heard Milim yell. "Ooh! Is that Thomas! Come on Veldora, let me introduce you to my new friend!"
The five of us watched as Milim dragged Veldora along with her towards us.
Milim and Thomas exchanged greetings before Milim introduced Veldora to him. Of course, Veldora and Thomas also got along like a house on fire.
As they were talking, I went to get myself some food with Lalatina and Megumin in toe.
"Ooh, you should try this, Master!" Lalatina said as she presented me with a slice of cake.
"That does look good."
As I was eating the slice of cake someone else arrived in the hall. An Asian man with long hair who was also flanked by multiple bodyguards, and he was making his way right towards me.
I sighed. "Do you want me to take care of him, Milord?" Megumin asked as she cracked her knuckles.
"I'll beat him up for you Felix! No one challenges my minion like that!" Ramiris said from on top of my head.
"Nah, I'll take care of it."
I could clearly feel his fighting intent. I had no idea what I did to piss him off, but it wouldn't take me more than a moment to take care of him if he wanted a fight. I wouldn't kill him though; he was a Ruler vessel.
Thomas also noticed his fellow vessel's approach.
Liu Zhigang offered his hand as one of his guards stepped up. Zhigang said something in Chinese. "He says, nice to meet you."
I raised a brow as I read the Information Particles around us for the Chinese language. After a moment I responded back in fluent Chinese. "Nice to meet you."
Liu Zhigang seemed surprised but left it at that. "Hahaha, of course, of course. It is a pleasure to meet you. In case you do not know me, I am Liu Zhigang. I have heard much about you, from those up above as well as from the various reports on you." He smirked. "You have developed quite the reputation." He said politely, and yet his fighting intent hadn't faded at all. If anything, it only became stronger.
"Uh huh." I said as I shook his hand. There was nothing special about this handshake.
Zhigang cracked his neck as his mana began to erupt around him, sending his bodyguards skidding back a few steps, and causing the rest of the banquet hall to erupt into chaos.
"If you don't mind, would you fight me? It's been quite some time since I've had a decent fight, and I've been waiting for the chance to meet you ever since I felt your mana at Jeju Island." He said as his eyes began to glow.
"Right here?" I asked as I handed my plate to Lalatina.
He nodded. "Right here."
"Heh, this'll be interesting." Thomas said as he approached. Zhigang's aura faded slightly as he greeted Thomas.
"Ooh, are you gonna fight Felix!?" Milim asked excitedly as she hopped around me.
By now Adam had already run over with Rimuru following behind him. "Is something the matter?" He asked hurriedly. I could feel his absolute dread at the situation, as he knew if there was something serious going on, there was nothing he could do to stop anyone here.
He looked to Thomas for help, but Thomas just grinned and patted him on the shoulders.
"Nothing much, he just wants to fight me, and I accept." I told Zhigang.
He grinned. "Excellent."
This was actually an opportunity for me to make things easier for myself down the line, and it would also help Rimuru.
Easily dealing with the #2 ranked Hunter would make people take Rimuru a lot more seriously due to his association with me, and make them less likely to annoy me at this conference.
Besides, I was also getting a bit bored. This would no doubt be an easy fight, even in this restricted form of mine, but I'd still enjoy it. It wouldn't be as fun as fighting an equal, but it was still stimulating enough.
Bullying the weak wasn't a hobby I partook in for enjoyment alone, but I couldn't deny that I did enjoy crushing the egos of people who deserved it.
It was a win-win.
But clearly this whole plan to restrict my power to have more fun on different worlds was a dud since it really didn't do much at all to make fights more equal to my opponents. This was literally the highest degree I could nerf myself. I couldn't go any smaller than this.
The Alucard strategy failed.
"A fight!? Here, what!? Why now!?" Adam asked pleadingly. I was beginning to feel bad for him, he probably would have to explain why all this happened under his supervision.
"Don't worry about it, I like you so I won't make things difficult for you." I told him.
Rimuru sighed. "Just give up. When Felix gets his mind on something, there's nothing you could do to stop him."
With that, I snapped my fingers, transporting all the spectators a bit further away, and placed a barrier around Zhigang and myself, while also expanding the space inside it.
"I'll let you have the first move." I said carelessly as I put my hands in my pocket.
Was I aura farming? Yes. But what else was a man to do in this world?
I did note the two weapons strapped to his back.
Zhigang nodded. "Ready?" He asked, while looking specifically at Ramiris.
I nodded. "Don't worry about her." Ramiris may be far from her peak power, but she was more than capable of sticking to my head at the very least.
Then at speeds most couldn't follow, Zhigang reached behind his back to pull both his short swords out and slash them at me. There was a minor shockwave as his dual energy slashes speeded their way towards me.
I didn't even bother moving when the slashes came.
The twin arcs of energy tore through the air, splitting the marble floor and scattering debris everywhere, then as they got closer to me, the slashes slowed down until they looked to be halted in space, as if they weren't moving at all.
Liu Zhigang's eyes widened just a fraction before I vanished from his sight.
Crack.
My knee slammed into his gut, folding him in half with a thud. The shockwave sent dust and chunks of tile flying, and before he could recover, I grabbed him by the face and drove him straight into the ground. The impact left a crater big enough to fit a car.
"Is that it?" I asked as I brushed a bit of dust off my coat's sleeve.
He groaned, blood dripping from his lip as his aura flared. The pressure in the air climbed fast. Impressive by this world's standards, I guess.
"Gonna try something new?" I asked as I took a step back to give him some space.
In the next moment, he disappeared, at least from a normal person's perspective. He was fast, I'll give him that.
Unfortunately not fast enough.
I caught both his blades between two fingers.
The metal shrieked, then snapped like cheap plastic.
"Sorry about your weapons, I thought they could handle more."
He seemed utterly shocked at his two short swords being snapped in half. And then before he could even blink, I flicked my finger against his forehead. I had to flick far harder than I was used to, but the force of the flick still sent him flying back, tearing a trench through the floor before slamming into the edge of the barrier.
When the dust settled, Zhigang was on the ground, dazed, his aura flickering.
I could have stalled the fight out, and let Zhigang think he actually had a chance, but that would be boring, and it would even harm Zhigang long term. If he thought he was on my level, then he'd likely make some false assumptions about the Monarchs.
Besides, from what I knew, the guy hadn't seriously trained for years, just like Thomas. Maybe this would give the two of them some motivation to train. They may not be the strongest forces on our side, but individually they could probably take on a Monarch if the circumstances were right.
The two of them were just that compatible as vessels.
Milim's cheer came right on cue. "Woo! Go Felix! You didn't even use one percent that time, right!?"
I shrugged. "Half of one, maybe."
Thomas gave a low whistle somewhere behind me. "Good luck explaining this one!" He laughed to Adam, though I could tell there was a part of him that was still shocked. I'm sure it was quite the adjustment to go from the strongest Hunter, to barely worth mentioning.
I glanced at Zhigang once more. "Good fight."
He coughed, his pride stinging more than anything else according to Lover. "...I'll have to train harder."
"As expected of my minion! Good job Felix!" Ramiris said as she buzzed around my face.
"You do that. I'll see about getting you some new short swords." I said, already turning away. I stuck my hands back into my pockets and made my way toward the buffet. "Now, where's that cake?"
Milim practically bounced beside me. "Ooh! There's chocolate too!"
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Author's Note:
Sup everyone, back with another chapter of Daemon. The conference finally begins! I called this the beginning of the end when it came to this arc, and I stand by my words.
Anyways, not much more to say here so thanks for reading, peace.
Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.
Last bit of editing -Omnax
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