Although Ren had lost the battle, not a single person present thought that his strength was lacking.
To be honest, aside from Guy himself, none of the other Demon Lords present could confidently claim they would even be able to participate in that battle.
Forget participating—during the clash between Ren and Milim, even a stray attack from either of them would have been more than enough to instantly kill an unawakened Demon Lord–class monster.
According to Clayman's original plan, this Walpurgis Banquet was supposed to be his grand stage.
Yet the poor guy had only managed to deliver a round of arrogant trash talk when he first appeared, before being utterly crushed by Rimuru from start to finish.
Even when he finally managed to awaken at the very end, nobody's attention was on him anymore.
In the end, he died a pathetically humiliating death.
As for the mastermind behind Clayman, Rimuru had already managed to uncover some information.
The person pulling the strings appeared to be a Demon Lord named Kazalim.
However, just as Rimuru was about to dig deeper into Clayman's memories, something unexpected happened.
Clayman turned out to be far more ruthless than anticipated.
As a member of the Deathman race, even if he died, his soul would normally be able to revive.
But after being captured by Rimuru's Beelzebuth, Lord of Gluttony, Clayman realized he had no chance of escaping death.
In order to prevent more information from being extracted—
he actually destroyed his own soul.
Because of that, the only thing Rimuru ultimately learned from him was the name:
Kazalim.
When the other Demon Lords heard that name, most of them initially showed a look of realization.
But soon afterward, their expressions became indifferent.
The so-called Kazalim had once been one of the Ten Great Demon Lords.
In fact, the Beast King Karion had originally become a Demon Lord after being recommended by both Kazalim and Milim.
Like Clayman, Kazalim also belonged to the Deathman race.
However, Kazalim was particularly skilled in curses and sorcery, earning the title "Curse Lord."
But many years ago, Kazalim had supposedly been killed by Leon, with even their soul completely erased.
And yet now…
it seemed they had somehow managed to rise from the ashes.
Although Rimuru didn't exactly get along with Leon, he was still very concerned about whoever had been manipulating Clayman.
After all, he had no desire to witness another disaster like the one that had just occurred.
So he turned toward Leon and asked what kind of person Kazalim had been.
Leon's answer, however, was blunt to the point of absurdity.
"I don't remember small fry very well," he said flatly.
"If no one had brought it up just now, I wouldn't have even remembered killing Kazalim."
"Rimuru, you don't need to worry so much," Milim said cheerfully.
"Sure, Kazalim was an Awakened Demon Lord, so I guess they were someone important."
"But you're already strong enough now."
"And besides, you've got me and Ren backing you up."
"Even if Kazalim were fully revived, so what? They wouldn't be a big deal."
Every Awakened Demon Lord was a top-tier powerhouse in this world.
No one would dare underestimate such an existence.
But since the person saying that was Milim, strangely enough, nobody could really argue.
Even among Awakened Demon Lords, there were levels.
For someone like Kazalim…
Milim probably truly wouldn't consider them worthy of serious effort.
After hearing Milim's words, the others suddenly realized something.
Although Rimuru was technically a newly risen Demon Lord, he had already established a terrifying foundation.
His personal strength alone was astonishing.
As an Awakened Demon Lord, Rimuru had effortlessly defeated the newly awakened Clayman, and he had even fought Luminous—a veteran Demon Lord—on relatively equal footing.
His subordinates were equally terrifying.
There was Diablo, the Primordial Black Demon, and the Oni warriors shown in Clayman's earlier recordings—none of whom were weak by any means.
But even more frightening than his strength…
was Rimuru's network of allies.
The Storm Dragon Veldora openly called Rimuru his brother.
Two of the Three Ancient Demon Lords—Ramiris, the Labyrinth Fairy, and Milim, the Destroyer—were his close friends.
And then there was Ren, the mysterious warrior who had just fought Milim on equal terms.
He also seemed to share a deep relationship with Rimuru.
This guy had only recently emerged as a Demon Lord.
Yet the influence and backing he possessed were already beyond imagination.
With Clayman dead, the Walpurgis Banquet should have continued.
However, the entire gathering had originally been convened by Clayman under Milim's name.
Now that he was gone, the meeting itself had lost its purpose.
As for Kazalim, who might have been manipulating Clayman behind the scenes, none of the Demon Lords seemed particularly concerned.
Just as Milim had said—
even when Kazalim had been a Demon Lord in the past, none of them had feared them.
Now that Kazalim was barely clinging to life somewhere, there was even less reason to worry.
The banquet should have ended there.
However, two of the former Ten Great Demon Lords suddenly stepped forward.
Frey, the Sky Queen, and Karion, the Beast King, both announced that they wished to withdraw from the Ten Great Demon Lords.
From this moment onward, they would pledge their loyalty to Milim.
Their reasons sounded perfectly reasonable.
According to Frey, everyone had just witnessed Milim's impulsive personality.
She volunteered to take responsibility as Milim's guardian, keeping an eye on the unruly "child."
Karion, meanwhile, claimed that the Beast Kingdom Eurazania had been destroyed by Milim.
Therefore, she should take responsibility for that as well.
But the truth was much simpler.
The real reason they wanted to leave the ranks of the Ten Great Demon Lords was because they had been deeply shaken by the battles they had just witnessed.
Clayman, Frey, and Karion had all belonged to the new generation among the original Ten Demon Lords.
None of them had awakened yet.
They were the weakest tier.
After witnessing Rimuru's battle with Luminous—
and especially the overwhelming clash between Ren and Milim—
the two of them had come to a clear realization.
Their strength was simply too insignificant.
Even though they all bore the title of Demon Lord, the gap between them and monsters like Milim or Ren was unimaginable.
If those two wanted to kill them…
it would be no more difficult than raising a hand.
In fact, even the two attendants Ren had brought with him might be capable of defeating them if they truly fought seriously.
Remaining among a group of such monsters was simply too much pressure.
Instead of that…
it would be far better to find a powerful patron.
That way they could protect their territories and citizens while no longer bearing the dangerous title of "Demon Lord," constantly fearing that some hero might come to slay them.
Among the Demon Lords present, the most suitable person to rely on was naturally—
Milim, the Destroyer.
As her close friend, Frey understood Milim very well.
Despite her terrifying reputation, Milim was essentially just a child who never grew up.
She hated managing responsibilities.
Serving under her would actually grant them the greatest degree of freedom.
And if one was going to choose someone to rely on…
it only made sense to choose the strongest.
Among the Ten Demon Lords, only a few could truly claim that title.
Guy was too mysterious and unlikely to accept subordinates.
Ramiris was currently in such a miserable state that she could barely protect herself—her subordinates were practically someone else's already.
Compared to that…
she was practically the worst possible boss one could choose.