In another room
Futaba and Rio had finally recovered from their shock.
"Here, have some water."
Izawa Shizue handed them tea.
"Thank you."
They accepted it gratefully. As Shizue turned to leave, Rio spoke up, "Shizue-san, could I ask you something?"
"Of course."
Shizue was more than willing to help; she felt a friendly affinity for anyone Rei Ao brought along.
"What kind of person is Rei Ao, exactly?"
Futaba was also listening closely. Now that they realized how little they really knew about Rei Aowhether from shock or curiositythey both wanted to hear more about him.
~~~
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Chapter 240: Milim Nava
Time passed.
Guy had no idea how long he had been punched and kicked.
All the pain on his body had faded into a silent numbness.
By then, Rei Ao and the others had already left his domain.
He remembered only one thing that Rei Ao said before departing:
"Your power will return in half an hour. Next time you see someone from my side, keep your head down."
Rei Ao hadn't killed him. They didn't really bear any serious grudgesexcept that Velzard and Velgrynd found him annoying, and so did the newly resurrected Misery and Rain.
This time, they had really beaten him to their hearts' content.
As Rain put it, it was "a great release for body and soul."
""
There were still a few minutes left before the half-hour mark.
Guy, swollen beyond recognition, could barely move.
All he could do was wait for his strength to return.
At the same time, his mind drifted to thoughts of that mansomeone stronger than the Star King Dragonwho could strip away all his power, his magicules included, in an instant.
He never would have imagined that such an existence could be out there.
"Huh? How'd you end up looking like a pig?"
""
Guy felt whatever remained of his dignity shatter.
Here was yet another person seeing him in this "pig-headed" state.
A pink-haired girl with twin pigtails stood before him.
She blinked her large, sparkling eyes and curiously poked Guy's swollen, flattened face.
"Tsk!"
The kind of pain he once wouldn't have batted an eye at now made him wince involuntarily like an ordinary person.
"You've lost your power?" the girl asked, confused. She saw Guy's condition at a glance.
The fact that she could speak this way to the Primordial Red showed she, too, wasn't ordinary.
Milim Navalike Guy, one of the oldest three Demon Lords.
She was also the daughter of the Star Dragon Veldanava (the Creator God) and Lucia, the sister of Hero Rudra.
Born with immense power and infinite magicules, she was one of the few capable of manipulating stellar particles.
One of the true peak existences of this world, an even match for Guy.
"Huh? All better now?"
Milim tilted her head.
Suddenly, Guy's aura swelled. A crimson light flashed around him, and the battered, disfigured body he had was rapidly restored.
By the time he stood once more in his Demon Lord form, the cocky and dismissive expression he once wore was gone, replaced by endless silence. Without uttering a word, he vanished from sight in a gust of wind.
"That wasstrange," Milim commented.
She wasn't offended by his behavior, just curious about who could possibly have beaten him like that.
Was there really someone in this world who could do such a thing?
"Sniff, sniff!"
Milim twitched her nose.
She caught a familiar scent in the air.
"They were here?"
She recognized a dragon's aura immediately.
"Heh heh, guess I'll go find them and ask what happened!"
Confident she could track down the dragonkind who had been here, Milim went off in search of answers.
"Rei Ao is back!"
Hearing the news, Shizue hurriedly rose to her feet and stepped outside.
Futaba and Rio exchanged glances, then followed after her.
At that moment, inside a spacious meeting room, Treyni was formally thanking Rei Ao.
"Lord Rei Ao, the Great Forest of Jura has now returned to normal. Thank you for lending your strength."
"I wouldn't say I 'lent a hand' per se," Rei Ao said plainly. "From now on, this entire forest is mine."
"Huh?"
Treyni froze, then her expression became one of eager excitement.
"Thank you for granting your protection to the Great Forest!!!"
She couldn't be happier that Rei Ao had claimed the forest as his own. A fighter strong enough to defeat Demon Lords was a boon, a blessing upon the Great Forest of Jura.
"Rei Ao, what are you talking about?"
At that moment, Izawa Shizue and the others walked in.
"Nothing much. I was just announcing that the Great Forest of Jura is now my territory. You're free to live here."
"Really?" Shizue's eyes lit up.
That would mean having a permanent home for herself. Now unburdened, she very much wanted a lasting place to stay, living alongside Velzard and the others.
Behind her, the words left "Shuna" and "Shion" deeply shakenhe was going to control the entire Great Forest of Jura!
What kind of concept was that? The thought only strengthened Shuna's resolve.
Seeing everyone's reactions, Rei Ao spoke again to Treyni: "Aside from that, I have a few more plans in mind, but let's go somewhere else to talk."
Futaba and Rio sat in a room, not saying much.
After all, Rei Ao and the others had indeed gone somewhere else to talksomewhere the two of them clearly weren't invited.
They were apparently soaking in a hot spring while discussing things.
There was no way Rio would go there.
From Izawa Shizue, she'd learned about the chat group's trades and her relationship with Rei Ao. Not only was her worldview thrown into chaos, but the complicated personal entanglements within the chat group left her reeling.
""
In the ensuing silence, Rio had assumed Futaba felt the same way. But she noticed Futaba suddenly seemed to make up her mind about something, heading for the door.
She watched as Futaba opened the door. Only then did Rio ask, "Where are you going?"
A faint blush tinted Futaba's cheeks. "I just need some air," she mumbled, quickly shutting the door before Rio could press for more details.
"Air?" Rio repeated, glancing at the large windows in the treehouse. It didn't seem that stuffy.
In the steaming hot spring,
Rei Ao was enjoying a massage from Shizue.
"Did you get all that down just now?"
He asked Treyni, whose face was bright red on the other side.
"Y-Yes!" Treyni replied in a tiny voice. She didn't even know where to lookthis was the first time in her life she'd felt truly flustered.
"Good," Rei Ao said, referring to everything he had told her about how to manage and rebuild the Great Forest of Jura. With Velzard and the others, administration would be a breeze.
He then turned his gaze to "Shuna" and "Shion," who were both red-faced and looking down, clearly feeling awkward and self-conscious.
He crooked a finger. "Come here."
"!!!"
Both girls trembled. They sensed something very important was about to happen to them.
Step by heavy step, they made their way through the warm spring water to Rei Ao. When they stopped in front of him, they felt his eyes on them at close range, and their cheeks grew even redder.
After all, while they resembled humans in figure and skin, they were still monsterkind in form, though not entirely unappealing to a human sense of beauty.
~~~
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Chapter 241: Ultimate Skill! Shrine Maiden of Guidance and Lord of Tyranny!
"Neither of you has a name, correct?"
Rei Ao posed the question.
Both "Shion" and "Shuna" shook their heads in unison.
For monsters like us, there's no right to have a name.
In this world, giving a monster a name is a very solemn, important matter.
"Well, if you don't have names, it's inconvenient for me to address you. From now on, you'll be called Shurai and you Shion."
He named them in a way quite close to their "original" namesand rather offhandedly too.
"!!!"
Yet these simple words kindled tremendous changes in Shurai and Shion.
Within the hot spring, light flared briefly and then vanished just as quickly.
When the radiance faded, an entirely new Shurai and Shion emerged.
Their transformations were drastic.
Where the Oni once had rough skin, it was now fair and smooth; the savage markings on their faces had disappeared. The large white horns on Shurai's head and the equally thick black horns on Shion's head had become more slender.
Overall, their forms now aligned better with human aestheticsboth of them unequivocally beautiful.
But the greatest change was in their bearing.
Originally, Shurai had been petite, but now she was noticeably taller and carried herself with more maturity. Shion's transformation was even more dramatic. Previously, she had a wild, warrior-woman look; now she had smooth, pale skin, a gorgeous face, and an extremely full bust, giving her a stunning hourglass figureexuding a fierce sort of allure.
They had "grown up" quite a bit overnight. Simply gaining names caused them to evolve drastically.
"Huh? This evolution"
Velzard, Velgrynd, Misery, and Rain all looked over in surprise. They certainly knew that Rei Ao's naming could trigger evolution in weaker Oni, but the result here surpassed all their expectations. Even Rei Ao felt a surge of surprise.
[Name]: Shurai
[Level]: 18
[Abilities]: "Magic," "Shrine Maiden of Guidance (Unawakened)," "Demon LordType Oni God (Incomplete)"
[Name]: Shion
[Level]: 18
[Abilities]: "Magic," "Lord of Tyranny (Locked)," "Demon LordType Oni God (Incomplete)"
They hadn't become Kijin or something akin to lesser demonsinstead, they had directly leapt to the class of Demon Lordtype Oni Gods!
However, because they were still quite weak, they currently existed only as incomplete Demon Lord-types.
Moreover, they each seemed to have a reserved (i.e., "destined") ultimate skill in this world!
Shurai's "Shrine Maiden of Guidance" and Shion's "Lord of Tyranny" were both ultimate skills.
Ultimate skills are exceptionally powerful and not something just anyone can acquire. Even many Demon Lords never possessed an ultimate skill. Now, these twothough as yet unawakenedhad them marked out by Rei Ao's True Sight. Their potential was enormous.
No one was more shocked than Shurai and Shion themselves. They could instinctively feel their abilities becoming far more potent, their bodies brimming with tremendous potentiala fundamental elevation of their essence. And it all stemmed fromRei Ao's act of naming them!
"Rei Ao-sama"
Shurai's feelings were complex. She didn't believe she deserved this sort of gift.
Shion felt the same. By offering themselves as vassals, they had never dreamed they would be treated so kindly. At best, she had thought she might be used simply as a warrior for killing foes, or as a disposable slave.
Standing up in the hot spring, Rei Ao smiled faintly.
"Now that you're both mine, whatever I grant youjust accept it," he said.
"Oh, and one more thing: your fellow clansmen who survived are still alive, so there's no need to worry."
He had circled the entire Great Forest of Jura to look for a certain special slimeone he did indeed find, at the goblin settlement. Rimuru existed in this world, albeit still unable to take human form and carrying the Storm Dragon's presence. Rei Ao also saw Shurai's brother and the other Oni there. Eventually, he planned to check in on that slime. For now, he simply shared the good news with Shurai and Shion to ease their concerns.
""
Shurai and Shion trembled with emotion. The knowledge that he had even bothered to check on their people moved them deeply. Shurai gazed into Rei Ao's face with burning gratitude. In that moment, she had only one thought: to truly devote herself to this man, now and forever.
In the midst of that fervor, her eyes chanced to glimpse something rising from the water.
Her cheeks turned the color of cherries. She pursed her lips.
Under Shion's startled gaze, Shurai leaned in and grabbed hold of what she saw.
"Master, please allow Shurai to offer aone-sided return of gratitude," she said.
Her bright, dewy eyes shone with both apprehension and anticipation.
Rei Ao was taken aback by her sudden, bold gesture, but as a seasoned "veteran," he quickly adapted. A smirk tugged at his lips. "Go ahead."
Hearing those words, Shurai shyly but eagerly bent down to take hold of "it."
"Wh-what is"
Shion and Treyni were dumbfounded by the scene.
Velzard, Velgrynd, Misery, and Rain all crowded closer. None of them showed any embarrassment; they were mainly just curious.
Velzard: "Ohh~ So that's how humans do it?"
Velgrynd: "So weirdis it really pleasurable?"
Rain: "Not sure, but judging by Master's face, it can't be bad."
Misery: "Master, can I try too?"
"Of course. But you might have to get in line."
Seeing as they chose this place to talk business, there was no way he'd let anyone slip by.
Velzard: "I call first! I'm the one who originally made a pact with Rei Ao."
Velgrynd: "Fine, then I'm second!"
The group began quarreling over the order. Shion's lips twitched slightlywas it really okay for them to do something so shameless so casually? And yet, seeing Shurai's enraptured state, she found herself reflexively licking her own lips.
Meanwhile, Shizue gave Treyni a gentle smile from farther off.
""
Treyni, stunned, forced a smile back at her. She knew she wouldn't be able to escape this fate either. Sigh
At that moment, another pair of footsteps approached.
Rei Ao didn't even have to turn around before grinning mischievously: "So you did come after all, Futaba."
"He's not back yet?"
Rio mentally counted the time. Futaba had stepped out for some fresh air a while ago and hadn't returned. Rio felt uneasy staying here alone.
She got up to go look for her other "self." But the moment she reached the door
"!!!"
Her expression froze.
She touched her lips with her right hand.
"It's starting again!"
That strange sensation of being touched gripped her, this time from her lips downward.
"Mmph!"
She let out a muffled sound of alarm as if lightning coursed through her body, sparking from her lips tolower places.
"N-no!"
Rio cried out.
