And yet the mystery of these great demons was slowly starting to unravel through painstaking research by humans.
And the thing that had been most useful was the ‘Absolute Magic Space.’
Mana used for summoning was replaced with a magic stone, then the room was completely closed off and sealed.
There were times when the summoner was killed, but the experiments with summoning horrible demons continued in secret.
As they did this, they eventually succeeded in capturing several Arch Demons.
And when they measured their abilities, they discovered that their energy was not consistent.
Weaker bodies had less energy, and those who had an established will tended to have much greater power.
The great demons of legend had likely been special beings who had lived for a very long time. That was the conclusion the research team came to.
And if they were right, then these Arch Demons were nothing to fear.
After all, all they would have to do was to call them once by partially summoning them. Once they confirmed whether or not it had a will, they could just send it back if it looked too dangerous.
Through these experiments, they became very adept at controlling demons.
Once they had the data, they had no use for the captured demons.
Godama had decided that there was no more need for experiments, and he had the demons exterminated.
And it was the Destroyers that were the most useful for doing this.
The most powerful golems that hunted down demons.
Godama was very proud of their power.
And he had thirteen of these reliable Destroyers, which meant that Diabo’s death was a definite thing–In any case, Godama believed this without doubt.
And so Godama thought:
They said he was the leader of the Great Demon Lord’s 12 Guardians. But it was absurd. He was just a demon, and everything else had been rumor.
However, this has great meaning.
Diablo was a demon who was called the right hand of the slime. Killing him would mean cutting off a huge portion of the Great Demon Lord’s power.
In that case…
It is not too unlikely that because of my contributions, I will become the leader of the Humanity Emancipation Alliance. That is what this means.
I will lead them to a new world!
Still, it had been so incredibly easy to trap him.
His eyes had been full of the confidence of the strong.
That’s why a wise man like me was able to easily lead him, just like taking the hand of a baby.
He had used the pitfall before in dealing with the Accommodationists, in other words, those who were in favor of recognizing the Great Demon Lord.
It had gone much better than expected, and Godama remembered just how surprised he had been.
It was the same this time as well.
The feared demon who was known by all, Diablo.
But the truth was that he was weaker than even an Arch Demon.
Godama laughed at this idea.
It was a common thing though, where rumors ran wild but the truth was most disappointing.
He was intelligent, and was able to have a physical body in this world while having 7,000 in energy, which made him a threat.
But that was all nothing now.
Godama was only thinking about his own future. He was drunk on fantasies of fame and glory.
“How silly it all is. I had heard that the Royal Knights that protected the emperor were no match for the Great Demon Lord’s 12 Guardians…but now we know that that story was false. Even I would not have chosen…”
“Really? The 12 Guardians are not so weak, you know?”
“Hahaha. What are you saying? I just finished taking care of their leader, Diablo. With my own hands.”
“Oh, that is impressive. Well then, who are you talking to right now?”
“What?”
Godama had been so absorbed in his own bliss, that it took him a moment to feel that something was wrong.
He had made sure that no one would disturb him in this room. And so no one should be here but him.
“Who are you…!?”
The voice came from behind him, and so Godama frantically turned around.
The person who was standing there was a beautiful demon with eyes that burned bright like fire.
The person who would throw Godama into the pits of despair.
–It was Diablo.
◆◆◆
“Giii, gieeeee!!!”
Godama’s shriek echoed in the room.
His eyes were widened as if he could not believe what he was seeing.
Diablo should have been turned into mince meat by the Destroyers, and yet, not only was he not wounded, his clothes weren’t even dirty.
Godama was too shocked to speak, but his eyes asked, ‘are you real?’
Diablo gave a thin smile and nodded.
“Too bad, eh? Turns out I am perfectly fine.”
Godama heard those words and was finally able to speak again.
While still in shock, he shouted at Diablo.
“It cannot be! Bastard. How did you escape my Destroyers…”
At this point, Godama’s brain started to function again.
His brain was finally able to understand who this person in front of him was.
“Gaaahhh!! Are yo-you really Diablo…!?”
His brain had tried to persuade him that this was not the case, but his brain had failed.
Godama’s face filled with panic and fear.
“Hehehe. Those golems were very entertaining. I was almost sorry that I had to break them.”
“Ho-how?! How did you break them?”
“How?”
Diablo tilted his head to the side as if he did not understand the meaning of the question.
“Don’t act dumb! You could not use magic. You had no power to use… And yet, how did you…?!”
Diablo nodded.
He knew now why Godama had been so surprised. And so he decided to be magnanimous and explain.
“It should be obvious. If I can’t use magic, then I just have to fight physically. What don’t you understand?”
Diablo answered as if it were the most obvious thing.
However, Godama was not satisfied.
“You’re talking nonsense! Those were Destroyers! Just one of them are capable of defeating an Arch Demon, and there were thirteen of them!! And you…you could not have beaten them without magic!!”
He was screaming now.
Godama’s brain was telling him that it was impossible. And he would not believe Diablo’s words.
As for Diablo, he smiled gently at Godama.
He wanted to show respect to someone who had so triggered his emotions. And while it was rare for Diablo, he decided to spend time to talk to him.
Either that, or Diablo had been so angry that he had started to grow numb…
“Yes, it wasn’t exactly easy. I was barehanded against those heavyweights, after all. However! That’s when I had an idea. Lord Rimuru had once said that ‘willows are weak, yet they bind other wood.’ And so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and calm myself down while fighting.”
Diablo explained.
However, while Diablo may intended to follow Rimuru’s words, the truth was different.
And yet the mystery of these great demons was slowly starting to unravel through painstaking research by humans.
And the thing that had been most useful was the ‘Absolute Magic Space.’
Mana used for summoning was replaced with a magic stone, then the room was completely closed off and sealed.
There were times when the summoner was killed, but the experiments with summoning horrible demons continued in secret.
As they did this, they eventually succeeded in capturing several Arch Demons.
And when they measured their abilities, they discovered that their energy was not consistent.
Weaker bodies had less energy, and those who had an established will tended to have much greater power.
The great demons of legend had likely been special beings who had lived for a very long time. That was the conclusion the research team came to.
And if they were right, then these Arch Demons were nothing to fear.
After all, all they would have to do was to call them once by partially summoning them. Once they confirmed whether or not it had a will, they could just send it back if it looked too dangerous.
Through these experiments, they became very adept at controlling demons.
Once they had the data, they had no use for the captured demons.
Godama had decided that there was no more need for experiments, and he had the demons exterminated.
And it was the Destroyers that were the most useful for doing this.
The most powerful golems that hunted down demons.
Godama was very proud of their power.
And he had thirteen of these reliable Destroyers, which meant that Diabo’s death was a definite thing–In any case, Godama believed this without doubt.
And so Godama thought:
They said he was the leader of the Great Demon Lord’s 12 Guardians. But it was absurd. He was just a demon, and everything else had been rumor.
However, this has great meaning.
Diablo was a demon who was called the right hand of the slime. Killing him would mean cutting off a huge portion of the Great Demon Lord’s power.
In that case…
It is not too unlikely that because of my contributions, I will become the leader of the Humanity Emancipation Alliance. That is what this means.
I will lead them to a new world!
Still, it had been so incredibly easy to trap him.
His eyes had been full of the confidence of the strong.
That’s why a wise man like me was able to easily lead him, just like taking the hand of a baby.
He had used the pitfall before in dealing with the Accommodationists, in other words, those who were in favor of recognizing the Great Demon Lord.
It had gone much better than expected, and Godama remembered just how surprised he had been.
It was the same this time as well.
The feared demon who was known by all, Diablo.
But the truth was that he was weaker than even an Arch Demon.
Godama laughed at this idea.
It was a common thing though, where rumors ran wild but the truth was most disappointing.
He was intelligent, and was able to have a physical body in this world while having 7,000 in energy, which made him a threat.
But that was all nothing now.
Godama was only thinking about his own future. He was drunk on fantasies of fame and glory.
“How silly it all is. I had heard that the Royal Knights that protected the emperor were no match for the Great Demon Lord’s 12 Guardians…but now we know that that story was false. Even I would not have chosen…”
“Really? The 12 Guardians are not so weak, you know?”
“Hahaha. What are you saying? I just finished taking care of their leader, Diablo. With my own hands.”
“Oh, that is impressive. Well then, who are you talking to right now?”
“What?”
Godama had been so absorbed in his own bliss, that it took him a moment to feel that something was wrong.
He had made sure that no one would disturb him in this room. And so no one should be here but him.
“Who are you…!?”
The voice came from behind him, and so Godama frantically turned around.
The person who was standing there was a beautiful demon with eyes that burned bright like fire.
The person who would throw Godama into the pits of despair.
–It was Diablo.
◆◆◆
“Giii, gieeeee!!!”
Godama’s shriek echoed in the room.
His eyes were widened as if he could not believe what he was seeing.
Diablo should have been turned into mince meat by the Destroyers, and yet, not only was he not wounded, his clothes weren’t even dirty.
Godama was too shocked to speak, but his eyes asked, ‘are you real?’
Diablo gave a thin smile and nodded.
“Too bad, eh? Turns out I am perfectly fine.”
Godama heard those words and was finally able to speak again.
While still in shock, he shouted at Diablo.
“It cannot be! Bastard. How did you escape my Destroyers…”
At this point, Godama’s brain started to function again.
His brain was finally able to understand who this person in front of him was.
“Gaaahhh!! Are yo-you really Diablo…!?”
His brain had tried to persuade him that this was not the case, but his brain had failed.
Godama’s face filled with panic and fear.
“Hehehe. Those golems were very entertaining. I was almost sorry that I had to break them.”
“Ho-how?! How did you break them?”
“How?”
Diablo tilted his head to the side as if he did not understand the meaning of the question.
“Don’t act dumb! You could not use magic. You had no power to use… And yet, how did you…?!”
Diablo nodded.
He knew now why Godama had been so surprised. And so he decided to be magnanimous and explain.
“It should be obvious. If I can’t use magic, then I just have to fight physically. What don’t you understand?”
Diablo answered as if it were the most obvious thing.
However, Godama was not satisfied.
“You’re talking nonsense! Those were Destroyers! Just one of them are capable of defeating an Arch Demon, and there were thirteen of them!! And you…you could not have beaten them without magic!!”
He was screaming now.
Godama’s brain was telling him that it was impossible. And he would not believe Diablo’s words.
As for Diablo, he smiled gently at Godama.
He wanted to show respect to someone who had so triggered his emotions. And while it was rare for Diablo, he decided to spend time to talk to him.
Either that, or Diablo had been so angry that he had started to grow numb…
“Yes, it wasn’t exactly easy. I was barehanded against those heavyweights, after all. However! That’s when I had an idea. Lord Rimuru had once said that ‘willows are weak, yet they bind other wood.’ And so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and calm myself down while fighting.”
Diablo explained.
However, while Diablo may intended to follow Rimuru’s words, the truth was different.
