Chapter 38: Bee, Beetle, and Blondy Demon Lord's Skills

Attention: Guys, I have written a note for you at the end of this chapter, so make sure to read it.

So anyway, enjoy the chapter!!!

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"Rimuru POV:"

Right now, I am near the western part of the continent, close to the border of the Holy Empire of Ruberios.

This is the country that Veldora destroyed 250 years ago. Now, it seems to have stabilized and is maintaining itself quite well.

I've also heard that they have formed some kind of council in the western nations. Shizue told me that they established this council to defend themselves from the looming menace of monstrous threats and the demons that attack the western nations per Guy's order.

I've also heard that its place of operation is in Ingrassia, the nation where Shizue is famous as the Conqueror of Flames. It's a good thing that, up until now, Shizue has only revealed her first name and not her full name.

This way, when I establish my country and name it after my last name, people won't immediately make the connection between me and Shizue.

I'm fine if they find out after we've established our nation and formed alliances with other nations. However, if they find out before then, who knows what they might do.

Because humans are often delusional, they tend to believe what they think and act based on emotions. Considering all these things, there is a chance that some people might think that I kidnapped Shizue and come up with some absurd bullshit like that. Acting impulsively on their emotions, they might resort to attacking my country, and personally, I don't care what they do.

However, I'd prefer they didn't attack my country because I have no desire to kill humans for unnecessary reasons. If I were to do something like that, there is a chance that they would all gather together and attack my country, then I'd have to kill all humans in the world.

And I don't want that, because even if they are the worst creatures in the entire existence, excluding some people of course, Velda loved them and always made sure that they wouldn't go extinct.

I don't want to see his efforts go to waste. Besides, if I were to do something like that, he might get upset, whether he's in the afterlife or not. But who knows if he's in the afterlife? Still, I don't like the idea of upsetting him. So, it would be best if humans didn't know about my country for some time.

Hmm... well, whatever happens in the future, I'll deal with it when the time comes. There's no point in thinking about it now.

Right now, only Veldora is with me. Shizue was going to come, but she remembered that she needs to go to one of the human countries. They sent a letter to every country asking for help because there are some demons attacking them.

I sent Diablo with her just in case. I don't know why, but I just felt like I should send him.

Well, now we are almost there. We can teleport there in under a billionth part of a second, but you know, it's nice to fly sometimes.

As we come closer to the border, I can see the destruction that is going on, as well as the battle between humans and demons.

Hmm... So Guy has sent demons from his lineage. Well, he is doing his job, so let them do their business, and I will do the thing that I came here for.

Hmm... Where are they? Where are they?

Ah... Found ya!

Huh... Why are there only two insects? There should be three!! Some time ago, when the dimensional layer was distorted, I felt three individuals entering the material world.

And now, only two are present. Where did the third one go??

I clearly sensed three individuals entering the material world from the otherworld, or we could say the seal world, or to be more precise, the Demi-Spiritual.

The Demi-Spiritual world is different from the Semi-Spiritual world, but at the same time, it shares similarities. The Semi-Spiritual world possesses properties of both the physical and spiritual worlds, allowing Mystical Entities to exist there while still being bound by physical rules.

Similarly, the Demi-Spiritual world shares these properties, allowing Mystical Entities to coexist within its world while being bound to physical laws. However, it is different from the Semi-Spiritual world because it was not created by Veldanava when he created the world.

The Demi-Spiritual world was created during the fight between Velda and The World Destroying Dragon: Ivaraj.

During their battle, a gap was formed between dimensions and dimensional layers, within which all the aura released by Ivaraj during his fight with Velda is present.

The Demi-Spiritual world is as large as, or slightly smaller than, the Semi-Spiritual world. This world is also connected to the dimension that Ivaraj has sealed.

The Demi-Spiritual World is also referred to as the Cryptid world. This is because it is home to cryptids.

Cryptids are beings that came into existence due to the leaking aura of Ivaraj. Most of them are mindless beasts displaying a wide range of appearances, from mammals like foxes and rabbits to more exotic forms such as insects like beetles and wasps.

They seem to vary in size. While many start as small creatures, they possess the remarkable ability to grow into massive beasts over time. If a cryptid gains sufficient power and intelligence, it can undergo a transformative process, allowing it to assume humanoid form. These evolved cryptids are known as Majin.

Cryptids hold significant power within the world's hierarchy, with some individuals demonstrating potential to become comparable to True Dragons. This is why cryptids are considered one of the powerful races in the world.

For example, there's Zelanus. He is the King of all Insectoids, the first intelligent cryptid born from Ivaraj's leaking magicules.

When he was first born, he didn't know what to do, isolated in the cryptid world. When Velda visited that world, he discovered Zelanus, the lone cryptid displaying intelligence. And our ever curious, Velda named him 'Zelanus', and thus the first insector was born.

I don't know the current situation in the cryptid world or Zelanus's status, and I don't care about it either. Whether that world lives or dies for all I care.

Anyway, the main thing is: why are there only two individuals and not three???

<<Ciel, do you know about this?>>

<<Yes, master. A few minutes earlier, one human came and took of them with him. He chose the who is not wounded too much, since insect that he had taken less than others, so>>

<<I see. Thanks for the info.>>

Whatever happened is not my problem because the two who are present here are my future subordinates or the subordinates of my other variant from a different timeline. Anyway, they are going to be my subordinates in the future, so there is no point in thinking over it.

"Bro, are those the two that we came to take with us?" Veldora asked, pointing towards the boulder under which they are hiding.

"Yes, and the one who looks like a beetle is going to be your disciple in the future," I told him.

Actually, both of them—the beetle and the bee—are hiding under a boulder, and all the while, the beetle is protecting the bee.

Well, for us, it doesn't matter if they are hiding under the boulder or not because we can see even under the boulder as clear as day, thanks to [Universal Sense].

And from what I can see, both of them are pretty injured to the point that the beetle is missing some of his body parts.

"Don't do something idiotic that will make them scared of us," I said to Veldora because he tends to go overboard when he sees new people.

"Hey, I am not an idiot to act like an idiotic person!!!" Veldora said indignantly.

"Whatever, let's go," I just pretended like I didn't hear him and started to head towards them.

Hm... Now that I think about it, there are a lot of lesser demons here and even some greater ones too.

And almost all of them belong to Guy's lineage, some from Rain's, and some from Misary's lineage. I think Guy is just doing this out of boredom. Well, he can do whatever he wants, for all I care.

As we went near them, I can see that the beetle is on high alert and doing his best to keep the bee safe.

"Are you hurt, little guy?" I asked them as we approached.

As I spoke, Veldora and I made our presence clear. Actually, because we were hiding our presence, they weren't aware of us until I spoke.

"W..who ar...are you?" The beetle asked, all the while trying to hide the bee behind him and protect her from us.

"A..are you.. h..here to h..hurt us?" The bee asked from behind him.

"No, little guys. I am not here to hurt you. Instead, I am here to help you. I saw that you are in trouble, so I thought of helping you," I said to them and extended my hand for them to take.

They seemed to be hesitant for a while, but after they talked with each other, the beetle finally took my hand, still showing caution around us and trying to protect the bee behind him.

"Don't worry, guys. I won't harm you, and it seems that you are injured. Let me fix you," I said. Before they could say anything, I lifted the beetle.

I see, so some of his body parts are missing. Hm... What should I do? Wait, if I were to give him some of my magicules along with some Hihiirokane metal, then it should be enough.

The Hihiirokane metal that is in my [Imaginary Space] is bathed in my aura, and if this metal, along with some of my magicules, were given to him, they would react with my magicules and act like a catalyst, fusing with his body.

It's because if my magicules were to fuse with him, then the metal that reacts with my magicules will also react with his and fuse with it.

Hm... That will be good, and in this way, he will be strong too. Yes, that's what I am going to do now.

<<Ciel, fix him. Fuse magicules along with some Hihiirokane metal and make him good as new.>>

<<Understood. >>

And just like that, Ciel repaired him in seconds.

Now he's done; the only thing remaining is the bee.

"Come here," I said to her and took her.

Well, she doesn't have that much damage, only slight injuries here and there, and her magicules are low.

Hm... This is not too much damage. I don't think I need to do the same thing that I did with the beetle. If I give her a name, then that will be enough to make her good as new.

"Hm... You are in good condition compared to him," I said and put her beside the beetle.

"Hm... Would you like to be my subordinates?" I asked them.

Even though they are subordinates of my variants from other timelines, I would still like them to choose to serve me willingly, rather than forcefully.

"Will we be safe? Will you protect us?" the bee asked me.

"Yes, if you choose to become my subordinates, then I will protect you and even train you to become strong," I said to them.

"Will I be strong enough to protect her?" the beetle asked.

"Yes, you will be strong enough to protect her, and not only her but stronger than your father," I assured them.

I knew both of them were Zelanus's children, and Zelanus himself was as strong as Velgrynd, or perhaps even stronger.

"In that case, we would like to become your subordinates. We will pledge our eternal and undying loyalty to you, our new master," Beetle and Bee both said and bowed.

"I see. As proof that from now on you're my subordinates, I will grant you names. You, the beetle, will be Zegion, and you, the bee, will be Apito," I declared and named them.

And just like that, some of my magicules left me and engulfed them, and soon a cocoon was formed around them.

Hm... What is this?

<<Ciel? >>

<<Master, because of naming and the high amount magicules that are given by us during process, it triggered their evolution. And now they in process In one week, evolution will be complete.>>

I see. If that's the case, then I should just teleport them to our place.

"Hey, otaku dragon, our work here is done, and after one or two weeks, you can start to train him," I said to Veldora as I teleported them to our place.

"Hm... I see, so let's go. I can't wait to show my future disciple my greatness!!! Kuhahahahaha haahhaahh hahahaha!!!" Veldora exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, do whatever you want. For now, you should head home and look after them. In the meantime, I will visit Guy," I said to Veldora and started to fly towards the north.

Actually, there is no major reason behind my sudden decision to go to Guy's place. It's just that it's been almost ten years since I met Velz, and that's why I decided to visit his place today.

But the main reason behind my visit is that I am just bored of staying in the forest for too long.

Before long, I am near the north continent. I can sense the demons inside the place, and I can also sense Rain, Misary, Velz, Guy, and wait, who is with Guy?

Hm.. so Leon is there as well. Well, no problem. It doesn't matter if he's here or not. I am not going for him anyway.

But I should wear my mask.

As I wore my mask, I entered the Ice Palace. It is as beautiful as I remember. And there they are, sitting on the balcony and drinking tea.

Why is Guy acting like that? Don't tell me that Leon is his next prey!!!

Rest in peace, Leon. Even though I don't know much about you and I don't want to know about you either, you were still a great Demon Lord and a good-hearted person. So rest in peace, my fellow Demon Lord.

Hm.... Now that I look closely at him, I can see that he has [Metatron], an angelic series skill.

He doesn't seem that strong for an ultimate skill holder. Wait, am I the only one who thinks that he is weak, or has the world become this weak??

Whatever.

Hm.. but this is not a good thing because what if he gets controlled by blondy or the person who will wield [Michael] after him.

Well, not my problem. Even if he comes in my way, then I will just crush him along with whoever ordered him. Simple as that.

<<Wait!!!! Master, I have a suggestion.>>

I have a bad feeling about this.

>>What is it?<<

<<How about we upgrade or evolve his skills?<<< p>

I knew it!!!!!!! She is up to something again!!!!

>>And why is that? I don't think that is necessary. Also, even if he gets controlled, then we will break the control circuit or we can just kill him or whoever is in possession of [Michael].<<

<<Well, you are right, but I don't think that is a good idea because in this way, there possibility things will become boring again.>>

Well, that is true, but,

>>I get it, but I don't get it. How will killing him or whoever is in possession of [Michael] make things boring?<<

<<Well, if I were to tell you now, then it won't be interesting anymore.>>

>>What do you want to do exactly? Why do you want to upgrade his skill? Tell me.<<

<<I don't know what you are talking about. It must be your imagination!>>

>>Just say it! I know you are plotting something, didn't you?!!<<

<<Fine. I just want to see if we integrate some extra skills into one ultimate skill, then will that skill evolve?>>

>>Hm.. that is a good point, and now I am curious too.<<

<<So let's do this.>>

>>Fine, you win for this time.<<(giving in)< p>

<<Hehehe! >>(smug voices)

>>You planned this, didn't you!!!<<

<<It's just your imagination>>(in Raphael's voice)

>>Don't act like this; you have emotions!!<<

<<I don't know what you are talking about. I just wanted to do some experiments.>>(last part in a very low voice)

>>See, you said it yourself that you wanted to do experiments!!<<

<<No. It was just your imagination.>>

>>You.... Forget it!!<<(Concealing defeat)< p>

<<Hehehe >>(victory noises)

(A.N. Now, some may argue that Ciel is acting too independently and not fulfilling her role as Rimuru's skill. However, if you think that way, you are wrong because they are no longer master and skill; they are now husband and wife, and their interactions reflect this. So, don't say that Ciel should revert back to her Manas self because that is not going to happen.)

I should just forget the conversation I had with Ciel. Yeah, that would be good.

"How have you been, Guy?" I said after sneaking up behind him, trying to scare him, in process making my presence known.

"Hoo!!... Yo!! It's you, huh.. I was going to attack, thinking that someone just snuck into my place," Guy said, approaching me, and we exchanged a handshakes before fist bumping.

"Well, it's fun to mess with you," I said jovially as I sat down on one of the chairs.

"So what's the reason behind you coming here? Is it Velzard?" Guy asked me.

"Well, yes and no. Don't tell her, but yesterday I married to my second wife," I said to Guy in a very, very low voice because if Velz found out that I am here to fool around and not to see her, she will eat me alive.

"Well, you are going to die soon. Good luck, and I hope you will survive!" Guy said, showing sympathy to me.

"Yeah, I hope too," I agreed with him.

"Guy, who is this?" someone spoke in the middle of our conversation.

"Ah... Leon, I almost forgot about you! You can ask whatever you want. After all, how can I not answer your questions?" Guy said to Leon in a very weird way that I don't want to describe.

Yep. Now it's confirmed, Leon is Guy's next target.

"I don't want your weird talk. Just tell me who this person is," Leon said to Guy in a cold and irritated voice.

Hm... This guy definitely has some balls to talk to Guy like this.

"Hm.. he is a special person, and I can't tell you about him, at least not right now. But remember this, if you go against him, then I have to end you, even if I have to throw my desires away," Guy said to Leon in a serious voice.

"Third Person POV:"

As Guy said that, the room became silent.

Rimuru didn't care about what Guy said, so he just sat in his place as if nothing had happened.

Guy also sat as if nothing had happened. For him, saying something like this was natural. Even though Guy was attracted to Leon, he was still good friends with Rimuru.

Guy became friends with Rimuru shortly after his birth, and they are very good friends. Rimuru's tendency to intimidate or scare him is a totally different thing, but still, he respects Rimuru a lot. And by "a lot," it means a lot.

And that's why, for him, saying things like this is natural. And there is one more reason, and that is he doesn't want to anger Rimuru by any means. The thing is, Leon has come to his place. If, by any chance, Leon angers Rimuru, then Guy will also have to face an angry Rimuru, and he doesn't want to see Rimuru angry again.

Right now, Leon is the most shaken person among them, and it's because of what Guy has just said. It's because he had never ever thought that someone like Guy could say that he would kill someone for someone else.

And this shocked him to his very core. Not only that, but the fact that the person Guy mentioned he would kill for going against is the very same person who came with Storm Dragon Veldora to his place 14 years ago. Right now, that person and Guy are talking and acting like old acquaintances, and that made Leon more wary of this person.

But despite all of his thoughts, he decided to keep his mouth shut, at least for this time, because who knows what will happen if he said something that might accidentally make them angry.

A wise choice indeed.

"Guy, don't scare him like that!" Rimuru said to Guy after sensing that Leon is disturbed.

"Well, that wasn't my initial thought, but I guess my way of talking was a bit rough!" Guy said, not caring much about what he said.

"Well, aside from that, you are Leon, right? Hm... it seems that you have [Metatron]?" Rimuru said to Leon after getting confirmation of his name.

Right now, Leon is in a state of shock, wonder, and fear. It's because when Rimuru said his skill's name, Leon is shocked to his very core.

First, he is shocked because of how someone is able to find out about his ultimate skill.

From his perspective, it is impossible because he had never told anyone about his ultimate skill. Heck, he didn't even tell anyone that he has any ultimate skill in the first place.

Secondly, he is pondering that this world is not small but big, far bigger than he could have imagined. And in this world, someone like Rimuru exists with such terrifying power to tell people's skills with just one glance.

Lastly, he is filled with fear at the thought of what people like Rimuru could do with such power. Just contemplating the destruction they can cause makes him shudder.

And now the exact same person is in front of him, looking at him, and talking with him. If he said something wrong, then no one would come to his help, not even Guy. This fact made him more fearful of the current situation.

But still, he gathered his courage to talk because if he didn't answer them, the chances of the person in front of him becoming angry would increase, and he doesn't want that.

"Well, yes, I have that skill. But how did you know about it?" Leon asked Rimuru, but the fear and curiosity in his voice were sensed by Guy and Rimuru.

"Dude, now you are scaring him a lot more than I did. And you, Leon, don't think about this too much because these things are normal for him," Guy said to both of them.

Now, Leon is more curious about this person's identity because Guy had never talked to anyone in this way before.

Leon is seeing Guy act so casually with someone for the first time, which made him more curious about this mysterious person's identity.

"Well, I am not scaring him or anything; I just asked him. And as for you, Leon, I know many more things—enough that you can't even comprehend with those things—so just don't think too much on that. Consider this as a way of starting a good relationship, I guess," Rimuru said, giving Ciel the signal to start Leon's ultimate skills evolution, or we can say, integration.

Actually, Rimuru doesn't care about starting any good or bad relationship with Leon. He doesn't give a damn shit about Leon or anyone besides the people close to him. For him, whether they live or die doesn't matter, but he needs an excuse to evolve his ultimate skill.

He could evolve Leon's skill without telling him, or even if they knew it was his doing, he could make them shut up with his power. But that's not Rimuru's way of doing things. He doesn't like to abuse the power he has too much. He abuses his power on some occasions, but not for something as trivial as evolving someone's skill. So he just said that.

After receiving the signal from Rimuru, Ciel happily began her experiment.

<<I, The Goddess Ciel Tempest, order you, Voice of World, to integrate the extra skills [Thought Acceleration], [Chant Annulment], [Multilayer Barrier], [Spatial Domination], [Demon Lord's Haki], [Universal Sense] into individual Leon Cromwell's ultimate skill, [Purity King: Metatron].>>"

>>Ciel, do you really need to use skills like [Demon Lord's Haki], [Universal Sense], and [Chant Annulment]? Aren't those some of the most powerful skills, even if they fit into the extra skills category? Is it really necessary to use those skills?<<

<<Yes, master, it is needed because if the skills are not powerful enough, then won't be able to evolve ultimate skill. Additionally, [Metatron] doesn't have any sub-skills.< p>

The user of [Metatron] only gets the ability to purify and use energy in its purest state, along with the ability to wield Spiritrons. However, there's a drawback: the user can't use it to its full potential due to the risk of collateral damage. If we just alter the skill, then there's only a 50-50% chance that it will evolve.

So, in this way, these integrated skills will become the new skills' sub-skills, and the previous power of Metatron will be more refined. [Metatron] will evolve into a new skill.>>

>>But still, I think it is too much for him. Anyway, what happened is happened, and now I am interested to see the [Metatron]'s evolution and the new skill that will come with the evolution.<<

After receiving the order from Ciel, The Voice of The World echoed in Leon's mind.

{Order received. Integrating extra skills [Thought Acceleration], [Chant Annulment], [Multilayer Barrier], [Spatial Domination], [Demon Lord's Haki], [Universal Sense] into individual Leon Cromwell's ultimate skill [Purity King : Metatron].... successful. [Purity King : Metatron] has evolved into ultimate skill [Brilliance King : Surya]. That fulfills the order.}

As the Voice of the World announced, [Metatron]'s integration was completed, the ultimate power within Leon changed, his skill refined, becoming more powerful than before.

Seeing the sudden increase in his power and his skill getting altered and evolved, Leon couldn't contain his thoughts anymore, and in a state of shock, he let those thoughts out.

"Who are you? What are you? How did you do that? How did you know about my skill? How did you change it? What are you?" Leon said all of this in a shocked voice.

"Easy, Leon. Take it easy. Something like this is normal for him. For the time being, you should return to your place because you seem pretty distressed," Guy said to Leon, seeing him out of character.

"I think that too," Leon said, preparing to leave.

"Misery!" Guy called his maid.

"Yes, Guy-sama," Misery answered Guy and appeared in front of him, bowing.

"Go and escort Leon to his place!" Guy ordered Misery to escort Leon.

"Yes, Guy-sama!" Misery once again bowed and left with Leon.

"Well, his reaction was certainly funny," Rimuru commented to no one in particular.

"You sure have a tendency to play with people's skills," Guy said to him as they both took a sip of their wine that Rain had just served them.

"Well, it was not entirely my plan, but I do enjoy people's funny reactions," Rimuru replied to him.

They were about to continue their conversation, but the sudden decrease in temperature stopped them.

"My~ my~! Aren't you the one enjoying yourself?" Velzard said in a sickly sweet voice, with a smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes.

"First, you didn't visit me for nearly ten years, and even after coming here, you are fooling around," Velzard said, now standing in front of Rimuru while he sweated.

"Well... you see..." Rimuru tried to say something, but he was unable to come up with any excuse.

So, after failing to come up with an excuse, Rimuru glanced at Guy for help, but Guy just turned his head in the opposite direction, staring into the sky from the open balcony.

"Hm... Today's stars look pretty, right Rain?" Guy said, pretending he hadn't seen Rimuru glancing at him.

"I ain't gonna talk with her when she is angry. Go deal with your problem by yourself. You are the strongest after all." These were Guy's thoughts.

"You traitor!!!!! And how are you seeing stars when it is still day outside, and plus there is an ice storm going on!!!!!" These were Rimuru's thoughts.

"Well, well, let's go to my room and have a detailed talk," Velz said as she dragged Rimuru into her room.

From that day on, no one saw Rimuru and Velzard for a week. When they finally appeared, Velzard had a satisfied look, but as for Rimuru...

His mood was so happy that anyone who saw him in at least a month period of time after that week thought that he had just seen something heavenly or he had done something that most people would die for.

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And that's end. That's all for this chapter

Guys, I evolved Leon's skill early because I made many changes in the my story. Therefore, it's now impossible for the situation from the LN where Ciel needed to evolve or alter Leon's skill to occur.

So, I adjusted the timeline and evolved Leon's skill ahead of schedule compared to the canon. Additionally, Luminous's unique skill, [Lust], evolved into [Lustful King: Asmodeus] during Veldora's attack on her country.

This happened because there was no Chronoa/Chloe to help her. Also, Hinata is nowhere near as strong as Chloe, so she had to fight alone. In her rage and desperation to save her country, her unique skill evolved into the ultimate skill.

Tell me how is the chapter in comments. It is really motivates me to write new chapters.

Word Count: 5k.