Chapter 48: Interrogation Continued

Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?

Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.

Chapter 48: Interrogation Continued

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- Felix -

"The Moderate Harlequin Alliance is a group of powerful Majin that were created by our Mistress, Kagali, also known as Kazalim." 

What?! That Demon Lord was said to have been killed by Leon, even Elmesia confirmed it.

That… that shouldn't be possible.

Maybe someone was just using Kazalim's name as an alias?

I have a feeling I'm going to be learning a lot more from Laplace than I did from Mariabell.

I looked to Luminous to see if she knew anything but she shook her head, it seems even she wasn't aware that the Curse Lord had survived, if it was even the same person. The question is, did Leon spare her and lie to everyone else about it or did something else happen?

'Notice. Deathman are capable of surviving without their flesh, they are capable of roaming the world as an Astral Body for years and can possess a suitable host. It is likely that the individual Leon Cromwell was not aware of this, allowing Demon Lord Kazalim to escape and survive.'

'I see. That makes sense, thanks Odin.'

Then it seems this is the real Demon Lord Kazalim then. I'm not quite sure how powerful he was in his prime, I don't even know if he was an Awakened Demon Lord, or just a Demon Lord Seed, I'm leaning towards just being a Demon Lord Seed, I remember hearing that he had gone toe to toe with Roy Valentine, Luminous' substitute.

Roy, while powerful, was no True Demon Lord, so I imagine Kazalim was around Roy's level, therefore fodder.

I suppose Laplace may know for sure.

"We are currently a group of mercenaries for hire. Our current employer is Yuuki Kagurazaka who is allied with our Mistress."

I nodded. "Who else is in this Moderate Harlequin Alliance?"

"Our President is Kagali, I am the Vice President, Laplace, the Wonder Pierrot, then the main members were Clayman, the Crazy Pierrot, Footman, the Angry Pierrot, and Tear, also known as Teardrop. Now we are down to merely myself, the President, and Tear." Laplace informed.

So Clayman was a member then huh? And just like I thought, Laplace did have some kind of relationship with Footman and Tear.

"The main members? So do you have branch members or something?"

Laplace nodded. "We have various resources to call upon throughout the Western Nations, but our only true permanent branch member was Eva, also known as No Face."

"Eva? That wouldn't happen to be Clayman's former maid would it?"

Laplace nodded. "That would be her."

"I see." Eva had disappeared shortly before Clayman launched his invasion, and no one I asked knew where she had gone. "Do you know where she is?"

Laplace shook his head.

"I see, well tell me more about your President, start with how Kagali managed to survive when Leon claimed to have killed him."

"Kagali was an ancient High Elf, the princess of them in fact."

A princess? I thought Kazalim was male, weird.

"Her father, the High Elf King, had been experimenting on her, these experiments resulted in her death, her father brought her back to life as a Deathman with an ugly, rotting form. He cursed her. At which point Kagali had gotten into a dispute with her father as he was mistreating his citizens, in the end her father turned her into a male using the curse he placed on her, while also giving her the name, Kazalim."

That's…. yikes. I'm definitely not going to be showing her mercy just because of a sob story, but it does help me get a better understanding of Kagali at the very least.

"I did always wonder what happened to one of my kin's daughter, to think she would turn into Kazalim… how unfortunate." Said Luminous.

I turned to look at Luminous. "Did you know the High Elf King?"

Luminous nodded. "I was well acquainted with all of Twilight's creations, the so-called Pupils of the Ancestor. I had even met Kagali in the past, back then she was a kind innocent girl."

"The Pupils of the Ancestor?" That was a group I haven't heard about.

Luminous nodded. "We were a group composed of the various True Ancestors of each of the various races created by Twilight Valentine."

"Ah, I see." It isn't surprising that they had a group like that.

"Do you guys still meet up from time to time?"

Luminous shook her head. "No. The majority of us have already passed on, the only one I still regularly maintain contact with is Sylvia, Gunther, and Valentin."

"Gunther? Isn't that your butler? And who is Valentin?"

Luminous nodded. "Gunther is my butler and one of the True Ancestors of the Vampires. Valentin is the name that Roy and Louis had when they were a single being."

"Ah, I see. So there are three Vampire True Ancestors then huh?"

Luminous shook her head. "No, while I can technically be considered a True Ancestor of the Vampires, I am much more different. I am the single being that Twilight was able to create that was similar to him. He called me his other half, I am the only one of my kind, a High Blood, a being born Divine."

Talk about being a cheat. Being born with Divinity is incredible.

Luminous seemed to have caught on to my impressed look as she puffed up her chest and looked at me haughtily.

I ignored her and looked back at Laplace. "Continue."

Laplace obediently nodded. "After some time, the High Elf King angered Milim Nava, and so she attacked Kagali's country and destroyed it, killing the High Elf King in the process. She was one of the sole survivors of the incident."

Ah, well the High Elf King is one hell of an idiot, for thinking he would get away from kidnapping the pet of Milim Nava. He was a True Ancestor, there is no way he was clueless as to who Milim's father was, and yet he still proceeded.

Talk about stupidity.

"The President ended up using the Forbidden Magic, Birthday to create three Deathman, Clayman, Footman, and Tear." 

Hmm, so that's where all the Deathman I have encountered have been coming from, Kagali created them all.

But one thing is a bit odd. "You weren't created at that time?"

Laplace shook his head. "No. I was created when my former self had drove away the Chaos Dragon, but suffered fatal wounds in the process, my former self made a deal with Kazalim, Kazalim would bring him back to life in his service, he warned my former self that I would not recall my memories, but he still agreed."

Hmm, so Laplace seems himself as someone different from his former self then?

"My former self ended up losing who he was, and I was born." Said Laplace.

"Just out of curiosity, are you aware of who your former self was?"

Laplace nodded. "The identity of my former self was Sarion Grimwald, the husband of Sylvia El Ru, and father to Elmesia El Ru Sarion."

My eyes widened upon hearing that.

Rimuru slammed his hands on the table. "What?!"

"After resurrecting me as a Deathma–"

"Hold on, go back for a second. You were Sarion? The Elven Hero?"

Laplace nodded. 

"And your memories of when you were Sarion are just gone?" 

Laplace nodded. "Kazalim had tried to delve into my Soul to attempt to restore them as a gift to me, but he was unable to. I did not have much of a problem with losing those memories."

I'm sure his former self disagrees.

Hmm, Asmodeus is a Skill that has some Authority over Souls, so perhaps it can help Laplace regain his memories?

'Negative. When the individual Laplace became a Deathman, the memories of the individual Sarion have been completely suppressed if not wiped, they may be located deep within the Heart Core, but delving that deep into an individual's being is incredibly dangerous and may result in the Soul completely collapsing in on itself. There is not enough data to safely extract the memories.'

I see, well it was worth a shot. Now that I think about it, that was a pretty unreasonable request.

"How unfortunate. From what I have heard, Sarion Grimwald was a good man, Sylvia had spoken of him fondly." Sighed Luminous.

"Ugh, what should I tell Elmesia?" Sighed Rimuru.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well she does have the right to know what happened to her father. I guess we just tell her what happened and let her mourn. The man that was her father is gone, all that's left now is… the Wonder Pierrot. We can worry about that later though."

Rimuru sighed but nodded nonetheless. Hopefully Elmesia doesn't act like a pain, her demanding for Laplace despite his crimes would be bothersome.

Laplace has his own crimes to pay for, Hinata's death, killing Roy Valentine, and possibly assisting Clayman in the invasion.

I'm not one to demand absolute justice about everything, in the end the powerful get to decide things, unfortunately while Elmesia is strong, she is the weaker party in such a thing.

Elmesia and her Dynasty against three Demon Lords, even she would be hesitant to go against that.

Though I would feel a bit bad to strong arm her like that, I do somewhat like her. And in the end Laplace is, or rather was her father, I can understand why she would want custody of him, whether it is to try her own methods of restoring Sarion, or even peacefully ending him.

In the end, we can just hope for the best and prepare for the worse it seems.

"Hmph! I am willing to forfeit Laplace to Sylvia, as a gift. Even after everything, I do still consider Sylvia a close friend. While I am upset about Roy's passing, I will simply have my fill with Laplace before forfeiting him over." Said Luminous.

Rimuru looked at Luminous in surprise. "Seriously?! You would do that Luminous?!"

Luminous nodded with a small smile as she looked at me. "Indeed, seeing as this is the birth date of a new friendship I hope lasts, I am willing to do this favor. It has been a long long time since I met someone I could consider a friend. The most recent one was Hinata and Chloe in fact. The life of an Immortal is only enjoyable if there are others to share it with."

"Huh, those are wise words, Luminous. Your age is really showing." I commented with an impressed smile.

For some reason, my comment only ticked Luminous off. 

"My age, you said?" Asked Luminous with a serene smile.

What is this invisible pressure she is giving off?

'Is this some new Haki Odin?'

'Negative.'

'Do you have any idea what this is then? Even I'm beginning to feel pressured.'

'….'

'Don't leave me for dead now!'

Luminous was still glaring at me, as if hoping I would contentiously erupt into flames.

I just sighed, women were truly complicated creatures.

Still, I smiled at recalling what Luminous had said. Who knew she had some dere behind all that tsun. "But thanks, Luminous, I truly appreciate it. If you need me, just call me and I'll be there."

Luminous' eyes widened slightly as she recognized the worth of the words I had said. Having the friendship of someone as powerful as me was useful no matter who you were.

Luminous gave me a smirk and nodded, the invisible pressure she was releasing vanishing.

Heh, I'm sure Hinata would be surprised at Luminous, and my newfound relationship. It'll be fun seeing her expression.

Rimuru loudly sighed in relief. "Oh man, I thought things were going to get messy!"

I looked at Rimuru in confusion. "Why would that be?"

He looked at me as if I was missing something obvious. "And you call me dense!" 

He just shook his head and refused to elaborate. "Ah, still that's a relief. Thanks a lot Luminous. I was worried about how to handle Elmesia. After everything that has happened, having an angry Elmesia was not going to help at all." 

"Hah, it must be your sorta lucky day Rimuru."

"Yeah I guess."

I looked back to Laplace. "Tell us more about what Kazalim did after the Chaos Dragon's attack."

Laplace nodded and continued. "After the attack, Kazalim gathered some Elves that were still loyal to her and set out to make a place for herself. Unfortunately, the Elves that remained with Kazalim were corrupted as the Chaos Dragon's Miasma had been infused into the land itself, resulting in them becoming Dark Elves."

"I see, and was the Nation she established Jistav?" 

Laplace blankly nodded. "Yes."

"Hmm, I see. Continue."

"At some point, Kazalim set out to return to her homeland which was now in ruins to acquire some of its technology. There she met Sarion who had set out to repel the Chaos Dragon as it was still terrorizing Elven citizens while the Demon Lord Milim Nava, and Demon Lord Guy Crimson continued their clash. He ended up suffering mortal injuries during that battle, at which point Kazalim found him." Informed Laplace.

Ah yes, the fight between Milim and Guy, the fight that lasted seven days and seven nights. 

Hmm, though Kazalim just found Sarion huh? That makes me think of the fate Demon Lords and Heroes share that is bound by causality.

Perhaps Sarion and Kazalim were connected by fate.

"Eventually the Elves that did not remain loyal to Kazalim established their own Kingdoms, leading to the birth of thirteen new Elven Nations. At some point the Empress of Sarion came forth and consolidated all the Elven Nations under her rule, creating the Dynasty she now rules over." Said Laplace.

"I see. You can skip over Kazalim becoming a Demon Lord, start after the battle with Leon."

Laplace nodded and continued. "After facing defeat and her Physical Body's death against Leon, Kazalim wandered around the world for over a hundred years as a disembodied spirit. He managed to possess someone a few decades ago, however the person he possessed turned the tables on him, but decided to take pity on him and allow her to dwell within his body."

"Who did she possess?" Interrupted Rimuru.

"Answer him." I ordered.

"He Summoned and possessed the Otherworlder Yuuki Kagurazaka."

"Of course it was him." Sighed Rimuru.

Seriously, this guy is involved in everything isn't he? What could possibly be his goal, hopefully it isn't something as stupid as Mariabell's goal of world domination.

"Hold on, you said a few decades ago?" Rimuru asked, rubbing his temple in frustration.

Laplace nodded. 

"That's weird, I was under the impression that Yuuki was a Stray Otherworlder in the Western Nations." Commented Rimuru.

"Well, he could have just been lying." I then looked at Laplace. "Where was Yuuki Summoned and how long has he been around for?"

"Yuuki Kagurazaka was Summoned in the territory of the Eastern Empire. He has been around for over 3 decades." ExplainedLaplace.

"See, he was just lying." I said to Rimuru. "Now continue Laplace."

"Afterwards Kazalim laid dormant inside of Yuuki while also subtly assisting him. He got Yuuki in contact with us, and also in contact with Clayman. With all of our help Yuuki was able to revive Kazalim in a new body." Informed Laplace.

"So Kazalim walks again hmm?" Sighed Luminous.

I nodded. "So it seems."

"He, or rather she was always a bothersome one. Always attempting to gain more pull among the Council. She even recruited both Carrion and Frey into the Council." Said Luminous.

"Well, he had to do something to make up for his weakness. In his mind, numbers likely helped." I guessed.

"If Kazalim, or Kagali as she goes by now is alive, how strong is she? She was able to go toe to toe with Roy in her prime so she is a threat." Said Rimuru.

I gave Rimuru a blank stare. "A threat? You could mop the floor with Louis, let alone Roy who was half as strong as him. But I do see your point, the majority of our people are incapable of fighting against someone of that level, only our strong subordinates are capable of that."

I turned to Laplace. "How strong is Kagali now?"

"She maintains her former strength, however her host body is limiting her." Said Laplace.

"Oh? What is her host body?" I asked.

"A homunculus purchased from Sarion." Responded Laplace.

I nodded in understanding. "I can see why she would be limited then. I recall that when they do sell their precious homunculus they only sell the weak ones with no combat potential. How much strength can she use currently Laplace?"

"Kagali can only bring to bear the strength of a Greater Majin."

"That's…."

"Oh how the mighty have fallen." Laughed Luminous.

I recall Rimuru placing the average Greater Majin has about 10,000 Existence Points.

To think a Demon Lord, even if only a Demon Lord Seed would fall that far. Well, I guess Kagali should just be happy to be alive.

"Hmm, at least that will make her fairly easy to deal with should she cause a problem." I commented.

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, while it is a shame what happened to her, should she be an enemy she must be dealt with accordingly."

Speaking of enemies. "How does Kagali see us Laplace?"

"She is wary of Demon Lord Rimuru and slightly hateful of him due to his hand in Clayman's death as well as Footman's. She feels neutral towards Demon Lord Luminous, and she despises Demon Lord Felix with all her heart. The only person she hates just as much as Demon Lord Felix is Demon Lord Leon." Said Laplace.

"Huh, well, that's something." I commented.

"Fufufu, it seems you are even capable of bothering those that you are not even aware of Felix, perhaps it is a natural talent of yours to be an annoyance." Taunted Luminous.

I pouted hearing her. "Hey! I didn't even know about her, it's not my fault that she takes every loss she has taken so personally. Maybe if she wanted her plans to succeed she shouldn't have been so weak."

"That's…" Rimuru seemed somewhat mixed about what I said while Luminous was nodding along.

"Felix is right you know Rimuru. In this world it does not matter if you are just or unjust, it does not matter if you are considered evil by the masses. What matters is if you are powerful enough to decide who is right and who is wrong, as long as you are powerful enough you can do as you please. Should Guy wish to destroy some Human Nation, no one will truly stop him, even among the Demon Lords. Hinata learned this lesson first hand from me." Added Luminous. 

Rimuru seemed to be deep in thought, so while he was thinking I decided to hear more about what Luminous had to say.

"Oh? What did Hinata do?" I asked, curiosity tinting my voice.

Luminous smirked and elaborated. "When she joined the Holy Church she quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a Captain in two years. Eventually she caught onto the secret that the Pope was a Vampire and that the Pope's brother was the Bloody Lord Roy Valentine."

"Ugh, I can already picture what she would do. She was always less of the thinking type and more of the doing type." 

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, your guess is fairly accurate. Hinata made her way to my Inner Sanctum and confronted Louis, leading to a fight between them, with Hinata against both Roy and Louis. In the end both Roy and Louis were at death's door, but Hinata was also beyond recovery by mortal means."

"Seriously?!" Rimuru exclaimed. "I know she is strong but even back then she was a total diva huh?"

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, it was an impressive show. In the end I appeared and healed Hinata as well as Roy and Louis. She went on to pass the challenges of the Seven Luminaries and fought against me. Once she lost I explained everything about the Holy Church and Hinata decided to serve under me, in order to maintain the peace that was present in Ruberious."

I nodded in understanding. I was somewhat aware of the circumstances inside Ruberious. Basically everyone is Luminous's sheep, they are easy sources of blood that she has free access to.

Everyone's roles are determined, there was no real freedom available for the people, but they did not care as they never even experienced freedom. How could someone want something they don't even know exists?

Everything was provided for them, everyone had a job to do, and thanks to this there was no hunger or pain, in fact the people could even be considered happy.

It was a realistic approach to achieving lasting peace, if a hollow one.

Seeing as our discussion was done I turned back to Laplace.

So Kagali hates me huh?

But why exactly does she hate me? Sure I ruined her plans and killed some of her subordinates, but to hate me as much as she hates her killer?

"Laplace, what exactly is Kagali's reason for hating me so much?" Rimuru looked at me like I was an idiot but I ignored him.

"Because you killed Clayman and Footman, two beings she looked at like her own sons."

Huh, well, that'll do it. I didn't think someone like Kagali, a cold-hearted Demon Lord, would look at those two that way.

"I see. Where exactly is Kagali now?" We know where Yuuki is, and obviously, Laplace is here, but I had no clue where Kagali and Tear are. If I can, I'd like to take care of them so they don't cause any issues down the line.

"They are in a meeting with Demon Lord Leon Cromwell in El Dorado." Responded Laplace.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"He has been one of the people to buy Otherworlders and soon we will be stopping such a service temporarily."

"And why is that?" I asked.

"We will be moving our base of operations to the Eastern Empire in order to rely on our foundation there as well as due to the vast resources we have available there."

"Is that so?" So I can't take on Kagali now then huh? I know just showing up to El Dorado is not going to go well. It isn't a big deal anyways, Kagali and Tear on their own aren't threats.

"Moving onto more recent events, why did Yuuki help arrange the Falmuth Invasion?"

I know Mariabell said that it would make trading with the Eastern Empire easier, but there is a very high likelihood that Yuuki did not tell Mariabell the entire truth.

"Due to the very existence of Tempest being in the way of his goals, he thought it best if Tempest was removed entirely, as well as thinking that having Clayman Awaken would be useful." Said Laplace.

"Oh? And what are his goals?" I asked.

"Yuuki wishes to rule the world." Answered Laplace.

Ugh, seriously? Does everyone want to rule the world now?

Luminous' bell-like laughter rang throughout the room. "Truly, the idiocy of Mariabell and this Yuuki astound me. Rule the world? What a joke."

I nodded. "I know, right? If he wants to rule the world, he's got a long way to go." 

The Demon Lords wouldn't allow that, the Eastern Empire wouldn't allow that if their rapid expansion is anything to go by, they also have similar goals.

Even the Western Nations wouldn't allow that.

"And why does he want to rule the world, Laplace?"

"He wishes to make a fair society, one where everybody is equal, one where a Demon Lord can't just spontaneously decide that a country is an eye sore and get rid of it. One where he and his friends can laugh and have as much fun as they want." Said Laplace.

I had to hold in my laughter at hearing Laplace. The dream itself is nice, a world where we can laugh and have fun. But to actually reach such a thing is practically impossible, at least through world domination.

Mariabell had a better plan than that.

"Seriously?! Is he delusional?"

Luminous was nodding along as if agreeing with me.

"Equality in this world is not something easily achieved. I managed it in my own way, and even then it is merely a half measure." She said. 

"Hey! I like to think people are equal in Tempest!" Said Rimuru.

I turned to look at him. "Sure, it's better than practically all Nations in this world. In fact, Tempest can be considered a paradise in this world. But to replicate such a thing worldwide? And through world domination at that?"

I shook my head. "It just won't work. People need to fight for their peace and freedom, otherwise they will just take it all for granted. Not to mention the inevitable resistance such a thing would have. World domination just isn't possible for someone like Yuuki who doesn't seem to realize just how high the heights of power truly are."

"Indeed, Felix speaks the truth. Many have tried for world domination throughout the years, and each has been crushed under the boots of their betters." Luminous said.

"At least Rimuru's plan has some feasibility to work, it sounds very far-fetched, but it is still doable." I sighed.

"It's not that far-fetched." Rimuru whispered.

"You sure about that, buddy? You want to create lasting peace between Monsters and Humans through understanding and through merging our cultures. That sounds very far-fetched, but you're already making good progress."

Rimuru chuckled nervously. "Well, when you put it like that… it doesn't matter! I'll accomplish my dream no matter what!."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well it seems to be working, so you do your own thing. Good shonen speech by the way."

Rimuru blushed and looked away when I called him out on his speech.

"Shonen speech?" Asked Luminous.

"I'll tell you about it later." I responded. Luminous nodded.

I turned back to Laplace, I'm sure he still had more information that would prove to be useful.

"Now, what did Yuuki do after meeting Kazalim?"

"He set about learning the language of this world as well as its history, once that was done he began building up his resources in the Eastern Empire. Eventually Yuuki met a man who had access to an incredible amount of resources, with his help Yuuki was able to take over a dark organization that had already taken root in the Eastern Empire, he calls it Cerberus. 

Through Cerberus he was able to get involved in many things he wouldn't have been able to with his position as Guildmaster, kidnapping, Otherworlder Summonings, Monster taming, anything that could allow Cerberus to gain something they would do. They were also backed by various nobles and higher-up military personnel which eventually led up to him taking over the secret organization Echidna and rebranding it into Cerberus." Said Laplace.

So he has long since had some resources in the Eastern Empire then. Perhaps he wished to divide and conquer, since he had some foundation in the East, he wanted to establish some in the West before moving forward.

"After that he made his way to the Western Nations and got into contact with Clayman. It didn't take him long to go to a school funded by the Mutual-Aid Association and further learn under his teacher, Shizu." Laplace answered.

The Mutual-Aid Association is the precursor to the Free Guild. From what I've heard it's super inefficient, the rankings were done horribly, and the death rate of adventurers was sky-high back then.

At the very least, Yuuki did something good by reworking that entire system.

"Continue."

"Later on, Yuuki met Mariabell Rosso, and with her help managed to rise to his current position in the Free Guild as well as enforce his changes." Laplace informed.

"So that must have been when Mariabell began gaining control over Yuuki then, at least in her mind." I commented.

"Mariabell continued to stand in the way of Yuuki's plans, so he had to come up with a way to prevent her from getting in his way. He knew killing her too early would get too much attention on him, and so he simply had to make his moves from somewhere that Mariabell had no power." Continued Laplace.

"Somewhere Mariabell had no power, huh? Yuuki wouldn't move to El Dorado or the Ice Continent. Both are basically death wishes, so that only leaves...."

"So that's what he has been using his resources in the Eastern Empire for then?" Asked Rimuru.

"Answer." I ordered Laplace.

Laplace resisted my command for a moment before nodding. Still, resisting even now, huh?

"Yes."

"We do need to worry about what resources Yuuki may have in the East. It would do us no good to underestimate him." I muttered.

Luminous nodded along. "Indeed, hearing of their leader's death, they may either come for revenge or perhaps ignore it and have an internal fight while deciding who gets to take over."

"Then I better make sure I leave no traces that we were involved in Yuuki's death then."

She nodded. "Please do."

"Who exactly is part of this organization, Laplace?" The more we know, the better.

"The Grandmaster is Yuuki, then there are the three Heads of Cerberus that are directly under him. There is Damrada of Gold, a Merchant originating from the Eastern Empire. Misha of Women who is in charge of gathering intel, and then finally Vega of Power, a brute with more brawn than brains, but an incredible threat should he be underestimated."

Vega of Power, huh? He must be quite something for Laplace to think highly of him.

"Damrada? That name does sound familiar." Said Luminous. "Ah! That was the name of the merchant that had informed Hinata about Shizu's death and Rimuru's involvement in it. He also met with Hinata when my Night Garden was being invaded by this Clown; thankfully she was called back by Roy and was able to hold the Clown off until my arrival."

Ah, so did Damrada hope to distract Hinata while Laplace quietly infiltrated?

"Night Garden? Isn't that where Chronoa is?" Rimuru asked.

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, I am not aware if they know exactly who I have with me, or whether they just knew that I was keeping something important inside my palace in Night Garden. I am betting on the latter as no one should know about Chronoa other than Roy, Louis, and Gunther, none of whom would betray me."

"What about Granbell?" I voice out. "He had been your subordinate for centuries, who knows what he was able to find out during that time under you."

Luminous looked vexed but nodded nonetheless. "It is indeed… possible that he knows something."

"I see, then that is something we need to watch out for then." All of a sudden, a thought came to mind. "What if Granbell is attacking Night Garden now to get to Chronoa?!"

Luminous' and Rimuru's eyes widened.

It is highly likely he knew something was up with Luminous. There is a good chance he used his granddaughter as a sacrificial pawn and a distraction so he could get what he really wanted, Chronoa.

All of a sudden, I felt Luminous attempt to teleport away. She bypassed the Barrier I placed entirely since it wasn't meant to keep people locked inside, rather to keep people out and to keep our conversation secret, and then I helped her get through Tempest's Barriers

"Felix!"

I quickly grabbed Laplace and stored him in my Infinity Space and then I tracked the Spatial Coordinates Luminous teleported to and teleported both Rimuru and I to the same location.

Once we arrived, I saw a glowing blue coffin at the end of the room with Luminous standing in front of it.

We must be in Luminous's palace now, then. Now that I know where it is, I can freely travel here as I please. Most Barriers couldn't hope to hold me back either.

Rimuru and I slowly approached her. "So that's Chronoa, huh?" 

Luminous didn't respond, but I didn't need one. 

The figure within was completely nude, and seemed to be in a coma of sorts.

"Chloe…." Rimuru whispered.

'Odin, can you break this seal?'

'It is possible, however it will take time.'

'How long exactly?'

'Approximately six months.'

'I see. Well I think it's best to leave it to Luminous then. Wait! What about the Anti-Skill Dagger I got from Laplace?'

'Negative, it is impossible. Perhaps with the original Anti-Skill it is possible, but the weapon is mainly designed to negate and cut through Magics and Skills. It will not be nearly as effective against the Holy Ark that the individual Luminous Valentine designed. However, it will shorten the time that Odin needs to break the seal down to six months.'

'I see. What about Beelzebuth then? It can separate and fuse various things, even Skills, Souls, and the like.'

'Negative. The spirit of Chronoa will intrinsically resist making it difficult to consume her with Beelzebuth. Other complications may arise when attempting to separate Chronoa from the Holy Ark. If the individual Luminous has a method to release Chronoa it is recommended to follow that for safety purposes.'

'Got it.'

Looks like Luminous is going to have to be the one to unseal Chronoa, then.

I put my hand on Luminous' shoulder. "You good?"

She nodded. "Indeed, I apologize for my panic."

I sighed. "It's fine, Luminous."

She stepped back slightly and finally broke her gaze away from Chronoa and onto Rimuru and me. "Come, we shall continue this discussion in my meeting room, I do not wish to be away from Chronoa until her unsealing."

I nodded. "That's fine. It's probably best if you stay nearby in case Granbell does something." 

"Yeah, I don't want Chloe to fall into his hands." Added Rimuru.

Luminous then led us out of the burial chamber, as she called it. Just outside of it Gunther and Louis were waiting. They quickly bowed. " " My Lady! " "

Luminous nodded. "Gunther, prepare some tea for the three of us. Louis, you may return to your duties."

" " At once! " "

And with that, they disappeared at speeds the human eye couldn't follow.

"Come, follow me." Said Luminous.

It didn't take us long to arrive at the meeting room. 

We each took our seats at the long oval-shaped table.

"Now, we may resume our earlier interrogation, I apologize for my abrupt disappearance. I was simply worried that Felix's guess may have been true, none of my traps had alerted me to anything, but I wished to make sure." Said Luminous.

I waved her off. "As I said earlier, it's fine, I'm sure Rimuru agrees." At my words, Rimuru nodded.

"Now that we know that Granbell's plan was not to take advantage of the attack on Tempest and your distraction to get Chronoa, we can rest easily. If he knew about Chronoa and wanted her, he would not have missed this opportunity to acquire her, unless his personality is different from what we know." Said Rimuru.

I nodded. "Indeed, perhaps Granbell just wasn't expecting there to be an opportunity to acquire Chronoa? As far as I know, Granbell should not have known that Luminous was even attending the Festival, so he may not have even known there was an opportunity to take advantage of."

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, he should not have known. I had already long since taken care of any spies he placed in my midst."

"I see, well, that explains things."

Seeing as we had solved the mystery of why Granbell did not take advantage of the opportunity to snag Chronoa, I summoned Laplace out of my Infinity Space and resumed my inquiries. 

"Now, why don't you tell us more about Cerberus? What about the general strength of the three Bosses under Yuuki?"

Laplace nodded. "Misha is extremely capable at Charm Magic and can extract any information from a target."

Hmm, is it just Charm Magic, or does she have a Unique Skill for Charm as well? Either way, it is something to be careful of. It likely won't work on me, but my subordinates are another thing entirely. I don't doubt that my direct subordinates can likely brush any sort of Mind Control Magic off, but a Unique Skill might be a bit problematic.

"Are you aware if she has a Unique Skill?"

Laplace shook his head. Well, that just means I need to be a little careful about Misha. 

'Odin, are you capable of detecting Charm in my subordinates?'

'Affirmative.'

'I see. Let me know then if someone is Charmed and help them resist it if need be.'

'Affirmative.'

'Thanks Odin.'

'It is Odin's duty.'

'Yeah, yeah, I know.'

"Felix?" Asked Luminous.

Ah, I spaced out for a moment there when talking to Odin. I usually use Thought Acceleration when doing that.

I shook my head. "It's nothing Luminous."

She nodded.

"Alright, then continue, Laplace." I ordered.

"Damrada does not have any combat capability as far as I know, he is just a Merchant with vast resources."

For some reason, I doubt that, but if Laplace doesn't know anything, then there isn't much I can do.

"And Vega?"

"Vega is practically a force of nature. His Aura is extremely oppressive and capable of killing regular Humans instantly. He is a man loyal solely to his instincts. He follows those he sees as strong, he has a very caveman-like mentality." Explained Laplace.

Of course, it's another person who is not sane in the head.

"He is fairly impulsive and shows no remorse for his wrongs, he is a Beast. A Beast that cannot truly be trusted by anyone." Said Laplace.

"I see, do you know his origins?" I asked.

Laplace nodded. "He was born in the Kingdom of Ingrassia, his father went insane as he was a Magic Inquisitor who took in too much Monster power."

Magic Inquisitor, huh? I've heard a bit about those. They are basically Humans who take in the Factor of a Monster, which turns them into a Majin. They gain various abilities depending on which Factor they acquire. Their muscle strength is at least 10x greater than that of regular humans. They have skin as strong as steel, their skeletons are very tough, as they need to be to support their muscles. They are just overall a very good combination of Monster and Human.

The best of both worlds ideally, unfortunately incorporating a Monster Factor can have some side effects, just minor side effects that include insanity, dementia, mood swings, and extreme aggressiveness.

Like I said, definitely only minor. 

Fucking Humans.

The Kingdom of Ingrassia is the one primarily conducting this research on the down low, the majority of people aren't aware of it, but of course Ingrassia was incapable of hiding that information from my subordinates.

"After his father went insane, he forced himself upon Vega's mother. Vega had an Ego from the moment he was born and was often scraping for scraps on the streets while avoiding those who would do him harm. At some point, he even began eating Humans, causing a kill order to be given to the Free Guild. Yuuki used Shizu Izawa to hunt Vega down and stage his death while secretly securing Vega while lying to the rest of the world about his fate. From there, Yuuki had experimented on Vega granting him more abilities." Continued Laplace.

Rimuru banged his fist on the table. "Bastard!"

If Rimuru didn't hate Yuuki before, he definitely did now. 

Yuuki seriously has been involved everywhere, huh?

Before I could ask my question, we were interrupted by a knock.

"Come in." Said Luminous.

The double doors opened and Gunther came into the meeting room with a tray, three cups as well as some other amenities. He went to Luminous first and served her tea, and then to Rimuru and then to me.

"Thanks." Gunther bowed and then left the room.

I took a sip of my tea and then turned to look at Laplace. "Do you know what abilities Vega possesses?" 

Laplace nodded. "Some of them, I am aware he possesses a Unique Skill, but I do not know of its abilities. Along with that, he has an extreme Healing Factor that allows him to regenerate from even an atom." 

I sighed as Laplace didn't elaborate. "How extreme is his healing factor?"

"Should an arm of his be cut off, it will generate an entirely new body even if his original body is already healed. This new body can be used as a vessel for Daemons as it has no Soul. However we have learned that even his body alone has a corruptive influence, turning whosoever is using the body into a being with a similar temperament to Vega."

So even his cells are corrupted, huh? What a man.

We continued to question Laplace until we learned practically everything he had to offer, from Cerberus base locations to hideouts that Yuuki and Kagali have access to.

"Ah, one more thing Laplace. Do not tell anyone about any of the information you gave us." 

The only reason I was doing this was because so far the plan was to give Laplace to Elmesia as a gesture of good will thanks to Luminous, but at the same time I don't want her learning what we are up to.

My order was engraved into his very Soul, so even should he break free of my control, he would still need to abide by it.

Hearing me, Luminous looked at me with approval, likely realizing what my goal was with that order. Even Rimuru seemed to understand and did not voice out any disapproval. Whether that was Raphael's suggestion or his own, who knows.

I slouched on my seat. "Ugh, we finally have all that taken care of. I'm gonna need some time to mentally process all of that."

That was a complete lie, with Odin I could practically instantly understand anything, but that didn't mean I didn't need a breather from time to time.

"You're telling me, Felix. I had no clue there were so many plots surrounding Tempest. Seriously, thanks, Felix. Without your help, I wouldn't have known about all these threats to Tempest." Sighed Rimuru.

"It's no problem. What are friends for?"

Luminous nodded. "Indeed, the purpose of having allies is to help each other out. When one is attacked, the other comes to their rescue."

"Yeah, what she said." I added.

"Still, I promise you both that I'll feed you the best food there is to eat after all this is over!" Declared Rimuru.

"I won't say no to that." I laughed out.

"Indeed, the food in Tempest, I have found, has been quite delectable. Though there is still one more issue to discuss." Said Luminous.

"Oh? What issue?" I voice out.

"Hinata's body. I would like for you to leave it here." Requested Luminous.

"Now, now, I don't know if that is the best idea. Hinata's body will be necessary after we free her Soul from within Chronoa. I am capable of keeping it in peak condition without any sort of decay happening."

"I am also capable of the same." Said Luminous, who had narrowed her eyes.

"That may be so, but you already have Chronoa with you." It feels like we are two divorced parents debating who keeps which child.

"And your point is?" She said.

"My point is that it really isn't the best idea to leave both bodies with you. It just isn't wise to keep two important things right next to each other when we have other options, and you don't strike me as a fool Luminous."

Luminous grimaced. "Tch. Fine, you win this time, Felix, but should I find that any harm has come to Hinata…."

"Yes, yes, you will slit my throat and torture my Soul for eternity or something."

Luminous nodded her head in satisfaction.

Honestly, I'm surprised that it was that easy to convince Luminous, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I stretched as I got up off my chair. "Well, since we have all this sorted out and have a general plan, I'm going to head back to Tempest. I want to check in on everyone. I haven't had a chance to talk to any of my subordinates since the attack."

Luminous nodded. "Very well, I will be in touch."

"Are you going to be coming too, Rimuru?" I asked.

Rimuru nodded. "Yeah, I still have some people I need to check on, it's probably best if I don't leave those nobles waiting for too long."

I nodded. "Alright, that sounds good to me." I then looked at Luminous. "I'll leave Laplace here, I trust you not to go overboard with your… punishment, we do still need him alive to give to Elmesia."

Luminous nodded with an evil grin. "Of course."

I turned to Laplace and stopped controlling him completely, giving him back some of his free will.

All of a sudden, his eyes went wide. "Damn it! Bastard!" He shouted. I knew he was trying to move but was unable to. He likely just received all the memories of our interaction. He knew all the information he gave to us would be used against his comrades.

"Feel free to do what you wish to him Luminous, I made it so he will follow all your orders but his old Ego has returned to the forefront, so he is the same person that killed Roy and Hinata. I'll come back to pick Laplace up when we have the meeting with Elmesia and perhaps her mother. Again, thanks for offering up Laplace."

And with that, I snapped my fingers, teleporting the both of us back to Tempest.

___________________________________________________________________

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Author's Note:

Hello everyone, we're back with another chapter of Daemon. I know this arc has been dragging on pretty long, but there was a whole lot of ground to cover, the information about Hinata and Chloe and their trip to the past, Mariabell's information and about the attack on Tempest, and then Laplace's information. Sure I probably could have made it all into a short summary where Felix summarizes everything but I'm sure I would get a lot of complaints for that.

While this chapter has been exposition heavy, it was some information that Felix and co needed to get so it is what it is.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. We do have some meetings coming up, but after that we should have some action.

Alright, see ya guys, peace.

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Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.