Walpurgis Begins.

Droplets slowly began falling to the ground, one by one, until a massive downpour began.

Rimuru looked out the window toward Jistav before letting out a sigh as memories of the past few days began to cross his mind. 

Noir and Blanc had made a 180-degree turn in their opinions of him. With both of them pledging to devote their lives to him. He still recalled the unnerving intensity in Noir's gaze.

"My Lord, the process of taking over Falmuth is nearly complete. Razen has stepped up as interim King until Edmaris' son is old enough to rule. Whoever you wish to be on the throne, I will ensure it happens." Noir reported, his eyes locking onto Rimuru's with a fervent intensity, almost like a loyal puppy seeking praise.

"Razen, huh? That's a smart choice. It'll minimize the risk of a revolt. Good job, Noir." Rimuru's praise made Noir shudder slightly, basking in the approval.

Not to be outdone, Blanc, who was kneeling next to Noir, spoke up.

"My Lord, I have brought the nobility under control. Any decision you wish to pass will face no opposition." Her composed demeanor contrasted with the spark of excitement in her eyes.

This had been the first time he had spoken to them since before his Awakening, so seeing them turn into devoted servants felt unnatural. But that was probably all Raphael's work.

'Raph, do you think it would be safe to name them now?' Rimuru asked as he looked at the kneeling Daemons.

[Answer. The likelihood of Noir betraying you is 0%. The odds of Blanc betraying you are 0.00000000038028289…%. Naming them would reduce these chances to virtually zero, ensuring absolute loyalty.] Raphael's voice carried a hint of pride, almost as if she admired her own handiwork.

[Though a significant number of magicules will be consumed, using the Soul Corridor with Veldora will allow for recovery, ensuring full strength for Walpurgis.]

Satisfied, Rimuru turned his attention back to the two Primordials, who looked up at him with anticipation.

"Noir, Blanc, I have a question for both of you." Rimuru began. They bowed their heads in unison.

"Anything you require of us, Lord Rimuru," Noir responded eagerly.

"I'm willing to offer you both names. In exchange, I want your unwavering loyalty. Are you both willing to serve me from now until the end?"

Noir's eyes widened with excitement, sparkling as he nodded eagerly.

"Lord Rimuru, it would be my biggest honor. I would serve you from now until the death of the universe."

Blanc's reaction was more serene, though a beautiful smile graced her face.

"Lord Rimuru, I felt regret for offering you such a short time of my life, and I was searching for a chance to rectify my error. I am glad you do not hold a grudge against me and are even willing to offer me a name. I am yours to do as you please from now until the end."

With their agreements, Rimuru turned to Noir. 

"Noir, from now on, your name will be Diablo. I trust you will never fail me, and I hope to see how much you can grow."

As the words left Rimuru's lips, a transformation began. Diablo's eyes glowed with intense fervor as two wings sprouted from his back, quickly wrapping around him to form a pure black cocoon. There was a subtle shift in the air as the magicules began to gather around him, creating intense pressure.

Rimuru then turned to Blanc, who watched the transformation with wide eyes, the sheer power emanating from Diablo's cocoon making her swallow hard. Her gaze met Rimuru's, filled with a mixture of anticipation and awe.

"Blanc, from now on, your name will be Testarossa. From now until the end, I look forward to seeing what you are capable of."

A radiant smile spread across Testarossa's face as two pure white demonic wings emerged from her back. Like Diablo, she became enveloped in a shimmering white cocoon. The room pulsed with the combined energy of their transformations.

Moments later, they both emerged from their cocoons, with Diablo wearing an impeccable butler's outfit. His eyes burned with a newfound intensity as he knelt down. Testarossa also emerged, wearing a beautiful white dress. Her crimson eyes were both glowing with intensity as she smiled.

They had transformed into Demon Peers, the next evolutionary process for Daemons.

Rimuru could feel their strength, and he felt that if they teamed up together, they might even be able to beat him if he went all out. Looking at the passion in their eyes, he knew it was the last thing he had to worry about.

"Diablo, Testarossa, you both have done great with Falmuth. Spend these last few days wrapping up everything in Falmuth and ensuring everything is perfect. Then I want you, Diablo, to look after Tempest's army during the war. If any side needs help, or if there is an unexpected enemy you don't think they can deal with, I want you to step in. However, we must let them grow, so only step in if you think it's necessary."

As easy as it would be to let Diablo kill everyone, now that he knew that there was an enemy he might not be able to beat in the future, he needed to make sure all of his troops grew as strong as they could get, and it was only through fighting that such growth could happen.

"Of course, My Lord. I will ensure everything goes as planned." Diablo answered.

"Testarossa, I want you to look after Tempest during the war. The last thing I need is a surprise attack from the church or by a new enemy while all of our strongest troops are away."

Testarossa nodded, placing her hand on her chest as she promised him.

"Not a single building will be harmed while you are away, Lord Rimuru."

Then, Rimuru spent a few more minutes praising the two Primordials before they would return to finish the job. Working together, they had practically captured Falmuth in less than two weeks without making a mess.

In fact, the deaths had been practically zero since all of the nobles instantly submitted to both of them.

Since they appeared to have everything under control, Souka had passed off her command of the Shadows under her to another Dragonewt Shadow, Kanna.

As he finished thinking about the past few days, his mind turned to the attack on Jistav's army, which would happen in a few minutes. He would be lying if he said he wasn't slightly nervous for everyone's safety, but he had promised to trust them, so he would simply take a deep breath and leave his worries behind.

"Another storm… Did you make this one too?" Frey asked, standing beside him as she looked out the window. She had been lost in thought ever since her defeat at the hands of Milim, and she was still struggling to fully accept everything.

"No, this one is natural." Rimuru answered, turning to look at Frey's expression which was still covered in a slight frown.

"You know, there is nothing more you could have done against Milim. Even I am not sure how strong she is. I doubt I could fight her and beat her myself. She's simply on another level." Rimuru reassured her, causing her to smile slightly. "The fact that you were able to do so much is already a testament to your strength."

Frey chuckled slightly, her wings stretching slightly as she turned to Rimuru.

"I know…" She muttered, turning to look at the storm outside. "For once, I felt like I was at the peak, but then she slapped me out of the sky."

Frey smiled softly, shaking her head before opening her eyes once again, this time filled with determination.

"I have been thinking about things I could have done during the fight to have won, but no matter what, I would have lost. I am trying to think of ways to become stronger, and though I know it will take me a long, long time, I want to beat Milim in the future. At the very least, become strong enough to put up an actual fight against her."

Looking at the storm outside with her, Rimuru nodded. Enjoying the small moment of silence before one of his maids knocked on the door and opened it, allowing Frey's attendants to enter.

Since her daughters, the Twin Wings, would be fighting alongside Tempest, she brought one attendant. 

At first, she had considered her youngest, Nemu, to be her other attendant, but she was too lazy to be relied on. So instead, she called upon Naya, the Blind Priestess who often advised Frey. The two of them had gotten quite close over the years, so her Harvest Festival had given her once-retired advisor a second wind. Naya was now wearing a new blindfold made from Tempestian Silk.

Unlike before, when she was simply using Magic Sense to see, now Rimuru could feel her watching him with an intensity unlike before, even through the blindfold. Naya must have awakened a pretty powerful perception skill.

Naya bowed to both of them before moving to the side.

Carrion was next to walk in, who gave a polite nod to Rimuru before moving to take a seat. Next to him was Phobio and another Beastmen named Miia, who turned out to be Albis' cousin. She was the one who had met with them while Rimuru placed his troops into place.

Albis and Suphia would be busy helping with the war, so he had to choose a replacement, and Miia was specially recommended by Albis herself.

Not so long after, the door opened again. Revealing Beretta holding onto Ramiris, who quickly jumped off her hand and fluttered to sit on Rimuru's head. Following behind Beretta was Treyni, who was still getting accustomed to her new body.

In preparation for Walpurgis, he had called for Treyni, who had gathered all of the Dryads to serve under Ramiris the moment she had moved to Tempest. Rimuru had created a body for her so that she would be able to serve Ramiris better. It was made from a new material that was a synthesis of Orichalcum and the wood of her own tree, creating an entirely new material he had called Verdantium.

Verdantium was surprisingly lightweight and had absolutely perfect magic conductivity. It had a life on it for itself, as the metal could breathe in the magicules in the air as if it was a living being. The only issue was that the supply would be extremely low since it required a Dryad's body to create.

At best, he would be able to give all of the Dryads a body out of Verdantium since otherwise, it would mean killing a Dryad for an extremely low supply of the material.

Ramiris looked to be extremely excited as she began to fidget with Rimuru's hair.

"Man, I can't wait 'till the rest of the Demon Lords see my new subordinates. They are gonna be left with their mouths on the floor. Even Guy, that mean bully kept making fun of me for not having any strong subordinates, telling me to come to his kingdom so that he could make sure I stayed safe, but it's too damn cold over there!"

Rimuru chuckled as he heard her, feeling some of his anxiety for the safety of his people vanish as he felt her playing with his hair.

"Lady Ramiris, please try not to disturb Lord Rimuru's hair." Beretta requested, their worried expression hidden behind their mask as they tried to scoop Ramiris out, only for Ramiris to attempt to hide under his hair.

"Just let it be, Beretta. Thanks for trying." Rimuru told her, and after a few more moments, Shizue and Shion walked in.

Shion had been waiting for Shizue to teleport to Tempest before she could guide her to the meeting room. 

"Ah, it looks like we are the last ones here. Sorry for taking so long. Chloe was being extra clingy with Hinata, so I had to deal with that for a bit. The kids all say hi, by the way. They are excited to come to live in Tempest. Kenya won't stop talking about Hakuro and how cool 'Grandpa Hakuro' was." Shizue told them with a warm smile.

Not many people would be able to sense it, but through Asmodeus, Rimuru was able to feel just how full of life force Shizue was. 

[Notice. The subject, Shizue Izawa, has completed her evolution into a Demi-Phoenix. Her current life force is due to her new evolution.] Raphael chimed in, answering his question before he even got the chance to ask it.

Shizue smiled brightly as she approached Rimuru.

"Rimuru, there is a lot I need to tell you, but the short version of it is that I was able to convince Hinata to come visit Tempest as an envoy from the church. If all goes well, they will formally recognize us, and we won't have to worry about discrimination from other kingdoms."

Rimuru's eyes widened slightly as he heard her. The most he knew about Hinata was her first encounter with the original. Attacking him before he even had a chance to explain himself and trying to kill him. 

He was curious about what kind of person she was whenever she wasn't out on a revenge mission, but that would be an issue for another day.

"Lord Rimuru, it's time." Shion muttered, her instincts reacting, and in just a few seconds, a gate emerged from the floor.

The gate resembled a complex and ornate door, which opened to reveal a woman with long green hair stepping out. She wore a simple maid dress, yet the aura she gave off was at, if not oppressive, than the current Noir.

Ramiris instantly poked her head out of Rimuru's hair, smiling as she waved.

"Yo! Mizeri! How's it going? How's Rain doing?" Ramiris asked enthusiastically.

Mizeri gave a simple smile and a bow.

"Lady Ramiris, I am doing fine, and so is Rain. Thank you for asking." She replied politely. "Lady Frey, Lord Carrion, it's good to see that both of you are alive and well." She continued, though her tone showed that she didn't care either way.

At first, Rimuru had considered keeping Carrion's survival a secret, but in the end, it would simply help to lower Clayman's guard temporarily. It would be far more beneficial to have an extra vote and influence from the very beginning. 

Frey and Carrion both gave polite nods to Mizeri. Only give the basic greetings before Mizeri turns to Rimuru.

"And you must be Sir Rimuru Tempest…" She muttered, giving Rimuru a look up and down before nodding in approval. "I see. Follow me. Lord Guy is awaiting us."

Turning around, Ramiris fluttered off from Rimuru's head, being the first one in, with Beretta and Treyni following along. After Ramiris, there were Frey and Naya, then Carrion and his followers, and lastly, Rimuru and his attendants. Just before stepping in, Rimuru sent a mental signal for the war to begin.

As if simply walking in through a doorway, they all stepped into a massive yet ornate room. There was a massive round table with twelve chairs, which meant there would be an empty seat even with Rimuru present.

Ramiris quickly fluttered off inside with a wide grin as she flew over next to the man with Crimson hair sitting at the furthest chair. He was handsome, yet his appearance carried some feminine charm. He wore a simple pair of pants and a jacket covering his arms, revealing his muscular torso.

He was sitting with his eyes closed, yet when Rimuru entered the room, his eyes shot open almost as if in surprise. He appeared shocked as he looked at Rimuru before a wide grin appeared on his face.

Rimuru felt a chill up his spine as he saw the smiling Daemon. Yet just as quickly as the smile had appeared, it vanished, leaving Rimuru almost to think that he had hallucinated it was not for Raphael's quick analysis.

[Notice. The Daemon Guy Crimson's magicules leaked for a brief moment when he looked at us. A full analysis of his strength level was not completed due to some interference in his part, but he likely possesses far more strength than we do.] 

Guy looked at Rimuru for a few more moments before looking at Ramiris, who fluttered excitedly around him.

"Watchu think? Isn't he pretty cool? What do you think? You're jelly, right? I mean, he's also pretty strong." It seemed almost as if she was bragging about Rimuru, fluttering around Guy while grinning mischievously as if she was hiding a secret only she knew.

Mizeri led Carrion, Frey, and Rimuru to their respective seats. Rimuru, the newest prospective member, was sitting in the chair closest to the door. For now, all he had to do was wait for the rest of the members to arrive.

~A/N~

Alright, y'all, time for homework. Let's do a group vote amongst WN, QQ, and Patreon.

If, hypothetically, there were to be 9 demon lords, they would need a new name other than Octogram. I have two in mind.

Ennead: Literally means a group of nine, the name by which the 9 top egyptian deities went by.

Nonagram: Basically same thing as in the og but with 9 instead of 8.

Your suggestion:

I am honestly pretty biased towards Ennead, but hey, open to suggestions.

— — —

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