Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 120: Teasing Hinata
As always, up to chapter 136 is available at [email protected]/theogbasilisk
The next world jump has also begun there.
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- Luminous Valentine -
"I… I know what I must do." She heard Hinata say, causing her to bite the inside of her cheeks to hold back her grin.
Yes, things were going just as planned! Despite attempting to cheer Hinata up and motivate her to pursue what her heart wanted, she would be lying if she said that she did not have ulterior motives. She was a Demon Lord, after all. It wasn't as if she was tricking Hinata either. So what if she would satisfy some of her long lasting dreams if all went according to plan?
Chloe may have been out of reach, but not Hinata. And at this point, while she did view Chloe as an exceedingly attractive woman, she could bear to allow her feelings for her old friend to dissipate. In fact, they mostly had already.
She knew that Chloe would never look at her that way. She was far too determined to go after that Slime, and she respected her friends wishes and wish her all the best.
Still, this day could not have gone any better. Granbell was finally no longer a thorn in her side. His burial was already underway; he had been laid to rest next to his long departed wife, Maria Rosso.
She would go to pay her respects at some point, out of respect for their former friendship. He was also responsible for Hinata's evolution into a True Hero, so for that he had somewhat redeemed himself in her eyes.
She did not have to worry about the after-effects of Razul's disappearance as the Majin was the one holding Guy's Daemons back. Ordinarily, that would mean trouble for the Western Nations as no one would be holding back the Daemons of Guy Crimson when they decided to cross the vast ocean to play.
Considering that, she had gone out of her way to come to an agreement with Guy during their talks. Guy agreed to keep his Daemons under a tight leash from now on due their agreement to help in his… game with the first True Hero.
Previously, Guy allowed his Daemons to do as they wished due to his desire for them to grow stronger. Competition always fostered strength. He never named them as he did not wish for them to grow stronger that way. He wished for them to truly claw their way up. Now, however, he would put a stop to that.
It galled her to think that all of her actions until now had merely been part of a grand game; a game between the first True Hero and first Demon Lord. But just because someone else thought they had control over her, that didn't mean they truly did.
Controlling her pride was one of the first things she learned to do. Despite its vastness, she was capable of that much. Back when Twilight had been sane, he had drilled into her that she must control her pride, and he made sure she did.
She could feel the influx of faith from the people who believed in Luminism, which was the vast majority of the Western Nations. She even had various kings and nobles that worshipped her as their goddess, which was rather amusing.
The attack on Lune and the show of power was enough to inspire even more faith in the populace. Those who did not truly believe in her were beginning to change. Word was already getting around about how it was all handled.
How all the citizens were immediately transported far, far away from Lune itself, a teleportation feat that was unheard of for even those who were somewhat well informed like nobles. To them, it had seemed like a divine miracle.
Indeed, Felix's action was rather extraordinary, but once you got to a certain level, teleportation was quite simple. Though what Felix did was a step above even that. He had to calculate the individual spatial coordinates of each civilian, which required a vast amount of computational power, and then had to spend a rather large amount of energy, bending space to transport them away. It was all rather impressive, even to her divine eyes.
The reach Ruberious had over the Western Nations had only grown thanks to Granbell's actions, which was amusingly likely the exact opposite of what he wanted.
Those who had sought to plot against her were dealt with. Kagali had learned just how foolish she had been, however it was too late for her. She had been informed that Felix had taken Laplace away. She knew he planned to gift Laplace to the Sorcerous Dynasty of Sarion to help build further relations.
A wise move in her opinion. No matter your strength, it was always wise to have allies. Even Guy practiced this rule with his friendship with the Frost Dragon, Velzard, Milim Nava, and even Ramiris.
Perhaps she should include Felix on that list, she mused to herself.
Where was she? Ah yes, everything had gone rather wonderfully today despite the attack. She did not even have to spend any gold to repair the damages to Lune. Felix took care of that for her.
Perhaps she should prepare a gift for him? Yes, she shall. A fitting reward for the one who had thoroughly… ruined her.
Her thighs rubbed together slightly as she fought off the deep-seated heat within her. The familiar ache that had only grown stronger ever since their first night together. At first, she had dismissed it as lingering excitement, a natural byproduct of passion, but it became impossible to ignore as time passed. Something had changed.
It wasn't just lust, nor was it simple longing. This was something different. She knew full well what lust felt like, her Ultimate Skill was based on it after all. No, this was more dangerous. A craving that ran deeper than mere desire, a need that refused to be ignored.
She knew that Felix had used some Skill on her whilst they were making love. At the time, she hadn't given it much thought, too lost in the overwhelming waves of pleasure he brought her. He flooded her with his Love Energy, completely ruining her.
In hindsight, she could feel it; how something had embedded itself within her, twisting her reactions, amplifying every sensation, forging a connection that defied logic.
And she had let it happen. In the heat of passion, she had embraced it fully, welcoming the loss of control as he took her beyond the brink of sanity.
He had truly pushed her beyond the brink, but just as he did to her, she did to him. Asmodeus could be used in some rather… creative ways.
If she were not Luminous Valentine, it might have been too much for her.
But she was Luminous Valentine, and she had loved every second of it.
A shiver ran through her spine at the memory of that night. The way he had handled her, the unrelenting hunger in his touch; the way he had pushed her to the very limits of pleasure.
She had never been dominated in such a way before. Even if she was open to it, no one would have ever dared to try. But Felix? He did not care; he did what he wished and forced her to surrender completely, for the night at least.
And worse yet, she wanted it again.
She bit her lower lip, suppressing a groan as heat pooled deep within her. She had always been able to control herself before. Sure, she had fixated on him, but it had been manageable. Even then, her fixation was not even that deep, she was far more focused on how she could get to Hinata through him, but now that had all changed.
Then Lalatina had given her that damn image…
Perhaps she could not completely control herself, but what could a woman do when her very Spiritual Body acted against her mind?
And now? Now it was even worse. The mere thought of Felix's hands on her skin, his voice whispering against her ear, was enough to make her tremble.
She of course knew that something was different ever since their first night together. It had been an experience that she could not compare to anything else. In that moment, it was as if a connection that transcended the physical realm was established between them. There was an overwhelming euphoria that lingered in her very essence.
And it wasn't natural.
Whatever Skill Felix had used on her was extraordinary. It had branded her. Not literally, of course, but it had changed her nonetheless. The pleasure she experienced with him was unnatural, addicting. Not that she would ever admit it aloud, but deep down, she found it incredibly exhilarating. Not to mention, his Skill even managed to improve her own power by a fraction. It was not much, but it would add up over time. His Essence Exchange, as he called it, was truly quite useful.
A shiver ran through her spine at the mere memory of their last encounter. That man had utterly ruined her.
And she loved it.
Even better was that he did not let it go to his head. Outside of their chambers he treated her normally, his respect for her had not diminished. She would be lying if she said she did not worry if her true nature would cause Felix to have some doubts, but she quickly realized how foolish that was, especially when the man adored a woman like Lalatina, who was debatably even further gone than Luminous herself was.
She felt like she could open up to Felix and act how she wished to act without fear of judgment when it came to her deepest desires. She knew just how abnormal she was after all.
Perhaps she had a hidden masochist streak, but what of it? She was Luminous Valentine, a Demon Lord, a ruler, an untouchable goddess to many. If she found a partner to satisfy those desires of her, then she would take pleasure in such a thing. She would not allow such doubts to take hold within her.
Her thighs rubbed together once more as she let out a slow, controlled exhale.
Yes. She would gift him something. Something worthy of a man who had changed her so completely.
Luminous Valentine did not take lightly to debts, after all. And this… this was a debt she wanted to repay in full.
With interest. Solely out of the goodness of her heart, of course.
And so, she exhaled slowly, fighting back the heat, knowing full well that it was a losing battle.
Hinata seemingly noticed her oddities as she gave her a half-lidded gaze.
Luminous coughed lightly as she folded her hands in front of her, schooling her features into the calm, composed mask she had mastered over centuries. Still, she couldn't help but feel a thrill of satisfaction deep in her core.
"Good." She nodded.
A resolute look formed on Hinata's face. "I shall ask to plan it out now then." She said with determination.
The woman looked as if she was about to march off to war; it really was quite funny. Hinata was incredibly experienced in many things; fighting, leading, administrating, and more, yet when it came to the more feminine things, she was always a bit of a ditz.
"Why not have the date now?" She asked. "Not all dates need to be explicitly planned ahead of time." The date she and Felix last went on was something she came up with on the spot, and it turned out quite excellent. They learned more about each other and enjoyed each other's company. Was enjoyment not what going on a date was for?
Hinata shook her head. "It would not be proper at this moment, not when our people are recovering from an attack. For me to go enjoy myself now…"
Of course.
Luminous scoffed. "You have done enough for everyone, Hinata. Go enjoy yourself. Humanity can wait." Despite growing older and wiser, that part of Hinata would remain the same. That savior complex within her had dimmed down over time, but it was still there.
Hinata looked hesitant for a few moments before finally nodding. "I will see if Felix is open to it."
Luminous would bet that Hinata did not know the first step when planning something like this. Perhaps she would be generous and give Hinata some ideas.
Luminous's lips curled into a knowing smirk as she leaned back in her seat, watching Hinata with barely restrained amusement. "I never thought I'd see the day when the Hinata Sakaguchi would be taking my advice on romance. If this were the you from before, you would have skewered me alive." She laughed.
Hinata shot her a glare, her face still slightly flushed. "I never said–! Ugh, whatever." She exhaled sharply, running a hand through her hair before fixing Luminous with a serious look. "I will go through with it." She repeated, as if she was telling herself that more than she was telling her that.
It was rather amusing. Hinata was a woman who had faced off Demon Lords, powerful Majin, a Primordial Daemon, a True Dragon, and even Guy Crimson without fear or worry, and yet here she was worrying about asking her crush out on a date.
"I had already asked Felix out on a… date previously. However we mutually postponed it until after the situation in Ruberious was resolved." Hinata said seriously.
Luminous raised a brow. She hadn't known that. Perhaps Hinata had not needed her help after all, if she worked up the courage to ask Felix out on her own previously.
Luminous leaned forwards. "What are you planning for this date with Felix? Or is he going to be taking the lead to plan it out."
Hinata's lips pursed. "I don't know."
"Hmm, I can give you some ideas then. A candlelit dinner? A romantic stroll through the gardens? Or perhaps you'll simply drag him into bed and–" That was as far as she got before Hinata stood up all of a sudden.
"I AM LEAVING." She said through her embarrassment.
Luminous burst into laughter as Hinata stormed off, her face burning brighter than the sun.
As she watched her friend flee the room, Luminous sighed dreamily, her mind drifting into… certain fantasies.
Ah, yes. This was perfect. She licked her lips. If things went according to plan, then soon, soon, she would be able to witness the most divine yuri-yuri moments right before her very eyes, and Felix would be there too. It truly would be perfect. But before she could fully immerse herself in her fantasies, she felt as space attempted to fold into itself in the same fashion it would when one teleports.
Her palace was her domain in which she retained complete control over the barriers generally. She could call upon her barriers and use them to warp things to a certain extent. If she wished to, she could have completely stopped the teleportation, flinging the person through space itself. Of course, she wouldn't do that this time as she felt the familiar signature of Chloe.
Chloe and Hinata seemed to brush past each other, speaking for a few moments before Hinata vanished, likely going to speak to Felix right this moment. Or knowing her, she likely retreated to her room to prepare. Knowing him, he would likely take her up on her offer right away.
As she waited for Chloe's arrival, she thought back to one of the things that had been plaguing her mind ever since she first saw the phenomena that took place during Hinata's fight with Guy.
She still remembered how during their spar, Felix intervened for whatever reason, despite him being the one to initially stop her from intervening. She knew he wouldn't have done that if it wasn't necessary, so she didn't think much further on that. What she didn't understand was just what exactly happened. One moment he was sitting next to her, and Guy was saying something about taking it further, the next moment the entire situation had changed.
Felix was in front of Guy, staring him down, while Guy was in an entirely different position than he was in before. It was not teleportation, as that would not explain the zero spatial fluctuations. It was not raw speed either even if that was theoretically possible. Her instincts wouldn't have warned her about how off the situation was if it was speed alone.
The only thing it reminded her of was an experiment of Twilight's she knew about. He had once explained to her about a new experiment he was doing. He had isolated a dimension and was attempting to freeze the timeflow in that dimension.
He had said only a certain type of lifeform could move in a world of frozen time. When she had asked if there were those who could do such a thing, he had merely responded in a vague manner.
She shook her head. While it was possible that what happened was the flow of time stopping, she still did not have enough information to come to a concrete answer. What she did know was that if that was the case, then she needed to learn such a thing as well. Being frozen would be a death sentence in a fight against someone who was not frozen; that was simple logic.
Perhaps she would have to scour the notes of Twilight. She had taken them from him after she had killed him.
Pippin, Ashley, and Prelix had managed to steal some from her when they had left her custody. They even managed to seal an odd artifact of Twilight's that she was unable to make heads or tales of at the time. Twilight called it a holocron, but that was all the information she had on it.
She was able to sense an energy similar to Twilight that was coming from it, but that was all.
She had not noticed until too late, and back then she truly did not care for any belongings of Twilight.
She took the notes so that they did not fall into the wrong hands, and a part of her believed that those three would not go too far, but she may just have to pay her old siblings a visit to reacquire those notes.
From what she's heard, those three went and began serving another kingdom. In return for being given the freedom to do what they wished, they would have to help the kingdom with certain matters. They had established a magic tower, which was known as one of the best places to further advance your magic.
She was sure that Twilight had more hidden notes on his more allusive experiments, but he likely hid those well enough that no one else would discover them.
She did not wish to ask Felix about the phenomena, as despite being able to control her pride, there were times in which she did not want to. She could solve this issue on her own. She was Luminous Valentine, after all.
At least her development of her own Domain Expansion, or World System Skill, had been going rather well. She had managed to imbue her Ultimate Skill into a barrier that she would place around a certain area.
Once done, she was able to use her Ultimate Skill through the barrier to create various effects within the barrier. The effects were lesser than what they would be if applied directly by her Ultimate Skill, but it was improving.
She could selectively target those within her barrier to harm while preserving her allies. It even mimicked the sure-hit effect of Domain Expansions by activating instantly and having almost zero travel time.
Though it could be defended against by a sufficient enough defense.
Asmodeus, by nature, was a support Skill, not an offensive Skill like the more elemental based Skills. Though Asmodeus could still be used for offense, so long as she wielded it with finesse.
She had yet to develop a full Skill for her bastardized Domain Expansion, meaning it was still incomplete. However, she was well on her way to such a Skill. The idea she had for it would be enough to instantly defeat the majority of her foes, even if they were on her own level.
Soon enough, the door opened, and in came Chloe. "Ara, ara, it is a surprise to see you here Chloe." She greeted her old friend.
Chloe smiled upon seeing her. "Sup Luminous! What's wrong with Hinata? She seemed a bit off when I was seeing her off." Chloe said as she walked in. She was currently in her mature form. She seemingly only took on her child form when attempting to cozy up to Rimuru.
It was rather amusing. The two newest True Heroes were both attempting to get in the pants of two Demon Lords.
What had the world come to?
Luminous raised her tea cup to hide the smirk on her face from Chloe, though going by the look on Chloe's face, she was unsuccessful in that endeavor.
"Did you do something?" Chloe asked with curiosity.
"Fufufu, I merely convinced Hinata into taking the first step towards her happiness."
Chloe's eyes brightened. "Ah, you got her to ask Felix-nii out?" Seeing as Hinata once resided in Chloe's head, the two were rather close, so it wasn't a stretch to say that Chloe was able to figure out some of Hinata's more hidden feelings.
"She had already done that apparently. Their date was merely postponed, so I convinced Hinata that now was the right time." She said proudly.
Chloe pouted. "That's great! She totally likes Felix-nii, even if she always said otherwise. As someone who shared the same body as her for a time, I just know it!"
She raised a brow upon seeing Chloe's pout. "Are you having troubles as well?"
Chloe nodded as her pout grew more pronounced. "Rimuru just won't take me seriously." Chloe said as she childishly stomped on the floor. The barriers absorbed the lingering impact from her mountain crushing stomp.
She gestured for Chloe to continue. She was curious about her friend's troubles, after all. Chloe took the seat that Hinata had previously sat on across from her. "I had asked him out on a date, but he merely pat my head and accepted."
Luminous nodded, she could see what Chloe was having trouble with. "I understand."
Chloe nodded. "I knew you would. He still treats me as that same 10 year old girl!"
"Rimuru always struck me as the type to hold certain boundaries no matter what. You will have a tough time breaking through his boundaries unless you do something drastic."
Chloe sighed. "I know, but what if it backfires."
Luminous shrugged. "I do not believe I can tell you what will work best in this situation, as I do not know Rimuru as well as I do Felix. I can merely advise you to do what you think is best."
"I know." Chloe responded. "That's not why I came here anyway."
"Oh, why did you come here then?"
Chloe grinned. "To hang out with my friends of course! Well, friend, since Hinata is busy."
"I see. Very well then. Let us commence this hanging out." She responded seriously.
She would have to see if Sariel was compatible with Chloe after they finished hanging out.
Chloe clapped. "Great!"
- Felix -
As I made my way to where Ingvild was, I continued observing the fight between Saeko and Raiden. The two were in a special training dimension I created with Small World, basically isolating it from the Space-Time of the Cardinal World, which allowed me to accelerate the time within the dimension without interfering with the Space-Time of the Cardinal Universe. Not that I could even do that in the first place. The world would resist against something like that very aggressively.
Damrada had already met with Arcueid. She had informed me through a Thought Communication that she felt Damrada would serve as a good fit for being her representative to the Council of the West. Basically, he would go there in her place to manage them properly, route out any spies or conspiracies in the making, etc.
Some might think it was odd to give so much power to a new subordinate, one who had just previously been on the opposing side, but my gut told me that Damrada wouldn't betray me. Arcueid seemingly thought the same or she wouldn't have entrusted such an important role to him.
After that she had requested a short meeting which I obliged. She wanted to hear about what went on in Ruberious in detail rather than the brief summary I gave her. She seemingly wanted to see if she could use any of the information I gave her.
She had commented that the power of Luminism had likely expanded greatly since the existence of their goddess was confirmed in their minds. They had received proof that she was there and she was watching out for them, or at least that's what Arcueid thought. She said that my feat of teleporting every single civilian out of Lune and to somewhere safe was likely considered to be an act of their goddess.
I didn't mind Luminous taking the credit, it was better for me if she got more powerful. The more faith she got, the more faith she could draw upon when it really mattered.
After that, she had reluctantly left, saying that she wished to plan for our date as well as go through the meeting plan she had arranged for the dignitary that would be arriving from the Holy Void of Damargania.
I had some free time on my hands, so I decided to visit Ingvild to see how she was handling things. She and I were rather different people, but I tried to make sure she didn't see the worst of what went on in this world.
Ingvild and I spoke often. She was at every one of the daily dinner meals too, but we didn't interact one on one much. The times we did, it was usually when she asked if I wanted to play some music with her, in which case I would be the background pianist while Ingvild would be the lead singer.
After speaking with Ingvild, I wanted to see Kurumi and her art that she told me about. I was rather curious about what kind of things she could have made.
Despite the mess in Ruberious being handled, I did have quite a lot to do still. Like sending Laplace, or rather Sarion, over to Elmesia once I was done restoring him, arrange that meeting with Elmesia's mother to get her on board with everything, and maybe even copy her Ultimate Skill. With me giving Sarion back to them, that should be more than enough for the Sorcerous Dynasty of Sarion to firmly become the allies of myself and Rimuru.
Then there was Gadra to deal with, though if I wanted I'm sure Arcueid could handle him on her own, I just wanted to be there in person as I took in information better that way.
There was that spar with Chloe that I agreed to, though I could postpone that until later. And perhaps most importantly, there was the date with Hinata that I was looking forward to. She said she would come visit me to plan everything out when she was free, so the ball was in her court on that front.
I was making the preparations for the world jump as well, so I'll be doing that as soon as possible. Othinus had the coordinates for the world, but she insisted on checking things over again to make sure nothing would go wrong in the transfer of worlds.
She was a bit concerned over the entities that could possibly exist out in the wider multiverse, and maybe even be found in the world I want to visit next. I didn't blame her for her caution; she was just looking out for me.
I wanted a break from the Cardinal World and its messes. Perhaps I should have gone to another world already, but a part of me felt like that would just be stalling for the inevitable. I'd rather get the ugly stuff out of the way before enjoying myself in another world. Now all that's left is the Eastern Empire, and that was some time away if my understanding was correct.
It was the perfect time to have some fun. I planned to bring, or at least offer, a few people the chance to come with me to the next world I was going to, but that was only after I got to take a look on the other side and confirm the overall threat level. I planned to take Rimuru, Milim, Veldora, and Ramiris.
I wouldn't be taking everyone that I could, as that was a sure-fire way to overwhelm the world. I distinctly recall that the Earth itself in Solo Leveling was rather fragile, so the Rulers had to release mana through gates into the world to reinforce it.
The longer I stayed here, the quicker time passed in the world of Solo Leveling, as the time of that world is a bit more accelerated than the Cardinal World. So while I can return to the moment I left in this world due to having the exact Space-Time coordinates, the same cannot be said for the world of Solo Leveling.
So once Othinus is done verifying the coordinates, I'm leaving. I can take care of the things I have to do in this world when I get back. I planned to sync the times between the two worlds up, so time would pass in a one-to-one ratio, but that was fine.
Something like that was probably impossible for me to do with my own power, but Planeswalker was a Skill granted to me by the Voice of the World itself. It had certain capabilities that were unlocked with time and mastery that allowed me to do certain things that I normally couldn't do in regards to different universes, or rather different planes.
Syncing the timestreams up temporarily was one of them, but that was with a system coded into the Voice of the World helping me.
Perhaps I could even invite Luminous or Hinata. I doubt they would stay for too long as each of them had duties they wouldn't want to leave for long.
I shook my head. I could think more on that later. Now, I was approaching where Ingvild was. She was in the music room that I had set up for her. There were various instruments, amplifiers, sheet music, and more inside.
I knocked on the door before letting myself in. In the center of the room I spotted Ingvild who was sitting on a stool in front of the piano. The piano was by far the most valuable artifact in this room, as it was once Clayman's personal piano. He was rich so he went all out on his personal piano.
The notes themselves were perfectly in tune, but what made it so valuable was the enchantments layered onto it. It would warp the surroundings in an illusion based on the melody of what you played, which was pretty incredible.
"Lo– I mean Felix!" Ingvild said, correcting herself to call me by my first name.
I smiled. "Hello Ingvild." I eyed the sheet music on the piano; it was the sheet music to Unravel. As a Daemon Duke, Ingvild really had no need for sheet music, but she said she preferred having it since it was a habit for her.
She jumped up from her stool and appeared in front of me. She was dressed in a one piece sweater dress, that didn't quite hug her curves, but it didn't leave much to the imagination. "You look as wonderful as ever, Ingvild." I said with a cheeky grin.
This was a sort of game between us, I teased her, and she bashfully responded.
Her cheeks gained a healthy flush. "Th-Thank you." She said as she lowered her head. Once the blush on her cheeks had faded she looked back up at me. "Did you want to speak with me about something? Normally you wait until dinner."
I nodded. "I thought this should be more private."
Ingvild tilted her head slightly, her orange eyes glimmering with curiosity. "More private?" She echoed, her fingers idly playing with the hem of her sweater dress. "That makes me a little nervous." She didn't seem to be down or anything. I had thought that hearing about the absolute massacre that had occurred in Ruberious would have upset her, but maybe I didn't give her enough credit.
She's been in this world for quite some time now, she's likely had to do stuff she didn't want to do back when she was under Granbell's control. Perhaps she isn't as affected by displays of slaughter.
I chuckled, shaking my head. "Nothing bad, I promise. I just wanted to check in on you, see how you're feeling. With everything that's been going on, I haven't had much time to just sit down and talk with you." I said, deciding to play it off. If Ingvild didn't need my support, then there was no need to do anything. She had a good community already built up here in Azeroth. Perhaps she didn't need my support at all.
Her expression softened, and she nodded. "I appreciate that." She gestured towards the piano. "I've been spending most of my free time here, playing and composing. It helps me think."
I glanced at the sheet music again. "Unravel, huh? That's a good one." I nodded.
A wistful smile crossed her lips. "A little. It's a beautiful song, but I think it also captures a certain… loneliness? Longing? I can't quite put it into words."
Ingvild nervously grabbed the hem of her dress. "W-Would you like for me to play for you?"
"I'd be honored." I said as I took a seat in one of the lounge chairs in the room, resting my elbows on the armrests.
Ingvild allowed a cheerful grin to take her face as she sat down, stretching her fingers before placing them on the keys. The first few notes of Unravel filled the room, and immediately, the illusion enchantment took effect. The walls shimmered, the air around us warping as colors swirled and danced like liquid light. It was almost like stepping into a dream.
Clayman had taste at least.
Ingvild's voice was as incredible as ever. I just closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of the illusion over me and Ingvild's singing.
For a few minutes, there was nothing but the music.
When the last note faded, the illusion gently dispersed, leaving only the two of us in the quiet room.
Ingvild spun around on her stool to face me as I stood up and clapped. "That was great Ingvild!"
"Thank you." She said as she ducked her head. "I-I had a small request to make."
I raised a brow. She wasn't one to really ask for anything so I didn't hesitate to answer. "What did you need?"
"Would you allow me to host a concert in this city?" She asked.
"A concert? That sounds great!" It could be a way for Arcueid to generate some more money, bringing some more attention to Azeroth (not that it was needed), and Ingvild would get to enjoy herself.
I don't think mass musical events like this have even happened in this world, besides the occasional one in Tempest, so that was another step to modernizing this world, something that Rimuru had been trying to do ever since ascending to power.
"You think so?" She asked excitedly.
I nodded. "Your voice will surely charm everyone. Maybe some day you'll be the biggest star in the world." I said with a grin.
A nervous smile formed on Ingvild's face. "I won't let you down."
"Don't take my comment as putting any sort of expectation on you. Become the best only if you want to. If you just want to have concerts here and there, then that's fine too."
Ingvild nodded, a small smile on her face. "Thank you."
"I'll have you informed of the details of the concert later." I didn't want to bother Arcueid with this, seeing as she was already rather busy. I know that if I asked, she'd take care of it in a heartbeat, but why make her more busy when it honestly wasn't needed.
I could deal with setting up a concert. I'd need to have some vendors agree to supply food and drink, make sure to claim the entertainment center in the city for Ingvild for a day, and make some announcements; those were the basics. There was a lot more smaller stuff to do, but a lot of it I could delegate.
I stood up from the seat I took. "I'm sure you want to begin preparing your scores, I'll leave you to it."
Ingvild nodded. "Goodbye Felix! And thank you!"
"You're welcome." I said as I left the room.
With that done I made my way to Kurumi's area.
I knocked on the door to the room I sensed her in. Despite having fought to help defend Ruberious, she didn't seem worn out at all.
The door quickly opened, with Kurumi greeting me with a foxy smile. "Master!"
Kurumi stepped aside, motioning for me to enter with a playful flick of her wrist. I walked in, taking in the sight of her space. It was far more personalized than the last time I'd visited, though to be fair I didn't make it a habit to visit everyone's personal quarters.
Everyone deserved their privacy. I didn't even expand my senses to these areas. I trusted them enough to not get into trouble.
There were paintings lined the walls. Some were of magic beasts, others were of landscapes, but there was one thing in common with all of them, each was coming alive.
They were similar to the paintings that I inherited from Clayman back when I first became a Demon Lord. Those paintings were made by a renowned artist known to have such skill that his paintings were almost alive. He would paint them in the presence of the magic beast in question as well, leaving some of the beast's lingering aura within the ink itself.
Kurumi hadn't done that, but she was getting there.
"I see you've been busy." I said, stopping in front of a piece that depicted a lush, moonlit garden. The leaves in the painting rustled ever so slightly; the glow of the painted moon shifting as though real. "You really are something else, Kurumi."
She giggled, closing the door behind me. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Master." Then, with a teasing smile, she waved her fingers toward another painting, this one of a grand cityscape. Slowly, tiny figures within it began to move, going about their lives in a silent, painted world.
I watched, fascinated. "This… this is incredible. Are you using magic to animate them?"
Kurumi twirled a strand of her dark hair around her finger as she worked to wipe the smile off her face. "Not exactly, Master. It's less about forcing movement and more about capturing a moment so vividly that it refuses to stay still." She turned her golden gaze to me. "Art has a life of its own, wouldn't you agree?"
I chuckled. "I don't have much of an eye for art, so all I can tell you is that I think this all looks amazing." Some of these I preferred over the ones I got from Clayman.
She beamed, pleased. Then, her expression softened, and she gestured for me to sit. "So, what brings you here, Master? Surely you didn't come just to admire my work?"
"I did wish to see your artwork; I've wanted to ever since we visited Sarion. I didn't know you had a hobby like this, so I was curious."
"Ara, if you show me such attention, I may get the wrong idea, Master."
I rolled my eyes at the teasing minx. She was a Nine-Tailed Fox; it was in their nature to be seductive and teasing, so I was used to it from Kurumi. God knows she's knowingly said such easily misunderstood phrases before. Though surprisingly, when we went to Sarion, there was nothing like that from her. She was just enjoying the moment.
And through Lover, I could sense that she meant her comment. She was most definitely open to, and even eager, for a deeper relationship with me. If things developed that way I wouldn't say no, but that was for another time. Preferably when she and I had more one on one moments to see if we were truly compatible.
I leaned back in the chair she offered, exhaling slightly. "I also wanted to check in on you; to see how you're doing after your fights."
Kurumi tilted her head, her ever-present smirk shifting into something more thoughtful. "Mm… I did enjoy myself quite a bit. While I did not face any foes that could test me as Saeko and Raiden did, I was able to iron out the kinks in a few Arts that I created. It was a pleasant experience." Kurumi said with a pure smile, as if she hadn't slaughtered hundreds of magic beasts with simple swipes of her tails.
Maybe everyone here was a little crazy.
"That's good then. If you need anything, you can always ask me." Despite not making much use of Gravity Manipulation, it did fall under my Law Domination, meaning I had nigh-absolute control over it to a certain point, and Kurumi had been specializing in Gravity Manipulation.
Kurumi's smile turned a little sharper. "Even if what I want is you, Master?"
I rolled my eyes, smirking. "Nice try."
She laughed, the tension in the air fading. "You can't blame a girl for trying."
Shaking my head, I glanced back at her paintings, watching the tiny figures move like echoes of life captured in time. "You really do have a gift, Kurumi."
A small but cute smile formed on her face as her fox ears twitched. "Thank you." She was always weak to compliments.
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Author's Note:
Hello everyone, back with another chapter of Daemon. In this one Luminous finally convinces Hinata to take the first step towards what we've all been waiting for, all while she daydreams about yuri-yuri moments! She truly is peak.
Then a quick summary of the talks with Arcueid, I felt it would be repetitive to show the conversation since it would just be a recap of information that was shared like a chapter ago. Then some talks with Ingvild since she's been left out a bit, and then finally Kurumi.
Thanks for reading, peace!
Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.
Last bit of editing -Omnax
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