Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 134: Monarchs
As always, 17 chapters ahead at [email protected]/theogbasilisk
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- Yogumunt (Monarch of Transfiguration) -
A magic circle swirled to life above his palm as he waited for his fellow Monarchs to gather.
Just moments ago he had felt a breach through the Chaos World, one similar to that of a Gate, but… different.
He and his fellow Monarchs could use Gates to connect to the various realms the Absolute Being created, the biggest one being the Chaos World. However, the source of this Gate seemed to originate from much further beyond their known reality, something that was highly concerning and interesting.
He had always wondered if the Absolute Being was the only one of his kind; if there were more realms to see and conquer out there after dealing with the Rulers. He had no way to confirm it… until now.
Nothing was certain, but Yogumunt was the most knowledgeable about these kinds of things among the Monarchs for a reason.
Still, he wasn't worried. They were the Monarchs, one of the two strongest groups of individuals in existence, created with the birth of this universe. There was not much out there that he truly feared
In fact, he could only think of two individuals that possibly remained, Ashborn and Antares.
There was nothing those two couldn't handle. It was his confidence in the strongest.
The Gate itself was a breach in Space-Time leading to the world they had chosen as the final place for their battle against the Rulers, Earth.
Something like this hadn't happened in the other timelines which the Rulers reversed, so he was rather curious as to what was different.
Time worked differently between the Chaos World and Earth, so he was not worried about missing the disturbance.
He watched with some amusement as the magic circle pulsed in rhythm with his thoughts. His sorcery was an echo of himself, after all. It was tied intrinsically to his power over Transfiguration, and had led to him becoming the greatest sorcerer in the Chaos World.
The only one who came close to him was Kandiaru, one of his progeny, who had vanished. Last he heard, he was serving Ashborn, but who knew where he was now.
A shimmer of light hummed throughout the room. One by one, the other Monarchs began to arrive.
The first to arrive was Tarnak, the Monarch of Iron Body, and the King of Monstrous Humanoids.
He possessed a body so hard that even the strongest of them would struggle to wound him ordinarily, though there were many other ways to wound Tarnak without brute force.
Tarnak's current form was that of a tall male with slicked back blonde hair and green eyes.
They both nodded at each other as Tarnak took his place. A moment later, two more distortions in space occurred.
The first was the Monarch of Frost, Sillad, the King of Snow Folk, his form coalescing from a flurry of ice crystals and pale moonlight. Wherever his bare feet touched, the stone froze and cracked. Sillad took a deep breath of the mana rich air, his breath fogging up slightly.
Sillad was in the form of an elderly Ice Elf with blue skin, long silver hair with a single long strand dangling over the right side of his face.
Beside him appeared Rakan, the Monarch of Fangs and King of Beasts. He was an embodiment of their more primal aspects. He didn't arrive silently either, his presence crashed into the room, damaging it irreparably even with all the runes he had placed prior to their arrival.
A pulse of wild mana radiated outward, brushing against the other Monarchs like invisible claws, though they ignored it as they were used to Rakan's ways.
Rakan appeared far more beastly. He had wild black hair, sharp fangs, and his form towered over everyone else's, though that did not make him stronger.
Both went to their respective spots as they waited for the last two among them to arrive.
Then came a soft buzz, gentle at first, but growing rapidly into a cacophony of wings.
Querehsha, the Monarch of Plagues and Queen of Insects, seeped into existence. Not with any grandeur like Rakan, but with decay as the very air and mana around her seemed to almost die.
She was in her normal form, that of an attractive mature woman with red eyes, pale skin, long flowing black hair, dark purple lips, and a rather voluptuous figure.
She retained some insectile characteristics, particularly on her legs and arms. She was also wearing greenish-black armor that left her upper cleavage and shoulders exposed.
"Mmm, why did you call us here, Yogumunt?" Querehsha purred enchantingly.
"Wait until everyone is here," Rakan growled from across the chamber, arms folded
Querehsha sighed theatrically. "But I'm so curious." She cooed. "We all felt that disturbance right?" Seeing everyone nodding she continued. "I wonder what game the Rulers are playing. After initiating the creation of Gates on Earth, they've mostly kept away from the Chaos World." She said as she made her way to her designated place, the floor beneath her legs wilting and blackening as she passed.
Sillad chuckled softly, the air growing colder at his actions. "Who can tell? They are only delaying the inevitable in the end."
Yogumunt looked throughout the cavern they were gathered in. They had all managed to find suitable vessels to manifest on Earth's fragile plane. The vessels wouldn't be powerful enough to fully manifest themselves, but the amount of power they could bring to bear would be more than enough for the mere Humans.
The only one who had yet to find a proper vessel was the strongest among them.
Right at that moment, another shimmer of light materialized, this one larger than all so far.
They all watched as Antares, the Monarch of Destruction and King of Dragons, materialized at the center of the cavern.
The very air warped in his presence. It was as if his very existence was weighing the world down around him.
It seemed Antares had taken on a more humanoid form this time, one with long, red hair, and a short red beard. Despite being humanoid, he was clearly draconic, as scales covered his form and his claws glinted.
Antares was the oldest and most powerful of them, of that there was no doubt.
Antares was in one of his older armors, a reddish-silver armor with a high collar and a reddish-brown tailcoat.
Antares stepped through a molten fracture of space, flames licked his shoulders as his breath melted the air.
"Greetings." Antares said as he casually made his way to his place at the head.
It had been a long time since all six remaining Monarchs had gathered. There used to be more, but Baran, the Monarch of White Flames and King of Demons, had been killed, his priest still searching for a replacement, while Legia, the Monarch of the Beginning and King of Giants, had vanished, as had Ashborn, the Monarch of Shadows and King of the Dead.
Antares looked to him. "You have news?"
Yogumunt quickly nodded. "Yes." He said, his voice calm.
The swirling magic circle above his palm began to shift shape, transforming into a depiction of their universe, including all the layered realms and spirals of energy that littered throughout the Absolute Being's creation.
At the edge of the diagram, a jagged tear pulsed with crimson light. That wasn't likely what the universe truly looked like since the breach in Space-Time didn't truly damage anything, merely bend Space enough so a hole an individual could slip through was formed before swiftly vanishing, as if the hole didn't exist.
But it was the easiest way of showing his fellow Monarchs what he believed occurred.
"We all felt it." He began. They were all Monarchs, created at the dawn of the universe and were attuned to it uniquely, allowing them to feel when certain unique events occur. "But what you may not have realized is that this breach wasn't random, nor was it the work of the Rulers."
That earned a few glances among the Monarchs.
Yogumunt narrowed his eyes. "It came from outside. Beyond even the Absolute Being's reach."
They knew the Absolute Being as an all-powerful overlord that could not be matched, though clearly that was an incorrect assumption if the Rulers could take him out, but that didn't change that his feats of power were truly astonishing. For something to have come from beyond this universe that the Absolute Being created was as concerning as it was interesting.
None of them were scared. They were the Monarchs, after all, and their power was unmatched. However, all of them were open to the possibility of there being another strong being in their game.
Perhaps they had discovered their wild card to use against the Rulers. Each time the Monarchs were on the cusps of victory, the Rulers would use that blasted cup to rewind time.
The Cup of Reincarnation was a seemingly divine artifact the Rulers had been making use of. It allowed them to reverse all their mistakes and misplanning by reversing the entire timeline.
Ashborn was the one to first tell them of that cup's existence, though it wouldn't see use until their war reignited on Earth. That time was quickly approaching now.
Most would forget about the old timeline that the cup reversed, but higher beings like them would remember. They were Spiritual Lifeforms; their memories were far deeper in their souls and could not be erased easily.
Tarnak raised an eyebrow. "You're saying this was not initiated by anything in our reality?"
"Not our reality." Yogumunt confirmed. In theory he could be wrong, but he highly doubted it. He knew what he felt.
He was created by the Absolute Being to be far more in sync with reality than the rest of his kin. He was created to specialize in sorcery and so he could, for lack of a better word, feel the universe to a far greater level than the other Monarchs.
"Not even within the bounds of our timelines. This anomaly… it's as if something was trying to reach in when I felt it. Something that feels similar to the Gate system, but doesn't follow its laws."
The method of arriving in their universe was rather refined. It was a far more powerful and improved version of their own method of traveling around the universe.
He imagined the only reason he felt it was due to the way their universe was structured, making it incredibly difficult for outsiders to invade, and so the being had to take more blatant measures.
He wouldn't be surprised if other experienced individuals also felt the breach, but all of them that he knew of would be content to stay in their holes and develop their magic, all eager to reach the heights of the Monarchs despite knowing how futile such an attempt was.
Rakan let out a low growl. "Then it's another challenger. One worth playing with." He said as his sharp teeth shined with mana.
Yogumunt rolled his eyes at Rakan's beastly ways. Rakan was always the one among them that enjoyed battle and bloodshed the most. Only the Absolute Being knows how much angelic blood Rakan bathed in.
Despite not being the strongest among them, Rakan had one of the highest kill counts among them.
Querehsha smiled darkly. "Or perhaps… one worth infecting." She said with a hum. Querehsha could do some wondrous things with her viruses and infections, even completely rewrite a being's soul in its entirety.
Antares frowned, the temperature rising around him unconsciously. "You believe this is a threat equal to, or greater than, the Rulers?"
"I believe," Yogumunt said carefully, knowing full well the cost of informing Antares of incorrect information. "that there could be a being that would prove useful to us in our war against the Rulers. It does not hurt to try to investigate, and if needed, eliminate this threat."
Antares nodded, taking his words into account.
He raised his hand, and the diagram shifted again, zeroing in on Earth.
"I was able to decipher where exactly this being arrived, and I believe that to be on Earth."
Siliad chuckled. "How convenient. Rakan and I planned to give Earth a preliminary visit soon. It is soon to be our battlefield, after all. It would allow us a chance to test our vessels and locate the Rulers' vessels as well."
The Rulers had also chosen vessels on Earth, though unlike them, the Rulers did not seek to overwrite the will of their hosts, but cooperate with them. This left them weaker as the hosts could bring even less power to bear than normally.
And they knew just who these vessels were due to retaining their memories from the previous timelines.
"Hmm, then you two will be in charge of investigating this threat, and if you deem necessary, eliminating it." Antares ordered.
Rakan let out a fanged grin as Siliad merely nodded.
"I believe I will be going as well. I am rather curious about the being myself." Yogumunt said.
Antares eyed him for a moment before nodding. "Very well."
"Leave some for me to play with." Querehsha purred.
With that, their gathering ended. Each of them began to teleport out, until eventually it was just him, Antares, Siliad, and Rakan.
Antares looked at the three of them. "I will trust you to not fail in this task." He said as his eyes glinted slightly, and he released some of his pressure outward.
The three of them merely nodded.
They were Monarchs, some of the strongest beings in existence. However, they knew full well who reigned at the top of their group, and there was nothing they could do about it. Antares was a monster that was impossible to overcome.
"Deal with the being as you see fit, and also begin locating the vessels of those Rulers." With that, Antares teleported away.
They knew who the Ruler vessels were, but the locations tended to change from timeline to timeline, but that would not be much of a problem for beings of their level.
The three of them eyed each other. They had worked together in the past, so they were familiar with each other's abilities.
There were not many that could take the three of them on together. The only concern was that they would not be able to exert their full power without possibly damaging their vessels which they had already invested quite a lot into.
Damaging their vessels now before the final battle even began would be rather detrimental. Perhaps it was odd that he was taking the invader so seriously, but the method the being used to arrive in their realm was masterful. Someone with such technique would not be a simple individual.
His own vessel was enchanted with many spells to further reinforce it, as were the vessels of the other Monarchs, so it should be enough to deal with this new variable if needed.
But the best case scenario would be if the being was willing to align with them.
- Felix -
"You're kidding, right?"
I smiled in amusement at Sung Jin-Woo's words. It seems when aura farming fails him, he gets pretty panicky. I could feel his emotions right now, and he was damn near terrified.
He wanted to leave as soon as possible, but if I'm remembering correctly, he used Shadow Exchange to get to Jeju Island and it has a rather long cool down, so he was stuck here for the moment.
"As you can see, if I wanted to do something, I'd have done it by now."
The trip so far has been eventful. The moment I got within the range of Jeju Island, I spotted a massive wave of the Ants fleeing the island which told me that best boy Beru was probably dead now, something I confirmed once I arrived here.
- Flashback -
I hummed lightly as I watched thousands of Ants trying to flee the island.
With a flick of my wrist, I gestured lazily toward the writhing mass of ants. In response, the space in front of me shimmered as a fine, near-invisible edge carved through the air towards the group of ants.
A moment later, the world almost split open.
I had sent an invisible slash with Dismantle that surged forwards, reaching the ants in a moment. Then for a second nothing happened, as if my attack did nothing.
Then, thousands of ants were sliced apart, geysers of blood erupting off of them as their guts splashed into the ocean, legs slid from thoraxes, heads rolled cleanly off shoulders.
"I can see why Sukuna has so much fun with that." I said as I eyed the massive cut in the sky in the distance. I quickly absorbed and restructured the bodies inside of my Infinity Space for possible future use.
- Flashback End -
I was going with a bit of a different entry into this world. I was being cooperative with the Hunters, which hopefully was enough for them to relax a bit and realize I wasn't here to hurt them.
I was a Daemon, and most Humans in most realities had certain valid beliefs about Daemons, but if there was one thing that was a universal way of speaking across worlds, it was strength.
Why would I bother with talking if I could crush everyone here? That alone should make them consider my words and intentions a bit.
In fact, before I arrived here, I went around killing pretty much every single Ant that had managed to flee the island before absorbing them.
They would be responsible for killing quite a few Humans most likely, and it was only a minor effort for me. In canon, Beru went around doing that, but for all I know my presence may have butterflied some of that away.
Even if I wasn't a particularly good person, I didn't want to be the reason some people died due to changes I caused, especially since it was an extremely minor effort from me.
Though I probably freaked out quite a lot of people, but I made sure I did it in a way similar to Beru. I was basically a blur that no one was able to make heads or tails of.
I didn't really have a clear objective in mind for this world. Just explore a bit, look into the Itarim due to my own curiosity about those beings, maybe fight some of the Monarchs and Rulers just for the hell of it.
Other than that, I just wanted to have fun and relax.
I'm sure my presence alone was going to change things since I wasn't going to bother to minimize my actions or hide my presence to maintain canon, so I'd at least take responsibility for making sure this planet didn't get destroyed in the clash between the Rulers and Monarchs if things go drastically different.
The moment I arrived, I'd quickly analyzed everyone here. My gaze wandered to the corpse of Beru. I was curious if he was similar to the Insectars of the Cardinal World that I knew of, but the similarities they had were only cosmetic.
Though Beru had the potential to far surpass any of the Insectars I'd met with his ability to eat someone and gain their powers and even memories. It was similar to Rimuru's own ability, in fact.
I looked back at Sung Jin-Woo,
I activated Milim Eye and stared deep into his eyes. I easily got rid of the cosmetic effect that Milim Eye had, I didn't want my eyes to be glowing now after all. I'm sure these Hunters would overreact to that.
Despite the Hunters' lackluster performance so far, I didn't blame them. They just got out of the hardest fight of their lives, they weren't in peak condition, and they had injured people among them.
Now I come and show up? Someone a lot stronger than the Ant they almost died against?
Well I'd be pretty fed up too.
Once I arrived, I had gotten a better understanding of what the upper levels of Hunters were capable of.
This was my best estimate of the strength levels of all the Hunters in this world.
E-Rank to C-Rank Hunters were around the level of a peak Human to small building level. Around the level of a D to C Rank going by the Free Guild's way of classifying ranks, so around 1,000 - 6,000 EP.
The B-Rank to A-Rank Hunters were probably a bit stronger, going by the cameraman who was an A-Rank. They were around the level of being able to destroy a middle sized building to a large building like a massive corporate office.
Around 6,000 to 10,000 EP.
The S-Ranks were around town to city level, so around 10,000 to 100,000 EP at base, though there were plenty that likely went beyond that level, even not considering the vessels of the Rulers.
Then the National Level Hunters, the Ruler vessels excluding that one healer guy, were likely around the Disaster Class level, being able to harm countries potentially.
So I'd say 400,000 to 800,000 EP.
Then finally, the Rulers and Monarchs. It was tough to get an approximate level for them, but I did have a certain Monarch right in front of me to scan.
And so I did so.
The moment I gazed into Sung Jin-Woo's soul I felt something staring back at me. It seemed to be extremely cautious of me and was doing its best to hide its presence entirely. That must be Ashborn.
I conveyed my own feeling of amusement at him as I sent him a metaphorical greeting.
The presence responded.
It was faint, but I could feel him conveying his intent to me, similarly to a Thought Communication in fact.
"Why are you here, outsider?"
"Eh, don't mind me. I'm just here to enjoy myself. Feel free to continue your whole plot with Jin-Woo and make him your successor, I won't interfere."
I could feel Ashborn's shock at my words.
"How?"
"Don't mind the details. The only reason I'm bothering explaining myself is due to not being an unreasonable asshat. And a gift for what you've given me."
"What I've given you?" Ashborn asked with weariness. He seemed to be extremely worried about my existence.
"Don't worry about it. Anyways, nice meeting you, Ashborn. I won't mess with your little experiment too much so long as you don't attempt something on me first."
With that, I cut the connection I briefly had with Ashborn off.
He seemed like an alright individual. There was no maliciousness towards me in him, he was just faintly curious and wary of the threat I could be to his chosen successor, nothing more.
He also seemed to want to ask me something, but seeing as he didn't say anything, I wasn't going to look too deep into it. If he wanted to speak to me, I'm sure he'd find a way.
I smiled as I went over all the data Othinus gathered during the brief connection I had with Ashborn.
I had his System template for lack of better words. I could now create a System similar to the one Sung Jin-Woo had. It wouldn't be the same, as the way this brand of System worked was by using another being as its core and slowly transfer power from that being to the system host like what was happening between Ashborn and Jin-Woo.
Now, in theory, I could make as many Systems as I wanted so long as they had a core to draw power from. I could make one with the Greater Elemental Ifrit as a core, one with a Daemon as a core, etc.
I probably wouldn't really be using it unless it was for fun, but it was still nice to have data on a System. They were known throughout the isekai genre for a reason.
I was also able to acquire the data for all the skills the System had, both locked and unlocked. Almost none of them were things that I found particularly useful however.
Ashborn was rather strong, stronger than I thought. He was at around the 5,000,000 range, so I'm guessing him and Antares could be classified into the 4,000,000 - 6,000,000 EP range altogether.
The other Monarchs were probably at around half that level, which wasn't surprising. They far surpassed most Saints in the Cardinal World, as they should. They were beings made at the dawn of this universe and had been fighting for a long time.
They were capable of erasing this entire planet, though they wouldn't do nearly as much to the Cardinal World due to the durability difference.
"Hunter Sung, it is clear you have some ability to understand an individual's threat level. What do you think?" One of the Hunters asked as the flames in his palm vanished. I think his name was Choi Jong-In, supposedly one of the strongest mage type Hunters in the world.
Sung Jin-Woo slowly nodded. "He's beyond us." He said grimly.
I smiled. "I'm glad that we've come to an understanding." I said as I gazed around the room, taking in the sight of all the Shadows that had yet to make a move.
I already got the data on the Shadow Monarch's whole "Arise" thing. It was an authority of sorts over death. Nothing as strong as the Small World authority, but the closest thing I could label it was an authority since it was no Skill, and certainly wasn't an Art. It was an inherent ability of the Shadow Monarch.
It worked by manipulating the Spiritual Body of those that were to be resurrected.
Using the power over death the Shadow Monarch had, Jin-Woo would basically separate the Spiritual Body and everything it contained from the material body.
This ability also passively rewrote the resurrected Shadow to be loyal to the Shadow Monarch who revived them. It needed the body as a medium, however, as the 'Arise' ability worked by basically reaching into the realm of the dead of this universe and pulling their Spiritual Bodies to the living plane.
This world was different from the Cardinal World, so it had slightly different rules that allowed the Shadows to remain in the material world through the Shadow Monarch's power. They would be somewhat weaker than they were in life, but they could grow stronger.
It was all in all an interesting ability, one that I could see Arcueid developing later down the line with some tampering.
The realm of the dead in this universe also seemed rather interesting. Perhaps I'd explore it later.
I gazed at each of the Hunters in front of me, though I noticed the cameraman was live streaming all this right now since I could sense the electromagnetic waves used to broadcast.
I respected the cameraman's grind.
"Oh, so that's why you guys have pretty weak and limited powers." I noted after a moment.
I could feel the connection each of these Hunters held to beings in a whole different dimension. The connection was funneling them a steady stream of the mana of this world, and also allowing the person on the other end to overlay themselves onto the Hunters, granting the Hunters their abilities.
These Hunters had no magic circuits, and their internal pool seemed sketchy. If I remember right, there was one woman who was able to enhance the power of Hunters. She described it as widening the connection to their powers.
My bet is that the Hunters in this world don't actually possess any of their abilities, but receive them from connecting to Angels in the Rulers' armies. The stronger Hunters connect with the stronger Angels, or have higher compatibility than most.
It was why that lady was so surprised that Jin-Woo's power came from within, since Ashborn was inside of him.
"Why are you here if not to fight us?" Sung Jin-Woo asked calmly, but his heartbeat and emotions betrayed him. He was on the verge of a panic attack. From what I recall, he was so used to things being in his control. Whenever he faced someone out of his league, he usually at least had a chance, but now the situation was pretty much hopeless for him and he knew it.
"A vacation of sorts." I said with a shrug.
"A vacation?" The Archer guy asked.
I raised a brow. "And who are you?"
"Ah, Lim Tae-Gyu." The man responded stiffly, introducing himself.
"Archer guy, got it."
His lips twitched at my words.
"Now if you all could take me to your leaders, I have an offer they can't refuse."
All of them stiffened up.
"Ah, I don't mean that I'm going to force them or anything, I can do what I want anyway. I just thought to pay this world back a bit for hosting me and my friends."
I was just going to offer their leaders to help them in the worst case scenario that the world can't handle the Monarchs.
They likely don't know about the Monarchs yet, but they would learn soon enough.
I sighed. "Come on people, I thought we've established that if I had hostile intentions, I'd mop the floor with you all and have my fun."
Baek Yoonho, the beast guy, slowly nodded as he undid his beast form. He was similar to the Lycanthropes from the Cardinal World. I wonder what his Angel was like to bestow those abilities onto him?
"H-He's right. I can feel the sheer difference in our existence, as if it's some sixth sense." Baek Yoonho said.
I raised a brow. "Some sort of Ultra Instinct-like ability?" I mused. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. Here, as a show of good faith I'll do you a favor."
I held my hand out as a glowing sphere slowly materialized in my hand. "This is a soul. One that I grabbed as it was about to pass on just as I arrived."
All of them stared at me in shock.
"W-What!?" Lim Tae-Gyu yelled
The main Tanker was just looking at me grimly. He was standing in front of all the others, seemingly still planning to serve as a shield against me if I attacked, no matter how pointless that would be.
"I think he's right. He has no reason to lie if what Hunter Sung said is true." Ma Dongwook, the Tanker, said.
Sung Jin-Woo also nodded as I sensed his System's analysis scan over the soul. "He's telling the truth. The soul… it belongs to Min Byung-Gyu." Jin-Woo said as his eyes widened.
"Correct!" I was able to grab the Healer's soul before he fully passed on, his death was pretty unfortunate, so why not revive him? I'd win some good will, which while unnecessary for me, didn't hurt to have.
It would be annoying if people just kept coming to bother me when I was here for a vacation, so it was easier to just make everyone either be friendly with me or show off enough power that the very thought of going against me wouldn't even occur.
Out of both of those, coming off as a more friendly person was easier and more my style. I didn't really want to go around and terrorize people to get it in their heads that they shouldn't bother me.
I just didn't see the need to flex my power beyond what I was already doing.
Baek Yoonho's eyes widened as he began going back into his beast form, presumably to attack me. They were pretty close friends from what I recall, but before he could do anything I began to construct a body around the soul using the Information Particles that recorded all of Min Byung-Gyu's information.
A thin mist of golden light wove itself into the air as I began the process. I wasn't going to be using Holy Magic or anything like that for this; I'd be using Brahma, Lord of Creation.
I didn't want to use any Ultimate Skills for combat purposes here since that would be boring, but this was different.
Threads of energy began to materialize around us, mostly just for cosmetic effect.
Baek Yoonho halted mid-transformation, the faint shimmer of his beast form almost rippling across his skin. It looked pretty weird.
His expression changed rapidly, from anger to confusion before finally settling on disbelief.
"What… what are you doing?" He asked uncertainty.
"Bringing him back, obviously." I smiled lightly, eyes never leaving the soul. "Hopefully this is enough for you all to realize that if I wanted to harm you, it would be so incredibly easy for me to do so."
I said to the Hunters, but mostly to the entire world watching the stream from the cameraman. The way I introduced myself to the world at large in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen was vastly different to what I was doing now.
There I appeared like a tyrant and just did whatever I wanted. I didn't go out of my way to harm anyone, but the image alone that I gave off was a whimsical Demon Lord who did what he wanted. I mean I basically turned that world into a version of this one, just in a way more controlled way.
I'm sure people will get ideas at seeing me revive the dead, but I'd deal with that when the time comes. I wasn't going to go around and revive everyone; I wasn't that much of a good person.
If this didn't work, then I'd ditch all pretenses and just go full Demon Lord mode. I tried to be reasonable most of the time, but even my patience had a limit.
The Information Particles responded to my will. The memories, body structure, magic affinity; everything that made Min Byung-Gyu who he was were all stored in the Infons of his soul.
It was delicate work. His soul was rather fragile, so I had to be a bit careful to make sure I didn't use too much energy that he couldn't handle.
A humanoid form began to coalesce in front of me, starting from the heart outward. First the bones, and then the nervous system sparked into place. Muscles and organs layered over and around the bone, and then skin over all the muscles.
There was a moment of silence as the final strands of light faded. The body inhaled for the first time.
Min Byung-Gyu blinked slowly. He looked around with glazed eyes. "…Where am I?"
Baek Yoonho took an instinctive step forward. "Byung-Gyu…?"
"He should be fine now, only just some minor disorientation." I said with a yawn.
Jin-Woo stepped closer, eyes narrowed. Though he didn't seem quite as worried or hostile as he was before.
I knew reviving the chill healer guy would be a good move.
Lim Tae-Gyu was still frozen. "You brought him back… like a god."
"Eh, I have Divinity, so from your perspective you could probably consider me as such."
"Reviving a person is possible." Choi Jong-In said with awe.
I noticed Sung Jin-Woo's gaze going towards Cha Hae-In, but I wasn't going to heal her right now. She would be fine. Waking her up now would only waste more time.
There was another moment of stunned silence before Min Byung-Gyu turned his head, his eyes already looking a bit more clear as his hand moved to his chest.
He did become a donut, didn't he? How unfortunate, he wasn't even cursed with flame abilities. Speaking of, I wonder if Benimaru would ever get donuted?
"Did I die?" He asked, looking at Baek Yoonho who reached for a hug.
Baek Yoonho enveloped his friend in a hug, though I noticed him slowly guiding him back towards his group. "You did. I'm just glad you're back." He said as he blinked away his tears.
Everyone in their group was looking at the revived Min Byung-Gyu with shock.
"Now as heartwarming as this is, would you mind taking me to your leaders now? I'd like to meet Go Gunhee, I think his name is."
He was a Ruler vessel, so I was pretty interested in meeting him. I'd spoken to and analyzed a Monarch, so I also wanted to analyze a Ruler. Though Ashborn was also once a Ruler…
Sung Jin-Woo took the lead and nodded. "I think that can be arranged. Thank you for being accommodating." He said as he bowed his head, the Shadows around us disappearing back into his shadow.
His heart rate was still higher than a normal Human's, and I could still feel his worry and anxiousness about me, but it had calmed greatly. He seemed to trust me to a certain extent now.
"Yeah, yeah, no problem."
Baek Yoonho looked at me as he pulled back from his hug. "Thank you." He said as he bowed deeply towards me. His entire perspective on me had shifted, and pretty much everyone here also thought far better of me now.
"You're welcome."
It was nice to be able to give some people a happy ending, even if I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
I paused as I made to approach their group.
Space was warping around us. We all watched in silence as a mass of mana began to gather.
The Hunters backed away, moving more towards me surprisingly. It seems I'd manage to win over some of their trust.
Who knew that reviving a loved one was a quick way to get someone to think of you in a positive light?
The mana pulsed slightly as it quickly took on the form of a portal, or a Gate as it was known in this world.
"Well it seems like we aren't done yet." I said with a laugh.
This wasn't something I recall happening in canon, but that was a good thing as far as I was concerned. It would be a bit too boring if things went the exact same.
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Author's Note:
Sup everyone, back with another chapter of Daemon. Felix finally makes contact with some of the stronger Hunters out there. I tried my best to show them off as confident and experienced individuals while also taking their recent experiences into account. They are mentally and physically worn out so they weren't at the top of their game. They knew Felix was a lot stronger so it would be dumb to attack right away, especially when they just learned that numbers don't matter against stronger people. Cough cough Beru.
Next chapter one of the bigger changes should be expanded on a bit, Felix's presence is already changing some things.
Thanks for reading, peace.
Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.
Last bit of editing -Omnax
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