Marcus looked at me with fear. The demonic contract had done its job—I could feel the connection between us, an invisible thread of magic that bound him to me. It wasn't slavery, but it was enough to ensure his loyalty.
"So," I said, leaning against the damp wall of the dungeon, "before I deal with your problem with the cult, I need you to bring me up to speed on the current state of the world."
Marcus nodded eagerly, the contract amplifying his willingness to cooperate. "What would you like to know, my lord?"
"Lord Noir is fine," I corrected. I didn't need excessive servility. "Let's start with the obvious—the Demon Lords. How many are there currently, and who are they?"
"There are currently four recognized Demon Lords," Marcus began, his voice taking on the tone of an academic giving a lecture—clearly his comfort zone. "The oldest and most powerful is Guy Crimson, known as the Crimson Demon or simply the Red. He rules from the White Palace in the far northern lands. It is said that he has existed since before written records were kept."
That matched what I knew. Guy Crimson was basically a god in terms of power in this world.
"No one in their right mind approaches his territory without an invitation," Marcus continued. "He is… he is like the sun. Everyone knows he's there, everyone respects his power, but no one wants to get too close or they might get burned."
"Interesting analogy," I commented. "Next?"
"Milim Nava," and the name came out with a reverential weight. "The Destroyer. Daughter of the Star Dragon, Veldanava. She is… well, she is a walking disaster."
That made me smile. Milim was one of my favorite characters from the anime—chaotic, powerful, and with the personality of a child despite being incredibly ancient.
"A disaster?" I repeated.
"She wanders the world doing whatever she pleases. Destroys mountains for fun. Fights monsters because she's bored. She has no fixed territory, rules nothing, she just… exists." Marcus shuddered. "About thirty years ago, there was an incident."
My senses sharpened. "What kind of incident?"
"A battle." Marcus swallowed. "Between Guy Crimson and Milim Nava. No one knows how it started—some say it was over territory, others that they just crossed paths at the wrong time. What is known is that it lasted seven days and seven nights."
I straightened up, genuinely interested now. This hadn't been mentioned in detail in the anime, at least not in the arcs I had seen.
"Seven days?" I repeated.
"Seven full days of absolute destruction," Marcus nodded, and I could see genuine fear in his eyes as he recalled it—or at least the stories. "The battle took place in what used to be the Astrid Plains, a fertile region between two kingdoms. By the time it ended… the Astrid Plains no longer existed. Now it's just a massive crater filled with residual magical energy so dense that nothing can live there."
I processed that. A seven-day battle between two of the most powerful beings in the world. The kind of fight that literally rewrote geography.
"And how did it end?" I asked.
"No one knows for sure. Some say it was a draw. Others say they got bored and simply left. What is known is that since then, they keep their distance. They are not open enemies, but they're not allies either. Rivals, I suppose, would be the best description."
Rivals. That made sense. Two beings of comparable power, each recognizing the other's strength but unwilling to submit.
I briefly wondered if I would end up in a similar situation with one of them someday. The idea was both exciting and unsettling.
"The other two Demon Lords?" I pressed.
"Ramiris, the Queen of Spirits," Marcus continued. "She is… peculiar. Much older than she appears, according to the records. She has some kind of connection to the spirits. She doesn't get involved much in world affairs, mostly staying in her own domain."
Ramiris. In the canon, she would eventually become friends with Rimuru. For now, she seemed just as distant as I remembered from the series.
"And finally, Luminous Valentine," Marcus's tone became more cautious. "The Vampire Queen. She rules the Holy Kingdom of Ruberios."
That made me pause. "The Holy Kingdom is ruled by a vampire?"
"No one knows officially," Marcus hurried to explain. "Publicly, Ruberios is a theocracy that worships Luminous as a goddess. Only those in the highest circles know the truth—that she is actually a Demon Lord and a vampire. She keeps her true nature very secret."
Luminous Valentine. I remembered some things about her from the source material—she was manipulative, political, and had been playing the long game for millennia. The kind of Demon Lord who won through strategy rather than brute force.
"So we have four Demon Lords," I summarized. "Guy, the oldest and most powerful. Milim, the chaotic destroyer. Ramiris, the distant one. And Luminous, the hidden manipulator."
"Those are the four currently recognized," Marcus confirmed. "Although there are rumors of other powerful beings who could eventually ascend to that title. But for now, it's just those four."
Interesting. In the original timeline, when Rimuru appeared, there were many more Demon Lords. Which meant that over the next two hundred years, things would change significantly.
A matter of opportunity.
"Tell me about the major nations," I said, changing the subject. "Politics, conflicts, power zones."
Marcus brightened—clearly he enjoyed showing off his knowledge. "The current political landscape is relatively stable, though tense. The Eastern Empire of Nasca is the greatest military power, ruled by Emperor Rudra. It has the largest army and the most advanced magical technology."
Rudra. That name was familiar from the light novel. An important figure in later arcs.