That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime (WN) - 274 Extra Chapter
Diablo doubted his ears for a moment.
He could not understand what this man in front of him was saying
No, he could understand the words, but he was so angry that he wasn’t able to process them as quickly as he would have otherwise.
After all, for Diablo, lowering his guard even a little could result in him allowing his emotions to run wild.
And he had been holding back. He wanted to know for sure that he hadn’t misheard or misunderstood what had been said…
But the answer he received was enough to blow every bit of reasoning out the window for him.
-The pompous slime who calls himself a Great Demon Lord-
At that moment, Diablo started to consider the ways he would execute Godama.
(Hehehe. It’s been a while since my emotions have been so heavily affected. To anger me like this… This man is rather impressive, in a way…)
The only reason he didn’t act on his urge this very instant, was because he had made a promise to Souei.
Diablo was managing a great feat by restraining himself once again as he began to stand up from his seat.
But in that moment, the floor beneath him disappeared.
Having to hold back this rage that exceeded his own capacity had caused Diablo’s attention to disperse slightly.
Godama smirked.
The floor in front of the chair he was sitting on had disappeared completely.
The table, chairs and the floor under Diablo seemed to be getting sucked into the ground.
This was not an advanced trap such as a magic teleportation trap. It was a simple hole in the ground-a pitfall.
“Ahhhahahaha-ahahahha! This room and the underground pit are ‘Absolute Magic Spaces.’ They are sealed by absolute magic protection, and no magic can be used within them. No matter how strong a demon you might be, you will be much the same as any powerless human once inside! This is the power of human intelligence!!”
Godoma was full of glee as he laughed loudly.
This was his declaration of victory.
As for Diablo, who had fallen to the bottom of the pit, he calmly and lightly landed on his feet.
He could hear the hideous laughter from above, but it only helped in bringing back his sense of calm.
His emotions had already returned to normal, and Diablo found that he was even able to smile now.
“Hehehehe. As a reward for making me angry, I allowed myself to get caught in your trap. Now…”
It was possible for him to react the moment the floor vanished, but he felt that he was in danger of killing Godama out of sheer anger, and so Diablo had jumped into the hole himself.
Now that he was down there, he saw that the space was as large as a school gym.
The ceiling above was about ten meters away.
Diablo could have easily flown back up there, but there was something that bothered him and so he looked at his surroundings.
There was a line of golems that were unfamiliar to him in shape.
They were barebones in design, but he could see that they were quite practical.
A very thick armor of magic steel covered their entire bodies and they had huge bodies that were three meters tall.
And there were thirteen of them.
They were very imposing.
“Oh, how wonderful. Lord Rimuru will be very happy upon seeing this.”
Diablo muttered to himself. Just then, an eerie voice entered his ears.
“Hehehe. Can you hear me, Diablo? I am sure that your eyes have adjusted to the dark now, so you must have noticed the golems in front of you. Yes, those golems will preside over your deathbed. This Absolute Magic space contains no mana, and yet they have inside of them, magic storage units. They are the strongest of executioners. Still, as long as you do not resist, you will not have to feel any pain or fear. It will be easy. I will give you just enough time to pray. Be thankful for my generosity.”
Of course, it was the voice of Godama.
He was confident that he was in an advantageous position and was completely safe. His voice was insolent and haughty.
“Oh? You mean to kill me? You tell the most amusing jokes.”
“What? I am not joking. I am quite serious. After all, I am going to tell that slime that you went missing after leaving us. I will be sure that the others corroborate my story, don’t worry. Everything should go very smoothly.”
“I see. So, how do you mean to kill me?”
Diablo asked again. Godama snorted with irritation.
Then, as if explaining to a particularly stupid student, he began to talk with much venom in his voice.
“I merely have to give the order to those golems in front of you. They will kill you very easily. The Accommodationist scum also died down there, screaming and pleading when they realized they couldn’t use the magic they were so proud of. You will die in the same way.”
“Hmmm. Accommodationists? That’s very interesting.”
Diablo’s demon eye saw it. The traces of blood on the floor.
It was clear that it wasn’t just one or two people that had been executed here.
This was a holy place of education, and this was a crime worthy of death.
“Now, our conversation has started to get interesting, but it’s time to say goodbye. Do you have any final words?’
“Heheheh. Final? I have too many questions. Well then, since I have to cool down anyway, I think I will play along for a little while.”
“You arrogant little… Kill him! Destroyers!”
With Godama’s order, green lights appeared in the eyes of the golems.
-Immediately after, the underground space was filled with the sound of intense battle.
◆◆◆
After giving the order to the golems, Godama sat deep into his chair.
He was biting back the cry of victory that was welling up inside of him.
I did it!
I beat that demon. That Demon Lord, Diablo!
Now that he has been caught in the trap, there is no mistaking it. He is finished.
One Destroyer was equal to an Arch Demon. And there were thirteen of them. Magic was the strongest weapon for a demon, and he would have to fight while this ability was sealed…He would definitely lose.
With this, his fate was decided.
Godama relished the excitement.
Arch Demons were feared for their strength and were seen as demons of disaster.
During the empire’s long history, there had been many times that it was threatened by an Arch Demon.
It was because of this history, that the people of the empire saw Arch Demons as the embodiment of fear.
And yet the mystery of these great demons was slowly starting to unravel through painstaking research by humans.
And the thing that had been most useful was the ‘Absolute Magic Space.’
Mana used for summoning was replaced with a magic stone, then the room was completely closed off and sealed.
There were times when the summoner was killed, but the experiments with summoning horrible demons continued in secret.
As they did this, they eventually succeeded in capturing several Arch Demons.
And when they measured their abilities, they discovered that their energy was not consistent.
Weaker bodies had less energy, and those who had an established will tended to have much greater power.
The great demons of legend had likely been special beings who had lived for a very long time. That was the conclusion the research team came to.
And if they were right, then these Arch Demons were nothing to fear.
After all, all they would have to do was to call them once by partially summoning them. Once they confirmed whether or not it had a will, they could just send it back if it looked too dangerous.
Through these experiments, they became very adept at controlling demons.
Once they had the data, they had no use for the captured demons.
Godama had decided that there was no more need for experiments, and he had the demons exterminated.
And it was the Destroyers that were the most useful for doing this.
The most powerful golems that hunted down demons.
Godama was very proud of their power.
And he had thirteen of these reliable Destroyers, which meant that Diabo’s death was a definite thing-In any case, Godama believed this without doubt.
And so Godama thought:
They said he was the leader of the Great Demon Lord’s 12 Guardians. But it was absurd. He was just a demon, and everything else had been rumor.
However, this has great meaning.
Diablo was a demon who was called the right hand of the slime. Killing him would mean cutting off a huge portion of the Great Demon Lord’s power.
In that case…
It is not too unlikely that because of my contributions, I will become the leader of the Humanity Emancipation Alliance. That is what this means.
I will lead them to a new world!
Still, it had been so incredibly easy to trap him.
His eyes had been full of the confidence of the strong.
That’s why a wise man like me was able to easily lead him, just like taking the hand of a baby.
He had used the pitfall before in dealing with the Accommodationists, in other words, those who were in favor of recognizing the Great Demon Lord.
It had gone much better than expected, and Godama remembered just how surprised he had been.
It was the same this time as well.
The feared demon who was known by all, Diablo.
But the truth was that he was weaker than even an Arch Demon.
Godama laughed at this idea.
It was a common thing though, where rumors ran wild but the truth was most disappointing.
He was intelligent, and was able to have a physical body in this world while having 7,000 in energy, which made him a threat.
But that was all nothing now.
Godama was only thinking about his own future. He was drunk on fantasies of fame and glory.
“How silly it all is. I had heard that the Royal Knights that protected the emperor were no match for the Great Demon Lord’s 12 Guardians…but now we know that that story was false. Even I would not have chosen…”
“Really? The 12 Guardians are not so weak, you know?”
“Hahaha. What are you saying? I just finished taking care of their leader, Diablo. With my own hands.”
“Oh, that is impressive. Well then, who are you talking to right now?”
“What?”
Godama had been so absorbed in his own bliss, that it took him a moment to feel that something was wrong.
He had made sure that no one would disturb him in this room. And so no one should be here but him.
“Who are you…!?”
The voice came from behind him, and so Godama frantically turned around.
The person who was standing there was a beautiful demon with eyes that burned bright like fire.
The person who would throw Godama into the pits of despair.
-It was Diablo.
◆◆◆
“Giii, gieeeee!!!”
Godama’s shriek echoed in the room.
His eyes were widened as if he could not believe what he was seeing.
Diablo should have been turned into mince meat by the Destroyers, and yet, not only was he not wounded, his clothes weren’t even dirty.
Godama was too shocked to speak, but his eyes asked, ‘are you real?’
Diablo gave a thin smile and nodded.
“Too bad, eh? Turns out I am perfectly fine.”
Godama heard those words and was finally able to speak again.
While still in shock, he shouted at Diablo.
“It cannot be! Bastard. How did you escape my Destroyers…”
At this point, Godama’s brain started to function again.
His brain was finally able to understand who this person in front of him was.
“Gaaahhh!! Are yo-you really Diablo…!?”
His brain had tried to persuade him that this was not the case, but his brain had failed.
Godama’s face filled with panic and fear.
“Hehehe. Those golems were very entertaining. I was almost sorry that I had to break them.”
“Ho-how?! How did you break them?”
“How?”
Diablo tilted his head to the side as if he did not understand the meaning of the question.
“Don’t act dumb! You could not use magic. You had no power to use… And yet, how did you…?!”
Diablo nodded.
He knew now why Godama had been so surprised. And so he decided to be magnanimous and explain.
“It should be obvious. If I can’t use magic, then I just have to fight physically. What don’t you understand?”
Diablo answered as if it were the most obvious thing.
However, Godama was not satisfied.
“You’re talking nonsense! Those were Destroyers! Just one of them are capable of defeating an Arch Demon, and there were thirteen of them!! And you…you could not have beaten them without magic!!”
He was screaming now.
Godama’s brain was telling him that it was impossible. And he would not believe Diablo’s words.
As for Diablo, he smiled gently at Godama.
He wanted to show respect to someone who had so triggered his emotions. And while it was rare for Diablo, he decided to spend time to talk to him.
Either that, or Diablo had been so angry that he had started to grow numb…
“Yes, it wasn’t exactly easy. I was barehanded against those heavyweights, after all. However! That’s when I had an idea. Lord Rimuru had once said that ‘willows are weak, yet they bind other wood.’ And so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and calm myself down while fighting.”
Diablo explained.
However, while Diablo may intended to follow Rimuru’s words, the truth was different.
He had grabbed the arm of a golem that rushed at him, and tore the arm off with his strength.
The golem’s punch came with overwhelming force, and yet Diablo’s fist easily shattered it.
Diablo’s hand didn’t even look like it had much force behind it, and yet whenever it came in contact with a golem, that part would cave in and then blow away.
It was devastating.
It was simple. The greater power had crushed the weaker. That was all.
Indeed, he had not used any magic, but it wasn’t because he couldn’t.
He could have used it if he wanted, but he had no need for magic.
Not only that, but Diablo was also careful about how he destroyed the golems.
He thought that Rimuru would be very happy if he could make a gift of the golems to him.
And so he was careful to destroy them in a way that at the end, he would be able to take the parts and reconstruct a few that were perfectly whole.
For Diablo, the Destroyers that Godama was so proud of had no more value than a toy.
◆◆◆
“No…it can’t be…”
Diablo’s complete lack of conventionality was causing Godama to doubt everything that he had ever believed in.
Fearfully, he bent down and looked over the edge into the hole. There, as Diablo had said, was the broken Destroyers.
Finally, Godama started to regain his calm.
But that also meant fear.
Before he knew it, Diablo had sat down in his chair and was relaxing in a graceful pose.
Godama realized that Diablo was looking right at him, and his face turned pale.
It was at this point that Godama finally realized what kind of person he was up against.
One of Great Demon Lord Rimuru’s 12 Guardians.
They were demons with great power. And among them, Diablo was considered the head and the strongest of them all.
Someone that no one should ever touch-It was only now that Godama realized this.
(This is bad, bad-bad-bad-bad, bad!!)
His calm quickly left him again.
He was now ruled by fear and confusion.
(So that’s why those Accommodationist scum and the Moderates had said that the use of force was to be avoided at all cost…)
The Humanity Emancipation Alliance was an organization of people who were concerned about the future of humanity.
Not all of their members had the same ideas or principles, but they all believed that it was wrong for humans to be ruled by demons.
Among them, the Moderates were the great majority, and they had the largest voice.
Their argument was this, ‘direct hostilities towards the demon lords was to be forbidden and they would send their own people to various fields in order to widen their influence.’
As long as they were all human, it was only natural that their opinions would differ, but Godama could not forgive them.
He believed that the will of humans should be united, and that they should move to destroy the demon lords.
As for the Accommodationists who wanted coexistence with the demon lords, they weren’t even worth discussing. Both of these sides were nothing but groups of cowards to Godama.
And so Godama had always laughed in the shadows as the Accommodationists and the Moderates talked about the danger that the demons lords could pose…
(But it was I who was the fool…)
While Godama now knew the truth, it was too late.
Much too late.
The energy numbers that he had been so confident about meant nothing to the demon that was in front of him.
Because the person in front of him was so powerful that no numbers could be used to measure his strength.
The truth was that he had antagonised this incredibly dangerous person. And it was impossible to take it back.
“For-forgive me…”
He knelt before Diablo and begged as if praying.
Diablo’s smile did not move as he stared at Godama.
“I-I was a fool. Please, have mercy… Please spare my life…”
His eyes and nose were running as he pleaded with Diablo.
And then—
“Hehehe. Don’t worry. I don’t intend on taking your life.”
Diablo answered with a kind expression.
Godama shouted in his heart.
(Yes! He is not as cold as they say he is!)
“I-I am grateful…”
He was careful so that his expression did not show too much relief as he offered Diablo words of gratitude… However, he then realized that there was something strange about Diablo.
“Hehehehe. Yes, you will not be killed. Lord Rimuru does not like it when humans are harmed, and Souei scolded me about it. But more than anything, I still have some things I would like to hear from you.”
Diablo said. His expression suggested that he was truly enjoying this moment.
“Ah, right. So I cannot use magic in this room, was it? Then let me test it to see if that is true.”
He muttered, and then a chill ran up Godama’s back.
He had a bad feeling about this.
As this room was connected to the Absolute Magic Space, it was impossible to use magic behind the door. Or at least, that was supposed to be the case.
However, a magic circle now appeared in front of Diablo. The shadowy light was proof that magic was activating.
“Ho-how is this!? Magic within an Absolute Magic Space!?”
Godama had been shocked so many times today that his brain felt like it was about to explode.
This reality was not possible, and yet it was occurring right in front of him.
No-he realized that for this demon called Diablo, this was normal.
(So this is the kind of person I have provoked…)
Even considering it from his position as the first of the magic researchers, Diablo was completely abnormal.
And just as Godama became fully immersed in his regret, Diablo’s magic was completed.
And that magic was…
“That…”
“Very basic magic. Demon Bug Summoning. I summoned the bugs that live in the demon world. Aren’t they cute?”
They had many legs and resembled centipedes as they began to cover Diablo’s right hand.
Godama felt his heart begin to beat wildly as he watched.
His breathing became rough and the sound of his heartbeat seemed like it would destroy his eardrums.
(He, Diablo, what is he going to do with those…)
“Wh-what are you…”
“By the way, have you ever heard of treants?”
Godama’s question was ignored.
Of course, Godama did know what treants were.
They were a type of monster that looked like trees and were intelligent.
Godama wondered what Diablo meant by talking about them. Diablo continued.
“It’s good that you know. This demon bug is called Majuju, you see, and it has the ability to turn its host into a plant. Of course, this includes animals, monsters, demons and even humans. It can deal with any living thing, so do not worry.”
Upon hearing this, Godama felt as if he had been thrown into a deep pit of despair.
He had figured out what Diablo intended to do.
“You-you can’t! You don’t mean to…!?”
The Majuju was a fearful demon bug.
It was a bug from the demon world that made monsters and even demons its food.
There was no way for a human like Godama to resist it.
Godama felt fear deep within his heart.
The drawing room was filled with a very unique odor.
The hot vapors that rose from his groin were accompanied by something more solid that dripped behind him. Godama let out a sob.
“Forgive me! No-no! Anything but that!!”
He begged with desperation, but Diablo’s smile remained the same.
“Now, here is your new host.”
And then he unleashed the demon bugs on Godama with a look of pleasure.