Published at 15th of July 2019 10:15 am

Chapter 272: Side chapter - Rimuru’s Elegant Escape Play - 23

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

The fight between the poison tiger and Berna continued.

It was the same with Irina and the four combat teachers.

Mondo was being beaten into a pulp by Rozari, but thanks to the capable healers, he was able to continue.

“I-I feel quite good now…”

He was starting to say, which had me worried.

Mondo, don’t push yourself too hard.

Don’t go there. It was annoying that I couldn’t warn him.

In any case, out of these three groups, it was Magnus who was the problem.

I had hopes that Julius would be able to persuade him, but it looked like I was just naive.

The four groups were in a sort of deadlock now, that is, until Magnus made a move.

“Why are you doing this?!”

“I didn’t just think of you as a classmate, I thought of you as a friend that I could share everything with!”

Julius asked. Karma shouted.

Magnus’s reply was filled with self-deprecation.

“Julius. I thought so too. But still, surely you can understand why I feel the way I do?”

“What?”

“Just like me, you had the burden of a country on your shoulders. I knew that you actually wished you could be closer with everyone. That soup, wasn’t it good? Everything tastes better when eaten with friends. But compared to that…cold food, it is hardly edible. It doesn’t matter how fancy or how great the ingredients are. Or how talented the cook is. The food that you eat alone has no taste…”

They must have been words from the heart. Because Magnus’s voice was tinged with sadness.

“Magnus…what do you…”

Julius asked.

Magnus’s answer was most surprising.

“I am a relative of the late emperor Rudra. The empire is now fighting over choosing a new emperor. The late emperor had not been married. So of course, he had no heirs, which means that one must be chosen from his relatives. And I was the one singled out. During these last ten years, the House of Lords have been in charge of the government. A House of Lords made of those who are selected by the Demon Lord. This means that they are under his management, and in this situation, we cannot be considered to be truly independent. The empire’s safety is assured and the subjects are moderately happy. However, there are those who are not satisfied with that. As I was a noble who had left the capital to live in a countryside town, I was deemed as having not been under the Demon Lord’s influence.”

Julius remained quiet.

They stared at each other, swords raised. But there was no strength in their grip.

“Magnus…you…”

Even Karma did not know what to say.

It was no surprise. This was a much heavier story than what you’d expect from his usually cheerful and friendly personality.

Even I found myself deep in thought.

Yes, the House of Lords really did govern the empire.

But they had only been under my management for the first year after the war. I had left things entirely to them after that.

However, they were under the impression that I was ruling them this whole time…

I could conquer the world if I wanted, but that didn’t interest me.

And so it was rather shocking to find out that the people of the empire saw me in that way.

The fact that there was no one who could replace the emperor, and that the seat had remained empty for so long was also a problem… But that was their problem.

Maybe it was irresponsible of me, but I never had any intention of looking after them to that degree.

Besides, peace that is bestowed on others can be lost just as quickly.

Whether they continue as they are now or do their best to achieve total democracy, that was not a problem that I would interfere with.

If someone who could do the right thing became their leader, then an imperial government would not be so bad.

[[That is a pipe dream.]]

Maybe it was, but democracy wasn’t much good if the people were all fools. There would probably be those who would keep the people ignorant and far away from politics. So they could do as they liked… A democracy was not always the right thing.

There wasn’t really a true answer when it came to politics.

And so I always thought that it would be more interesting to have some diversity in the way people thought and have multiple types of political styles.

In Tempest, what I think is correct becomes the law.

However, I could always be wrong. And so I do not tell other countries how they should be run.

That was what I thought…

But if I was going to be misunderstood like this, it might be a good idea to have an official discussion with everyone.

[[I don’t think it will be of any use. There are too many people with too many ideas. And it is not as if all of them could attend such talks.]]

That’s true.

In the end, everyone is selfish.

What they want to believe become justice, and everything else is evil.

There was no choice but to have people talk, compromise to different degrees and learn to work together.

[[Master, if you would only use ‘Thought Manipulation’, you could make them all united with a single will.]]

I did not like that.

A world full of ‘yes men’ would be boring and have no future.

Even though I could tolerate wars, I would not tolerate the binding of human will.

But, leaving that aside for now, if unhappy people like Magnus really were created due to my negligence, then I wished there was something I could do about it…

“Even I don’t believe that we can win against the Great Demon Lord. However, hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed. And it is those who are unable to forgive that are turning their blades against the Demon Lord. If he is angered, it could mean the ruin of the empire… And so I have no choice but to stop them…”

Magnus said as if he were spitting out blood.

That being said, did they really fear me that much…?

Did they think that I was some blood-thirsty Demon Lord?

“Magnus. The Great Demon King will understand you if you were to talk!”

Old William glanced at me before saying this.

I was so happy that I could nearly cry.

The other teachers were also trying to persuade Magnus.

But I felt like half of them were doing it to cheer me up, and not exactly for Magnus’s sake.

However, there arguments did little to change Magnus’s expression.

“I already know that! But what can I do… This is the only way…the only way we can…”

Hmm? He seemed a little strange…

[[Magnus’s mental energy is declining. On the other hand, his demon energy is increasing greatly. This reaction is above that of a Greater Demon. It is a Demon Lord.]]

A Demon Lord!?

He bypassed the Arch Demon and is going to call out the big boys? However, it is hard enough for a human to control an Arch Demon…

“Magnus, stop this! That is not something you can control! No human can!”

The person whose voice rang in order to stop Magnus was, surprisingly, Irina.

She was shouting desperately, but her voice did not seem to reach him.

[[The demon reaction is getting stronger. Mental contamination of the host is in progress. It seems that this…]]

According to Ciel, it seemed that Magnus had been hiding the core of an Arch Demon.

She said that he had probably had it securely sealed away and intended to draw power out of it when the need arose.

And for some reason, it had started to become active, and was working on Magnus’s conscience little by little.

Perhaps it was the events of the previous night… Maybe the demon had used the guilt he felt over abandoning his friends.

And now.

A black energy was surrounding Magnus’s body, changing it into the inhuman flesh of a powerful demon.

It was Magnus but it was not Magnus… It was something no longer human.

A being that was equal to the old Demon Lord.

Right in front of their eyes.

“Finally. I have finally gained a body that gives me freedom!”

That was what the Demon Lord said, with Magnus’s voice.

I ignored the voice and started to shout.

“Everyone, retreat! Come back!!”

Upon hearing my voice, all of the students moved at once.

The Demon Lord looked at all of this with deep interest.

But here the poison tiger stepped forward and looked threateningly at the Demon Lord.

“Hey, you guys come over here as well!”

I said to the members of the ‘Humanity Emancipation Alliance.’ But only two of them reacted.

“Let’s go.”

“But, Miss Irina…”

“Quickly! That thing will not differentiate between friend or foe!”

After this short exchange, Irina and Rozari crossed the defense line.

It was inside of the defense barrier that the magic team had created.

It was also a barrier between life and death.

“Hahaha, Magnus. You did well to make this decision. Good! Now, let us take the world together!”

“Phew, finally. If you hadn’t taken so long to go all out, we wouldn’t have been so underestimated by these students.”

Berna and Clad said as they walked towards Magnus.

No-the Demon Lord that looked like Magnus.

“Berna, Clad! Come back here!”

Irina shouted. But it was too late.

“Hehehe. No. I need more, more! Blood! Flesh! Despair and fear! Now, since this is my birthday celebration, I will allow you to partake by offering me your grief! Today! This day, now! Celebrate with me!!”

The Demon Lord shouted as he spread his arms.

This was very bad.

A Demon Lord could not be compared to an Arch Demon.

It had more power than the weakened Demon Lord that ruled this island-the Rock Elephant.

And on top of that, it’s energy was only increasing.

It had its own will and was clearly an old demon.

A demon with intellect.

He could not be compared with any simple monster. This one was much more dangerous.

And—

The Demon Lord began to move.

Ggkka!

Mkaa!

There was a blunt crushing sound.

In just a blink of an eye, several students began to scream in horror.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!”

Yes, they were afraid.

The Demon Lord had moved forward and crushed Berna’s and Clad’s heads in his hands.

And with such ease.

Neither of them would have had a chance to understand what was happening.

Perhaps it was the one relief in this situation. They had not tasted the fear…

In any case…

“Hehehe. That felt good. I will take on your ‘names’ along with your souls.”

Because Demon Lords eat souls.

Berna and Clad were not only brutally torn apart, but their very souls were lost.

That meant that they would fuse with the demon and suffer an eternal pain that’s worse than death.

It was their own doing, and yet, it was a disappointing end.

As for the Demon Lord…

“That is stupid… Giving yourself a ‘name’?! Impossible…”

Irina was right to be alarmed.

From birth, demons were not able to do such a thing.

But this demon seemed very strange to me.

It seemed like the anger that motivated him was much stronger than usual.

What if Irina and the others had done something very foolish during their experiment?

Something to enrage an intelligent demon…

“Hey, Irina. Let me ask you this, did you do any experiments with the demons? You wouldn’t happen to have done anything to an Arch Demon, would you?”

“I…”

“So you did? You idiot! You cannot even control them. How could you not understand that there are things you should not get involved in!?”

I was so exasperated that I could barely speak.

Ridiculous. That was all that was in my head.

According to her brief explanation, they had captured several Arch Demons and killed them.

Among them, one was chosen and sealed within Magnus.

They had thought it was safe, as they had made it so that it could only use as much power as a Greater Demon.

I’ve never heard something so ridiculous.

During the short time that I listened to Irina, the Demon Lord finished naming himself.

The incredible amount of energy was now stable, and I could tell at a glance that it was perfectly controlled.

Demons really were formidable beings.

“Kept you waiting, huh? I am ‘Bernaclad.’ You should all feel honored to have witnessed my birth.”

The Demon Lord introduced himself proudly. Bernaclad.

It pretty simple, just putting two names together. However, what was important was having a name. There was no use worrying about what it would be.

But the only people here who seemed to understand the significance of a name, was me and the teachers.

Now, what to do…

Perhaps I should no longer consider myself a spectator.

Because things had become much more complicated than I had been expecting.

◇◇◇

The first one to move was the poison tiger.

It roared loudly and then fearlessly moved in front of Bernaclad.

“Y-you… Are you trying to protect us…?!”

The students looked confused as it faced the demon.

“Hahaha! This is an amusing joke. A mere beast thinks he can match me. Very well, I shall play along!”

Bernaclad laughed happily.

And then he approached the poison tiger.

“Everyone, concentrate and support the poison tiger!”

Karma shouted.

It was as if his voice brought sanity back to the group. They all looked serious again as they began to move.

They were starting to gain nerves of steel.

Not a single student was crying or looked afraid.

Numerous colors of light rained over the poison tiger, strengthening it.

Against Bernaclad, no human would survive a single blow. Regardless of how buffed they were.

And so they all understood that the poison tiger was their lifeline.

Now, what was I to do?

I was happy to see how much they had grown, but it was still very likely that they would all end up very dead.

The poison tiger would only buy them a little time.

What was important for me, was that we did not lose anyone else.

And that I had to save Magnus.

Even more, I wanted to defeat Bernaclad without revealing my identity, if it was possible.

The third one might be difficult.

Well, I would figure it out when the time came.

The students watched the fight.

Perhaps Bernaclad was still playing, because it almost looked like an even match.

But as I said, it really was just a matter of time.

Because I could see clearly the difference in strength between Bernaclad and the poison tiger.

Just then…

“I didn’t expect this to happen… I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to involve all of you. I won’t ask you to believe me. But you should all escape to the shore. Master Jujilas has sent a request for rescue, so a boat should be here soon. I will buy you some time to make up for what we did. Now hurry!”

Irina stood up and said.

Rozari was the first to respond to her.

“Miss Irina, I will stay with you. I cannot leave Magnus alone.”

And then she stood next to Irina.

Oh, what now?

She was probably telling the truth about Jujilas calling for a rescue boat, but I had a feeling that part of it was just a hope that she had.

In the first place, that man could not be trusted. It would probably be bad to put any faith in this boat.

“Hey, Irina. Do you also have a hatred for Demon Lord Rimuru?”

“Hate? Yes, of course. My friends were killed. Old friends from back home. At the very least, I wanted him to experience the same pain as me. I would ruin the academy that was so dear to the Great Demon Lord…”

“You couldn’t have. Not with such a soft personality where you can’t watch as the students are killed off…”

“Be quiet. You don’t know anything until you try… And what is wrong with you anyway? You keep calling me, Irina, Irina, as if you know me. It’s very annoying, you know?!”

She had answered my question, but was also a little angry to have a younger student treat her so casually.

Well, she didn’t know who I was, so it was no wonder.

“Really? Well, that’s not important.”

I ignored her grievances and thought about what to do.

If the poison tiger couldn’t do it, there was no point in even considering Irina and Rozari.

Even if the teachers joined them, it would be of no use.

So…

“Karma. I got a telepathic message from the poison tiger! ‘I called my friends. You should all run!’ That’s it! It wants to help us…”

This report came from a teary-eyed beastkin student.

It seemed that they had bonded over a short period of time.

Still, this poison tiger was being very admirable.

A strange cry came from the sky above, and then a hedro griffin swooped down and attacked Bernaclad.

The friends that the poison tiger had called were the monsters of the island.

Bernaclad easily blocked the attack of the hedro griffin.

But then its feet were swallowed by the sand.

The sand scorpion had used its power to turn the earth to sand.

It then sunk into the sand, which was its domain, and when least expected, it appeared on the surface and fired off heat needles with its snake-like tail.

And yet, even that was not enough.

Bernaclad’s large hand emitted a hexagon-shaped magic shield that erased them.

There was too much of a difference in power.

Even the freezing dance of the ice naga was of no use.

Ice bullets shot out from all sides, leaving no room for escape. And yet Bernaclad’s barrier protected him.

***

And finally, the Rock Elephant appeared…

The ground quaked as the Rock Elephant fell from the sky.

Its immense body suggested incredible weight, and it was four meters tall.

A body with hard, rock-like skin and the head of an elephant.

It was a distorted creature, and it now made to attack Bernaclad.

As if to show that it was the ruler of this island, and that outsiders could not do as they pleased.

“DDDDOOORROOOON!!”

The roar was loud, and usually had the ability to bind and overwhelm any opponents.

However…

It seemed like little more than a light breeze to Bernaclad.

He smirked knowingly. It was the moment that he was sure that he was the strongest of all.

“Ahahaha! Yes, yes! More. Entertain me even more! Your rage, your hatred. You will forget all of it when you see how much fun we are having! And then after it all, we will eat that tasty looking food over there!”

He was looking at us now. Bernaclad’s expression was full of evil glee as he slobbered.

What a creep.

“Now, hurry! You must all escape!!”

Irina urged us on.

But it was clear that no one would be able to escape.

Bernaclad-a demon who was exceptional enough to give himself a name.

Apparently, he started as an Arch Demon, but through eating a number of other demons, he had evolved into a Demon Lord.

And through acquiring a name, he was able to stay in this world and gain even more power.

He exceeded the old Demon Lords. A true monster.

And he was in the upper ranks among the Demon Lords—as strong as Moss, who was Duke in rank.

No, perhaps he was even stronger than Moss.

Humans had hurt his pride as a demon… In spite of being a spiritual life form, this demon had become mentally ill.

The result was this. Increased power through eating your brethren and evolving into a different being.

As Moss was only a clone, he would just become food for Bernaclad.

(Lord Rimuru. What should I do? Do you want me to go and give him a good punch?)

Came the ‘thought transmission’ from Laplace.

He must have been watching us and realized that the Rock Elephant was not going to win.

Hmm, what to do…

(Though, that might not be a bad thing…)

-But I wanted to save Magnus.

It was probably time to end this whole charade.

These past few days have been very entertaining.

I was satisfied. And so maybe it would be a good thing to end it here.

In that case, I might as well…

“Alright, I made my decision!”

I moved in front of the students and stopped just before passing the defense line.

The students and teachers were trying to decide whether to run away or not.

But now they all looked at me.

“Hey, what are you…”

Irina called out to me as if in panic or anger. But I just laughed.

If things continued like this, the Rock Elephant and everyone else would die. I could not let that happen.

But more than anything, this Bernaclad bastard was insolent enough to joke about eating my precious students.

He had to be properly punished for that. Or it wouldn’t feel right.

I was sympathetic about his mental issues, but it really had nothing to do with me.

(Moss. I’m going to deal with that demon. In the meantime, I want you to heal the monsters.)

(Certainly!)

Moss bowed and then disappeared.

(Laplace, Tear. Come over here.)

(As you wish!)

(Understood!)

Laplace and Tear immediately moved on my command.

They appeared before me in an instant and kneeled.

The students watched this in shock.

“Wh-what?!”

“Ah!? Aren’t those guys the abductors? Why are they with Master Satoru!?”

Shock and confusion spread among them.

The teachers were the quickest to understand. Old William took the lead as hr came up next to Laplace and kneeled.

I gave them a sidelong glance as I moved forward again.

This time, I took a step outside of the barrier.

“I will show you all a very special type of magic. A one-time magic of dreams.”

“Sa-Satoru…no, Master…what are you…”

“Come back, it is dangerous! You aren’t a student, and we’re grateful for your instructions during the past few days. But the rest is our duty as students…”

“Master Satoru, the magic you conceived is wonderful, but I still don’t think it is enough to beat a Demon Lord level monster!”

Mondo shouted.

Julius tried to stop me.

Marsha questioned whether it would work.

I raised my hand to silence them all and answered them.

“Yes, yes, be quiet. As your teacher, I am going to protect you all from that demon.”

I said as I took off the swirly glasses.

My hair, which had been dyed black now changed into a glimmering silver. And my eyes changed to gold.

This transformation was quite dramatic, and the students were all taken in by the sight.

And there were a few sharp ones who saw this along with the attitude of the teachers, and came to a realization… However, they didn’t seem quite brave enough to admit it…

“Could, could it be!?”

“…Yes…The Great Demon Lord…Rimuru…!?”

“N-no… It can’t be. Why would the Great Demon Lord be in a place like this?”

“But, Master… Master Satoru even cooked for us! There is no way…”

“Right? Why would the Great Demon Lord cook for us!?”

“All of you, enough with the jokes! If he really was the Great Demon Lord, would I or Julius still be alive!?”

“…That’s true?”

They argued like that, trying desperately to deny the conclusion they had almost reached.

Some of them rejected the reality while others sat weakly on the ground, too exhausted to think.

Irina also rejected this idea, and so I was currently able to fool them.

I still considered it only a matter of time before their suspicions turned into conviction…and I would be exposed… But I needed to get rid of the danger before that happened.

Bernaclad.

I didn’t harbor any hatred towards him, but his fate had been decided the moment he started talking about eating my students.

-Now, let me show the real power of a Demon Lord.

I smiled and took another step forward.

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