Thanks to Stolas"s monster who had Transfer, we arrived in the [Dragon] Demon Lord"s dungeon.
The Transfer array we arrived at wasn"t within the [Dragon] Demon Lord"s dungeon but instead in a ruined stone temple a little bit away from the dungeon itself.
"Stolas, you don"t have a Transfer array installed directly in his dungeon?"
"Isn"t this the common practice? If, for example, an enemy gains access to a Transfer array that leads to somewhere within my dungeon, it"ll put me in mortal danger, wouldn"t it? So if I must install a Transfer array within my dungeon, it"ll have to be in a hidden and heavily-guarded room."
When she told me like that, I had to agree. After all, it didn"t matter who installed the array, any monster that had Transfer could use it.
But then again, it wasn"t such a danger to me since my Transfer arrays were located in the city part of my dungeon which was always readily accessible from the real world anyways. Still, I should avoid risks whenever possible.
It might become a little troublesome but I decided that it was better to move the Transfer arrays somewhere outside of Avalon"s walls.
"As I thought, monsters that can use Transfer are really useful, aren"t they? Which medals did you combine to make one?"
While we were walking toward the [Dragon] Demon Lord"s dungeon, I asked the question that was in my mind.
"Do you expect me to tell you that for free?"
"How about in exchange for that information and the imitation of the medal you used, I"ll provide you with two imitation medals of your choosing? The imitation medals I can make are [Flame], [Water], [Earth], [Person], [Planet], [Song], [Alchemy], and [Hero]. How does that sound?"
I didn"t mention [Beast], [Wind], and [Dragon] to her since I knew that at one point in time, she had possession of the original medals for those and thus could simply spend DP to make an imitation of her own.
"That"s a charming offer but unfortunately, the original medal I used so that I can make a monster with Transfer was just a B rank medal I got from trading my [Wind]. Making an imitation medal out of it will further drop its rank to C. The chances of making a monster with Transfer is doubtful, at best."
"That is really unfortunate."
Even when combined with an A rank medal, a C rank imitation medal could only rarely produce a B rank monster since most of the time, the result would be a C rank monster.
On the other hand, Transfer was such a high-ranking ability that to be able to use it, a monster had to be at least B rank.
Probably the greatest deal breaker was that even if I used my [Creation] medal to guarantee the resultant monster had Transfer, the strongest it could be was an A rank monster.
This, to me, felt like an awful waste of my [Creation] medal; if I was going to make use of it anyway, I wanted the result to be an S rank monster.
"So what is it going to be, Procell? If the deal"s still good to you, I don"t mind going forward with it."
"Yeah, it"s still good to me. Which imitation medals do you want?"
When I asked her that, she looked slightly worried.
I agreed to the deal because an idea came to me. Rather than using the imitation medal I was going to receive, I would just make [Creation] change into that medal. This way, I could get an S rank monster.
Giving out two imitation medals for this information was by no means a waste to me.
"Okay. Then, I guess I"ll take [Planet] and [Song]. They seem to have good affinity with my [Wind]."
"Alright. I"ll make them right away. [I Shall Compose]"
I took out my Demon Lord Book, paid the necessary DP, produced the two imitation medals, and then handed those to Stolas.
"Thank you. As for my side of the deal, here, take this."
It was her turn this time to purchase an imitation medal and hand it over to me.
"So this is the medal you used when you created that monster, huh?"
{{[Phase] medal: B rank. Grants the ability to control s.p.a.ce to the monster. Grants small bonuses to magic power and agility.}}
The one I got from her was a [Phase] medal.
Its rank and its bonuses were low but I was very grateful for the ability to control s.p.a.ce.
The only original medal I had on hand was [Time]. The cooldown period would be over soon though and I could make another of my [Creation] medal.
A monster that commanded both time and s.p.a.ce seemed like an awfully powerful one but it was highly risky to not have any original medal on hand. It was especially so at this moment since if I did use the original medals, there wouldn"t be enough time to raise the newly-born monster"s level and a low-level monster wasn"t really a great addition to my fighting force even if it was an S rank.
For the meantime, it was better to wait and see; to always be prepared and have original medals for an effective use of [Rebirth] in the off chance that Kuina or any of the girls were in mortal danger.
"Thank you, Procell. Even though they"re only imitation medals, I"m very grateful to be able to obtain such rare medals."
"I should be the one saying that. This [Phase] medal is just the kind of medal I wanted."
It was a very fruitful deal for the both of us. If possible, I would like to continue having a favorable relationship with Stolas.
"Stolas, have you already cleared your [War] quota?"
"No, not yet but I"ll be doing my first one in a month"s time. Actually, I already received the declaration of war for it."
"Well, I"m confident that you will have no trouble in winning."
I couldn"t imagine her losing to any Demon Lord in our generation other than me.
"I absolutely will win. I can"t fall behind you, after all. I"ll also break a crystal and be able to make another original medal. ……it"s a shame though; as we break crystals, we only get more options on which original medal to make for that month. Wouldn"t it be better if it instead allowed us to create multiple medals each a month?"
"Yeah, it sure would."
I smiled wryly to her little complaint. I also thought the same, after all.
If each crystal we broke not only increased the variety of medals we could make but also increased the total number we could produce in a month, I would have been able to obtain 4 original medals per month. And if that was so, I wouldn"t have to worry so much about my lack of original medals.
"Also, I"m sorry for asking but when will I be compensated for the last time?"
For a moment there, I was at a loss for words.
I just remembered I still haven"t properly compensated her for helping me out during my [War] with three other Demon Lords. In return for her help, I had promised her two things.
The first was that if ever she was the one in trouble, I would come to her help as well. The second was that I would welcome her in my city and entertain her to the best of my ability.
Truth be told, I had other forms of compensation in mind but those were what she requested.
"After I help out Marcho, I"ll send word to you as soon as possible. I might be repeating myself but my city truly is wonderful. I"m sure you"ll be enjoy it."
"I"m looking forward to it, then. For that reason, you have to rescue Marchosias-sama right away!"
Stolas said so with tightly clenched fist.
She and Marcho had only met once but it seemed that she really had greatly respected Marcho.
Maybe it has something to do with the both of them being female Demon Lords.
Like so, we hastened our pace toward the [Dragon] Demon Lord"s dungeon.
◇
The [Dragon] Demon Lord"s dungeon was a gigantic and rustic ruined castle.
It was ruined and yet it would still frighten whoever saw it.
Before even entering, the heavy atmosphere lingering outside would make one know that whatever was within that castle was powerful.
Many adventurers were coming and going. What was astonishing was that each of those adventurers was of a high level. By the sight of the many strong people from all over the world, I was convinced that this dungeon indeed sold itself as a high difficulty dungeon. It prioritized quality over quant.i.ty.
Anyway, we entered the dungeon, walked some more, and then found a hidden room. In there was a female monster that greatly resembled Stolas"s monster who had Transfer.
As I had guessed, the female monster in the room transported Stolas and me. Not directly to Astaroth"s room, of course, but to the guest area just before it.
It seemed like we weren"t going to be called in right until their preparations were in order. In the meantime, I brought Wight out from my [Storage].
"My lord, is it my turn soon?"
"Yeah. We"re about to meet with the leader of the dragons so let"s proceed with caution."
"I who have the body of the lowest of dragons am feeling a little nervous to meet the one that stood at the top of us dragons."
Despite saying so, he somehow seemed looking forward to meeting Astaroth.
"Oto-san, there are many strong monsters around here. This place is kinda dangerous."
Kuina who was silent for some time warned me so. The furs on her tail stood on end, further telling me she was on guard.
In truth, I felt the same.
There were a number of individuals with strong magic power in the vicinity.
s.h.i.t. I expected things to be this way but at this rate, even if we try our hardest to escape using Wight"s [Berserk], Kuina"s [Transform], and the other aces I have up on my sleeve, it will be d.a.m.n hard. I have to be more than cautious in the upcoming negotiations.
As I thought such, the monster that transported us returned.
"[Creation] Demon Lord Procell-sama, [Wind] Demon Lord Stolas-sama, my lord is ready to receive you now. Please follow me this way."
We followed after her and was brought to the next room.
Now, I wonder how [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth will react.
◇
The room that we entered was an endlessly vast desert. Somewhere in the bleak ground was a throne and sitting atop it was the [Dragon] Demon Lord Astaroth.
His appearance was that of a middle-aged man with a dragon"s wings and tail.
And around him were four gigantic, kneeling dragons.
When I came near enough, the majesty around him stretched out and reached me in greeting.
"Welcome, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell. I have been meaning to have a leisurely talk with you."
He smiled lightly and talked to me so.
"I should be the one to say so. It is an honor to have been able to meet you. I am deeply grateful to you for setting aside time to meet with an inexperienced person such as myself."
Almost unconsciously, I went down on my knees and bowed. My instincts loudly screamed I had to do so.
"Be at ease. You are neither my child nor my subordinate. We are equals here."
His words contained the opposite of kindness.
It was though I was told that no ounce of leniency shall be given for any mistakes; and that never shall I be allowed to act like a brat just because I was a new Demon Lord.
Being confronted with those facts, even though I felt tense, I also felt excited.
"Before we go to the main topic, I would like to express my grat.i.tude to you. Thanks to the [Dragon] medal I got, I was able to make such a wonderful monster."
In rhythm to my words, Wight did an elegant bow.
"Ohh, a monster with such tremendous power. Created monsters usually aren"t this strong. This surprised me. To return the favor, I"ll show you a monster I am truly proud of."
He then raised a jeweled staff that was set in his throne. Upon doing so, a gigantic shadow descended from the dark sky.
It was a reddish-brown, winged dragon that measured twenty meters long. The four dragons that surrounded Astaroth were terribly strong monsters but even they paled in comparison to the one that just arrived.
"This one here is my trump card. His name is Caesar. As for his race, that will be secret for now."
Depending on one"s level, a Demon Lord could see certain information about a monster.
If even I, who at this point of time had considerable power, couldn"t even view this monster"s race name, then it surely was a monster with out-of-this-world power.
Wight, in the meantime, was wide-eyed and trembling.
He had obtained, during the fight against the humans, a skill called [Dragon Emperor] which gave him dominion over those of the dragon race. So for him to still feel fear…
"I see, it has [Dragon Emperor] too? And a higher ranking one, at that, it seems."
"Kah, kah, kah. Splendid. I didn"t expect you to see through it at first sight. Caesar, as my trump card, is the cornerstone of my strongest unit. As long as I have Caesar, my dragon unit is unrivaled."
I thought on the meaning of his words.
What kind of use can [Dragon Emperor] be applied in?
The answer to that came to me immediately.
I see, that will indeed make them unrivaled. Being broken will be an understatement.
Getting on his good side was now even more encouraging.
"So it means that it can draw out the full potential of the [Dragon] medal, right?"
"Correct. You truly are smart, enough so that I want you as my subordinate."
He and I then laughed together.
With that, the opening act was finished and it was about time to get to the main topic at hand.
Right when I thought so, Astaroth cleared his throat and then faced Stolas.
The look he gave her was completely different from the one he gave me.
"Welcome to you too, Stolas. Have you lost some weight? You can back here from time to time, you know? Are you being bullied by anyone? You can talk to me about anything, okay? You don"t have to yourself back."
The voice he used to speak with Stolas was one full of worry.
A lot of things were suddenly out of place. From a majestic, powerful Demon Lord, he suddenly became a grandfather that was greeting his visiting grandchild.
"I"m doing fine. I"ll do just that. But today, let"s hear out Procell"s story."
"Hmm, okay, okay. Now then, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, let us discuss the reason you came here."
From being the doting grandfather, he switched back to being the majestic and powerful Demon Lord. Even though the change was too fast that it was perplexing, the original tension in the air was somehow also brought back.
"Yes. Right now, my parent, Marchosias-sama who is a friend to you, Astaroth-sama, is being attacked by several Demon Lords. I came here today to ask you to join me in lending her some aid."
Getting him to help was my reason for coming here. And after seeing Caesar who had [Dragon Emperor], I wanted his help even more.
"About that, I already know of the circ.u.mstances that Marchosias is in even before you told me. I hope you didn"t really think I had no knowledge of it."
"Yes, of course, I expected you to know about it."
First-cla.s.s Demon Lords all possessed their own network of information. It was weirder not to know of a great incident like this.
"Hmm, then, my answer should be obvious: I have no intention whatsoever to help Marchosias. [Creation] Demon Lord Procell, coming here was a waste of your time."
Of course I already expected that but my purpose in coming here wasn"t to confirm whether or not he would help; it was to persuade him into helping.
I was well aware that one wrong step and I might enrage him and yet, changing of one the strongest Demon Lord"s mind still had to be done, regardless of the difficulty, in order to save Marcho.
Now, let the negotiations begin. I"ve already thought up of my bargaining chips. All that remains now is to act with courage.