Harbingers of Change

Chapter 2

Quickly hustling to follow up on Kagali's previous suggestion right after the meeting ended, Momonga decided to tackle the soul-gathering situation in advance of the upcoming battle. The invading army was still days away from crossing the border into Tempestian lands, even as they ate through their supplies and gathered their men, but it was better to ensure everything worked as intended.

A mistake on the battlefield could cost them precious lives, no matter how small, as all understanding lives under his dominion were highly valued in his mind. If the soul gathering abilities failed during the grand charge, hundreds of thousands of usable souls would go to waste since hectic battles meant little time to adapt, something Momonga had no intent to allow.

The former Demon Lord of Curses had proven to be far more useful than Momonga first anticipated, even surpassing his and Demiurge's high expectations. At first, their observations before her capture and subsequent enthrallment had led them to believe she would be worth little more than insurance; the other clowns and Clayman would be far more useful in the field. There was even the possibility that she would lose her main source of value - her control of the Free Guild - upon imprisonment, lowering her value in their eyes even further.

Clayman held dominion over one of the larger nations of the world, rivaling tens of human kingdoms put together and other Demon Lords such as Frey and Carrion. His territory, through basic scouting of shadow demons and now his reports, contained tens of thousands of majins, millions of sentient monsters, and tens of millions of dark elves and demihumans, most of whom were hardened from generations of living in the harsh climates of Jistav. He, himself, was also part of the Demon Lord council, meaning his sources of information could access beings beyond what Buku could weasel out of Ramiris or Milim.

The rest of the clowns, Tear, Footman, and Laplace, were all S-rank in danger levels, meaning they could handle a good portion of Nazarick's enemies besides the most notable ones such as Hinata. Tests had shown their fighting abilities being capable of downing their undead armies with relative ease, if given enough space to work with, and had supplied valuable data both regarding possible future battles and the Western Nations' politics.

What he failed to truly take into consideration was that she was their creator, despite having lost power from her peak centuries past, and still held knowledge that no one else alive or within their grasp possessed, erased or buried since ancient times. Knowledge that could revolutionize their overall power structure, if it worked as she thought it would, pushing their already immense military might even further. Her expertise on the battlefield and more niche magics elevated their military command effectiveness by spades, and only further delighted Demiurge further during capture missions.

As it was most times when he worked on skill-related topics, Momonga sat on the Throne of Kings with Albedo sitting on a smaller chair beside him, doing his paperwork. Unlike other times, today, there were three additional figures present; Demiurge, Pandora's Actor, and Kagali, to offer advice and assistance. Rubedo wanted to be there, but she was working with Cocytus to train their elite Tempestian soldiers while he handled training the normal soldiers.

Kagali had already taught the soul-gather ritual to those present, even detailing the extensive requirements for people to hold onto souls due to a soul's fickle nature, but Momonga wanted to automate, streamline, and mass-spread the process. The most logical approach to this was to create an Extra-grade subskill within Nazarick and allow his son to distribute it to those they deemed fit. Converting it into a skill meant they could more efficiently distribute the ability, and keeping it below Unique but above Common would give it enough power to function.

As the saying goes, 'practice makes perfect', and at this point after months of delving into the depths of Nazarick, it didn't take much effort, time, or energy to create a new subskill from raw skill circuits, give it all the necessary properties, and carve it into what he knew of Nazarick's sub-skill and inter-soul connections. He, as the main holder of Nazarick, would be the final carrier of all the gathered souls, as he had its most powerful version, Soul Harvester, at his fingertips. He could also collect souls from thousands of meters away, so long as his enemies were within eyesight.

The same level of skill could be given to floor guardians and other beings of similar power levels, except with a slight redirection to himself. Which in essence could be used as an overlay to all damaging abilities and automatically harvest the souls of the fallen enemies, meaning even one floor guardian rampaging through armies could collect tens of thousands of souls in minutes with relative ease.

A step below Soul Harvester was a lesser version of the sub skill called Soul Collector. It worked in almost identical ways to its superior version, took far less strain on one's soul, but in turn, wasn't applicable to the same degree in terms of range. This version was distributed to most of Nazarick's natives, including the strongest pop monsters, and the majority of Tempest's citizens somehow involved in military or government matters. They could still hold souls, but only temporarily, before sending it off to himself, and had a reduced range of a few hundred meters.

Finally, the least powerful version, Soul Gatherer, could be used by pretty much everyone, save for the weakest pop monsters like base skeletons or slimes, and could only collect individual souls at a greatly slowed pace. Users couldn't temporarily hold souls but only transfer nearby ones within the users' immediate vicinity to him or herself, basically tens of meters. Basically, only useful in close combat by weaker citizens and be used by said citizens in desperate situations like ambushes.

The combination of three levels was enough to ensure a complete harvest of the enemy souls, leaving none behind by his army and himself. This would all be complemented with multiple soul-catching barriers, preventing any souls from leaving the vicinity for the time being assuming Hinata and her forces never noticed them. Kagali was relatively sure that souls could still be collected if a holy barrier went up, but Momonga had legions of suicide skeletons prepared by Pandora just in case the crystals were empowered.

How they could be utilized was unclear at this point, but if Kagali's suspicions were true, they could be used to awaken as a Demon Lord, which in turn had its implications and benefits. Without a doubt, there were at least a few individuals within Nazarick who would qualify for such empowerment, although he did not know quite yet whom specifically.

The fact that souls could be used as fuel for evolution meant that souls themselves held usable energy, something that could be utilized in the future once enough data had been gathered. But Momonga quickly tempered his imagination of using the souls of his enemies for fueling weapons and the like when Pandora finally looked up from his version of a tablet.

Once Pandora had finished the distribution of the new skill, Momonga stood up from the throne, announcing, "All that remains is to test it. Demiurge, do you have a target in mind?"

"A small church in Falmuth would be a perfect target. Located in an isolated village with only a singular road connecting it to the nearest city weeks' travel away, its removal will go unnoticed for at least a month. The church can hold up to one hundred and twenty-four people, and during sermons between ten and one hundred and ten people are present at any given point in time." The Demon replied, tucking his maps back into his suit.

"Excellent. I think it's a great time to summon one of Diablo's subordinates." Momonga mentally called upon his dutiful attendant, always ready to serve.

Diablo appeared before Momonga could even finish his order, immaculate as always. "You called for me, my Lord."

"Take one of the kijin corpses stored from the previous war and summon one of your subordinates. I require a partly expandable test subject. You can perform the summoning and possession here."

"As you wish, I will summon one of the archdemons under my control." Diablo bowed and disappeared.

'A demon who has archdemons under his command? Just how high in the hierarchy is he? He isn't wearing the ring, so I assumed he wasn't that powerful.' Kagali mused, turning to Demiurge with an unspoken question.

She had seen the demon a few times and according to Clayman, Empress Elmesia had made a fuss about him during the banquet, but it was unclear why exactly. The most likely explanation was that it was an archdemon, and was a troubling sight on its own. Even Laplace would have a hard time defeating a named demon of that level, and that was with his centuries of experience and deathman's majin benefits.

"You are curious about Diablo?" Demiurge whispered, glancing at the elven woman.

"His nature is not that surprising, if I am to be honest. I know Lord Momonga could easily control an archdemon. I was just wondering how ancient he is to be able to summon an archdemon under him." Kagali whispered back.

"Oldest there is. Diablo, previously known as Noir, is the black primordial demon. A quite curious case. He came with the express wish to serve Lord Momonga without any other desire in his heart and passed the strict scrutiny of Albedo. This is the reason he enjoys his high position and the level of trust." Demiurge spoke with a notable hint of respect in his voice.

It was a rare occurrence that the demon held such a high opinion of anyone outside Nazarick, and that only scared Kagali more. And then she finally understood the knowledge she had been gifted, her mental health being hit by a carriage.

'Primordial!? A named primordial is serving as a freaking butler!?' Kagali's knees nearly gave out. To her, a primordial demon was an unimaginable monster, equal to the first demon lord Guy who has reigned over the Cardinal World since before current recorded history, and there was one acting as a loyal servant and being named on top of it RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER!

'No wonder Elmesia freaked out seeing him! How lucky I was to be spared, if Lord Momonga can casually control monsters like him.' Kagali was once again thankful for the opportunity to join the ranks of Nazarick, even if she was on the bottom of the pecking order, vowing to warn her children once again. If they pissed off this butler, she doubted she would even be able to retrieve their souls for resurrection once more.

Diablo returned a moment later and placed a frozen corpse on the red carpet. Without any hesitation, he placed his arm over the corpse as the summoning circles shined underneath it, many thick ones flashing brightly with shades of gray and black.

The corpse jolted upright and reshaped into a young woman with a pale face and pitch-black eyes and hair. Armed with razor-sharp black claws and reshaped horns, a pitch-black knee-high dress appeared to finish the transformation.

The newly summoned archdemon kneeled before Diablo. "What do you wish for me to do, Lord Diablo?"

"You now belong to my master, Lord Momonga. You will carry out his will without hesitation." Diablo motioned to turn her attention to the undead ruler, who stared intently at the newly summoned archdemon.

"Understood. From now on, I will consider Lord Momonga my master." The demoness replied nodding, remaining in a kneeling position.

"Pandora, give her the skill. Demiurge, show her the location." Momonga ordered his subordinates. "You will kill everyone in the given location and collect their souls, leaving behind no witnesses. Do this within ten minutes and I will give you a name."

"You are too kind, my Lord." The demoness uttered in reverence as she was given all the necessary details. She paused for just a moment, analyzing the newly given Skill and her new powers, then disappeared.

The moment she disappeared, Demiurge brought out a mirror of remote viewing and displayed the already unveiling massacre. The demoness was brutal and effective, tearing apart the surprised churchgoers with her bare claws as she flew from wall to wall. It took her less than a minute to kill forty-six people and send their souls back to Nazarick, reaping another twenty-three within the next as she sliced apart fleeing adventurers. As the last act of coverup, she set the church ablaze and teleported back, once again kneeling before Momonga.

"Excellent work. I see you will be a useful servant. Keep serving me and I shall reward you even more." Momonga reverted fully to the ruler persona, which at this point was practically his natural state given how long he had been ruling.

As with many cases of the past, he already knew what name to give to the demoness despite having not deliberated upon it. Since she was a low-tier archdemon, naming her didn't require nearly as much energy as it was necessary to give Diablo a name, and he readily supplied her the magicules she needed.

"I will name you… Beretta." Momonga allowed his energy to flow into the named demoness. Similar to Diablo, she wrapped herself into a wing-created cocoon, and moments later she emerged slightly changed from her evolution. She was quite powerful for an archdemon, having reached what Diablo quickly informed him to be a demon peer.

'Once again, I knew what to call her. This… Rimuru, Chloe talked about, is highly influential. I shall need to reinvestigate him once again, to see where else his presence affects me.'

Her physical appearance didn't change much, save for her previously completely black eyes gaining golden irises, and her torn dress replaced by an elegant one, giving her the appearance of a well-off young noble lady. Her claws were replaced with fine-gloved hands, paired with pitch-black high heels and even a pair of glittering earrings.

"I am immensely thankful for the name you have granted me, my Lord. How can I be of further use to you?" Beretta inquired, taking a kneeling position from her evolution.

"I have no immediate tasks for you. Hmm, Albedo, can you conduct a short interview and determine what position would be best suited for Beretta? A servant of her caliber would be a great addition, no matter where she ends up." Momonga turned to his head consort.

The demoness was well within S rank after the naming, judging by the magicule amount contained within her. Left in Diablo's care, she likely would be turned into another maid, and that would be a waste. Even putting her into the military would be a better option when he already had so many maids.

"As you command, Lord Momonga." Albedo glanced at the demoness critically and motioned for her to follow, stepping down from her miniature throne.

"Soul gathering is working just as intended. Thank you for your input." Momonga sincerely thanked Kagali.

"I live to serve," Kagali stated with a short bow in response.

"I firmly believe that servants should be rewarded for good work. With that in mind, how do you wish to be rewarded?" Momonga asked.

'I wonder if she will ask to be upgraded to a regular servant instead of being a slave? But she is smart enough to not be so obvious.' Momonga's curiosity peaked at what the clever elven woman would ask for, knowing it could be valuable if investigated properly.

"I know it is much to ask, but I would request a large reward once I have done enough to earn it," Kagali spoke cautiously, peering at his and Demiurge's reaction.

"Go on. I am interested to know what you consider a large reward." Momonga inquired further.

"When we start crafting deadmen from the corpses of enemies, I would like to create a new body for myself. The current one I am using limits my power and is not immune to aging, meaning eventually I will leave this world. Even the demoness you just named, my Lord, was not at her full potential due to the body granted to her constraining her magicule output. Though in her case, I suspect she was near her natural limit, and a stronger body was not needed as much compared to me."

"So strong demons should be given deadman bodies? But didn't you say that deadmen would be sentient upon creation? Wouldn't that cause problems?" Momonga asked the rather obvious question.

"I wouldn't say that they would be sentient. Just have the intelligence to become sentient within a short time frame. If the body is possessed immediately after creation, the installed mind is erased." Kagali explained, motioning toward her own body.

"In that case, you will be permitted to create a new body for yourself. But considering the cost, I expect you to serve me just as dutifully."

"I would devote myself fully for the betterment of Nazarick, even without a reward, but with my full power, I can become a far better servant. I will be able to easily ascend another rank, in mortal terms, perhaps two."

The new revelation made the gears turn in Momonga's head. "Diablo, you are also possessing the body of a kijin if I'm not mistaken. Doesn't that limit your power as well?"

"I am fully capable of performing my duties with this body. I would not dream of wasting Nazarick's valuable resources on something trivial as personal power. My master, it would be more practical to use these bodies to summon more demons in your service." Diablo remarked, a half-smirk plastered on his face similar to the one Demiurge was often wearing.

"As recent events have shown, it is safer to have all possible power at our disposal. Every member of Nazarick, myself included, strives to be at their best. If giving you a stronger body lets you become closer to your full potential as one of the most ancient demons in this world, then you should be working to achieve power, not shy away from it!" Momonga scolded the demon, already shooting a message to Buku to be prepared for a possible avalanche of resource demands from Diablo.

He knew Diablo was absolutely loyal to him and his cause, so there was no need to worry he would go out of line at his full power. Thus, him acting like this was a disservice to Nazarick's total power, and one he vowed to fix immediately. The idea that his personal attendant would lack power due to his own inaction, in a situation where it was solely needed such as protecting his peers, was offending the overlord to the core.

"I deeply apologize for misunderstanding your intentions. In that case, I will gladly accept a new body when it is created to be of more use to you, master." Diablo bowed to an almost ninety-degree angle, speaking in a frightened tone.

"It is fine, so long as you understand my intentions. What would be the ideal body for possession?" Momonga waved him off. "And the rest of the created bodies could be used to house demons loyal to Nazarick if they were ideal."

'He not only intends to empower the primordial even more but to bring out more high-ranking demons! Unlike Yuuki, my new master truly can take upon the task of conquering the world and actually achieve it.' Kagali mused.

"For us spiritual entities, Lord Momonga, a body made of the strongest available materials would be ideal. We can change the inhabited body at will, but the stronger and more magicule-conductive material supplied, shaped to the ideal form you and they wish for, would be the most ideal for bringing out the innate abilities of those inhabiting them. I cannot comment on how a deadmen body would fare, but I can help with experimentation." Diablo explained.

"In that case, once we have enough dead bodies, we will rely on proper testing to ensure such bodies are perfectly suited for demonic possession."

Soon, she would obtain a new body that would bring her back to her prime, pushing herself above her own creations besides Laplace. Soon, the fallen Demon Lord Kazareem of Jistav would be back, back as Kagali of Tempest.

Soon, she would bring immense fear to those lesser than her once again, and it would be her Master who empowered her, who would command her to do so. But this time, she would be a servant to a greater cause, not the pinnacle leading the cause, and it was acceptable.

She had glimpsed the true scope of power, of both her immortal life where she could strive for and the protections reassuring her of a life without her fear. Soon, she would become more, rapidly cooling her own heart as she was ordered out of the throne room.

Momonga, knowing what thoughts flew through her mind, continued rapidly scanning Nazarick's inventory as he determined through collaboration with Diablo and Demiurge, what other materials could be used for optimal cost-benefit performance of summoned demons. If his subordinates aimed for a stronger body, he would create the strongest body there was.

X

Three harpies' sharpened talons gently scraped against the polished stone floor of Tempest's royal castle in unison, leaving behind no trace besides practiced sounds and their wings' breezes. Demon Lord Frey, followed by her two remaining daughters who doubled as royal bodyguards, had a goal to make and a person to meet, one with immense political ramifications if she failed to handle her properly.

Frey knew she wasn't a Demon Lord in the truest sense; she still held a lifespan and was bound to the material realm's rules of the body. Sure, she would live far, far longer than the average harpy, thousands of years longer thanks to her Demon Lord seed, but in two millennia if she failed to evolve to complete the transformation, she would be too weak to rule anymore. Thanks to the competitive nature of harpies, she was likely to even be assassinated a millennium in, her daughters fighting for the throne afterward as the nation plunged into civil war. No competition could be left behind for those who valued the strong, but that was how it was in the past.

These days, there was a clear winner in the competition, even with relatively little bloodshed in the process. Luchia was the victor by kilometers upon kilometers, her lover wielding immense might far beyond hers. She would be the future of harpies, binding her beloved Fulbrosia into part of the Tempest Hegemony unless one of her sisters could gain immense political and personal power to rival Lord Peroroncino, and with no telling of when Tempest and its dreadful ruler would decide to hasten his seemingly inevitable conquest of the world, her kind needed every assurance they could get to ensure their survival.

Her small glimpse into the persona who was Lord Momonga of Tempest, was enough to shake Frey to her core, threatening to collapse centuries of pride ruling as one of the most powerful entities in the Cardinal World. The undead majin wore the mask of a peaceful man, beloved by his citizens as he led them to great prosperity, but in truth, he was also a terrifying monster more than willing to raze the rest of the world to the ground if it so much threatened his growing empire.

And his raw military might was anything but mediocre. It was rumored that the number and power of skeletal and Tempestian soldiers rivaled those of larger Western Nations, far surpassing anything she could offer in return. That, when compounded with the recent declaration of full support by Dwargon, meant picking a fight with Tempest meant picking a fight with the third-largest economic and military nation in the world.

His personal power itself made her tremble deep within, something else entirely from his nation's forces. While Peroroncino's magic was as pure and bright as the scorching sun at noon, Momonga's might was of mass death, destruction, and darkness, as if the world rejected his existence. Her every instinct rejected him, screaming danger every lingering moment they were in his territory, in his lands and within his grasp.

'I think the world will finally see what sort of monster you are, Momonga, and they will fear you as much as I do.' Frey suppressed the desire to shudder as she told the standing guards of her intent to visit her daughter, quickly allowed into the quarters moments later.

"Mother, I am so happy to see you." Luchia bowed her head the moment their eyes met.

"How have you been, Luchia? Does Peroroncino treat you right?" Frey greeted her daughter with a smile.

"I could not ask for a better lover than Lord Peroroncino. He is very caring and attentive." Luchia broke into a smile of her own.

"Then I have nothing to worry about. I won't hold you for long but there is something I wanted to ask. What do you know of Kagali?"

"That elven woman from the guild? Not much." Luchia replied somewhat dismissively, eyes flickering away.

Frey knew her daughter, and knew when she was lying after decades of raising her. 'She has switched sides and is fully loyal to Tempest. Not surprising. I would like to be in her place.'

"I see. I hoped you would have found out more." Frey uttered bitterly.

"Mother, I have not betrayed you. It's the opposite!" Luchia hastily blurted out, realizing what her mother's tone implied.

That was the truth, at least in her eyes. Her position let her overhear things, and a lot of them didn't paint a bright future for those who weren't part of Tempest. The demons' Hells would make the harpies' futures look like heaven if the worst-case scenarios occurred, and she had to prevent that at almost any cost.

She understood that she needed to gain her lover's trust. And she earned it, sending home only the information she was allowed to. The reward for her loyalty; her mother and the harpy kind would not only be spared, but could thrive under Nazarick's rule in the near future as continued rulers of the Fulbrosian segment of the Tempest Hegemony. There was simply no way for Fulbrosia to withstand the sheer might of Nazarick's forces, especially with the constant infighting splintering their people.

Luchia was part of Nazarick for the foreseeable future, and with that came the responsibility to put its needs above her own, even her past loyalties. But those who served were rewarded well, something she couldn't, refused, to lose grasp of.

Peroroncino treated her as a beloved consort in his life, not a mere toy that could be discarded at any time, filling her with joy whenever they interacted. And it was her lover's care that made her choose the right decision when she pieced together the cold, hard truth. Sooner or later, the harpy nation would join Nazarick, one way or another, and she had to make preparations to facilitate a peaceful and bloodless transition. Supplying information beyond her permissions would only result in the conversion of her homeland into a testing ground for weapons unheard of, rumors flying from the dwarves about weapons that could destroy Special-A rank monsters with ease and machinations akin to the elves' capable of tearing through adamantite like soggy bedsheets.

On the night she realized this truth, she had begged Peroroncino to save her kind and her family while the others were asleep. She feared her mother's ambition and pride, which could pit family against family. She feared that Frey's pride would lead her kind to ruin, turned into little more than Lord Demiurge's experimental subjects.

Her wish was granted as she sobbed into his manly chest, wailing in his soundproof barrier as he stroked her wings. As long as she was loyal, even Frey would be spared, but under one condition. Luchia's mother would have to realize her place in the world and not fight it. She dove with greater passion into her government work, assisting her husband any way she could and even earning a few compliments from Lady Lupus for her efforts.

"I see." Frey's expression softened. "In that case, I ask for your advice."

"Mother, I don't understand." Luchia glanced downward, shivering as they moved to her guest room.

"You do. Do not take me for a fool nor pretend to be one yourself. Remember that I raised you to be a Queen. You say you are still loyal to me. So advise me. What course should I take?" Frey spoke frigidly, wings flaring.

"You know what you shouldn't do under any circumstances?" Luchia asked the question that would determine what sort of advice she could give. Even weeks of working with her new masters and even representing Pero at times failed to prepare her to stand up to her mother.

"I am aware of what would lead to the end of our kind, yes." Frey nodded, crossing her arms and wings.

"Mother, then you already know what to do. I have made all the assurances I can for our kind and our family."

"Is there anything you can reveal?"

"Do not seek information about Kagali, it won't benefit you. And don't think Tempest doesn't see your worth, mother. They know more than we could imagine." Luchia took a step closer to her mother with a reassuring smile.

"Very well. I shall heed your advice, daughter. Is there anything else we should discuss?"

"Not at the moment. I will send all relevant news as they come."

"In that case, it was good to see you, and please keep yourself safe," Frey murmured softly, allowing herself a rare moment of motherly care as she stood up.

In this moment, she was proud of her daughter for all she had achieved, despite all the twists and turns they've endured. Her gamble had paid off, and Luchia somehow had found a way inside Tempest's backdoor to ensure their survival.

"I will, mother. Take care of yourself too." Luchia replied with equal care, allowing herself to be petted on the shoulder.

Despite her somewhat harsh upbringing, she understood her mother and what sacrifices she had made, and the sacrifices they all would have to make. They were the royalty of harpies, and with that came the responsibility beyond family bonds, responsibility for millions of others.

Once Frey was gone, Luchia truly collapsed with a long exhale. A minute later, Souka appeared standing beside her, having been notified by the room's incoming maid.

"Tell Lady Buku my mother is now aware of how to act. She won't cause any problems."

Souka saluted and disappeared without saying a word. Luchia asked for some coffee and chocolate chip cookies to be brought, equal parts with creamer.

Editing by aidan_lo

Proofreading by: aidan_lo, Sluethen, Cakeeight, and FantasyTroll.

AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (https://discord.gg/WmGKVU3XG2) where additional chapters are available or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader (gives access to chapters months ahead of regular readers).