Harbingers of Change

AN: A double update again so don't forget to read ch 23 first. This is the last one for now and the next update will be a singular chapter again.

Chapter 26

Everything was set up after hours of nitpicking and boosted Thought Acceleration. Velzard was waiting in the other room, in her adult form, ready to rain hell if need be, since the guests would start arriving any minute. Guy sat in his spot at the large round table with now eighteen seats since eight new Demon Lords had awakened—not that they had hosted a whopping eighteen Demon Lords at once before, and if his suspicions were right, they wouldn't need most of the new ones.

The round room was decorated with swirling portals between columns which would be used as entrance points, this time heavily enchanted with dozens of barriers even those with Space-Time Manipulation would struggle against. A door led to the other parts of his castle, but it was rarely used during the Walpurgis.

There was a chance that even more newcomers would show up, but since it was easy to add chairs and change the table size as needed, he wasn't worried about accommodating more guests at the moment. There was a standard precision to the whole event, with his two most trusted servants, Rain and Mizeri, bringing in each waiting Demon Lord at precise intervals to make their appearances be noticed and to have time to greet the already present ones.

'I haven't been this excited for a long while. Eight new ones and I haven't seen seven of them in person.' Guy had his eyes firmly set on the portal on the opposite wall. Milim had only told him that all seven would come but hadn't given any details about her new friends, refusing to explain who they were or what they could do. Of course, he already knew a thing or two about the more public figures, but they were still total unknowns as a whole.

The first guest to arrive was Luminous, as he wanted to see her reactions and, since her life was very likely about to end, enjoy her one-time deal of life-ending anguish. It was always entertaining to watch other Demon Lords die out; only the strongest and most cunning survived in his realm.

Roy, as always, was first to step through, pretending to be the demon lord, while Luminous followed, dressed in a traditional maid outfit. Always a classic she pulled for the past thousand years.

"You made it." He greeted the vampiric Demon Lord with a smile, motioning to her seat.

"I was the one to call for it. Am I the first?" Luminous returned the greeting. Her eyes were dull and lifeless with a tint of red, studding a stony expression nearly devoid of life. It wasn't that out of the norm for her as a vampire, but it was plain to see that she was close to the breaking point. Very close.

"I thought you'd be eager to arrive first." 'She will still try this charade with her servant when Milim and Ramiris have already likely told their friends everything.' He couldn't help but wait for the ruse to have its inevitably hilarious end.

Roy, pretending to be a Demon Lord, took a seat while Luminous assumed the position behind the chair. The "maid" stood in her expected position, as all servants would.

And now the show could begin. Milim was next to arrive and appeared through the gate with a pair of pale, hooded, undead women following her, each stronger than the new generation of demon lords. There was another change in the girl; Milim was wearing multiple rings, and a pair of earrings, and she was even wearing a bracelet on her right hand, which was strange since Milim wasn't one for material riches the last time he checked. She barely managed her domain and rarely engaged in trade except for food and drinks.

'Momonga is spoiling you it seems. What has he done to you? You were never much into jewelry.' Guy's curiosity about the change in his old friend only grew as the dragonoid strode on forward. 'Oh my, all of them are God-tier artifacts. How curious.'

"I wondered if you would have the guts to show up. I will enjoy watching you get broken." Milim, meanwhile, put her attention straight at Luminous, madly grinning as her eyes glowed.

Guy glanced at Luminous, whose resolve faltered at the presence of the Destroyer, slightly shivering under her gaze. She didn't say anything in response, instead changing into her regular dark dress with frills and switching places with Roy.

As entertaining as that facade was, it was now over, and her primary target hadn't even shown up yet.

"Milim, remember your manners." Guy shook a finger at the girl.

"I won't be the one bashing her skull in. She needs to see what her people think of her first." Milim grinned from ear to ear and took her seat.

Luminous slammed her fists on the table, unable to resist the bait. "My people! What did they do to my people?!"

"You'll see. Their new mistress is a huge upgrade from you!" Milim continued taunting the vampire Demon Lord, giggling.

"You…" Luminous snarled. Her expression darkened as she leaned back into the chair, her arms crossed, knowing she couldn't risk fighting one of the most ancient Demon Lords before she knew the fate of her kind.

The portal shimmered again, and the next attendee arrived. Guy had to do a double take once he saw Ramiris in her full adult form step through and walk with grace towards her seat, with a demoness with black hair and black eyes with golden irises, dressed in a black dress, and a tall dwarf in a white suit with glasses following her. As with Milim, there were changes in her appearance. For one, she had ditched her simple black dress and switched back to a more decorated one that had colors representing each element. And like Milim, she was wearing a lot of god-tier jewelry.

'She wasn't supposed to enter adulthood for the next few centuries!' Guy did his best to greet her with his usual faint smirk and not show any signs of increasing unease.

"Ramiris, haven't you grown up a bit early? You still sounded like a child when we last talked," Guy asked, his brows furrowed. 'This is unexpected. How the hell did this happen? And is that one of Noir's with her?' He already suspected that Momonga had something to do with it, but it wasn't yet the time to demand answers. They had been friends for thousands of years; he would grant her mercy because of it.

"Things change. My problem got fixed," She flashed a smile and took her seat with her two attendants taking spots behind her chair, and he was delighted to see that the dwarven attendant was suitably scared of him. Noir's demons were always weird, so he ignored it.

"An unexpected but welcomed change I suppose." He nodded. 'Fixed!? How did Momonga manage to do that? Could he being the aspect of death be the reason?'

Now, it was time for the first Tempestians to arrive. A red-haired woman clad in dark plate armor with slight heels stepped through the gate, followed by two dark-haired human women.

'So, this is the famed Bukubukuchagama she… now that's unexpected.' The woman was trying to hide her power through her jewelry, but he still saw through it in an instant, and what he saw unsettled him. Buku was far too powerful for a mere newly awakened demon lord, particularly one from a world as peaceful as it is now. Her raw power was close to his, and although he didn't get a full read on her skills, what he did find was that she had incredible energy-draining abilities, which was … concerning.

'Fighting her would not be one-sided. She could pose danger even to me. My, my, Momonga, you want to scare me. But two can play that game.' He chuckled internally, observing the two attendants next. 'Is that Luminous' lost toy?'

Guy glanced at the vampire, witnessing her expression go through various stages of realization. 'What an interesting move. Now what will you do at this display?' he mused, leaning back in his chair.

Betrayal. That was the first thought entering Luminous' mind, and the only one. It must have been a betrayal from the start. Not only was Hinata standing by Bukubukuchagama's side, glaring back at her with pure hatred in her eyes, but next to her stood her long-time friend Chloe, also staring at her.

'How could you?' It was too much. She was prepared to face Tempest and try to free her people, but seeing both Chloe and Hinata was too much. "You lied to me!" Luminous unleashed a scream, all the bottled emotions of the past few days fueling her outburst. "Chloe! You damn traitor, I trusted you!"

"I didn't betray you. Things changed and I couldn't get to you. I'm sorry," Chloe replied in a timid voice, bowing her head.

"Funny that the vampire talks about treachery after sending me to die as a sacrifice for her revenge. Blame Chloe all you want, but it was you who knowingly let me be corrupted by a dark Goddess' artifact in an attempt to permanently kill Lord Veldora," Hinata spat back, aura threatening to leak.

"No, I-" Luminous stopped, seeing Hinata was ready to charge at her, blade and magic at the ready.

"I hope you experience the same agony I did! No, I hope you suffer a worse fate!" The former saint snarled at her, aura unleashed and flooded with bloodlust. "You deserve everything that has happened and a lot more!"

"Ladies, behave. I'm sorry for Hinata's outburst, but she and Luminous have a lot of history between them." Buku waved at her attendants to back off and tilted her head at Guy, which the two women quickly did.

"You must be Bukubukuchagama. Please take a seat. We will address all these issues once everyone has arrived." Guy flashed her a polite smile and motioned at a chair.

Just as they settled, the next attendee from Tempest arrived. A beautiful demoness not belonging to any color followed by two maids, one of whom was an undead and the other a slime. Both Rain and Mizeri were informing him who was coming through the gates, so he knew it was the Prime Minister of Tempest Hegemony, Albedo. The woman was an unrivaled beauty even overshadowing her already stunning maids.

'Now that is interesting. A demon without a color? Has Momonga somehow managed to create an artificial demon? So many questions I'll have to ask you,' Guy greeted her just like the rest and the demoness settled into her seat, glancing at the portals.

After her came, Demiurge, with two demon attendants, none from the known color families. But now he has a clearer picture. All four seemingly were from the same family, all from the same origin that felt … otherworldly.

'Ohh, that's it. They're demons from other worlds summoned here. I'm starting to think my dear friend Veldanava had withheld information from me about the scale of things.'

The next in line to arrive was Shalltear Bloodfallen, Tempest's notorious highest-ranking vampire, and she was bound to stir up the air as a vampire against Luminous. At this point, Guy had no doubts she wasn't from the Luminous line but the same as Toltecatl who came from another world. This raised a question of just how much otherworldly influence Tempest has.

The young vampire was in a dark evening dress that surpassed Luminous in both style and presence. Also, clearly a lot stronger than the supposed Cardinal World's original vampire by a landslide, she gave her opponent a passive glance and walked towards her seat, followed by a woman with dark wings reminiscent of fallen angels and an elderly vampire in a butler's suit. They were all strong in their own right, as beings of the material plane, that is.

"Falco, you're alive!" Luminous exclaimed.

The older vampire turned in a silent gesture towards Shalltear to which the lady gave a subtle nod before he turned back to Luminous. "No thanks to you. Our kind has found a new and better Mistress, deserving of ruling over us."

Shalltear gave Luminous a smug look and gracefully took her seat, handing over her parasol to the elderly vampire, who tucked it away into an apparently designated satchel. Everyone who was coming out of Tempest was coming out with a lot more emphasis on material gain...

'If this goes on, I might start to feel bad for Luminous. They'll destroy her with words alone.' Guy watched the scene unfold with amusement, internally chuckling.

Tempest hadn't come to threaten or negotiate with Luminous; they had come to mercilessly crush her into bits and pieces.

The next attendee was called Diablo, and he definitely wasn't someone Guy expected to see. He nearly crushed the handrests of his chair despite them being made of heavily refined rare metals when he saw the damned Noir come through the gate dressed in a stylish butler's suit.

"Isn't that my old friend Rogue, how have you been, he-he-he?" Diablo approached him with his all-so-aggravating laugh, swaggering as he tainted the Walpurgis room with his mere presence.

'Momonga, I will kill you! You made this personal!' He swore at his enigmatic opponent. To use such a dirty trick against him was unforgivable, to invoke the one demon he hated with passion.

The other primordials had been entertainment or servants over the centuries, but that was all they had ever amounted to. Noir was his only rival to have ever fought him to a standstill while they both still resided in Hell. But that was before his eccentric peer plunged himself into the depths of the void and came out changed. Noir left part of him there but came back with an aggravating immortality.

No matter how many times he was killed, and his core destroyed, the demon would instantly be reborn and keep fighting on without any drop in power or consciousness.

"Noir, what a surprise. I didn't expect to see you here," He responded through gritted teeth.

"You know, you should be stricter with your pets. Luminous has given quite a headache to my master." Diablo reached him and slapped his shoulder as if in friendship, but his grin was not even close to reaching his eyes.

"Go take your damn seat." Guy pushed his peer's hand off, shoving him away.

"Diablo, we are not here to antagonize the other Demon Lords." Buku reminded him.

"Of course, Lady Buku, I was just overjoyed after seeing an old friend." Diablo bowed towards her and teleported to his seat.

The next to come was a kijin woman he knew as Momonga's public third consort, Shion. She was powerful for a new Demon lord, easily stronger than the likes of Leon and Luminous, but considering her competition in the form of her peers, she didn't stand out all that much.

One thing Guy did note was that Momonga had surely had good taste in women, as all three of his consorts were beauties that could ensnare any mortal man's heart with ease. With her were two kijin women, clad in their traditional warrior outfits armed with weapons called katanas.

The last of Tempest's Demon Lords was a complete mystery. From what he knew, she was called Kagali and was possibly the same person who ran the Free Guild, but Mizeri had been unable to verify the possible connection.

When she came through the portal with a massive man and a small girl in clown outfits, that alone confirmed her identity, but there was also an unmistakable aura he thought had been lost two centuries ago.

"Kazaream, I thought you had died?" He greeted the once-deceased Demon Lord, grinning.

"Leon didn't finish me off, merely delayed my return. I have come to reclaim my seat, but now as a proper Demon Lord. I would also prefer if you addressed me as Kagali, which is my true name." She politely replied.

"Sure. I must say I like your new look." Guy made sure to thoroughly inspect the voluptuous figure clad in a business suit, finding the form quite enjoyable.

"I'm sure you do," Kagali responded in a flat tone and took her seat.

Now was the time for the other established Demon Lords to come.

Dagruel, the Ruler of Giants, was an over two-meter-tall mountain of a man with slick blue hair. He appeared around middle-aged, with three tattoos on his face resembling long tears. He was dressed in black pants and a loose white tunic displaying his toned, muscular torso.

As always, he was letting his aura wash over the attendees in his casualness, but none of the newcomers seemed particularly phased by it. Guy knew that the ancient giant had mastered how much of his power he showed to such a degree that even he had difficulty getting a proper read, so it was but a fraction of the giant's true might on the display. Dagruel, as always, had come alone, the same as the demon lord arriving by his side.

Dino, better known as the Sleeping Ruler, had been living in Dagruel's castle rent-free for the last few centuries. Dino was a beautiful young man with purple-silver hair and dull gray-blue eyes, the original handsome skinny Demon Lord before Leon came along.

His striking appearance was somewhat dampened by the rings under his eyes and his slouching posture, as expected. His practically dragging his feet to his seat didn't help his image either. As a fallen angel, he had six black wings, but he usually kept them hidden.

As the young-looking demon lord slouched in his seat, his gaze fell on Ramiris.

"Oi, since when do you have followers?" He asked slowly as if each word was being pulled out like teeth.

"They help me with my research. Maybe, if you attempted to become a productive member of society you could get your own." Ramiris retorted with a jab.

"Good for you, I guess." He yawned, closing his eyes as he fell asleep.

The next three to arrive were the so-called new generation. Clayman came with his long-time servants Mjurran and Pirone, the latter being a mix between a bird and a human but with a lot more bird traits compared to harpies. With her arms covered in feathers, long, wing-shaped, fluffy ears, slick black hair, and hairlike antennae, today she was covered in armor, including some decently strong pauldrons and a chest plate.

After Clayman came Leon. His expression changed when he saw Chloe, which alone was highly unusual considering his known emotionlessness, but he quickly resumed his usual demeanor, saying nothing and taking his seat. Same as always, he came without any followers.

'He knows that woman. Interesting...' Guy made a mental note to find out more as soon as possible.

Frey had her two oldest daughters with her as usual, and Carrion had Suphia and Phobio. It was known that the beast king only entrusted Albis to oversee his domain in his absence, and thus the two came with him. Should he perish, she would, without a doubt, become the next Ruler of Eurazania and be the next Beast Master.

The very last to arrive was Toltecatl with two of her vampire thralls. She greeted everyone with a polite bow and sat down.

The Tempestians were all but staring holes into her if they weren't glaring at Luminous. Perhaps the two had more history than he thought.

With everyone present, the Walpurgis could finally begin.

Editing by aidan_lo.

Proofreading by aidan_lo, Sluethen, clagan, Lightflan, Cay, KieraKieraARTS, CakeEight, Malguis, IAMTHEPLOKOKIOPO NuggetLover, Nervy, Working_Stiff and Stac.

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