Harbingers of Change

Chapter 37

The first sparring match was set to start at noon. Frey, Carrion, and Clayman were already chatting among themselves in the VIP seats when Momonga arrived with Shion by his side, followed by Rubedo and Sebas.

Albedo and Buku were in other parts of the arena, positioned to guard against collateral damage in event that one or more shields failed.

Frey was accompanied by her daughters and Narberal, all standing behind her seat. Clayman was accompanied by Mjurran and Yuri. His pet fox sat on the railing to get a better view of the arena.

Finally, Carrion had Albis, Phobio, and Pestonya with him. The dog-headed maid had replaced Lupus for the day since she was one of the combatants.

After exchanging a few brief greetings, Momonga took his seat and messaged Milim, saying, { We are about to begin the match. }

{ Don't start without me! We will be there in a minute. } Milim instantly replied. Despite her eagerness to both fight and watch the matches, she still liked spending some more time with Aura every time she conducted routine patrol through the Jura forest.

True to her word, both girls rushed into the VIP area, followed by Entoma.

Considering their petite frames, they both settled into the same massive throne-like chair with which Entoma took out a large pack of popcorn from her inventory and handed it to Aura for Milim and her to share.

"Who is going first?" Milim asked, her voice filled with excitement.

"Benimaru and Yamza." Momonga replied.

Apparently, Yamza had made some unpleasant remarks about Shuna during the banquet. Benimaru took it upon himself to defend her honor, although one could argue that he was being overly protective, considering Shuna's own ability to defend herself.

As soon as an opportunity arose for the demon lords' subordinates and residents of Tempest to face off in the arena, Benimaru wasted no time in challenging Yamza. Resentment was still evident on his face, and it seemed that his actions were going to speak louder than words.

Yamza disregarded the turbulent emotions within the kijin, and in fact considered various ways to provoke him further. Nevertheless, he accepted Benimaru's challenge as Clayman had already instructed him from the beginning of the conflict between Tempest and the other nations.

"That scumbag thinks he can stand against Beni?" Milim burst into laughter. "Hey Clayman, did you bring a bucket to gather whatever is left of him?"

"I am well aware of the rules set for this fight, and Yamza is a skilled fighter in his own right. This may not be a fight to the death, but do not underestimate my subordinates," Clayman replied, without even looking at her.

{ Remember to not rely too heavily on underhanded tactics. There are many eyes watching you. } Clayman messaged Yamza.

{ Eh? Boss, I thought you wanted me to win? }

{ Making a good impression is more important. }

{ Can I at least taunt him so that he'll be too angry to think clearly? }

{ That is permissible, but don't go too far. Your opponent is considered Lord Momonga's adopted son, just like the girl you tried to woo yesterday in a not so subtle manner. }

{ Boss, why do I have a feeling you are just punishing me? } Yamza asked in a worried tone.

{ This is simply a way for me to assess your abilities in this upcoming fight. If I truly wanted you to be punished, I would let you unleash all of your aggression toward your opponent. Let's just say this is merely a practice of…self-restraint. It is important for any warrior who desires greatness. }

{ I see! Thank you for enlightening me, boss! }

{ Mm. Do not disappoint me. }

Soon enough, both opponents entered arena, each of them looking at the other with stern gazes.

Benimaru, dressed in a red kimono, gave off an aura of burning flames. His right hand gripped the handle of his sheathed katana as he carefully observed his opponent.

Yamza wore black and white clothing with a black plate over his right arm and shoulder emanating an aura of chilling aloofness. Even his sword appeared to be made of bluish ice.

Despite the fury clearly visible on Benimaru's handsome face, he performed polite bow as expected of any combatant.

In response, Yamza shouted, "Surrendering already? I guess I'll just take your sister then."

Benimaru straightened up as his aura practically exploded, engulfing the entire arena. Clayman resisted the urge to pop a vein on his head.

Seeing the kijin's initiation, Momonga quickly put a barrier around the arena's floor and said, "Begin!"

Yamza immediately shot an ice bolt toward Benimaru from his sword, hoping for an easy victory.

Benimaru took out his katana and cut the projectile in half, rendering it useless, and stepped forward.

Yamza continued to unleash shotgun ice bolts against his opponent, but each one was effortlessly parried as Benimaru closed in with slow, deliberate steps.

Realizing that his tactic wasn't effective, Yamza raised his sword and charged toward Benimaru.

Yamza's attack was easily blocked and Benimaru swiftly countered with a strike of his own. The stark difference in strength between them became obvious as Yamza barely managed to defend against the attack and took a step back.

The following strike made him lose his sword, which landed nearby. He raised his hand to shield himself with his plate-clad arms from the upcoming attack.

The outcome of this fight had already been determined. His opponent proved to be too weak for Benimaru to take seriously. Benimaru turned his katana sideways, coated the blade with a thick layer of fire, and delivered a decisive blow to the side of Yamza's head.

The air was instantly filled with the pungent smell of burnt hair and flesh as Yamza now lay on the sandy floor with a large burn on the left side of his head.

Benimaru looked at his opponent, searching for any signs of movement, and when he didn't detect any, he bowed toward the audience and walked away.

The first match had ended quickly as it began. While Clayman's servants carried off the unconscious Yamza, the maids provided refreshments.

"Man, that was disappointing. I hoped he would at least try to not be a complete pushover." Milim commented loudly and glanced at Clayman.

To the dragonoid princess's surprise, there was no response from the demon lord other than a raised eyebrow and taking a sip of his wine. 'Why isn't he reacting like he used to? It's so boring when I can't get a rise out of him,' Milim thought to herself.

"It seems Yamza had to learn his lesson the hard way. He will need to take his training more seriously from now on." Clayman eventually replied.

"My, I have never seen such composure from someone like you, Clayman," Frey said, joining in on Milim's banter. "If only you were like that towards your subordinates in the past, perhaps this result would have never happened."

Once again, the demon lord in question responded maturely to the harpy, but this time he was on the offensive.

"I'm glad to see you are worried about me and my subordinate, Frey. However, I find it difficult to understand that you and your daughters have persistently tried to win over Lord Peroroncino without any success. I may have been slow to realize my own faults, but it appears I have surpassed you in learning lessons when it comes to dealing with Tempest."

"Hmph…I suppose you are not wrong in that regard. As long as you've learned your own lesson, we should not have any further issues," Frey curtly replied. She looked away from Clayman while Milim's mouth was semi-open in disbelief that the harpy had to back down.

"Ha-ha-ha! So this is Clayman when he gets serious, huh? It's hard to believe you started immediately cozying up to Lord Momonga during the party. I was expecting more resistance from you, but I guess not. Don't tell me, did he put something in your drink?"

Clayman simply smiled at Carrion's response. He took a small sip of his wine and turned slightly to the beastman.

"I'm afraid not, but speaking of drinking, how about you and I have a toast after this fight, Carrion?"

"Oh? You mean the fight between my subordinate and Tempest's. Sure, why not. But what makes you so interested in this fight, Clayman?"

"I believe there is something peculiar about the lycanthrope maid facing your subordinate. I do not know all the details, but she seems to have been itching for a fight for quite some time now."

Carrion's grin dropped to a slight frown. He stood up and marched to the front of the railing, near where Clayman's pet fox was sitting.

"Well, you're not wrong. There's blood in the air, and both of the ones down there can smell it. This won't be a pretty fight."

The next two combatants to step into the arena were Suphia and Lupus as Clayman had mentioned before. Same as with the previous fight, Momonga put up a barrier and told them to start.

There was only one rule set in place; you cannot kill your opponent. With the recent history between the two, this fight was bound to be a long one. Momonga and the other Tempest citizens watching knew deep down it would serve as a proper display of what happens to those who anger Nazarick.

'I wonder how long it would take for Carrion to realize what Lupus is like when given free rein.' Momonga mused, seeing Carrion's grim expression.

Unlike Yamza and Benimaru, Suphia and Lupus would be fighting barehanded.

The moment Momonga had declared the start of the match, Suphia lunged toward Lupus, showing the ferocity of her kind. She went for a jab at the maid's unprotected face as it looked like she wasn't taking the fight seriously and had left herself wide open.

It was in the middle of her attack that Suphia realized why Lupus was so casual. She moved her head aside with a blur and punched Suphia in the gut with the same strength as Carrion would.

The tiger lycanthrope was sent flying backward, but despite the intense pain, she did a flip mid-flight and landed on her feet.

She straightened out and did not show any pain outwardly, as her lycanthropic natural regeneration was already repairing the horrible damage the punch had done to her insides.

Suphia assumed a defensive position and observed her opponent carefully. The maid was clearly much stronger and faster than her, so her only option was to wear the opponent down through endurance.

"Ooh, all the bravado already gone? But we are just starting." Lupus shouted with a burst of laughter.

"Come at me, bitch!" Suphia shouted back.

Lupus smirked and charged. Avoiding or blocking her attack was likely impossible, so Suphia braced herself for the pain. Lupus' fist connected with her left cheek, breaking her jaw and knocking out a few of her teeth.

This time Suphia did a few flips in the air before painfully landing on her side and rolling forward. When she finally stopped, she got up once again and spat out her blood with a snarl.

Carrion knew his servant was in a world of pain after the first attack but even he couldn't imagine how vicious the maid would be. Each of Lupus' attacks became progressively more brutal and were clearly aimed to inflict increasing amounts of pain.

Suphia's fingers were broken in a grapple. Then one of her ears was torn right off as well as a sizable patch of her white hair. Each time Lupus waited for her to regenerate to cause more damage.

At this point, it wasn't a duel but a torture session. Of course, someone as prideful as Suphia would not yield, so the brutal match just went on.

Carrion glanced around to gauge the reactions of not only his fellow demon lords but of Tempest's denizens as well. Frey and Clayman watched with unreadable expressions while Milim and Aura continued to snack on popcorn and treat it like a show.

Momonga's reaction was of course unreadable but that wasn't the case for his consort, Shion. Her expressions were as clear as day.

Shion was watching with a smirk, no doubt enjoying that Suphia was paying for her dismissive attitude.

'They won't stop this.' Carrion finally decided to intervene and sent Suphia a message. { Give up. You cannot defeat her and she won't end the duel. }

{ Lord Carrion, I can't… } She stopped mid-sentence and let out a loud, tormented scream as Lupus jammed fingers in her eyes, blinding her. She then sent the poor lycanthrope flying away with a kick to the face.

Once again, despite the damage done to her, Suphia stood up.

Her regeneration had restored her vision, but the amount of pain she had endured clearly started to affect her.

Not even in the most intense training session had Carrion inflicted that much pain on his three best students.

Carrion grabbed the stone handle of the seat which cracked under his strength. 'That fool will force me to call off the match!'

The next assault was just as brutal. Lupus grabbed Suphia by the tail, and with a jump, slammed her into the ground.

"Why isn't she ending the match?" Carrion finally asked the dog-headed maid that stood by his seat.

"Because she is allowed to continue, Lord Carrion." Pestonya replied.

"What do you mean? Wouldn't it be natural for a fighter to claim a victory as fast as possible to show her might?"

"Lupus' goal is not to end the match but to drag it on." Shion said, leaning forward, and turning her head towards Carrion.

"Seems so. In hindsight, we should have declared the fight rules more clearly. I should have guessed that Lupusregina, whose epithet is 'Sadist with a Smiling Mask', would drag out the fight as long as she is allowed to." Momonga said with clear indifference in his voice.

'He knew! She is being made an example. Dammit!'

{ Suphia, give up! That is an order! } Carrion ordered his subordinate, but she once again refused his order.

{ My Lord, I can't! Our pride is on the line. I will not yield to this… monster. }

{ She won't stop. Stop being stubborn. She will torment you as long as she is permitted to! }

{ Lord Carrion, I can't call myself one of your beastketeers if I give up now! }

'That stupid… I should jump in and wipe off the smirk from that monster's face myself!' For a moment he considered doing just that but that would break the rules which he agreed upon. There was only one option.

"I have seen enough. End the duel. I declare your fighter the winner of the match." Carrion announced.

His announcement seemingly didn't deter Lupus from continuing to punch Suphia in the face as she was too worn out to offer any resistance.

"Very well. The match is over." Momonga accepted his declaration.

At that moment, Lupus stopped midswing. She gently lowered Suphia to the ground in a sitting position, bowed before the audience, and walked out of the arena.

"Albis, go get her. Make sure she rests." Carrion ordered his subordinate. 'She stopped midswing at Momonga's command! Was that a demonstration of what sort of control he has over his servants?'

"As you command, Lord Carrion." Albis replied with a bow and walked off.

"Now it's my turn!" Milim perked up. Both fights were far too one-sided to be fully enjoyable and she had been waiting to face Sebas for a while.

Once Suphia was removed from the arena, both she and Sebas stood facing each other.

Unlike with the previous two fights, this time both Albedo and Buku also activated barriers over the arena.

{ Sebas, remember to admit defeat and not go all out against her. All we need to show is that you can make her fight seriously. } Momonga messaged the butler and then announced the start of the match.

Milim sprung into action and started with a roundhouse kick aimed at Sebas' head, which he blocked with his arm, sending a shockwave from the resulting collision.

Although there were no rules against using energy attacks, Milim resolved to use melee strikes, the same as her opponent.

Both exchanged punches, jabs, and kicks with such a rapid succession that most of the audience couldn't even observe them properly. What's more, each collision sent a shockwave crashing against the barriers.

Same as with Veldora's test fight, some of the energies managed to seep through but the massive stone-built arena could easily withstand it.

Momonga glanced at the three demon lords who watched the fight, trying their best to not show their emotions. Yet there were hints of unease in each of their faces. It was a fair assessment that none of them considered their chances against Sebas particularly high.

'I couldn't have chosen a better opponent for Milim. This should throw them off badly.' Momonga mused as he watched the fight go on.

Thanks to his God of Justice's Balance sub-skill, Sebas could use a lot of Milim's own power against her and not overextend himself. Of course, there was no doubt that given enough time he would lose, but victory was not necessary in this case.

However, a problem soon started to arise.

Lost in the excitement of the fight, Milim started to exert more and more power with each attack. Sebas' butler suit was also unable to keep up, its sleeves being torn to strips.

{ Can you absorb the energies from within the shield? } Momonga messaged Buku. He quickly switched to Sebas. { Lose the fight. This is starting to get out of control. }

{ On it. } Buku replied instantly.

{ As you command, Lord Momonga. } Sebas replied and intentionally made a sloppy move, leaving enough of an opening for Milim to hit him in the chest.

The moment Milim's blow connected, Sebas was sent flying like a bullet and hit the invisible barrier, which rippled on impact.

Sebas staggered but remained standing and raised his hand, saying. "I yield. I am no match for you, young lady."

Milim, in her battle frenzy, just charged him again. Sebas prepared for the worst-case scenario and re-assumed his battle stance.

{ Milim! Stop, or I'm sending in Rubedo! } Momonga shouted in her mind. He then subtly signaled with a gesture of his hand, and Rubedo began stepping forward with a slow gait.

Luckily, the threat was enough to stop her in her tracks. Milim also began to feel something prickly on her skin. She looked up at Rubedo and realized that parts of her aura were starting to seep down towards the arena.

{ Sorry, got lost in the heat of the moment. This was so much fun! I want to fight Sebas again. } Milim messaged back. There was a tinge of anxiety within her voice at first, but it was stamped down at the last second.

{ And you will get your chance if you learn to stop when asked. }

{ Hey, hey, I was… I mean… it's not like I planned to hit him again or anything. I want to fight him again some other day. Don't be mean to me, Momo! } Milim replied with a whine.

{ It's not up for debate! I will not risk the lives of my subordinates to your recklessness. }

{ Fine… } Milim turned to face Momonga with a pout. { I will be more careful. I promise. }

{ That's better. You and Sebas will have another chance to fight once I adjust the barriers so no energy escapes. } Momonga said.

It took another minute or so before Buku cleared the barrier from the high amounts of magicules that were released during the fight.

Now it was clear that there was more than one objective that needed to be completed as fast as possible. The barriers needed to be readjusted with some sort of absorption overlay to gather all the energy that periodically escapes. And more importantly, measures against Milim level threats needed to be developed.

Unwittingly, she would help to create measures against her should there arise a need to contain her. Even if Veldora trusted his niece completely, nothing could be left to chance.

'I could create some sort of prison with a draining ability strong enough to withstand someone on Veldora's threat level.' The only material likely strong enough for the purpose was the caloric stone.

Unfortunately, to synthesize the material, large amounts of prismatic ores were needed and at the moment they had only a few kilos of each.

Creation could be used to make the prismatic ore but the process would be long and tedious.

Considering that no shield would hold someone like Milim for long, and he couldn't sacrifice the freedom of his friends and subordinates to keep the prisoner constantly drained and encased in barriers, a physical prison made out of caloric stone was the best option.

'Maybe once I have enough I can test if it can be enchanted with skills.'

‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›

Milim followed Sebas out of the arena with a happy skip, grinning from ear to ear.

"I knew that fighting someone of my own kind would be fun." She said to the butler.

"I'm happy I could provide you with an adequate challenge." Sebas replied in his usual stoic manner.

"For sure. But maybe next time you can go all out on me. I can take it, you know."

"So you were aware of my true limits. I'm sorry, but I was under Lord Momonga's orders to not show all of my capabilities in front of the guests."

"I don't care about people watching. I just want to fight the real you. Maybe Momo will permit us to fight seriously somewhere private."

"You will have to bring that up to Lord Momonga."

"You better be ready then. He promised we can have another round once the barriers are adjusted." Milim said.

She then increased her pace and got in front of Sebas.

"Before you go and I rarely see you again, I wanted to tell you that you are one of best opponents I ever had. Makes me proud that we both are dragonoids." Milim said.

"It honors me to hear such praise from you, young lady." Sebas said with a light bow as he put his right palm over his heart.

Seeing the butler's response, Milim returned the same gesture before the both of them went their separate ways.

Proofreading by Sad_Smiles Alassandro, Visur Nyxan, I AM THE STRING CUTTER, Rage_001, Ethal07, SwissChocolatess, Tophrel, and RottenPizza.

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 (Link is in my profile) where additional chapters are available or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader.