At first, Nemu thought that they were in the wrong room. That his Detective Skill, he was following since the beginning, somehow showed him the wrong direction. But that wasn't the case. It was the same room. Painted in red.

Trewy and Nemu were standing there with an open mouth. They might have assumed that Corsar went crazy. Obviously, he wasn't in the right state of mind before. Maybe he started killing his subordinates for a weird reason. However, there was someone standing in the room, slowly cleaning his bloody hands with a small handkerchief.

With a smile he looked towards Nemu, Trewy and the harpies, before he suddenly disappeared into thin air. And reappeared behind the group. Grabbing the hand of someone who was about to strike them. Corsar had caught up to them right before they arrived in the throne room but he didn't notice what happened to the room. Instead, he immediately attacked.

Corsars right hand was caught and without even thinking he punched with his other fist. This time it wasn't caught. It disappeared. Only that made Corsar lose some of his rage. With terrified eyes he looked at the place where his hand, no, most of his arm was supposed to be. Just to see that there was nothing left. Now his rage was fully gone, replaced by nothing but fear.

“Who are y...” He started to whisper before he looked in the eyes of his opponent. And immediately stopped talking. “Huh?” Was the last whisper he let out before he passed out and fell to the ground.

“Kufufu, Rimuru-sama will be proud of me.” He then nodded to himself and turned around to the group.

Diablo. Finally, Nemu recognized him and let out a relieved sigh. But this time he had large black wings on his back. His missing aura also wasn't very helpful. Diablo... He was such a nice guy. Always with a smile, a polite attitude and a deep loyalty to Rimuru. But... his eyes made him look scary. He was constantly scanning his surroundings and whenever he looked at someone, it looked like he was looking for weaknesses, the best way to fight them. But Diablo saved them. And Nemu was grateful. However, the others weren't so happy. Because they didn't know who Diablo was. Even Trewy hadn't seen him before.

"Don't worry.” Nemu said, facing Trewy and the dryads. “He came to help us.”

Still not convinced they stared at Diablo who nodded with his usual smile. “Rimuru-sama sent me here.” The demon wings were scaring them and Diablo didn't realize immediately. Just before they were chased and almost killed by a demon and now a demon saved them?

Nemu tried to calm them down. It seemed like Trewy already accepted it. But the harpies still had fear in their eyes when they looked at Diablo, who doesn't seem to care at all. What wasn't very helpful either was the room. It took Nemu a moment to understand what happened here. But then he finally realized. There was blood. Blood everywhere. Without a doubt, Diablos’ doing. However, there weren't any corpses. Nemu was confused at first but then he remembered what happened to Corsars arm. It just vanished. No, it didn't vanish, he remembered. It vaporized into blood. That's what probably happened to all the demons here. Maybe one of Diablo's skills? Scary.

With horror in her blue eyes, Trewy looked around. She must have also understood what was going on here. Her face became pale. Death wasn't something she was used to and this... was even worse. “Lets go outside.” She whispered. Gladly, the three harpies were still too shocked.

Diablo nodded but before he moved he asked. “Are there more demons in this building?”

“No.” Nemu confirmed after using his magic senses. There was nobody left in the castle. “All the demons we have seen were in this room.” Answered Nemu. They ran through the castle for a while and they were pretty loud. Well, Corsar was, because of his constant screaming. But they haven't seen any other demons. “Oh, they talked about someone with the name Clayman, he wasn't here when we arrived.”

“Kufufu.” Diablo laughed weirdly. “Clayman is already dead.”

“Did you... kill him?” Nemu asked. Was he one of the blood pools? He must have been strong if even Corsar was afraid of him.

“Sadly not, Rimuru-sama already took care of him a few days ago. I would have loved to do it myself.” Diablo shrugged like it was nothing. So Rimuru actually knew and even killed him? He must have done something really bad. However, Nemu was relieved. They were all safe now.

And without another word Diablo violently grabbed Corsar's neck and walked outside, followed by the small group. Pity for Corsar? No way. Fortunately, the harpies now knew that it was over. And they lost some of their tension.

When they arrived outside, the harpies began to cry. Everything they went through was over now. Sitting on the ground they were hugging each other. Not only were they completely exhausted by the escape, they also emotionally passed their limits long ago.

Trewy seemed like she wanted to do the same. She hadn't any mana left and the run took her quite a lot of stamina. But she resisted the urge and approached Diablo. "Rimuru sent you?"

“Yes.” Diablo said after a light bow. “He told me that you're in trouble and that I should help you.”

They were lucky. Once again. But this time they had done a lot for it. That they could escape Corsar for so long and break out of prison was their merit. However, if Diablo had not been here so quickly, it would have been over. Nemu thought again about the way. Only 2 hours have passed since Nemu spoke with Rimuru. It felt much longer. But getting from Tempest to the island. In only 2 hours? Diablo must have been extremely fast. Even if he flew. Flying? Let's add that to the list. If Nemu is honest, he doesn't want to fly. Because he might miss out on adventures. But to escape or even to save someone flying was very helpful.

The list... It became longer and longer. He had to work on it! Their next destination should be the rabbit tribe. That's on his list. Maybe finally an adventure that is not dangerous. Rabbits aren't dangerous, right?

“So... Rimuru-sama also told me to investigate the island. It's Claymans island so it must have a purpose.” Diablo said, asking for information Nemu might have gathered. Nemu told Diablo what Corsar told them. That they wanted to summon more demons, attack the forest and everything else he said. He also told Diablo about the monsters protecting the island and that someone must have brought them here. Apparently, this Clayman guy is pretty skilled in mind control things and also responsible for the illusion of the castle, Diablo called it lacking. So the doubts that there is someone else responsible is rather low. Diablo will take Corsar with him, for more questions. His words. Now Nemu kinda felt bad. But not for long.

Trewy was only half hearing what they were talking about. She looked back at the, now, abandoned demon castle. A day ago, she would have liked to explore it. After all, its something you don't see everyday. When they first arrived the castle looked scary for them, Trewy was sure that this was also a purpose. Demon architecture was weird. While most races build homes that are looking welcoming and comfortable, demons tend to build homes that look scary and impressive. Most of it was just for show. The inside of the building was boring. And she decided that she wont go inside again. Also she wanted to avoid the bloody room. It wasn't good for her stomach, there might be other entrances, but it's just not worth it. She let out a sigh and turned away from it.

“You don't want to go inside again, right?” Nemu was reading her thoughts. He felt the same.

Trewy nodded. “Yes, I wanted to discover the forest and this building... It just isn't a part of the forest.”

Even Nemu agreed. However, he lost everything he had in his stoma... dimensional space in the castle. He felt bad. Rimuru prepared everything and now it's gone. He decided to pick up the leftovers soon. The food is, without a doubt, destroyed, but there should be a few gifts for the tribes left. But it won't be enough for a new raft. So they had to leave the island another way. Fortunately, they now had a flying demon with them!

Diablo told them that he was going on a raid soon. The illusion artifact seemed to interest him and there might be other interesting things in the castle. He also told them that the island will probably change soon. Weak demons can't control their aura and demon aura isn't good for the environment. When Nemu and Trewy first arrived they noticed the creepy trees. There was demonic energy in it and it would disappear after a while. Trewy was very glad about that. Like she said before, the castle wasn't part of the forest she swore to protect. And if the land can recover she will be happy.

Nemu now understood something. He asked Trewy a while ago if it's okay for her if they build roads and a town in the forest. However, she said that it's all part of the forest, just different. The demons brought something in the forest that wasn't supposed to be here. And it destroyed the forest, while the inhabitants of Tempest just used what was given them by the forest.

Well, and now they had to deal with their biggest problem. The harpies. They were finally on their birdlike claws again and silently waiting for... something. They had to bring them home, or at least to Tempest. But they were still very exhausted. It wasn't just the food. For days they could not sleep properly in the cold cell and this is a problem that even a meal cannot solve. They wouldn't even reach Tempest.

It was then.

“Something is coming!” Nemu said out loud. Something strong, with incredible speed. Diablo turned towards it a second later. Ha! Slime senses are still the best. But before he could be more happy.

Something crashed into Diablo, who already had his wings out. The shockwave threw everyone on the ground. Besides Nemu, who was already on the ground. And... Diablo, he just stood there like nothing happened. Not even a step back from his former position. How strong is he? Nemu really wanted to know that.

“Fufufufu...!” He just laughed as he looked at the person in front of him. “Now that's a surprise.”