“Fufufufu...!” He just laughed as he looked at the person in front of him. “Now that's a surprise.”
Before the dust settled down the person kept attacking, but... every attack was neatly and cleanly dodged, as if all this was a pre-orchestrated song of continuing attacks. But... Diablo was weaving its way through every strike, using skills far beyond what a demon like Corsar would have been able to do. The dust was long blown away by the, what was supposed to be, heavy attacks.
With a light exhale, the person focused and fired a fist at the demon, backing it up with a flurry of sharp kicks with a speed impossible to catch with the naked eye. It was a torrent of punches, a rain of kicks that could chop even a large tree in two. However, Diablo still didn't move from his spot. Avoiding or blocking the barrier of attacks without stepping away. And then, the person suddenly stopped, backing away.
“Fufufufu, have you had enough yet? In that case, it's my tur...”
“Stop!” One of the harpies flew with her last strength left right between the opponents. “That's... That's the demon who saved us, Frey-sama!”
After the dust settled down the person was now clearly to see. Without a doubt, a harpy. She had wings on her back and talons of feet. With her white hair and a red dress, she looked almost like an angel. And... her boobs were something that made even Shions look small. Hardly to be explained by physical laws. She wasn't wearing a crown or something that human royaltey usually wears, but there was a feeling of royalty in her aura. Definitely not a normal harpy.
Nemu immediately recognized that she was a Harpie. Even before the dust had settled. Her aura reminded her of the 3 little Harpies. Although it was much stronger. And Nemu realized something else immediately. Diablo knew it too. His characteristic smile grew as the battle began. Of course, he also knew that she was not an enemy and that it was a misunderstanding. The reason not to tell? He wanted to fight her. He certainly wouldn't have gone so far as to seriously hurt her, but he was definitely having fun. She was known worldwide as one of the 10 Great Demonlords. After the 10 Great Demonlords became the Octagram, she resigned her position becoming Milim's subordinate.
Of course, this was not information that many people knew. But Veldora had told a lot after he crashed the meeting of the demon lords. He told Nemu about it. Wait...? Didn't he also tell about Rimuru defeating one of the demon lords? Was it that Clayman?
"Who are you?" Frey was tense, not letting her guard down, she asked.
Diablo seemed a little disappointed that the fight was interrupted. Someone who didn't know him wouldn't have noticed because he was still smiling. But for someone who has seen him a few times, it was obvious.
“My name is Diablo. Rimuru-samas loyal secretary.” Diablo introduced himself.
“Secretar-y” Frey stuttered. “How can a mere slime have such a monster under his wings?”
'Ohh, you shouldn't have said that.' Nemu immediately jumped back.
Obviously, she knew better. Rimuru was stronger than her, he was friends with Milim and Veldora, even Guy approved him as a demon lord. He was everything but a mere slime. But it's not easy to get rid of old habits. A few days ago, when asked who was the weakest creature, she would have answered slime without hesitation.
And Diablo reacted as expected. For the first time he lost control over his aura. A violent, demonic storm of pure energy arose for him. Even all the demons that were in the castle did not have even a fragment of the power that Diablo emanated. "What did... you just say?" His smile, gone. Replaced by a terrifying look.
Trewy fell on her butt, unable to breath. Nemu was prepared so it didn't affect him too much, also, he was with Milim and Veldora for a while, Diablo wasn't even close to them, however, there was this aggressiveness and anger emitting by Diablo that was not in comparison to the two. The harpies were about to pass out. Frey? Even she had fear in her eyes, only her pride didnt let her step back.
“I'm sorry.” She said in her strongest voice possible. A demon lord apologizing to a subordinate of a slime. The world surely is a strange place. She didn't lie, she was now a subordinate to Milim and Milim was friends with Rimuru. So she was actually sorry and didn't just say it because the situation brought her to it.
After another second, Diablo finally got his composure back. He smiled again. But his eyes seemed much more threatening than before. His “all good” nod couldn't be more fake.
“I have to thank you for saving them, I assumed that you are one of the demons responsible for catching them. Rimuru already told me that he sent someone, but he didn't mention that he would send a demon.” Frey said, she tried to keep it short because she obviously wanted to leave as quickly as possible. “Are there any demons left?” She looked towards the castle. She probably already knew the answer, if there was another demon alive, they most likely wouldn't be standing out here. But she was angry. That's why she attacked without thinking much. She was aware that 3 harpies had disappeared. But she was so busy that she couldn't take care of it personally. If she had known that Clayman was behind it.... Good thing he's dead. She had allied herself with him, even if it was only fake. And Clayman had captured the Harpies to use as leverage if Frey ever turned on him. If they hadn't been found here, she probably never would have found out what happened to them. And that was unacceptable. She had to be thankful.
“I just followed orders. Without these two, they would have been dead.” Diablo humbly said. Diablo was humble? Nemu didn't know that. While it was true that they saved the harpies, without Diablo they wouldn't have left the castle either.
For the first time since Frey arrived, she noticed the unusual duo. "A young dryad and a red slime?" She raised her brow. "Well, you don't see that every day. I haven't even heard of red slimes. Anyways, I guess I have to thank you, too. You have done well.”
Nemu and Trewy were flattered. A compliment by the Sky Queen herself was something most people can't even dream about. And it wasn't only her status. She was an incredibly beautiful woman. And it's always great to get a compliment from a beautiful woman, right? Trewy and Nemu didn't know how to react. However, Frey realized the reaction and let out a giggle. Finally, the tension was gone.
Now Frey looked at the harpies. They were pale and skinny with big black sags under their eyes. She flinched. Cursing Clayman. She had to bring them back. But before she did that. The harpies all stood up and gave Nemu and Trewy a hug. They would have done the same with Diablo, but after his reaction not too long ago, they were afraid. Also, Nemu was sure that Diablo wouldn't like it. He is just not the kind of guy for hugs. Would he like a hug from Rimuru? Probably.
Before they left. Frey was in deep thought. She wanted to give them something to show her gratitude. And then she had an idea. Her hand moved to her snow-white wings. And two feathers came off her wings. She didn't pull them out. As if by magic, they came off. "I'm sorry I can't give you more, but please accept these feathers. A token of my gratitude."
In human lands, there were black markets. They traded in all parts of monsters. But not just mindless monsters. Some of them also sold parts of humanoid ones. Of course, it was strictly forbidden and whoever was caught spent a long time in prison. There was nothing worse than messing with monsters. Even countries that despised monsters forbade trade. It was just a senseless provocation. And harpies were especially dangerous. Everyone knew that the leader of the Harpies was one of the most feared Demonlords. But still, there were some criminal organizations that also traded in parts of harpies. And feathers of a Harpy were the most valuable. Many shady nobles paid high prices for them. And what they got now was a feather of the legendary Sky Queen herself. An incredibly valuable good. Of course, they would never sell it.
“Tha... Thank you.” Nemu said, caught off guard. He knew how special such a gift was. Well, it wasn't really a gift, but still, it felt like they didn't deserve something so great.
She struggled for a moment because she didn't know how to give them to Nemu, who had no hands. But gave both of them to Trewy then. Nemu will later use his absorb skill. Of course, he won't let the feather in his dimensional space. When Nemu get a home, he will find a special place for the feather! Hmm, it would be a good start for his collection of special things from his journey, right? He decided to think about that later.
Diablo didn't want something. He would be more than fine with praise from Rimuru. That's the only thing in this world that had value for him anyways. However, Frey didn't even ask him. He was just smiling and looking at the scene. From time to time Frey gave him a suspicious glance. Who was he? She asked herself the question over and over again. Is it possible that... No. That's impossible. Anyways, she will definitely start her research about Tempest and his inhabitants. If there are more monsters like Diablo she gravely underestimated them. Rimuru was incredibly strong, but from what she had seen in the fight against Clayman, even Diablo would have been able to defeat him. Something she couldn't have done. Not after Claymans awakening. Also, she had to thank Rimuru later. He immediately contacted her after he found out that there are harpies. Something she very much appreciated. She would not have been able to forgive herself if something had happened to the Harpies. It was her game. She wanted to find out what Clayman was planning. Getting innocent kids involved was unacceptable.
However, in the end, everything turned out to be good. Now she had to deal with Milim again. Frey already felt that she is currently doing something that would cause her a lot of trouble. She let out an exhausted sigh. The last weeks were tiring. And not only that. She immediately flew here after she heard that there are harpies in trouble. Harpies were incredibly fast in the sky, but still, from her country to this place. It's a way that would take most people several months. And she flew here in under two hours. And now she had to carry three exhausted harpies back to her country. What a troublesome day.
Nemu and Trewy. She will remember the names. “If you ever visit my country, show someone the feather, it will bring you to me. I hope to see you again. So again, thank you for your help.” She said as a goodbye.
After taking the harpies in her arms, she slowly took off. Although they had wings, harpies usually flew with magic. So her wings were only very slowly and elegantly flapping. The Harpies waved to Trewy, Nemu and Diablo while being held by Frey. And then, Frey started heading to her country. What was slow at the beginning, changed with a flap of the wings to a speed that was hard to follow with the eye.
After looking in the direction of the harpies for some time, even though they were long gone, Nemu asked. "So how do we get off this island now?"
