The scene shifted far, far away — to the other half of the world.
In a vast, majestic hall built from ancient black stone and glowing crystals, eight supreme beings sat around a massive circular table. This was the Octagram — the council of the eight most powerful Demon Lords who ruled the eastern half of the world.
Each of them was a legend in their own right.
Guy Crimson, the oldest and most feared.
Milim Nava, the destructive Demon Lord who looked like a playful little girl.
Ramiris, the fairy-like ruler of the labyrinth.
Dagruel, the giant warrior.
Din, the sleepy one.
Luminus Valentine, the vampire queen.
Leon Cromwell, the former hero turned Demon Lord.
And Rimuru Tempest, the slime who had risen to become one of the strongest among them.
The atmosphere in the hall was unusually tense.
Several Demon Lords had sent their most trusted spies to investigate the "other side" — the western half of the world where humans, the Goddess of Light, and the Dragon Kingdom existed. The reports had just come in.
One of the spies knelt in the center of the table and spoke with a trembling voice.
"My lords… something dangerous is brewing on the other side. The Goddess of Light has summoned heroes again. There was a massacre in a small human village. The heroes used civilians as shields and fled, causing great resentment. One of the summoned humans — a man named Luo Feng — has killed one of the Goddess's heroes and is now fleeing toward the Holy Kingdom. The tension between the human kingdoms and the Goddess's forces is growing rapidly. It looks like… a large-scale war might break out soon."
The Octagram remained silent for a moment.
Rimuru Tempest, currently in his human form with silver-blue hair and a calm, intelligent expression, leaned forward slightly. His golden eyes narrowed.
"A war sparked by the Goddess's own heroes slaughtering innocents…" he murmured. "Interesting. The Goddess has always been arrogant. If she pushes too hard, the balance might break."
Milim Nava swung her legs cheerfully while grinning.
"War? War sounds fun! Can I go play too?"
Guy Crimson's crimson eyes gleamed with dark amusement.
"If a war starts on the other side, it may eventually spill over to ours. We should keep watching. Especially this 'Luo Feng' who managed to kill a Goddess-blessed hero. He intrigues me."
Rimuru rested his chin on his hand, a small, thoughtful smile on his lips.
"Send more spies. I want to know everything about this man and the situation in the Dragon Kingdom and Holy Kingdom. If the Goddess is involved, we cannot be careless."
The other Demon Lords nodded in agreement.
The Octagram had spoken.
Far away, in the Holy Kingdom of Elysium, Luo Feng was peacefully sleeping beside Lina and their newborn son, completely unaware that the most powerful beings on the other side of the world had just begun to take notice of him.
The gears of a much larger conflict were slowly starting to turn.