Shitara Slime Datta Ken (WN)
Awards and Evolution [2]

"Well, the problem is Diablo.

He will, without question, be the strongest among the candidates for evolution.

Not only is it the strongest among my subordinates, but it even peeps at my own strength.

Diablo was now stronger than when he fought with Benimaru. (TN: See Tournament Arc) His defeat at the time only triggered a desire to overcome such bad conditions at a later time.

Therefore, he, even at this time, is the strongest among my subordinates.

Lord Raphael's wisdom had calculated so, so there was no doubt.

Following Diablo in the ranks are, Benimaru, Shion, and Zegion in that order.

Following them were the 3 Demon Dukes. (TN: Carrera, Testa, and Ultima I assume)

The Zegion was a bit of a shock, but Diablo was still much stronger.

This Diablo must evolve.

With his strength now surpassing that of Me when I first evolved, his evolution was one that I anticipated greatly.

“I give you the title ‘King of Demon’. (TN: The author keeps calling all the goddamn demon kings. Longer notes at the end.)

Continue to serve Me as My faithful confidant and as the leader of the Devils. ”

“Kufufufu, it will be my honor, Rimuru-sama!”

And the devil was born.

Diablo's evolution placed him on the highest peak along with the strongest in this world.

With the somewhat disappointing evolution of Benimaru and Shion, he was truly the one who could stand beside me.

It was done in an instant.

I thought for a moment that it would be similar to Shion, but it wasn't.

He controlled all the energy increases perfectly, and did not let them be seen.

That's Diablo to you, just excellence. (TN: Sassug)

Compressed magic rivaled or even surpassed the amount I saw before in the Demon Lord Dagrule.

With this evolution, we have acquired another great asset.

Can I fight it out this time? What are my secret thoughts.

Diablo Gifts (TN: blessings, or mechanics where your subordinates can become stronger only with you becoming stronger.) Deployed through his henchman Venom, and his 100 subordinate demon troops.

Venom evolved into the Demon Duke class.

But he was still weaker than the likes of Testarossa or Carrera.

Even being the same class of Demon Duke, his stats were not that high.

Among the Demon aristocracy, there were things like Dukes, Barons, and Knights.

First of all, the 3 Demon Dukes Diablo had brought in possessed enough strength to almost match himself.

The three people who had held positions among the strongest for so long would not lose to a novice like Venom.

This was not a fight of luck, and an increase in energy levels would also not give him an increase in intelligence.

This level difference would create an insurmountable difference in strength.

Still, it might be my imagination, but Diablo seemed to be holding back the spread of his Gift.

Honestly I don't know if it's possible, I feel like that's the problem.

But it's Diablo, so anything can happen. So this result is expected.

Diablo seems to have the view that one must gain power in his own way.

Even so, Venom was not too weak to begin with.

For better or worse, he became the Demon Duke.

That's enough evolution.

Furthermore, he did not overdo it after becoming the same class as Testarrossa and co, and duly noted the difference in strength between him and them.

Being a Diablo subordinate shows. (TN: Sassug)

Well if he's too ambitious, Diablo will probably end it there.

Diablo was not soft on those under his command.

Other than Venom, there were others who received the Gift.

The 100 subordinates of Venom who were here given the automat body of the Culture Capsule, had become elite Demon Chevaliers (TN: knights)

They were not as strong as Arch Demons, but surpassed the power of Demons. (TN: Majin) They might be able to finish off the Great Demon in one hit.

To be honest, their strength was unexpected.

Diablo exceeded common sense as he always did. (TN: Sassug)

But the person in question did not seem to care, and handed the Demon Chevaliers over to Venom's management.

Diablo's priorities seem to be useful to me.

Even after evolution, Diablo became Diablo.

Furthermore, it would be a gift for the people in the Labyrinth.

Zegion, Kumara, Adalman.

They called themselves members of the 10 Sovereigns of the Labyrinth.

At this point, worrying about them would rampage unnecessarily.

But to be safe, I did their evolution one by one.

First: Kumara.

Its new title is ‘Chimeric Lord’ Kumara.

The Kumara I took, yet the little silver-furred fox, is now the master of several Demon Beasts.

I had hidden it in Labyrinth ―― originally for ―― protection but, at some point, he had risen in rank as Floor Bosses, and was now one of the Guardian Labyrinth.

I still remember him as the Floor Boss.

I named her Kumara because she is the Nine-Tailed Fox. (TN: Kyu \= 9 \= Ku (mara)?)

I had left it on the newly created 90th floor where adventurers would most likely never arrive, and he then asked me to name a few of his friends on that floor.

It's important to note that I don't accept just because a little girl asks. (TN: lolicon.)

It's just a prank.

Naming monsters came with some high risks, but naming a Demon Beast somewhat reduced that risk.

Plus, these ferocious beasts were like children, so I named them without any problems.

And it produces a surprise before -> after. It surprised anyone. That surprised me!

What was done is done.

The Demon Beast became part of Kumara himself, he had obtained nine names from me.

It was past the time when they were little, and 8 of the Demon Beasts were lined up in front of me.

At first glance, they were each quite strong.

Kumara successfully evolved into a Demon King class.

Kumara's tail became golden, and her hair, a beautiful blend of silver and gold, flowed gently on her back.

Is it only her beauty that evolved?

No, surely his energy had also increased tremendously.

Kumara is very strong in her original body.

But, only after combining with the 8 Beasts in Chimera Mode was his true strength known.

Energy level ≠ real power, but their combined strength is not at all weak.

In other words, Kumara became strong \= 8 The Beast became strong.

It was like all the power given to the Beast was unfairly sent back to him.

No one could guess from her appearance as a beautiful woman, but she seemed to be the cold and calculating type.

Naturally, he could not get along with the naive and impulsive Apito.

From Energy's point of view, he now surpassed Gabil easily.

And this enormous power is still increasing.

He desperately kept his wits, so as not to rampage.

“Back and rest!”

He was a little frustrated with the order.

That part of him was still like a child.

I thought she wouldn't lose it even without me seeing her, and made her rest.

Perhaps like Ranga, after a deep sleep, his body would be adjusted to the new strength.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to its growth.

Please don't think I'm looking forward to her new beauty. I really don't. (TN: * sweating *)

Though her new beauty will become a certain reality.

With that, Kumara returned to her own territory.

Now for Zegion.

The strongest in the Labyrinth.

The energy is the same as Benimaru.

His skill in martial arts and his ability to practice one on one with Veldora made his level of strength clear.

And the height of his strength was clearly shown, as he defeated the 7 strongest men sent by the Imperial Army in the final battle.

Now that I think about it, it looks like we took out the Demon Lord to the left and right ……

Want how else to say it is too much; the soul has been given to six of them already, and 2 has even completed its evolution.

There are those who still follow the Harvest Festival (TN: In the transition phase), and I have felt their new power flowing in.

Can you really give more soul? I was thinking, but my body greedily absorbed all the energy flowing in without any problem.

The process does not make it unstable, so there is no need to worry.

I need to lose weight and get the job done.

Don't be afraid, attack! his feelings.

How strong could the Zegion be? The thought gave me goosebumps (TN: metaphorical) for excitement.

He could have surpassed me, but that didn't matter as long as I had ‘Food’ Chain.

Let's wait without worry.

“You're strong. I never imagined you to be this strong.

It's thanks to his unrelenting efforts, good!

Continue polishing that power for me from now on.

And from now on, your degree is ‘Mysterious Master’. ”

“I'm so grateful!”

The usually stoic Zegion trembled with appreciation for my words.

Indiscriminately made phrases sound like quotations from scripture to Zegion.

He seems to see Me under some powerful divine lens, (TN: metaphorically, seeing Rimuru as a god) but I appreciate his passion.

I have prepared to collect and rescue rare and endangered Insects, but they have in turn become strong enough to protect Me.

Zegion's strength was not only the fruit of effort, but also thanks to his insane talent in handling Energy, and also, training with much stronger individuals.

She's strong, ‘kata nuff.

I give you a soul.

He trembled for a moment, but then shattered the raging power with his soul.

He proved that he was in control.

It was definitely not an achievement accomplished by his own efforts.

To be exact, it was not an instant transformation like Diablo.

He was also currently in a transitional state, but did not show it.

However, the transformation is frightening.

He transformed his outer shell into the ultimate metal, God Steel (TN: Hihi’irokane), through willpower.

His own body, his weapons.

Beyond the various laws of nature, he manipulated his exoskeleton into one that rivaled a God-class armor.

He had become, without a doubt, the strongest at least in close combat.

The melee was weak against spiritual beings, but it should not be a threat to him.

He had acquired many other abilities, and was still in the process of developing.

He pressed on it, but his body was still continuously being recreated.

I will then slowly confirm exactly how much he has changed.

(TN: I think the author is headed for the future here.)

And in this way, the Harvest Festival continues.

Zegion’s Gift has only one receiver: Apito.

Those who have me ‘namai’ and also renovated with my own flesh are only Zegion and Apito.

So for Zegion, Apito was like a sister.

Insect Floors have many other endangered species, but Gifts are not spread to them.

After eating his henchmen, Apito cocooned and was reborn.

The enormous scale of energy flowing in Gift form would destroy his current body.

But now she was reborn, to rule as a true queen.

After being reborn, he created some Devil Insects.

This community built with Insects will be the new image of the floor in the near future.

With the accumulated power of the insects he ate, Apito became a Devil class and reached the power of ‘Respect of Ratu’. And in addition to being one of the Ten Lords, he became a subregent of the night in Zegion.

Diablo had suppressed the deployment of his Gift, but Zegion gave his own to Apito without a backup, resulting in his extreme transformation.

Zegion did not mind Apito receiving this incredible Gift.

But all of this is a story after the victory party.

Apito never showed any sign of pain during the celebration.

It was an attempt to show her dignity as a queen; truly Zegion's outstanding siblings. (TN: Sassug)

After the celebration, Zegion and Apito would become chrysalis within the Labyrinth, and complete their evolution.

Zegion has gained new power from evolution.

‘Queen’s Reverence’ Apito surpasses the power of a Unique Skill and becomes a Pseudo-Ultimate Skill, such as ‘Absolute Defense’.

It was an incredible power, yes, but it was not comparable to the Zegion.

He has obtained a true Ultimate Skill ‘Illusion King Mephisto’.

An incredible ability, considering he was a disciple of Veldora.

With this power, Zegion made his position in the Labyrinth unshakable.