The So-Called Demon Lord

"Notice: Unknown information source detected—"

"Analysis successful—"

"Linking—"

"Generating template—"

"Due to Great Sage's traits, retained skills—Appraisal, Read, and Evolution—have been integrated into All Things. Supernatural Paradise Coin charges waived!"

"Analyzing Seventh Sequence: Thunder Priest."

"Analysis complete. Confirmed—"

"Personal panel—generated."

So, were you Great Sage now, or Supernatural Paradise?

"Answer: By analyzing the information source, partial Paradise permissions have been acquired. Able to receive commands from the Paradise main program, access the Paradise database, forge partial Paradise information, resist Paradise commands, and directly alter Paradise commands. The final action carries a chance of detection and is highly likely to trigger the cleanup protocol."

Oh, got it. You'd stolen part of its authority and become a fake admin...

So did that mean Great Sage might be able to swallow this shitty Paradise whole someday?

At that thought, Jiang Rui was instantly fired up. His goal: swallow Paradise!

"Would you like to disguise your identity and join Supernatural Paradise—"

Was there a Hunter identity? Jiang Rui waited hopefully...

"Answer: No relevant identity available."

Fine. Give me an ordinary identity, then.

"Authority granted—"

In an instant, countless methods of using various functions appeared in Jiang Rui's mind, as natural as instinct.

With a thought, his character panel appeared.

But he did not inspect it closely. This was not the best time for research.

He came back to his senses.

The huge, bloated Kingpin pointed his cane at him, unable to hide the deep wariness beneath his shock.

Eh? Why had he suddenly become so short?

"Um..."

The moment he spoke, Jiang Rui froze. The crisp voice was unmistakably the one from his original body.

Huh? Jiang Rui looked at his slender arms and twirled a lock of sky-blue hair around his fingers.

Utterly dumbfounded!

Then he looked at Kingpin—

━Σ(Д|||)

Fine, whatever.

Why had he turned into this?

"Answer: True Name acquired."

Jiang Rui pulled up his panel. True Name acquired... combined with the self-perception deep within his soul and the fact that he had devoured the girl Ruksinth, did that mean his True Name Liberation form had become Rimuru's appearance?

So, my little brother—was gone?

With a sigh, he accepted it. Gone... was gone.

The look was pretty good, though: Demon Lord-era Rimuru's black trench coat and leather boots—

He was just a little short...

At 130 centimeters tall, he looked exactly like a—little girl!

Sky-blue hair, golden eyes, and a face that would absolutely drive stupid women crazy—Kingpin tensed his muscles as he examined the... girl that had emerged after turning into black mist and swallowing someone.

Though shocked, the composure he had developed from years in a position of power kept his face calm and unreadable.

His voice was low and oppressive. "A mutant? You... ate her!"

"Nope." Jiang Rui played with his hair, winding it around his fingers as he unconsciously used Ruksinth's favorite tone to explain.

"Just collecting a corpse."

He walked over to the glass wall, sat down on the floor, and awkwardly tossed his hair. He was still not quite used to this new body.

When he spoke, his voice was crisp yet cool.

"I saved you, Kingpin!"

Seemingly realizing that Jiang Rui had no intention of fighting, Kingpin lowered his cane, walked behind the shattered desk, and dropped heavily into his chair.

The chair let out an unwilling groan. Creak—

Jiang Rui seriously suspected that chair was some kind of divine artifact. It had survived even this.

"You clearly had a grudge against her... and you invaded my territory as well."

Kingpin was not an idiot.

"A grudge..." A flicker of emotion flowed through Jiang Rui's golden eyes as he remembered that Chinese man who had spoken so proudly of his younger sister.

He sighed. "I won't deny that."

"Kingpin, I need to make one thing clear." Jiang Rui stood up, threads of lightning leaping in his eyes.

"I'm not asking for repayment because I saved you. I didn't need to save you to kill her—"

"And I haven't touched a single part of your organization."

"So tell me, why do you think I saved you?"

After a moment, Kingpin nodded.

"What do you want?"

He was vicious and ruthless, but he was not brainless. The other party's abilities were strange, and there was no need to provoke trouble with a superhuman.

More importantly, he had heard something in Jiang Rui's words.

A necessary exchange of interests. A necessary partnership.

That was one reason for saving you.

"Do you remember my name?"

"Brent? Brent... Rand?"

"That's right." Jiang Rui clapped his hands, a cute smile blooming across his face. "I want to replace Madam Gao."

Kingpin found the whole thing strangely awkward. A beautiful girl was seriously telling him that she wanted to replace his most important business partner...

"You want Madam Gao's business... but the factory has already..."

"Blown up. I know."

Jiang Rui turned and saw his reflection in the glass, blinking at it...

I'm really adorable!!!

Every old man truly had the heart of a young girl!

Kingpin Tower was incredibly tall. From here, he could see nearly all of Hell's Kitchen.

He pointed out the window. In that direction, a massive fire had already broken out, thick smoke billowing through the night and making the scene seem especially mysterious.

Madam Gao... if she was not dead, then it was fine if she returned to Kunlun...

"Anyway, if Madam Gao contacts you, I hope you'll let me know. As for the factory—"

Unconcealed disgust appeared on his face.

"If it's destroyed, it's destroyed. What I want is the surname, Mr. Kingpin."

"Rand Corporation?"

"Yes. I don't care if you take over all the other forces. I only want a clean, clean Rand Enterprises."

"Fine." Kingpin sold out Madam Gao without hesitation, just as Madam Gao had sold him out in the original story.

Jiang Rui breathed a sigh of relief. The Rand surname had nothing to do with him, fortunately Kingpin did not care about that either. They both understood.

Jiang Rui activated Mimicry and returned to Brent Rand's appearance, which surprised Kingpin once again.

Jiang Rui did not deliberately conceal it. Since Kingpin had accidentally discovered his true form, he might as well hand it over as leverage.

Besides, he might have other identities in the future.

"I am Brent Rand." He looked at Kingpin and repeated himself.

The other man nodded in understanding.

"As repayment, I will do some things within my ability for you, including protection, but I will not kill."

"Believe me, Mr. Kingpin."

"In the future, you will be sincerely glad for our partnership."

That night, the Slime—Jiang Rui—who aspired to become a great Demon Lord, said exactly that.

Indeed, saving Kingpin might have been a terrible disaster for Hell's Kitchen. But if Kingpin had died, gangs across America would inevitably have gone to war, reshuffling the balance of power. How much slaughter would follow? How many families would be torn apart?

Jiang Rui did not know.

Nor could he be bothered to know.

Whether he had avenged the young Chinese man or despised Ruksinth's indiscriminate killing...

It was all merely his "humanity"—in other words, conceptual things such as the moral standards within his perception.

He was not a saint. He was merely a "Demon Lord" who held to his bottom line and always remembered that he had once been kind.

So one could not expect him to raise the banner of a saint and start a revolution.

Capitalism was beyond saving. Goodbye!

Thus, he declined the car offered by Kingpin's men.

After learning the name and address of the young Chinese man who had come to pick him up, he set off on foot.

He walked quietly through the night.

At the edge of the city.

At last, he arrived at a cemetery.

He spent the entire night there.

And erected two gravestones.

"Zheng Wen."

"Ruksinth."