The forest was quiet.
Too quiet, Loki thought, standing high above the tree line with the Great Forest stretching endlessly beneath him.
Sunlight spilled through the leaves in broad green shafts. The wind carried the smell of earth, lumber, smoke, and monster blood long dried into the soil. Somewhere below, axes rose and fell in steady rhythm. Voices called out. Wood cracked. A village was being built.
Before heading in, Loki looked down at himself.
His old maroon suit had served him well.
It had style and it had class.
It had a certain "dangerous nobleman who might ruin your country by accident" charm.
But now?
Now he was a Demon Lord.
Which meant the outfit had to go.
He raised one hand.
Dark light wrapped around his body and his appearance shifted piece by piece, like a warlord dragging himself out of legend. A horned black helmet formed first, heavy and brutal, the metal dark as a moonless night. Beneath it, his own horns curved up and around one another in their usual intertwined shape, twisting together like a black crown. His hair spilled down from under the helm in thick maroon waves, the ends tipped in gold now, like embers trapped in silk.
A huge mantle of fur draped over his shoulders and down his back, wide and imposing, giving him the silhouette of something that should be standing on a battlefield with armies kneeling below it. His chest remained bare beneath it, marked by old scars and dark patterns. Thick belts, layered cloth, and black armored pieces wrapped around his waist and legs. Heavy boots grounded him. Black gloves settled over his hands.
Then came the hammer.
Ragnir formed in his grip with a deep metallic weight that made the air around it seem denser. Its massive black head looked less like a weapon and more like the final argument in a war.
Loki lifted it once, testing the balance.
Perfect.
He grinned.
"Yeah," he said to himself. "That's the one."
This was it.
His ultimate warrior form.
It wasn't elegant or refined.
Just overwhelming.
He looked like the kind of person a prophecy would desperately try to keep out.
Satisfied, Loki lowered himself through the trees and approached the village from above.
It was small and primitive.
Crude wooden huts. Newly raised fences. Watch posts that tried very hard to look more intimidating than they actually were. But it was alive. Organized and growing.
And more importantly, the goblins weren't goblins anymore.
Loki's eyes narrowed as he watched them work.
'Hobgoblins.'
That confirmed it.
Rimuru had already named them.
So the story had already moved.
He spotted the slime a moment later.
Blue and small.
Moving around the center of the village while several hobgoblins worked nearby under his guidance.
Loki smiled.
"Found you."
He dropped soundlessly onto the roof of one of the larger huts and sat there, one leg bent, the other hanging loose, Ragnir resting across his shoulder as he looked down over the village like he owned it.
It took a few seconds for anyone to notice him.
Then one of the hobgoblins stopped mid-step and looked up.
That was all it took.
Voices died.
Movement stopped.
More heads turned upward.
Weapons were reached for.
Rimuru looked up last.
At first, all he saw was a stranger.
A huge stranger.
A horned helmet. Fur mantle. Massive hammer. The sort of silhouette that immediately made his instincts start screaming.
'Okay.'
'That's bad.'
'That's very bad.'
He had no idea who the man was yet, but nothing about him said friendly traveler.
More like walking catastrophe.
The hobgoblins had similar reactions. They didn't know what they were looking at, but they knew immediately that whatever it was, it did not belong in a peaceful village.
Rigur stepped protectively in front of Rimuru.
Gobta stared upward and swallowed hard.
Rigurd's entire body had gone tense.
Loki looked over them all and then smiled.
"Good," he said. "You finally noticed me."
Nobody answered.
Rimuru cleared his nonexistent throat.
"Uh…"
He forced a laugh that convinced absolutely no one.
"Can we help you?"
Loki looked directly at him.
Then, with complete calm, said, "I am Demon Lord Loki. And I have a question for you."
The silence that followed was immediate and absolute.
It was as if the words themselves had knocked the air out of the village.
Rigur's eyes widened.
Gobta nearly dropped his weapon.
Several of the hobgoblins visibly stiffened.
Rimuru froze.
'Demon Lord?'
'Did he just say Demon Lord?!'
'Why is a Demon Lord here?!'
His thoughts instantly escalated.
'Why is the final boss standing on my roof?!'
The stranger had just introduced himself with the kind of title that belonged near the end of a story, not in the middle of a tiny village of newly named monsters and one overworked slime.
Loki watched the panic spread and looked deeply pleased by it.
At the very least, his entrance had landed properly.
Rimuru tried to recover first.
Because of course he did.
He was still scared out of his mind, but being polite was practically built into him at this point.
"I-I see," he said. "Nice to meet you. I'm Rimuru. Rimuru Arashi."
He sounded much calmer than he felt.
Inside, he was spiraling.
'Why am I introducing myself politely to a Demon Lord?'
'Because if I don't, I might die, that's why.'
Loki's expression sharpened a little.
'So. Arashi huh. I guess Veldora gave him our shared name'
That confirmed even more.
He looked around the village again and gave a quiet laugh.
"This is cute. What you have here."
Rimuru blinked.
Loki gestured lazily with one hand.
"A slime, a handful of newly evolved hobgoblins, and a village that would cease to exist if I were to accidentally sneezd."
His smile widened.
"An alliance of weaklings."
Gobta looked offended for half a second.
Then remembered who had said it and wisely kept his mouth shut.
Rimuru laughed nervously again.
"Well…"
He tried to keep things light.
"Everyone starts somewhere, right?"
Loki looked at him for a second longer than was comfortable.
Then Rimuru did what he always did when something terrifying showed up.
He called for Great Sage.
'Great Sage. Analyze him.'
A beat passed.
Then the answer came.
[Analysis failed.]
Rimuru's entire soul sank.
'No no no no no.'
'That's illegal.'
'Great Sage is not supposed to just say no!'
He fought to keep the panic off his face, but judging by Loki's expression, he wasn't doing a particularly good job.
Loki shifted Ragnir slightly on his shoulder.
Then he asked the real question.
"Tell me something."
His gaze stayed on Rimuru.
"Have you seen a dragon?"
Rimuru's body went rigid.
Loki continued.
"Black. Loud. Dramatic and calls himself Veldora."
There it was.
Rimuru felt every alarm inside him go off at once.
'Oi, this is terrible.'
He had no idea why a Demon Lord was looking for Veldora, but there were only two possibilities in his mind, and both of them were awful.
Either Loki wanted to kill Veldora.
Or Loki wanted Veldora.
Rimuru immediately decided that neither option was acceptable.
So he lied.
"Nope," he said. "Never heard of him."
Loki did not answer.
He simply looked at Rimuru.
For a moment, that was all.
Then the pressure changed.
He released some of his Haki.
The village dropped under it.
The hobgoblins didn't stand a chance. One after another they collapsed, their bodies giving out beneath the pressure of a genuine Demon Lord's will. Weapons slipped from limp fingers. Knees hit the ground. Gobta went face-first into the dirt.
Only Rimuru stayed conscious.
Barely.
His slime body trembled violently, every instinct screaming at him to submit, to run, to do anything except remain in front of this monster.
Loki's voice came out softer now.
"Are you lying to me?"
Rimuru was terrified.
Utterly.
Completely.
But if he gave Veldora away now, he had no idea what would happen next.
So somehow, against all common sense, he held the line.
"No," he said.
His internal thoughts were far more honest.
'I am absolutely lying to you.'
'This is the worst moment of my new life.'
'Please don't kill me.'
Loki held his gaze for one long second.
Then he laughed.
The pressure lifted at once.
Air returned to the village.
Loki looked delighted.
"I like you," he said.
Rimuru blinked.
"…What?"
Loki pointed at him.
"You've got guts."
Then he smiled.
"So I'll take you as my subordinate."
Rimuru's thoughts blanked for a moment.
Then exploded.
'What!?'
'What kind of conversation is this?'
'Why did this go from interrogation to forced recruitment?!'
Outwardly, he hesitated.
And that was a mistake.
Loki's smile sharpened.
"Do you intend to reject me Rimuru?"
That pressure didn't return fully.
The implication alone was enough.
Rimuru folded immediately.
"N-no!"
He laughed nervously.
"Of course not!"
Inside, he was screaming.
'I reject this spiritually, emotionally, and legally!'
'But I also want to live!'
Loki nodded once, satisfied.
"Good."
For a brief moment, he considered forcing the issue with Veldora.
He could make Rimuru release the dragon now.
He was almost certain of it.
But after a moment he discarded the idea.
'No.'
'For now, leaving Veldora there is better for me too.'
Too many things had already shifted. Better not tear open every thread at once.
He looked back at Rimuru.
The slime was still trying to look composed after nearly being crushed by pure killing intent.
It was honestly admirable.
Loki smiled again.
Then space opened beneath his feet.
A black circle formed.
Before dropping through it, he rested Ragnir back against his shoulder and said, "I'll see you again, Rimuru."
Then, after a short pause, he added, "Try not to die before then."
And with that, he vanished.
The pressure disappeared with him.
For several seconds, Rimuru just sat there in complete silence.
Then he let out the biggest sigh of relief of his entire second life.
'What was that?!'
'Why is the final boss recruiting subordinates in the starter village?!'
---
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