The atmosphere in New Alabaster shifted the moment the sky above the railway station seemed to lose its luster—not due to clouds, but because of the arrival of Ulquiorra Cifer. The inspection visit from the Minister of Order was not announced with fanfare, but with a sudden weight in the chest of every inhabitant. He walked across the newly polished marble platforms, his emerald eyes analyzing the joints of every building and the efficiency of population flows with mathematical coldness.
Coyote Starrk received him on the terrace of the Governor's Palace. While Lilynette attempted, without success, to provoke some emotional reaction from the silent Ulquiorra, the two powerful Arrancars exchanged a look of understanding.
— This place has a different noise from the capital — Ulquiorra commented, observing the surveillance network intertwine with Starrk's passive perception. — There is a vibration of greed coming from the humans. They are satisfied with the profit, but satisfaction generates carelessness.
— They are humans, Ulquiorra. Let them trade their silks and breads — Starrk replied with his slow, drawling voice. — As long as the silence of order is maintained, I see no need to tighten the grip.
However, Ulquiorra's "inspection" served to synchronize the two cities. Now, any thought of betrayal in New Alabaster echoed instantly in Sirzechs' office in the capital. This administrative efficiency began to generate waves that crossed Jura's borders, reaching the ears of the cardinals of the Holy Church. In the chambers of the Seven Days Council, the mood was not one of open war, but of deep commercial unease. The reports arriving did not speak of massacres, but of market loss. The elite artisans, who once paid heavy tithes to the Church for protection, were migrating en masse to the "Heresy Zone" of Alabaster. The reason was simple and devastating: the security there was absolute and the taxes, though rigid, were fair.
— It is not an invasion of swords, it is an invasion of coins — one of the bishops commented, analyzing a sample of runic silk from New Alabaster. — They are offering what they call the "Marble Peace." If we do not act, faith will be replaced by logistical convenience.
The Church's initial reaction was subtle. They issued a "Commercial Purity Alert," advising neighboring kingdoms not to accept goods that were not blessed. However, the advice fell on deaf ears when human merchants realized that Avalon steel did not break and Benedict's bread did not easily rot. The feeling on the streets of New Alabaster was one of cautious optimism. The humans felt the Church was displeased, but as they looked up and saw Starrk's solitary silhouette at the palace, or crossed paths with Ulquiorra's empty gaze during his inspection, the fear of divine reprisals was quickly replaced by the certainty of the Duchy's immediate protection.
Sirzechs, upon reading the final inspection report sent by Grayfia, smiled.
— The Church is nervous about our scales, not our armies. For now, let them attempt the blockade. Nothing makes a merchant more loyal than the prohibition of guaranteed profit.
The delicate balance Sirzechs and Rimuru had built began to crack under the weight of its own prosperity. The rise of New Alabaster and the overwhelming success of Avalon's trade routes drained the coffers of the Kingdom of Falmuth. Greedy nobles and merchants who once held a monopoly saw their influence collapse before Arrancar efficiency. Under pressure from the Church and a thirst for profit, Falmuth took the unforgivable step: it initiated a campaign of sabotage and aggression against the Jura-Tempest Federation.
The conflict escalated rapidly. While Sirzechs kept his Swords vigilant on Avalon's borders, Rimuru saw his beloved Tempest attacked. The Church's purification barrier, combined with the invasion of Falmuth's troops, resulted in the tragedy that would change Jura's destiny. The blood of his subjects stained the streets of Tempest, and the silence that followed the massacre was the prelude to something terrible.
Sirzechs, upon learning of the event, did not immediately intervene with military force. He knew the weight of destiny. However, he sent Ulquiorra and Grayfia to the borders of Tempest to observe. Through the Eye of the Void, they witnessed the moment when Rimuru's soul, once benevolent and hopeful, began to turn cold.
— Lord Sirzechs — Ulquiorra's voice echoed through the marble office, coming from the surveillance network. — The emotional "noise" of Tempest has vanished. What remains there is an absence of light that even my vacuum cannot describe. Rimuru-sama is about to transmute his despair into something absolute.
In the center of Tempest, Rimuru sat before the bodies of his friends, surrounded by the barrier he himself had raised. The Great Sage's notice regarding the possibility of resurrection through evolution into a Demon Lord was the spark. To reach that state, he needed ten thousand human souls. And the Falmuth army, arrogantly stationed nearby, was the perfect sacrifice.
Sirzechs watched Harribel's projection, which showed the enemy army laughing and celebrating their "victory."
— They do not understand — Sirzechs murmured, his crimson eyes glowing with a solemn sadness. — They woke a monster seeking to destroy a friend. Starrk, keep New Alabaster on maximum alert. From today, the Jura Axis will cease to be a commercial partnership to become an alliance of Gods.
Rimuru's awakening began with a violet glow that obscured the sun over the forest. He rose above the Falmuth battlefield, no longer as the friendly slime everyone knew, but as the reaper. "Megiddo," his new ability, began to pierce the hearts of the soldiers with drops of purified water and sunlight in a silent, mathematical execution.
As the souls were harvested, the world's system announced the start of the Walpurgis Banquet. Evolution was underway. In Avalon, the Hollows felt the change in atmospheric pressure. Benedict stopped kneading bread, feeling a chill in his soul; Dietrich stiffened his posture at the station; and Starrk opened one of his eyes, sensing that an equal had just been born.
Rimuru succumbed to the evolutionary sleep, but not before summoning Diablo to clean up the remains of the chaos. The Duchy of Avalon now had a neighbor who not only shared ideals but shared the same burden of dark divinity.