Audience With The Beast Emperor.

“Kindly accept my profound apologies for my protracted absence and failure to present my coordinates sooner, milord. Furthermore, I extend my most sincere congratulations on the grand initialization of our new sovereign’s cycle.”

Kneeling flat inside the audience chamber, the lion-kin beast-demon locked his posture into a deeply respectful bow. His thick body fur and the massive plate armoring enveloping his frame were manufactured from a matching, dazzling gold alloy.

Lord Beast Emperor (Gigantoror) Zegart.

Having been completely flagged as missing-in-action following his standard offensive campaign into the surface human realm, his signature had finally re-entered the capital’s grid.

“Raise your head,” I commanded, directing my voice from the high throne.

The only units presently clearing the room’s perimeter parameters were strictly myself, Zegart, Stella, and Olivier.

“I am Freed. Your successful return transit brings immense gratification to my profile. Moving forward down our operational timeline, I highly desire that your system continuously provides its high-tier combat metrics to back my sovereign vector. Let’s optimize our future campaigns.”

According to the analytical text-files, Zegart’s raw white-handed close-quarters brawling capacity scaled as a flawless peer match for Regal—if not exponentially superior. He was explicitly categorized as the absolute strongest vanguard-tier entity in the entire history of the Demon World. With the Hero’s massive invasion drawing close, integrating a high-caliber asset of his specifications into our network was a comprehensively reassuring development.

“Hieee, what a comprehensively terrifying, heavy passive-pressure wave~!” Olivier shuddered, her anxiety stats spiking under the aura. “Ah, but then again, my internal processors have zero interest in processing the male taxonomy. Girl-on-girl romance is the absolute, supreme pinnacle after all…!”

“Enforce a strict runtime limit on your delusion loops, Olivier,” Stella reprimanded her.

“Ah, my profound apologies, Onee-sama.”

“Omit that familial honorific while our profiles are locked inside an official governance sector.”

“Come, let’s ease up the rigid decorum rules,” I interjected, acting as the absolute mediator to defuse their vertical conflict.

“ …Hmm. A stark contrast compared to the previous sovereign, it seems,“ Zegart boomed, a low rumble escaping his massive throat.

“Did the historical administration of the previous Demon King, Yureesha, enforce exceptionally severe penalties across your lines?”

“Every single historical Demon King logged within the database enforced identical parameters, milord. They placed a rigid, supreme weight on absolute structural discipline, and their actions were comprehensively ruthless,” Zegart analyzed, his mandibles grinding. “Had a lower-tier subordinate dared to vent a casual behavioral routine like that in their presence, their profile would have hit an immediate execution protocol on the spot, with absolute zero room for administrative appeal.”

Isn’t that layout slightly overkill for a basic discipline check? I thought, a cold sweat breaking across my skin.

“Hieee… will my own character profile face an immediate summary execution loop now, too…?!” Olivier’s face turned comprehensively pale.

“Negative. My personal governance logic flatly refuses to inject a disciplinary penalty for mere behavioral quirks. Deactivate your fear parameters,” I assured her, running an immediate safety follow-up.

Pivoting my focus back onto Zegart’s coordinates, I pressed the matter.

“My methodology is bound to deviate significantly from the previous sovereign’s script, do we have an agreement on that boundary? My settings flatly refuse to lock our personnel within far too severe restrictions.”

“Fried-sama currently commands the absolute master registry of the realm. Whichever vector your sovereign heart dictates, my lines shall comply,” Zegart responded, executing a deeply respectful, solemn bow.

Securing his formal compliance provided a comfortable margin for my calculations.

“ —Shifting parameters… my network has harvested a data node indicating that when the Undead King, Regal, initially presented his coordinates to greet your profile, he requested a high-intensity sparring simulation match.“

The golden lion-kin slowly tilted his neck upward, his piercing optical sensors flaring.

“Correct.”

“I highly desire that your profile authorizes a matching sparring sequence for my own vanguard.”

Flash! Zegart locked a hyper-sharp, menacing gaze straight onto my coordinates.

“What?”

“Your vocal array is venting an comprehensively insolent request, Supreme Commander Zegart!” Stella barked, instantly driving her frame forward to intercept his line.

“My current communication loop is locked strictly with the high throne. Enforce a silence routine and clear our frequency, you mid-tier girl!” Zegart roared, unleashing a deafening, high-volume verbal blast.

Regardless of the acoustic pressure, Stella flatly refused to execute a backward shift by even a single millimeter.

“My internal code flatly blocks my system from omitting an explicit insult aimed at My Lord!”

“Does that defensive sub-routine stem from the raw loyalty parameters of a vassal? Or the toxic emotional attachment metrics of a woman?!”

“…?! W-W-W-What exact—?!”

Stella’s cheeks instantaneously spiked into a blinding, hyper-saturated crimson as her entire frame froze into an absolute stasis block.

“A basic tracking loop is all that’s required to decode your parameters. The precise optical vectors you deploy to scan your sovereign’s coordinates are entirely divorced from the default baseline of a standard vassal. Your processors are transparently venting the raw, intense passion metrics of a woman in love, are they not?”

“Eh?! I mean, n-negative, th-that calculation is an error… I mean, my system… wait,?! Is it genuinely that transparently obvious to the external grid…?!” Stella stammered frantically, completely losing her cognitive equilibrium.

…Evaluating her reaction, isn’t her panic scaling at a highly disproportionate magnitude? I thought, sweat breaking across my skin.

“Hmph.”

Casting a casual, dismissive look toward the thoroughly disorganized Stella, Zegart pivoted his neck back to lock his focus onto my throne.

“Kindly ensure your processors omit a miscalculation: my request denotes zero percent non-concurrence toward your sovereignty, milord.” The Beast Emperor’s jaws curled upward into a sharp, predatory smirk. “Since the absolute crest of the Demon King masterfully selected Fried-sama’s vessel, my alignment vector has zero objections against serving your crown. Therefore, I highly desire that your profile catalogs this request strictly as the pure, unadulterated curiosity of a master warrior. My system commands a flawless awareness that initiating this interaction breaches standard protocol, yet—if such clearance was granted to Regal’s profile, I passionately insist that your system authorizes a matching trial for my own blade.”

The light radiating from his optical sensors was exceptionally sharp. Regardless of his polite terminology, his true underlying intent was transparently to test the exact absolute limits of my combat capability firsthand.

Then again, analyzing his character archetype, if he mapped onto the exact same behavioral logic as Regal, providing a definitive display of my absolute superiority right now would stand a high probability of smoothing out our long-term working relationship down the line.

“ —Authorization granted.“

“In that case, initializing the offensive loop immediately, milord!”

“Launch your vector.”

I locked my frame into a defensive guard stance. Exactly how much output should I allocate to meet his charge? Given that his specs were logged as a peer match for Regal, my processors calculated that discharging a relatively high-tier spell wouldn’t risk archiving his model permanently—

“Hmph. Your internal processors are actively running an optimization loop to preserve my safety metrics, it seems,” Zegart boomed, a low growl escaping his throat.

“Your frame is venting absolute zero percent battle intent. Your aura is strictly composed of a protective, calculating concern directed at my coordinates—such gentle softness is undeniably a magnificent virtue for a standard King, I suppose.”

Analyzing his commentary, his system was venting zero genuine praise. No, to state the unvarnished programming reality, this was a direct, explicit insult.

Zegart didn’t simply want to check off a basic physical clash; he was explicitly deploying this combat loop to run a real-time audit to peer-check the exact capacity of my vessel—

If that was his strategy, what classification of output should my profile vent to respond as the absolute ‘King’?

“RAAAAAAH!”

Roaring with intense force, Zegart launched a high-velocity physical charge straight into my melee perimeter.

“—Active Spell: Paralyze!”

I selected a basic status-affliction matrix. Arcs of yellowish-white lightning ruthlessly hammered down against Zegart’s colossal chassis—

“Subpar utility!” he roared, and the entire payload was effortlessly, instantaneously shattered and scattered to pieces before his raw physical resistance.

This monster—

While Paralyze is taxonomically classified as a lower-tier spell, when loosed via my absurd mana pools, the output metrics effortlessly scale to equal a supreme-tier spell array. For his frame to shrug it off that seamlessly proved that his character armor came pre-outfitted with an exceptionally high-tier passive resistance matrix against all magic attributes.

“Did your basic brain calculate that a sandbagging hand-down approach could successfully freeze my motor functions?! A miscalculation of that caliber is an absolute mockery directed against the title of the Beast Emperor!”

Zegart had already breached my inner perimeter, his massive frame looming right over my coordinates. His razor-sharp claws extended out like literal swords, driving a crushing down-cleave.

“—Active Array: Rune Blade!”

I materialized a sword of dense mana energy, bracing the steel to absorb the unmitigated kinetic impact of his claws.

Heavy…!

Our weapons locked into a high-intensity clash of pure physical strength, and my position began to absorb a steady backward push, my boots dragging against the stone.

“—Active Spell: Wind!”

I discharged the absolute lowest tier of wind-attribute magic. Granted, even operating at its baseline settings, the output metrics loosed by my vessel effortlessly eclipsed a supreme-tier spell cast by an ordinary unit.

“Mgh……!”

The sheer atmospheric wind-pressure violently blasted Zegart across the room, resetting our spatial metrics.

“—Active Deployment: Lucifer’s Shield.”

I projected a defensive wall of compressed mana. Right at that exact microsecond—

“ …. Howling,“ Zegart quietly murmured.

Immediately following the verbal key, my visual resolution slightly fluctuated. A brief, localized wave of physical lethargy hijacked my motor circuits. The geometric wall of my magic shield violently warped into a distorted mess before completely vanishing from the field.

What exact classification of capability did his system just execute…っ?!

My database explicitly tracked that Zegart’s build was completely devoid of a magic-casting array. The absolute core parameters anchoring his supreme rank were strictly his unmitigated physical specs, high-velocity close-quarters combat multipliers, and absurd baseline durability. Relying exclusively on those physical values, he had successfully seized an absolute tier-one power rank across the entire Demon World.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOH!”

Venting a thunderous roar, Zegart launched another high-velocity blitz.

“ —Active Array: Rune Blade!“

Bypassing a cooldown stall, I instantaneously materialized another wave of magic swords. This time, I omitted a single-unit layout; I projected a consolidated batch numbering several dozen blades directly across my forward quadrant.

“Mgh, what an absolute, absurd volume…!” Zegart’s motor functions hit an immediate, single-frame stall loop as he checked his advance.

“—Rune Blade.”

Refusing to waste a single microsecond of his sensory freeze, I deployed an automated follow-up sequence, materializing another massive payload of magic swords to completely seal his perimeter.

Fifty… a hundred… two hundred…

Enveloping all four quadrants framing the golden lion-kin, a network numbering a clean four hundred magic blades verified active.

“Your movement vectors are comprehensively locked down inside this cage.”

“ —Locked down, you say? If my system locks its processing loops to accept the necessary damage ticks, bursting straight through a barrier of this caliber is an effortless manual calculation!“ Zegart boomed, hoisting his massive claws into the air.

Issuing a direct threat, he violently shattered one of the magic blades framing his stance.

“A non-viable strategy.”

I extended my right hand straight toward his coordinates, mapping out an internal blueprint to fully crystallize my mana. I triggered a catastrophic, immediate escalation across my energy pools.

Simultaneously, crackling with arcs of crimson lightning, a black-purple sword of dense magical energy materialized inside my palm. This weapon shared zero programming logic with a standard Rune Blade.

The absolute demonic blade engineered to cleave through space itself—Convergence Configuration: Void Slash (Vanity Blade). It was the absolute weapon that had masterfully completed the bisection loop against the ultimate engine of the Heavenly Army, the Lord of Light.

“The exact fraction of a second your frame attempts to close the gap, my blade shall guaranteed inject this payload straight into your core.”

Bzzz… bzzz-bzzz-bzzz…!

Emitting an acoustic hum that closely mimicked a massive swarm of buzzing insects, the edge of the magic sword began violently vibrating. The surrounding space coordinates began to warp and shear, venting a network of microscopic fractures into the air.

“Th-This advanced spell architecture is—”

Faced with the live telemetry of the blade, Zegart’s arrogance metrics finally sustained an absolute crash as his features twisted in pure shock.

I executed a massive, sweeping flash directly across the coordinates before his nose. A colossal, pitch-black spatial rift opened wide inside the audience chamber.

“ …If your profile commands the necessary parameters to systematically cleave through the literal fabric of space, my frame stands absolute zero percent probability of enduring a direct hit,“ the Beast Emperor quietly murmured, slowly lowering his massive right arm back to his side.

“The overriding core objective of my profile is strictly to preserve the integrity of the Demon World. My programming functions zero percent to permanently archive or maim your model,” I informed him, locking my eyes onto his coordinates. “Your high-caliber stats represent a mission-critical asset to protect this realm. Therefore, I shall deploy every single ounce of my power to safeguard your lines.”

“ …Hmm.“

“Submit to my sovereign vector, Zegart.”

My gaze and the optical sensors of the golden lion-kin locked and intersected right across the open airspace of the chamber. A brief, heavy silence saturated the sector.

And then—

“My internal processors are comprehensively awed, My King. Your character specs more than validate the legendary status celebrating your profile as the absolute strongest sovereign in historical records.”

Zegart executed a deeply respectful, profound bow. However, deep within his eyes, that calculating, piercing light remained active, continuously running a quiet audit on my vessel.

Had his system genuinely synchronized its alignment with my crown? Or was he—

“Kindly maintain your alertness metrics at absolute maximum, Freed-sama. We lack the necessary data to calculate what exact conspiracy Zegart is actively engineering behind our lines.”

The exact fraction of a second Zegart evacuated the perimeter, Stella stepped into my personal space to deliver her administrative warning. As a footnote, the massive spatial rift I had carved into the architecture moments ago had already been seamlessly repaired via my own manual mana manipulation loops.

“Stella…”

My database pulled up a historical intelligence file from our previous victory banquet: the verified existence of a hidden faction of rogue demons who had apparently been engineering a conspiracy targeting my profile. Those specific hostiles had explicitly vocalized Zegart’s name right before their signatures were permanently deleted by Regal’s unannounced intervention, meaning a high probability of a covert operational link existed between them. However, because their models were entirely liquidated on the spot, the true depth of the conspiracy remained trapped behind an un-resolvable data block.

“I shall immediately deploy our elite espionage units specialized in high-tier intelligence gathering to run a granular background audit across his entire personal network. The absolute split second an anomalous data node manifests on our grid, I will fast-track the telemetry straight to your office,” she validated.

“ …Understood. Proceed with the sweep.“

“I shall guaranteed protect Fried-sama’s survival parameters down to the final frame. No matter what classification of underhanded, extreme methodology my system is dictated to execute to secure that yield,” Stella vowed, her hand reaching out to tightly clutch the sleeve of my robe.

Her fingers were violently trembling.

“Stella…?”

“My profile… will handle the equation without fail. Everything to preserve your existence…!”

While our future navigation path might lack a perfectly smooth, conflict-free trajectory, at the absolute minimum, a core milestone had been achieved: the newly re-formed Seven Supreme Commanders were officially assembled within the capital.

Lord Divine Eye (Vision) Stella.

Lord Undead King (Road Undead) Regal.

Lord Succubus Princess (Dead Charm) Feria.

Lord Archmage (Master) Juda.

Lord Supreme Priest (Priest) Olivier.

Lord Alchemist General (Alchemist) Tsukuyomi.

Lord Beast Emperor (Gigantoror) Zegart.

Seven supreme, high-tier demon units engineered to function as the absolute blades safeguarding the Demon World.

My comprehensively elite, trusted inner circle.