The Monster Tamer was reduced to a pile of bones as his former familiars happily ate away at his flesh, making him into nothing more than a bunch of chew toys.

The Paladin was shredded to pieces, and Charlotte happily took his blood into her own, further consolidating her power. High-level vampires could just absorb the opponent's blood directly using the blood weapons created via [Bloodworks] rather than having to rely on biting their neck, so the skill was quite convenient.

The Grand Priest was reduced to a fine paste as Davna's giant claw descended upon him, and not much was left of him apart from that. Even his presumably very expensive staff was reduced to mere splinters of wood.

I stood up from my throne and calmly walked towards the only remaining conscious opponent, the Archmage. The Thief was still alive, of course, he'd just fainted. No, rather than fainted, I suppose saying he'd been knocked out would be more accurate?

Making a wide, almost welcoming gesture, I started speaking, my expression having softened to a cordial smile. "Come now, fellow reincarnator, drop the spell. It's alright- we won't hurt you. We can still save you from the brainwashing of Lady Luciel and then you can do what you want to do."

Slightly confused, she dropped the spell, but only reacted to one part of what I said: "Fellow... Reincarnator...?" Then, as if something suddenly clicked into the right position in her head, she noticed my left eye was, in fact, golden. "You're... You're a Hero, too...?"

"Was", I corrected. "I was a hero. However, I managed to break free from Lady Luciel's brainwashing, and you can, too!"

"Break free... Brainwashing...? So I was right, then?!", she suddenly shouted, grabbing onto my shoulders.

Removing her hands from my shoulders and taking a small amount of distance from her, I asked with a genuinely interested expression: "Right? About what?"

"About Lady Luciel! That she's a manipulative goddess, who views humans as things that are there to worship her!"

"Wow", I said, genuinely surprised. "You figured it out all on your own. Look", I said pointing behind her, towards a certain something that was there, on the back of her head.

"Huh? What's... What's that... bug...?"

"That's the thing Lady Luciel uses to brainwash her poor, poor little puppets", I said, walking closer to it. It was trying to get away, but under the influence of the skill [Devil Bindings], it couldn't move at all. Placing my hand on its head, I began chanting a spell- one not dissimilar to the spell the Archmage was using earlier. However, it's as if the entire spell had been inverted- and that's essentially true. This was [Annihilation of Light], a spell which would annihilate any creature of light I targeted. And once I finished chanting, the bug dissolved into black mist. "With that, Lady Luciel's power has decreased."

"Her power has...?"

"Yes. She uses her power to create these things, and a goddess's power is not easy to regain", I explained. "With the current number of believers, it takes several weeks for her to gain enough power to make one of those bugs- Azalyths, they're called."

"Master, I believe that's quite enough companionship bonding time for now", Charlotte cut in from the side, looking somewhat dissatisfied by something. "As the Azalyth on the Magus girl has been slain, it is crucial you swiftly strike down the Azalyth preying on the Slayer man's mind as well", she said, gesturing loosely towards the Thief.

"H-Hang on a minute, please...", the Archmage said before I could walk over to the Thief, directing a somewhat confused gaze my way. "Did she just say... 'master'? And did she call me a Magus? I'm not a Magus, I-I'm just an Archmage!"

"Ah", I said, a look of understanding creeping onto my face, and I explained: "She's a monster too. A Vampire Princess, the evolved version of a High Vampiress. And you're a Magus now. Azalyths not only brainwash their host, they also limit their host's power to further prevent rebellion. Without an Azalyth, that Grand Priest probably could have been an Envoy, and the Paladin a Godly Knight. I sure am glad they weren't, though. I might've had to get more of my monsters involved if that were the case. Then, are your questions satisfied now, or do I need to keep talking until that Slayer is completely taken over and I'm forced to kill him?"

"Ah, uh, no, p-please don't let me keep you", she said, nervousness taking hold of her tone and her expression. Heroes may be trained to have resistance to death, but hearing someone casually say the word 'kill' is something else entirely.

"Great. Then, just one moment", I said before walking over to the Thief. Placing my hand on his neck, I activated the spell [Reveal Light], another spell which I had developed myself, revealing the bug stuck to the back of his head. Same as before, I placed my hand on it and chanted the incantation for [Annihilation of Light], causing the Azalyth to dissolve into black mist. Afterwards, I clapped in the now Slayer's face while enhancing myself with [Strength Enhancement], a skill originally belonging to high-ranking Ogres, to wake him up.

The moment he woke up, he immediately stood up, taking a guarded position, but within seconds, made a puzzled face.

"The force oppressing me... is gone?", he asked, lightly flexing his arms and moving his joints.

I did not answer, and returned to my throne, and the rest of my minions also returned to their positions.

"Now then, let me introduce myself once again", I announced.

"I am the owner of a Red Dragon who could destroy an entire continent, Davna." From behind me, she roared.

"I am the lord of a Vampire Princess who rules the darkness with absolute might, Charlotte." She raised her teacup lightly, presumably in greeting.

"I am the one who has raised a simple Small Slime into an incredibly powerful, unrivalled existence, a Grand Slime, Navillus." From above sounded a wet squelch: presumably, she was happy I was praising her.

"I am the patron of an Arch-Devil who has grand power over the mind, Lilith." From the corner, she raised her gaze from the erotic-looking book she was reading briefly, before returning her attention to her... reading material.

"I am the teacher and disciple of a Witch Queen who has made enough inventions to outdo the world's greatest scientists, Tempest." She raised her hand hurriedly in greeting before returning her attention to the machine I was still sure was going to explode eventually.

"I am the man who was personally chosen for this role by Lady Entropy, Goddess of Darkness." Of course, there was no response. I had no doubts she was watching, but she was far too shy to speak up in this situation.

"I am the man who shall personally strike down the vile goddess masquerading as good, Lady Luciel, and free this world from her tyranny.

I am the Demon Master.

I am Astaroth." On my face was the exact same confident sneer as before.

In a palace of snow resounded the eerie chattering of the laughing teeth of the palace's queen, sitting on a cold throne of ice. Her face had long lost the ability to express emotion, but had she still had this ability, surely there would've been an amused smile plastered wide across her whole face.

"So, you've gained some more pieces, have you, my liege?", she said sarcastically with her cold voice.

These words were directed to no one in particular, but the man she was describing still felt an indescribable chill across his back, even though he was not present.

The blue flames in her empty sockets shone in excitement, and the air around her crackled as tiny ice crystals formed and broke apart.

"Then, I suppose I should pay a visit to Lady Entropy's favourite soon, shouldn't I?", her cold voice sounded again.

She wasn't aware of it at that moment, but her movements would be the first step towards a revolution that turned the world upside down-