17 The Echidna’s Dominance in a Walpurgis

"Red Primordial." Aria's bold interruption caused a stunned silence among the Demon Lords,.

Ramiris literally wanted to rip her hair off when she saw Aria's actions. Did the she have a death wish? Was the question going through her mind.

{Echidna! What are you doing?!} Even Luminous sent a [Thought Communication] to Aria, feeling worried that she would get herself killed.

Aria didn't respond to her, opting to stare at the Lord of Darkness who didn't seem offended. Instead, a smirk played on his lips as he looked at Aria. "Well, well. It seems you're not one to mince words. Echidna was it?" Still smirking, he asked, but this time, a wave of pressure washed over the meeting room, its main target being Aria.

"That's me." Aria smiled, completely unaffected by the [Demon Lord's Haki] being released by Guy.

And Guy noticed this, smiling, he ramped up the pressure…

10%…

20%…

30%…

40%…

50%…

It was at this moment that Aria decided to release her [Divine Haki] to 'defend' herself, so as to not look sus for withstanding Guy's full powered Haki with just her body.

75%…

Guy significantly increased the pressure when he saw her release her own Haki, but once again she seemed unaffected, 'She's good.' With that thought, the pressure vanished.

"Huh? You're not going to continue?" Aria unconsciously blurted out, the disappointment was evident in her tone.

Her words made the Demon Lords and their subordinates in the background want to punch her in the face. Was she crazy! Here they are, struggling to even stand and breathe, yet this mad woman wants more! Was she even human!

{My Lady…} Even Elaine's lips twitched at Aria's words.

"Oh? I said that out loud didn't I?" Aria actually blushed in embarrassment at such blunder. She didn't want to be misinterpreted as a masochist after all.

"Wahahaha! You're strong!" Milim laughed in happiness, another strong person had appeared!

Guy licked his lips at Aria's boldness, his eyes gleaming with amusement and respect, "Well, well, it seems you're not just a pretty face. I like your spirit. So, what business do you have with me, interrupting so boldly?"

"Well, Guy," Aria ignored piercing gaze coming from behind Guy, continuing, "Answering the clown's question; Aria is not from this world, so her analysis was to get an understanding of the worlds powers."

"Oh?" Guy raised an eyebrow, he already guessed that before, but it was another thing to hear it from someone else.

"Who are you calling a clown, human?!" Clayman stood up in outrage, turning to the other Demon Lord's he said, "Are you going to allow a mere subordinate to disrespect us Demon Lord's?" He asked, hoping to use their 'pride' as Demon Lord's to punish Aria, after all, even if he was under a domination, Clayman was not blind enough to not understand her power.

"She's stronger than me so it doesn't really matter." Carrion shrugged, as a strict follower of the law of the jungle, he knew that might makes right, so even if was offended he couldn't do anything. "And I'm more interested in what she said about this Aria not being from this world."

"I agree with Carrion." Frey said , staring at Aria with interest, and added, "Also, I would like to ask how you came by this information, Echidna."

Roy Valentin just gave Clayman a look of contempt, and uttered, "Weakling."

"You are related to Aria in some way, aren't you?" The surety in Dagruel's words made Aria recall that despite the dude's physique that would make one think he was muscle-brain, he had keen observational abilities.

"Are you also an otherworlder?" Leon asked with his ever-serious face that made Aria question her sexuality. The dude was just that beautiful!

"…." Dino was still sleeping, even after Guy's pressure that squished his face onto the table, leaving cracks where his head was.

"Let's fight, Echidna!" Milim of course had her priorities straight.

As for Ramiris, that Fairy flew onto Aria's head complaining, "Are you stupid, Echidna! What would you have done if Guy killed you!"

Guy's face twitched at Ramiris' words. What did she think he was? A cold-blooded murderer? Someone who likes bullying the weak?

Clayman who witnessed all this couldn't help but turn red in embarrassment, 'How dare they not take me seriously! And where's there dignity as Demon Lord's? Why are they letting one bitch walk all over them?!'

Aria also ignored Clayman, she needed to whip up her Dao of Bullshit to start answering these questions after all.

"First, answering the beautiful blonde's question; I am an otherworlder." The Echidna's words, made Guy smirk, it seemed that there was someone that agreed with him.

Leon on the other hand frowned, "Even if you're beautiful, I'll only ever have eyes for Chloe."

Rolling her eyes at this lolicon, Aria continued, "Answering Lion boy, the sexy harpy, and Dagruel's question—"

"Why are you only calling me by name?" Dagruel interrupted.

Aria paused, and eyed him for a moment, "It just doesn't feel right?" She tilted her head in confusion, she really couldn't understand it either!

"I don't know if I should feel offended or proud, so please continue." Dagruel replied, staring at Aria with respect, he respected her strength and ability to stand up to Guy without fear.

"Ahem. Thank you." Clearing her throat, she continued, "As for how I know Aria…Hmm…It's a little strange, but what I can say for certain is that she has observed my world, and is as aware of me as I am of her."

"Observed you say?" Guy tapped his chin interest, wondering if it was similar to how he was a Mediator.

Though the most intrigued one was Dino, who had opened an eye at her word. Why wouldn't he? What he heard was basically the same as his current role given to him by the Creator. The Sleeping Ruler, Dino, was a Watcher, a role that required him to oversee humanity and report their actions to Veldanava, but with Star Dragon King gone, his role became redundant, but even then, he continued his job alongside his friends Garci and Pico.

"Is there any reason for why she was observing your world?" Dagruel asked the question going through the other Demon Lord's minds.

"Entertainement." The single word surprised many of them, Aria was sure. And it wasn't a lie, she did watch Re: Zero to entertain herself.

"What do you mean by she's aware of you, and how are aware?" Milim tilted her head in confusion, but Aria could have sworn she saw the a small smirk on her lips.

The Witch of Gluttony shook her head, using [Material Creation], she created a white book with a few golden details. "The [Book of Wisdom]." She answered the unasked question in their minds.

She continued, explaining its effects, "It was a book I owned in my world. It allowed me to draw knowledge from the world's memory, you could say that its a God-grade level artefact.

The book's power was not limited to to the past and present, it knew the future and draw information from it too."

"Interesting, I take it that you don't have it with you now," Guy said, as he noticed that she created this one from magicules.

Aria nodded, wondering if they bought her bullshit, and added, "Even if I had it, I'm not sure if it would work in this world, my world is Demi-Material and has its own set of laws."

"So I take it that Aria is also here for entertainment?" Frey asked, based on the information she gathered.

"I guess so?" Aria tilted her head in confusion, as she thought about what she actually wanted to do. There wasn't anything she specifically wanted to do now that she thought about it.

Her primary goal was simply to have fun and experience life. A quote that resonated with her was Bob Marley's: "Love the Life you Live. Live the Life you Love."

With her flaw this feeling was amplified. Aria pondered for a moment, realizing that she shouldn't overthink her purpose or goals in this new life. The insatiable hunger within her was not limited to any specific objective—it was a craving for the richness of life itself.

'Perhaps,' Aria mused to herself, 'I'm thinking too much of about the 'why' and 'what.' Maybe I should just embrace the journey, savor every moment, and let the experiences come naturally.' The realization brought a sense of liberation, freeing her from the burden of predefined expectations, like when eldritch spawn would summon her.

'Okay, it might be harder than I thought,' She smiled amusedly.

Seeing her smile, Guy raised an eyebrow in interest, "Is there something you'd like to share with us?"

With a carefree smile, she answered, "I'm wondering if I'd be able to beat you in a fight."

"Oh?" Guy smirked at her question, truly some interesting people have appeared.

*****

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Somehow I feel like this could have been better though, maybe I should have faceslapped Clayman some more🤔