Rimuru and Iruma's Adventures in the Netherworld

Hard Lessons

AN: Yes, this chapter came out one day late and I'm sorry for that, but I needed a little more time to write this chapter properly. Also, thank you to Rx, my mod/proofreader from my discord server. He helped me more than usual, particularly on the fighting portion of this chapter.

Also, this story hit 500 follows on fanfiction.net today! I was so excited when I saw that!

Punctuation Key:

"Spoken dialogue"

'Quoting'

*Action*

Emphasis

Internal thoughts/talking to Ciel

[[Ciel talking]]

{{Thought Communication}}

I also have a discord server for discussion, questions, suggestions, or whatever. https://discord.gg/SVkTU2CQ2s

Iruma POV

The pressure ceases after a moment and everyone in the room seems to relax a little, including myself. Beluran appears to be a little startled, but unlike his two attendants, he's not scared. They rush to his side as soon as the tension in the room lessens, but despite their concerned expressions, they don't say anything to their master.

"Aaahhhh...that felt good!" Rimuru exclaims.

"I'll admit; you're fairly strong but that doesn't mean I will take back what I said. I mean, why do you have another sitting in your seat if you're not a coward?" Beluran asks challengingly.

"It was a little test to make things interesting, but you failed it. Now...let's get down to business. I take that little attempt on my friend's life as you challenging me formally, correct?" Rimuru asks with a grin.

"Yes, let's see if you know how to use that power you just showed us all a moment ago." Beluran retorts, squaring up to face Rimuru.

"Hold on." Guy stops the two as they appear to be squaring up for a fight.

"What is it, Guy?" Rimuru asks annoyedly.

"The rules state that we must take a vote first, correct? It's your own words Rimuru, I'm surprised you have forgotten already." Guy says amusedly, definitely getting a kick out of irritating Rimuru.

"You're just bringing that up to annoy me, aren't you? Ugh...fine, we can all take a vote first, that's only fair." Rimuru says reluctantly.

"Everyone; raise your hand if you are in favor of allowing Beluran to join us," Guy announces to all the Demon Lords.

An awkward moment of silence passes and nobody moves an inch.

*shrugs* "Well, there you have it," Rimuru says matter-of-factly.

"It seems I have no choice then. I'll have to challenge you for your seat if I wish to take the title of Demon Lord."

"You always have a choice; I'm not forcing your hand here, but if that's what you want..." Rimuru says as she places her hand on the table and it suddenly disappears.

Rimuru then raises their arms in the air, spreading them apart slowly and the room begins to expand. The shaking caused by the magically growing room causes me to stumble a little, but I don't fall. Once the room stops expanding, all the chairs with the Demon Lords sitting in them are near the edge of it and the only people left in the middle are Rimuru and Beluran, along with his two attendants.