The crimson princess

Pov Dia,

After spending some time admiring the beauty of Rimuru and Sera as they beat the enemy troops and tried to capture as many as possible, we gathered in a tent with Revali to define our next move.

Ruval: "Am I really allowed to be here? After all, I’m not a commander."

Dia: "I trust you, and you might be able to suggest a plan we hadn’t considered."

We spent a lot of time discussing where to move our troops and which cities to capture. It wasn’t easy because we had to choose one path out of ten, each with only slight differences, except on the side of the quantity of troops which will be posted in the cities. Our goal was to locate the majority of the enemy forces and defeat them, making it easier to proceed afterward.

While I was talking, I exchanged a look with my wife subtly passing on a message before speaking.

Dia: "And don’t forget, if you plan to kill someone by surprise, make sure to check their strength level to ensure the operation’s success."

At that moment, two daggers flew toward my back. I turned around and caught the weapons between my fingers before letting them drop to the ground. Then, faster than most people could follow, I teleported next to the assassins and delivered a kick to the stomach of the one on the left and a punch to the one on the right.

After knocking them out, I created chains with runes to restrict their power.

Ruval: "How did you manage to sense their presence?"

Sera: "Dia-chan and Rimuru-chan are experts in detection. Even if their five senses were out of order, they’d still be able to detect threats. As for me, it would have taken a little longer if Dia-chan hadn’t warned me not to make a move."

Revali looked at us with a bewildered expression.

Ruval: "It’s still amazing."

Dia: "Thank you. Now, can you tell me the difference between the seven devils?"

Ruval: "What differentiates them is their appearance, especially their hair color: black, red, white, yellow, purple, blue, and green."

I glanced at the assassins, who were women with blue and green hair, respectively.

Dia: "So, if my hypothesis is correct, we’ve captured two of the seven devils."

Rimuru: "I’m not sure, Dia-sama. They seemed very weak."

Dia: "Don’t forget, we’re incredibly strong, and most wouldn’t even detect them. Plus, they’re known to be 'invincible' when they’re all together."

??: "The exact term would be more like 'immortal.'"

I turned around, and the green-haired woman was awake.

Dia: "You confirm that you’re two of the seven devils?"

??: "Indeed, my name is Misery, and I’m delighted to meet you, Crimson Princess, Dia Gremory."

Dia: "For someone who’s been captured, you seem very calm."

Misery: "I’m captured and can’t do anything, so why panic? Besides, if you wanted to kill us, you would’ve done it already."

As she was speaking, the woman with blue hair regained consciousness.

??: "What happened?"

Misery: "Our assassination attempt failed, and here we are, captured, Bleu."

Dia: "You underestimated my strength."

Bleu gave me a look full of anger.

Bleu: "How were we supposed to know your strength? You’re only known for playing music. Nobody knows if your power level is at the level of a god or just a princess in distress."

After understanding why she was angry, I gave her an amused look.

Dia: "The element of surprise is important. Plus, I knew the war would start soon, so it was necessary for the enemies to underestimate my strength."

Bleu couldn’t say anything because my argument was irrefutable.

Dia: "Now, you’re going to tell us everything you know."

Misery: "And what if we say nothing?"

Dia: "We’ll torture you until we get the answers, and then kill you. That won’t happen if you talk now."

Misery: "You can’t kill us."

Dia: "And what would stop me? I just need to take your weapons, plunge them into your hearts, and you’re dead."

Bleu: "Yes, you could do that, but what Vert meant was that you couldn’t kill us."

After what Bleu said, two questions came to mind.

Dia: "First, answer my question. How would I not kill you by sticking a knife in your heart?"

Bleu: "We seven are all connected. If you can’t kill us together, we’ll simply revive."

Sera: "Who says you’re telling the truth?"

Misery: "You can always try, and if we manage to live despite our 'death,' Dia-sama will be obliged to take us as her servants."

I admit that I wasn’t prepared for this bet at the time.

Dia: "Don’t you want to be released if you do come back?"

Misery: "Released to where? We never swore loyalty to the current Satans because we knew they’d dispose of us as soon as they achieved their goals. And if you ask if we could go somewhere to live in peace, the answer is no. We’re all seeking power, and our instinct is to serve someone strong. And you are the perfect person to be our mistress."

Bleu: "Also, we can promise you the loyalty of the other five, but you’ll probably have to defeat them in battle first."

Dia: "And what do I get if you really die?"

Bleu: "We’ll give you the information you want before you test it. This way, you win either way."

Dia: "Okay, I accept. But first, answer this question: why did you call Misery by the name Vert?"

Bleu: "She told you her real name? We promised ourselves that we’d only reveal our real names if we found a perfect person to serve. Otherwise, we use color names. By the way, my real name is Rain."