"Haha!"
Carrera flashed a bright, genuine smile. "I didn't expect you to be pretty likable!"
"This idiot."
Ultima didn't even want to acknowledge Carrera. She couldn't understand what the other three were so worked up about.
They were newcomers. Shouldn't they be laying low first and getting a grasp on Rin's situation before acting?
Why had they all rushed out immediately?
'As I thought, this team still needs me!'
Ultima silently resolved to keep a low profile, slowly build up power, then shock them all with her greatness.
"It seems you'll all get along nicely."
Testarossa with Snow Empress, Carrera with Artoria.
Rin figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to let them interact more.
As for Diablo…
Rin understood his nature better than anyone.
He was Diablo from a parallel world. Just toss him a little praise every now and then and he'd be overjoyed.
"Violet, compile their stats for me."
Rin said, "Keep it concise."
"Understood."
Soon, Violet projected a panel in front of Rin.
It displayed a condensed report on the newly awakened True Demon Lords and their most essential information—magicule quantity and Ultimate Skills.
Oni God · Ogerpon: 8 million EP
(Mid-tier Ultimate Skill: Lord of the Underworld · Izanami, Mid-tier Ultimate Skill: Lord of the High Heavens · Izanagi)
Star Spirit · King of Knights Artoria: 6.8 million EP
(High-tier Ultimate Skill: Lord of Vows · Raphael, Seven Virtues)
Demon God · Demon Lord Diablo: 6,666,666 EP
(Quasi-High-tier Ultimate Skill: Lord of Temptation · Azazel)
Nature God · Snow Empress: 6.5 million EP
(Quasi-High-tier Ultimate Skill: Lord of Nature · Gaia)
Demon God · Slaughter King Testarossa: 6 million EP
(Mid-tier Ultimate Skill: Lord of the Dead · Belial)
Demon God · Ruin King Carrera: 5.2 million EP
(Mid-tier Ultimate Skill: Lord of Annihilation · Abaddon)
Demon God · Cruelty King Ultima: 4 million EP
(Mid-tier Ultimate Skill: Lord of Deadly Poison · Samael)
Fairy Empress · Treyni: 2.4 million EP
(Mid-tier Ultimate Skill: Lord of Life · Isis)
Sky God · Frey: 2.2 million EP
(Mid-tier Ultimate Skill: Lord of the Sky · Horus)
Seven newly awakened, plus Treyni and Frey who had awakened earlier.
Nine True Demon Lord-class beings. This was Rin's current fighting force.
"Still…"
Rin stared at the list for a while, then looked down at Ogerpon in his arms. "It's a bit unexpected, but the biggest winner this time is you, Ogerpon."
She puffed out her flat chest with pride, her whole face reading, 'Praise me, praise me now!'
"Haha."
"Yes yes, Ogerpon, you're amazing."
Rin wasn't just flattering her.
Two Ultimate Skills, and both were mid-tier.
This meant Ogerpon had a very high chance of eventually merging them into a top-tier Ultimate Skill.
"Could it be because of her special nature as a Pokémon?"
Rin had suspected it before. Ogerpon's growth potential really was excessive.
If all divine beasts were built like this,
He wouldn't even need to visit other worlds. Just tapping into the Pokémon World alone would be enough for world domination.
Why go out of his way to recruit from different universes?
Was he just bored?
"Not exactly."
Violet soon shot down Rin's theory. "Ogerpon once received a blessing from that one. She is unique."
"That one?"
"The Great Venerable of Sinnoh?!"
"Ah, sheep… cough."
Rin coughed. "So it was her. That explains everything."
No wonder Ogerpon could outpace all the other top contenders.
Turns out, back when Rin first crossed into the Pokémon World, the Great Venerable of Sinnoh had already been watching him.
And when he took Ogerpon away,
She not only bestowed a powerful blessing, but even had the Voice of the World recognize her as the Pokémon World's representative.
What's a representative?
In simple terms, it's the world's chosen child.
'As expected of my Ogerpon.'
Rin affectionately stroked her hair, even leaned down for a deep whiff.
"What?"
She blinked up at Rin, puzzled.
She didn't mind the close contact, but she was curious why he suddenly looked so pleased.
"It's nothing."
Rin continued patting her head, and Ogerpon closed her eyes in bliss. "I'm proud of you, Ogerpon."
"Uuu…"
Being praised by Rin in front of everyone made Ogerpon's face flush bright red.
"And Snow Empress, Artoria, you too."
"You didn't let me down."
If we're talking about representatives, then Snow Empress and Artoria were also chosen by their worlds—Soul Land and the Type-Moon Universe.
That's how they were able to surpass even the original Demon Lords of their realms.
And not just them. All the others, including Frey and Treyni, had also reached mid-tier Ultimate Skill levels.
Frankly, Rin was more than satisfied with the results.
Next was the change in everyone's race.
Ogerpon had evolved from an Oni King into an Oni God.
The four original Demon Lords had risen to Divine Demon level.
Artoria's race was special. She had evolved from a Holy Spirit, but the Voice of the World classified her as a "Star Spirit."
[Star Spirit]
Description: Guardians of planets and civilizations. Avatars of stars. If they evolve again, they can become Star Gods, who command the truths of the cosmos.
Above Star Spirits was the race of Star Gods.
"Hmm…"
Rin murmured, "Star Spirit. Sounds like a fusion between the will of humanity, Alaya, and the will of the planet, Gaia."
Only by transcending planetary bounds and embodying cosmic law could one become a Star God.
"That said, Artoria's potential might actually surpass Ogerpon's."
"Just in a different direction."
They were both world representatives. And it was hard to say whether the Type-Moon Universe or Pokémon Universe was superior.
By comparison, Snow Empress's origin was rather unfortunate.
The Soul Land Universe didn't have much to offer in terms of backing.
That she had reached this point was entirely due to her own unique nature.
Nature God.
In addition, Snow Empress had received a special title—Spirit Empress.
In the Cardinal World, the Empress of the Spirit Race should have been Ramiris, one of the three founding Demon Lords.
But Ramiris had already fallen. Only the Fairy Queen remained now.
And Snow Empress inherited Ramiris's position, becoming the new empress of the Spirit Race.
However, the will of the Cardinal World, in recognition of Ramiris's past service in saving the world, had not officially granted the title of Spirit Empress to Snow Empress.
Perhaps even the Cardinal World was still waiting for Ramiris's return, hoping she could reclaim her glory.
(To be continued.)