?


    Hestemia, the fourth kingdom and the veryst before the emperor''s domain had finally fallen to the persistent retaliation from the demonic armies. Spread out thin, the emperor''s war generals were too upied on their fronts to fight against the parasitic demon poption that had continued to grow inside the duchies, cities, and kingdoms.


    Floating above a ruin of a city, Margarette looked on at the expansive army of demons she had led against the kingdom of Hestemia. Mixed amongst the lust demons, were plenty of helpers from the other demon lords, and ever so often one of the demon lords would teleport into the ce to help direct the armies alongside Margarette and the others.


    "I heard you got a new title?" Looming above the burning watchtowers, Mercie seemed curious about a title Margarette had acquired today.


    Turning to her side, Margarette dressed in a ming piece of white leather armor gave Mercie a dubious nce, wondering why she was digging into the matter. However, since she''d been a great help so far, Margarette decided to reward her by answering a few questions.


    "Yes I did, I don''t know what it does yet, but I''ve acquired the title of Phoenix Princess…" Feeling slightly awkward by the princess part given her age, Margarette turned her gaze back to the chaos in front to avoid weird looks from Mercie.


    pping her origami wings having feather-like features, Mercie appeared like an angel, but the creepy smile on her face was anything but angelic. Instead, even more so than Reya, she''d been a looming presence that screamed trouble, and so the best course of action for Margarette was to keep her away from the others while also busying her with tasks.


    "Anyways, let''s get to the ground and see if the soldiers have anything to report," Margarette suggested, slowly descending down through the air.


    The moment the two got on their feet, a messenger of Moriyana named Greta walked up to them with a troubled look. Leaning onto her knees, she took a moment to catch her breath before looking back up to the two and spilling out the news she''d brought.


    "Miss Moriyana finally woke up! Miss Fay and Deus are both here as well!" Stretching her arched back, she stood up tall and quickly corrected her demeanor. "They wanna meet with you, General Margarette!"


    "Thank lord, she woke up, how many days has it been already?" Shaking her head, Margarette shook the thought out of her mind. "Nevermind, just take me to them."


    "Oi oi, what about me?" Standing beside Margarette with her body leaning onto the opposing hip, Mercie wasn''t as thrilled about the news as the other two. "What am I supposed to do in the meantime? There''s still a few hours before us switches out with me, and not to mention, I still have a territory to protect back in Gaia so I can''t waste too much of my time here."


    Her thumb pressed under her chin, Margarette turned to the ruined cities of Hestemia. There, storming through the skies breathing a storm of mes and ice, Rose and Klian were turning thendscape inhabitable for humans.


    "Why don''t you go and help those two?" Pointing towards the dragons, Margarette tried to send her off.


    ''I just need to keep her away from anyone who can be manipted by her.'' Keeping her true thoughts to herself, Margarette started walking away from the spot in the camp and left Mercie behind while she was still looking at the dragons.


    A bit confused by the whole distraction tactic, it took a moment for Greta to realize what Margarette was doing. But the moment she did, she too started walking away from the demon lord of greed.


    "What the hell would I even do to-" By the time Mercie turned around to where Margarette stood, she was already far away from her although still visible in the distance. "Fucking bitch!"


    Realizing exactly what had happened, Mercie ground her teeth in rage before sprouting back the origami wings and flying towards the two dragons.


    ***


    "Dominion, where have you been?" Seated atop his throne with a look of utter disgust, the emperor was not in a forgiving mood. "Do you have any idea how many men have died because of your desertion?! Not only that, because of you all the other generals are too caught up in reiming your territory to deal with the situation inside the empire!"


    "All generals?" Raising his head from the shamed bow, Dominion looked right into his brother''s eyes. "That monster, Haruki, are you counting him as a general as well? Because I swear on the creator''s soul, I''ve heard you''ve offered him a battalion of royal guards to reim the lost territory."


    Hearing himin, As had no patience left for him. Disappearing before Dominion''s eyes, As appeared behind Dominion and walked into his peripheral vision with the de of pure light gripped tight in his hand.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Don''t test my generosity brother, you''ve lost all of my empathy after leaving your men to die," as As spoke, Dominion drew his blood sword and turned around to strike his brother away.


    Intercepting the swing with his sword of light, however, As kicked Dominion right in the bell and him crashing against the steps to the throne.


    "Aghh!" Groaning in hurt, Dominion clenched his teeth as he slowly opened his eyes back up to look at As slowly making his way towards him. "You bastard!"


    Throwing the blood sword at his brother, Dominion tried to distract As, yet passing through the de like a mirage, it didn''t affect the emperor in the least. Staggering up his legs, Dominion stood up with his eyes still ring at As. At this point, hepletely forgot why he was even against him so much since the rage in him hade to an overboil.


    "Get back to your room, and don''t leave until the mess you''ve created has been handled," As advised, his eyebrows frowning in anger.


    "Fuck off…" Knowing he couldn''t possibly go against As and win, Dominion stormed out of the throne room in a fit of rage. However, despite him leaving as As had advised, he knew well enough that Dominion wasn''t going to stay in his room as he''d ordered.


    ''Nabe''s busy with the territories or else I could''ve had her follow Dominion to make sure he stays in line.'' Not sure how to get his brother back to reason, As wanted to keep him under watch until he found a way to get Dominion back on his side. ''Riley, was it? The spy, she probably could''ve kept watch on Dominion, but…''


    Thinking back to Haruki, As climbed up the throne steps before setting down on it once more.


    "Hopefully, he''s taking care of that battalion and could bring good news, unlike my brother," even though the emperor had little trust in Haruki, as his abhorrence towards his brother grew, he was more and more willing to rely on Haruki than Dominion.


    ''To think a demon whom I control via a curse would be more reliable than dominion? What has this worlde to?'' Faulting himself for the state of the world, As couldn''t keep his mind clear anymore.


    Feeling intrinsically anxious, he got out of his throne and made his way back to his room. After not too long as he got there, he saw the fading image of Asmodia waiting for him inside. Her lips painted with the same poison as the night she''de to him before, the emperor knew it was nothing more than the failings of his own fickle mind.


    "Go away," he muttered, trying to shoo away the delusion.


    cing her hand around his neck, however, the illusion of his mind let go just yet. Snuggling up by his ears, the illusion breathed down As''s nape before whispering into his ear.


    "You kill me, why?" She asked, her voice somber like a mournful widow.


    Seated at the edge of his bed, the emperor could feel the corrosion in his body and mind creeping onto him again. And although the curse of mortality was now gone, his time of death was still soon toe.


    "Shut up," he replied to the illusion before reminding himself that he was talking with air.


    ''What the hell am I doing?'' He thought, his mind drifting deeper and deeper into a state of confusion. ''Why am I dying so fast even though the curse is gone?''


    Attributing his degrading mind to his limited lifespan, As knew that the more time passes the worse the illusions were bound to get. Brushing it all off his mind, As slipped into his bed to rest his degrading body and mind. With breath under the nket, he could feel himself waning, and yet the illusion persisted by hurling him with questions that continuously stabbed him through his heart.


    "Gospel: As you should sleep for a while," forcing his ability on himself, the emperor drifted into the subconscious in an instant.


    With everything going on at the battlefield of Hestemia, and Haruki heading off to fight against Inferno''s army with but a battalion, there were plenty of problems that needed As'' attention. Yet with his body failing him, he had no choice but to try and stay alive long enough to set everything up for his soon-to-be-born heir.